First I will mention I do much of my playing from work, shhhh, don't tell. As such, I AFK often. Logging out each time I AFK is not an option because it is a 6 year old computer and it takes me about 3-5 minutes just to log back in. The lag is just insane most of the times. And when I am on and off a lot I would spend more time logging in than I would playing. Not to mention, I don't know if I will be gone 30 seconds or 30 minutes, so logging out each time doesn't make sense for me.
Now to my idea.
There needs to be some sort of cap on energy loss over time. The higher your life total gets the more energy you lose over time. It is percentage based but that runs into a problem once you get higher energy totals.
For example being I've been getting a lot of energy upgrade cards lately and my energy has more than doubled in a week.
Last week I could do everything around my house with a 2K energy bar and have anywhere from 800-1000 energy left over when I was done. Now with a 4K energy bar I usually have around 1000 left when I do everything. So what used to cost me 1000 energy to do now costs me 3000 energy to do. All do to the energy loss over time effects. I am effectively doing less for more energy now. Much more energy. The loss over time effects get to the point were it almost makes it cost more to walk to a tree than it does to harvest it.
This means I eat more, which is not a big deal, but if I keep upgrading it will get to the point where I spend all my time gathering materials, making food, and eating, at a net energy loss. Meaning it will cost me more energy in the time spent to do all of that than the food will replenish all because of the loss of energy over time.
I see there being three ways to fix this.
1) Make new food.
Food that is specifically meant for people that have higher life totals and regenerates more life but does not cost much more in materials to make. Label it that is can only be used by people with over 2500, over 5000, over 7500, over 10,000, whatever. So people under that level do not use it as a cheap power up. The food could restore 1000 per meal, or 2000 even at the highest level.
2) Add an energy loss cap.
As it is now the upgrade energy bar is a downgrade and not an upgrade once you reach higher numbers. If you get too many of them you are going to become negative energy. It will cost you more to get out to do things than actually doing them costs. When you lose more energy standing there mining a rock than you do from actually mining it (where I am now) you know there is something seriously wrong. Energy loss over time should never exceed 10 per tick.
3) Add new upgrade cards to lower energy lost over time.
While I do not know the number it seems to be 1% each time it ticks. I could be wrong. Add .1% cards, even with a high iMG cost. Make them available with each 1000 life you have. Like at 1000 life you can get 1 card, 2000, get 2, etc. Up to 9 for a .9% loss, so that way you will always lose something, but not so much that it costs more to get to your garden than it does to care for it.
I personally believe that increasing energy should be a bonus. Not a hindrance. At the moment it is a hindrance. Everyone will at some point get to where they notice that it costs more to stand there doing something than it does to do it and at that point it will seem like it is not worth doing any more.
Energy increase should be a true bonus. It should mean you can do more while eating less. At the moment I am doing less, a lot less, with 4K health than I was when I was at 2K health last week and I am eating more, much more. Eat more, do less. That should not be how energy upgrades work.
For me it has not reached the point where it has gotten too bad yet, but if I continue to upgrade I don't see that point as being far away. There needs to be an adjustment to energy loss over time in my opinion, because it will get out of control real fast, like is has started to for me being I've been sucking up those upgrades cards like mad this last week.
You might not see it now, but if this percentage keeps up, you will see it soon. The time will come when you go out to mine and end up spending 500 energy standing there while you mine and 50 energy doing the actual mining. Once it gets there for you, you will see, there needs to be some energy adjustment at higher life totals.