I am not sure it can be done, or how it works for each type of building, but I have always wanted to assign more than two builders to pastures.
Farm fields and orchards may increase the number of builders to as many as I want, I guess so I can get them cleared fast and start growing so folks don't starve.
Other buildings have 1 to 5 or 6 builders each and use my available builders according to proportion and priority, and I can set the max number of builders lower (but not higher) than the "cap" number.
But pastures are limited to 2 builders no matter the size, and take for-freaking-ever...
If the argument is they can't produce food as quickly, then why are orchards (which take game years to produce) allowed many builders? And when the animal provided is chickens, they DO start to yield food quickly (eggs) more quickly even than crop fields, as eggs seem to start right away, while crops take the season.
I love to make 30x30 pastures and when they're done, I raise the number of herders to 5. With storage and butchers nearby, they're pretty happy and efficient.
But I sure do wish they could be built by more than 2, and take less than 3-5 YEARS...
Any idea if this is moddable?
That's a good question and I'm not sure of the answer.
I don't think the crop fields and orchards are allowed many builders to make it so you won't starve.
Each building, when it is created as a 3d model has certain "points" made, where people will stand to do work, where the finished goods are dropped, and where the builders stand when the building is being constructed. The number of builders allowed is equal to the number of points that the modeler puts in.
The draggable things (crop field, orchard, pasture, cemetery ) seem to be special somehow and it's hard change their points system. So I really don't know if it's possible to make it use extra builders.
For example, I've never been able to make a crop field that requires a resource to be built. It looks like it's because it doesn't know where the people should go to bring the materials, because it doesn't have the correct points defined, so it crashes. I could be wrong about the cause, but there's *something* screwy going on with the draggable buildings that makes them harder to work with.
you can try to clear the area before you set it to pasture or crops. this will speed it up since you are using laborers instead of builders. also,i usually build a small pasture lot near the trading post to keep livestock that i get from trading. once the pasture is finished then just move the animals. depending on how many animals you are purchasing at a time,they should multiply in this smaller pasture as well.
As a 'patch' to this issue I always place a 10x10 pasture next to my starter houses, clearing the land first, then place my next 5 or so buildings.
I rarely have my stock die off and they start producing right away, normally by the time I'm ready to build the next pasture I have enough livestock to split the herd, or at the very least move a large amount to the new pasture.
I always prioritise the clearing of the land at the beginning.
