I’m a little slow getting my new FS17 series rolling. I spent the past two and a half days playing and recording content for the series and have really just now stopped to take the time to edit, produce, render, upload etc. Unlike with my Paradise Hills series where I introduced each episode with a new blog post, I’m going to just start the series with this one post and have you look for future episodes directly on my YouTube channel. So do please subscribe if you haven’t done so already.
Farming Simulator 17 is everything I had hoped it would be. While there are still some bugs with my controllers, I’m confident Giants will fix these issues. Mods have already started to roll in. Some of the really “must have” mods have already been released and I’m keeping my spreadsheet current of the mods I’m finding and using in FS17. Just look on the FS17 tab at the bottom.
In this first episode, I sort of setup the storyline and provide some brief introduction to what FS17 has to offer. But because there is already so much content out regarding FS17 and Goldcrest Valley, I have limited what I share to just the content I feel applies to what I’m doing in this series. Like my FS15 series, I’m a little slow in getting my audio levels set correctly. So please bear with me.
Regarding my FS15 Paradise Hills series. There are just two episodes remaining. These will release on Friday and the finale on Saturday. For now, FS17 Goldcrest Valley will release daily (Monday – Friday) usually in the morning before 8 AM MST.
Enjoy episode one, Goldcrest Valley and Farming Simulator 17.
Note: This is a fictional post to setup a story line (fictional of course) for an upcoming “Let’s Play” series in Farming Simulator 17. This new “Let’s Play” series will begin soon after the general release of the new Farming Simulator 17.
For Sale: Paradise Hills Farm
Located in beautiful Paradise Hills, USA. I’m selling up….lock, stock and barrel. My family and I are in the process of moving to Goldcrest Valley where we plan to start our new life. Much of the proceeds from the sale of Paradise Hills will be used to pay college tuition and set us up in the new location. From the sell of most of the equipment on Paradise Hills, we’ve managed to scrape together enough to purchase our new farm and starting equipment. But things will be very different.
Our new farm will consist of a very nice farm house, barn and three fields (F12, F14 and F15). While the fall harvest has begun, the previous owner (Mr. Richards) did harvest field 12 and 14 but has left us with field 15 planted in wheat. From what we’ve heard, field 12 is ready to seed and field 14 needs to be cultivated first. The grain silo does have a small amount of wheat, barley, canola, sunflowers, soybeans and corn. Mr. Richards has also left us with enough seeds and fertilizer to take care of getting the fields turned around. However, we will need to purchase a plow and either a fertilize spreader or sprayer sooner rather than later.
With regards to equipment, the previous farmer has left us with three tractors (New Holland 8340 and two Case 1455XL’s), a Case 1660 Axial-Flow Combine Harvester complete with the 14’ 1030 header, a small Metaltech 8,000 liter tipper, a Kuhn cultivator, a Great Plains seeder and an old farm truck.
My wife (who also is my business manager) has informed me our available cash-on-hand after all is said and done will only be $20,000. We may have a small line of credit available from the bank, but we will need to be extremely frugal with our spending in the early days. However, I’m also very much committed to keeping Mr. Richards farm hands gainfully employed. I’m meeting with them very soon and I hope they will decide to stay on. I really need them.
Life in recent years hasn’t been easy in Goldcrest Valley. The local economy has all but stalled and many area farmers have suffered as a result. As we’ve known for some time, good help is also hard to find. But there is work available if you know where to look and I plan to do all I can to help the local farmers. I believe this will prove helpful in earning some good money on the side. Some of these local farmers may also be looking to sell some of their land and when the time comes, this will certainly help us grow.
Yes, I’m extremely nervous about this change. We have a pretty nice setup in Paradise Hills. But the wife wants to be closer to her family, and well….you know the saying “Happy Wife, Happy Life”. Plus the oldest will start college in the nearby area. The stakes are high, but the rewards are even higher. Can I make this work?
Final thoughts…As you can see from the screenshot below (this is from my Steam FS15 Achievements) I didn’t seek out the gold coins and more importantly, I also never went negative on my bank balance. So I do plan to do a little (actually a lot) of gold prospecting in my spare time and we’ll see if I can keep my operation out of the red. Time will tell….
Look to my YouTube channel for Farming Simulator 17 videos coming very soon.
One of our own…needs some help! If there is one thing I truly know in the very bottom of my heart is as a community we do our very best to take care of our own. Especially when the individual in need of help has helped so many. Now please understand that this is the very first time I’ve actually put words down on my blog in an effort to ask YOU to help someone else. So here goes….
A fellow simulation gamer named BiPolar Prophet is an awesome gamer and fellow YouTuber. I’ve come to know him through his videos and I’m telling you his content is some of the best I’ve seen on YouTube. He’s been producing “Let’s Play” gaming videos for several years now including game play on ATS, ETS2, Spintires, iRacing and of course lots and lots of Farming Simulator 15. Actually it’s through his FS15 videos where I’ve come to know him and come to appreciate all the hard work he puts into his videos.
Anyway, the BiPolar Prophet’s gaming laptop (the machine he uses to play, record and render his awesome videos) is on it’s last legs. Unfortunately he’s not in a position to be able to just go out and purchase a new machine. Also, BP is a very proud individual and hasn’t directly asked for assistance. But many of his friends are asking the community on his behalf.
So here’s the deal. Many of you have known me through my blogging (and now YouTube) efforts for many years. You trust me enough by returning and reading my material and now watching my videos. I ask you to trust me once again, and please go visit BP’s YouTube channel and watch some of his videos. IF you like what you see (and I believe you will), then at the top of his YouTube Channel page is a donation link (via Paypal). I ask you, please consider making what ever amount of donation you feel you can. BiPolar Prophet will use the donation to purchase another gaming machine and get back to producing his awesome content.
Here’s the link to BiPolar Prophet’s YouTube Channel. From that page, just look in the upper right corner and you’ll see buttons for Facebook, Paypal, Twitter, Twitch etc. Just click the Paypal button and make a donation. Any amount will be greatly appreciated.
On behalf of BP and all his friends…I thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you for the consideration.
As I indicated in my post yesterday (Friday), I have several episodes of Paradise Hills recorded, edited and queued ready to go on YouTube. I also have a few more episodes I plan to record this weekend. However, starting Tuesday 25 October (as soon as FS17 downloads to my PC) I plan to begin a brand new series with Farming Simulator 17 on the brand new Goldcrest Valley map. Until then, I plan to release an episode each day for Paradise Hills until all have been released. I hope you enjoy.
I know in previous episodes of Paradise Hills I spoke about the possibility of continuing the Paradise Hills series and continuing game play on FS15 due to the lack of immediate mod support for FS17 in the coming weeks/months. However, over the past few days I’ve watched many hours of FS17 game play from those lucky enough to be named preview partners to know that I really don’t think I will have much desire to go back to FS15. I truly believe based on what I’ve seen from my own two eyes that FS17 is awesome and Goldcrest Valley will keep my very busy until such time as new mod maps are made available. Plus…mods are already starting to become available and it’s only a matter of time before even more truly great mods are made ready for FS17.
The talented people over at Cattle and Crops have released a new video showcasing AI Controlled Vehicles. Of course, AI controlled vehicles are nothing new in the world of simulation gaming. Even in the “Farming” genre we have had AI vehicles for some time. We of course also have AI controlled workers either through the default game play or through mods such as CoursePlay, AutoCombine etc. These AI workers (and their equipment) must be very closely managed and we must also hold their hand to get them started in whatever task we need them to do.
Even when I first started playing FS15, I thought it would a great feature to be able to hire a worker and without driving the piece of equipment to the field and then having them start the task, just be able to say “Hired Worker Fred” go to field 5 and plow it. Then Fred would drive his tractor and necessary equipment (all by himself) to the field and begin his work. In the short video below (released from CnC on 21 October) they demonstrate just what we’ve been longing for.
TGIF! And thankfully this is the LAST Friday before the release of Farming Simulator 17. The game play videos I’ve been watching on YouTube and Twitch have been amazing. While haters will hate, ignore anyone who tells you that FS17 is just a carbon copy of FS15. FS17 is very much different from the two year old FS15. Tuesday can’t get here quick enough.
In this episode we plow and cultivate field 5 to create our new orchard. I’ve also made some new changes to the opening slides of the video with adding royalty and YouTube safe music. I hope you enjoy and I hope you’ll continue to watch my videos.
As this is the 14th video I’ve released on a consistent Monday – Friday schedule, I’m planning to release a new video both tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday along with new videos each day next week. Over this upcoming weekend, I’ll most likely start the process of winding down life on Paradise Hills and FS15. I plan to start recording content on Goldcrest Valley (FS17) on Tuesday and that will become a brand new series on my YouTube channel. As I struggle to walk and chew gum in my older years, I probably won’t be able to juggle multiple maps, especially across multiple farming sim versions. I have a feeling that once I start playing FS17 it would be near impossible for me to go back to FS15. Plus I believe the Goldcrest Valley map will keep me busy until new modded maps start to become available for FS17.
Once again, thank you so much for watching my videos and your continued show of positive support to my new channel. I really appreciate it.
In this episode on Paradise Hills, we deliver milk to our milk buyer and drop it off in their milkmax homogenizer. In this episode, I discover an issue towards the end where I couldn’t figure out how to pump the milk from the homogenizer. I figured the issue was caused by an old mod of these Kotte Universal tankers. I’ve downloaded the correct mod and all is working. I’ll demonstrate this in a future episode.
Before I close this post out, yesterday I watched a few FS17 preview streams. If you’ve read some of my blog postings in the past few days you know I’ve been really excited about the release. You also know that I’ve said that FS17 is MUCH MORE than just a copy/paste or re-issue of FS15. After watching about 3-4 hours of FS17 preview streams, my feelings regarding the differences between FS15 and FS17 were proven to be absolutely TRUE. Of course, I’ll a more in-depth review of FS17 once I’m able to dive into my own game play. But if you’ve been somewhat on the fence in your decision making process, wanted to wait until FS17 comes out….etc. etc. Why wait? Pre-order today so you can join in on the fun on Tuesday.
Episode twelve includes the second day of activities for game day 5. We start off mowing, start up our sheep operation and move compost to the greenhouse site.
As we are now officially less than one week away from the release of Farming Simulator 17, I’m really starting to get excited and yes, even a bit nervous. I plan to record FS17 from day 1, minute 1 and hope my mistakes are few and far between. Giants has done an outstanding job promoting FS17 the past several weeks. The information in the past few days has simply re-assured me that FS17 is MORE than just a re-skin of FS15. I think one new changes I’m most excited about is the “Tip Anywhere” feature. But there are so many more. I’ll be honest and admit it’s somewhat hard to take in all the many cool changes and I’ve even forgotten some….but that will just make it even that more special when I begin digging into FS17 on Tuesday, 25 October.
As always, thanks for reading my blog and thank you for watching my videos.
The eleventh edition of our virtual farming adventures on Paradise Hills continues with performing various field tasks and also planting a new field in soybeans. Please note, I am aware I should have used a different style planter. It was sort of a last minute decision on what crop I decided to plant, I selected soybeans and didn’t realize my error until later. But….no puppies will be harmed as a result of my error and I’m not going to sweat the small stuff. I hope you enjoy!
Finally, I would just like to say “Thank You” to all who have watched, liked and subscribed to my channel. I’m having fun making these videos for you to enjoy and look forward to the next chapter (that being FS17) which by the way, releases ONE WEEK TODAY!!!!
The number 50 is a pretty special number for me in many ways. I turned the BIG 5-0 just a few weeks ago, but even more important….my little YouTube Channel has officially reached 50 subscribers. Because of this, I’m extremely happy. Actually….I’m ecstatic. I truly am! Yes, I know the number 50 is still very small compared to some YouTube channels. I know I have so much to learn and I need to really polish, polish and polish some more to get anywhere near the level of quality as those YouTube virtual farmers I truly look up to and admire. I truly thank each and every of the 50 individuals who took the chance and subscribed to my channel and will work very hard to improve and make you all proud to be the first fifty.
A very special “Thank You” to Mike (Reefy1952) who (unbeknownst to him) serves as my mentor and personal inspiration.
As we continue together over the next several days, weeks and months….I will strive to do my very best and work hard to keep each of you as subscribers while hopefully gaining even more.
