It had been over a month since we last heard anything about Cattle and Crops. Perhaps longer. Just this week we’ve had two teasers. Here’s the first.
I’ve read on many farming simulator communities where virtual farmers would like to have better control of their hired help. Who knows if Giants will ever listen to our suggestions. Looks like who ever is behind Cattle and Crops ARE listening. Just enjoy this screenshot for a few minutes. I’m off to go shovel my driveway now. It’s Saturday, April 16 and it’s snowing in Denver, Colorado.
In part three, we once again review our overall soil conditions on the second day after planting our wheat crop on field #2 of the Graceland map for Farming Simulator 15.
Please return again tomorrow for Practical Soilmod Workflow Part 4.
In part two, we take a look at the over all soil conditions on the day after planting for our wheat crop on field #2 of the Graceland map for Farming Simulator 15.
Please return again tomorrow for Practical Soilmod Workflow Part 3
Oh My Gosh….I received the below screenshot in an email today. I subscribed to the Cattle and Crops development newsletter. The below is being referred to as user interface concept art for livestock.
I don’ t know any more than this and yes…I’ve also read the comments on forums where some speculate that Cattle and Crops is only vaporware or just a big tease. I hope not. But only time will tell…
I recently blogged about and provided some general information on the wonderful soilmod mod for Farming Simulator 15. That blog post provides a general overview of how soilmod works and most importantly how it changes the entire game play. I’ve spent many hours reading as much information as I can and watching a few hours of YouTube content. While I started to gain a simple understanding of soilmod, I had to actually commit to using it to fully understand how to develop my own process and overall workflow.
Of the several hours of YouTube videos I watched, one thing I really couldn’t find was a simple and practical step-by-step process. Most of my favorite FS15 YouTubers have awesome videos demostrating the soilmod, but they are also doing many other things in the video and don’t really take the time to explain their workflow.
If you are new to soilmod, understand that my process and workflow may not work for you. But I wanted to take the time to document it and provide it to anyone wanting to get more from the farming simulator experience. The soilmod is awesome and if you truly want to take FS15 to the next level (and you play on PC) then give it a try. I think you’ll enjoy it!
Now for my video. This first video will be the longest of the series and includes a general overview of the differences between game play without and with the soilmod. I then discuss my own personal workflow for how I plan, prepare and plant my crops when using soilmod.
During the video, I reference a spreadsheet tool and my own process workflow document to help me keep track of each fields lifecycle from field prep, planting, fertilizer, herbicide and water application through the final harvest. Links to these documents are listed below the video window.
Calculation Tool for Soilmod (version 2.0.2) This is the spreadsheet tool I demonstrated during the video. This spreadsheet will function in Microsoft Excel and Apache Open Office. Apache Open Office is open-source and free for personal use.
I’ve developed my own workflow checklist which I also demonstrated during the video. As this document is my work, you are free to download and customize how ever you see fit.
While I think it is safe to say the soilmod is not for everyone. However, if you are looking to take your farm simulation to the next level…I I hope you’ll try the soilmod. Give it a solid go, have fun and learn from the experience. You may not experience high crop yield immediately, but keep at it. I truly believe you’ll appreciate Farming Simulator 15 much, much more with Soilmod.
Please return again tomorrow for part 2 where I review the soil conditions and action plan after the harvest.
Ok, so this really isn’t my first impression of the Soilmod. I did mess around with it several months ago and failed miserably to grasp the concept. I really had a lot of things going on and just couldn’t take the necessary time to research how this mod changes Farming Simulator 15. But I’ve got to admit that I’m actually enjoying the challenge of using the soilmod and while I’m not sure if I could say I would never farm without it, I’d have to say I’m very close. Yes, I did just recently mention I was starting to use it again. But this post comes about a week into my endeavour and I’ve planted and harvested my first field. I’m pleased with the results.
Before we really dive into my understanding of this wonderful mod, allow me to briefly state how the vanilla (default) game reacts to our process of field preparation, planting, fertilizing and harvesting of our crops. This won’t take very long as we all know the vanilla version of FS15 really only cares about if we seed a field and we earn a bonus for fertilizing. That’s really it. We don’t need to worry about the condition of the soil as it relates to anything at all. It’s dirt and it will grow crops. We don’t need to worry about moisture, we don’t need to worry about pH levels and it doesn’t matter if we spread or spray fertilizer. Speaking of fertilizer, there is no set timeframe for when to apply the fertilizer. It can be done before planting or after planting. Just as long as the fertilizer is applied BEFORE the crop heads into the final growth stage you’ll enjoy the bonus of a higher crop yield. Because of this, I’ve never messed with using liquid sprayers.
My old workflow (before soilmod) typically would be to plow or cultivate the field after the last harvest, While not required and no added benefit, I just did this because I really had nothing better to do. I would then mostly likely spread fertilizer and soon after seed the field. Even on a large map like States or Graceland, I could manage as many fields as I could afford. I typically didn’t have plant withering turned on.
Impacts of Soilmod
Soilmod changes everything and I do mean EVERYTHING about FS15. All the things I previously mentioned that we didn’t need to worry about in the vanilla game are now areas we MUST think about. When you install the Soilmod mod into FS15, it radically transforms Farming Simulator 15 from just a game into a real life farming simulator.
Before I go further, I would suggest you take the time to watch two YouTube videos on the subject of the soilmod. The first video is about 18 minutes in length and if you are like me, I had to watch it several times before I really grasped all it was telling me.
The second video is just over 5 minutes and provides a high level overview of the soilmod.
As I’ve spent several days and many hours reading about the soilmod and attempting to put into practice what I’ve learned on my virtual farm, I’ve also been trying to accumulate additional information to assist me as I go about re-developing my workflow.
Here are a few helpful (at least I find them helpful) reference materials:
For me, I find the Soilmod Calculation Tool to be the most useful. I typically use that to plot and plan how I will initially start the planting process. I’ve developed my own workflow checklist which is sort of a mishmash of all these tools into something I can comprehend. I print these and have them on my clipboard in the virtual farm office. I can quickly at a glance see what needs to be done and I can record the daily numbers for each field to make sure I’m on track to a good harvest.
Putting everything to use
I struggled in the first few days of keeping all my tasks sorted. As I pointed out, Soilmod really does change things. No longer can you just plant, fertilize and then sit back and watch the wheat grow. The soilmod really forces you to be a lot more attentive to details. In addition, you can’t rely on creating the plan based on soil conditions and weather forecast on day 1. Just like in real life, wait 5 minutes and the weather forecast will change. Unfortunately, each time you start up FS15 the weather forecast is recalculated. So on the first day, the weather forecast might show one or more days with temperatures above 22 degrees celcius. Temps above 22 c will have a negative impact on soil moisture. However, if you shutdown FS15 and restart, you may see a completely different weather forecast. From my understanding, the only thing that won’t change is the frequency of rain. If rain is shown in the forecast, then each time you restart FS15 the opportunity for rain will remain.
Coming Days
Over the next few days I will provide more information regarding my use of the soilmod in FS15. I plan to record and release several YouTube videos documenting the planning and workflow I use. This video series will step you through each of the multi-day processes including field planning, preparation, planting all the way up through harvest.
Bottom Line
As you may soon learn and especially after you watch the 5 part YouTube series I have recorded documenting my workflow for the preparation, planting, daily maintenance and eventual harvest that the Soilmod is not for everyone. I really couldn’t agree more with that statement. So I’ll say it again, the Soilmod is not for everyone. However, if you are wanting to take your virtual farming to the next level…then at the very least, you should give Soilmod a solid try. Find a map which is Soilmod ready, install the soilmod mod and get to work. Will you be successful? Will you fail? Perhaps the answer to both of those questions will be YES! But you’ll learn….and you’ll improve…and you’ll feel a level of satisfaction from your game play. YES…you will also work hard at it.
Please return tomorrow for the first part of a five part YouTube series showcasing my process and workflow as I plant a field of wheat on Graceland with the soilmod installed.
Note: This article was written and scheduled for release approx. 10 days ago. Since writing this and the present time, I’ve learned a lot about this wonderful mod. This week will be dedicated to the Soilmod, specifically the Practical Used of the Soilmod modification for Farming Simulator 15. Each day I will release a written blog article and YouTube video covering how I use the Soilmod in my FS15 game play and my typical workflow. I’ll provide some tools and tips and document the process as I prepare a field to plant and harvest wheat.
It’s been several months since I was first introduced to the Soilmod for Farming Simulator 15. During this time life was hectic and I struggled to truly grasp the concept. Out of frustration I removed the mod from my mod folders list and haven’t looked back.
Over the past few weeks I’ve really enjoyed playing Farming Simulator 15 and in really thinking about it, FS15 is has become my favorite simulation based game. I say this because unlike flight sim, truck sim, bus sim etc. you are somewhat limited in what you can do. But with Farming Simulator, you can work crops one day, the next day you can tend to your animals and the next day you can do a little forestry. Not to mention that each of those activities have a wide variety of different equipment to choose from. You can also mix it completely up by playing a different map. Bottom line is there is just so much variety with FS15.
Just a few weeks ago I somewhat re-branded my blog site to better match my simulation game play. Realism through Simulation has been something that I’ve really always considered important and I figured if I really wanted to take my farm sim game play to the next level I needed to master the soilmod. So that is just what I’m doing.
I’ve installed the Soilmod on my Graceland map. The Graceland map is soilmod ready so I spent a few days and harvested all my crops, backed up the game save and then installed the soilmod. But of course, before doing all that I watched a few hours of YouTube videos and read as much as I could online about how soilmod changes the FS15 game play.
I’ll be honest, I’m currently somewhere between lost and confused…but I’m learning. There are some great soilmod reference sheets available and just through my own trial and error, I’m attempting to figure my own way through this. Because at the end of the day, I can read about or what how others do it…but you really must adapt a process which works for you and that is what I’m attempting to accomplish.
Of course, I plan to write future blog articles on my experiences (both postive and negative) about the soilmod and how it is changing my FS15 game play. But for now that will need to wait because I have far more questions that I have answers. So stay tuned…
Last week I reviewed the AutoCombine mod. I’m quite pleased with how the AutoCombine mod performs. Especially on non-square/rectangle fields surrounded with fences, trees, shrubs etc. In recent weeks I’ve been playing the Coldborough Park Farm map and AutoCombine has truly been a blessing. I installed the AutoTractor mod hoping it might do equally well. Unfortunately, AutoTractor just doesn’t work well enough for me to use it.
Here’s the deal with mods like AutoCombine, AutoTractor, CoursePlay etc. or even the default “Hire A Worker” feature. These mods or functions are not perfect. You just simply can’t drive a tractor, combine etc. to a field and expect it to perform a perfect job each and every time. If anything, these mods do often emulate the difficulties a farmer would have with his/her hired workers. In real life, some employees work very hard and do everything just as one would expect, but some do not. This is more or less what we can expect when we use these types of mods that emulate a hired worker performing the task or seeding, fertilizing or harvesting.
Again, much like AutoCombine…the AutoTractor mod simply adds a few more features to the default “Hire a Worker” function in FS15. But unlike AutoCombine…it just do as good of a job. As a matter of fact, I really couldn’t get it to do much at all.
The HUD for AutoTractor
How can I get this mod?
The AutoTractor mod is available here. I have personally downloaded, installed and tested this mod. Unfortunately, I’ve found this mod is just not for me. While AutoCombine handles odd shaped fields slightly better than CoursePlay, the same can’t be said for AutoTractor. While CoursePlay does struggle in the tractor dept. with odd shaped fields, I find it is still better to use CP than AutoTractor. I will keep an eye on this mod and when/if an update is made available, I’ll download it, test it and review it again if necessary.
I’ve been a HUGE fan of Courseplay and while I had heard about the AutoCombine mod, I really never had a need to use it. After all, on most of the maps I’ve played in the past…Courseplay worked mostly well. I say “mostly well” only because Courseplay is certainly not without issue. I wrote about some of the struggles we all face with using Courseplay here and here. One of the reasons for looking more closely at the AutoCombine mod was due to the fact that Courseplay is really challenged with fields which are not mostly square or rectangle shaped.
A few weeks ago I began playing the Coldborough Park Farm map. This is a wonderful map based on a real world farm in Herefordshire, England. If you haven’t played this map, you can download it here. This map consists of mostly small irregular shaped fields all bordered with fences and hedges. As previously stated, Courseplay really and truly works best when the fields are relatively large, square or rectangle and have plenty of room between the fields edge and any obstacles such as trees, hedges or fences.
For the most part, AutoCombine functions similar to the default “Hire a Worker” function of FS15 but is more customizable. Another way to look at the AutoCombine mod is it includes the features Giants left out of their default “Hire a Worker” function.
The GUI for AutoCombine is shown below.
I have found I really only use 6 of the buttons on the GUI. I’ll provide a brief description of each: 1. Start/Stop 2. Empty while driving or while stopped 3. Active Side Left 4. Active Side Right 5. Auto Combine or Standard Hire a Worker 6. Harvest mode (circles or up and down)
I typically will start my combine manually and get it into the field and headed in the direction I want it to go. I will then click button number 6 to select the circular option. The combine will continue to harvest in this method until you stop it. Keep a watchful eye on the combine during the first headland cut. If there are nearby obstacles (fences, hedges, trees) these may cause problems. But once the combine cuts the first headland (completes the first trip around the field), it will generally continue without issue as it will have enough room to turn without crashing into an obstacle. After the combine cuts 2-3 headlands, I may stop it and use button 6 again to start an up and down cut.
Possible Issues
Obstacles
Much like Courseplay, there are no guarantees that AutoCombine will automatically work without issues. Obstacles such as trees, fences, gates, other equipment etc. may cause AutoCombine to stop. Just like the real world, you will want to occasionally check on your hired workers. But I’ve found AutoCombine does seem to handle odd shaped fields a little better than Courseplay.
Crop Separation
AutoCombine will likely stop in the scenario below. In this scenario, we have separated our wheat crop. Once the combine harvests all the wheat in this smaller section, AutoCombine will most think it is done and shut down. You will then need to manually drive the combine back up to the large portion of un-harvested wheat and start it back up.
How can I get this mod?
The AutoCombine mod is available here. I have personally downloaded, installed and tested this mod. The mod works and I use it on all my maps.
I play a lot of simulation based video games. Actually…if the game doesn’t have the word “simulation” in the title, I’m very much liable to pass it by. I also have an extremely narrow definition of the word “simulation” and there are some very popular game titles using the word “simulation” in their name. Some of these titles have absolutely earned the right to be called “simulators” and some have not. In addition to playing simulation based games, I also enjoy watching others via Twitch and YouTube. There are a lot of really good gamers out there and likewise there are a lot of not-so-great gamers. It may surprise you to know that my views of what makes a great simulation gamer versus a not-so-great simulation gamer may have little to do with regards to controlling an aircraft, backing up a truck, seeding a field or driving a train. The reason? We’re all a noob at some point. The majority of the great simulation based gamers don’t have a pilots license, they’ve never driven a vehicle larger than a car and the closest thing they come to running a farm is when they walk through the produce aisle at their local grocery store. For the most part, what makes them great is how much they strive for realism in their gaming style.
Realism through Simulation
I’m not sure if the tagline “Realism through Simulation” has been adopted by anyone. I did Google it and I searched using that phrase on YouTube and nothing really relating to video game play or video gamers popped up, so I’m adopting it for my blog. Realism through Simulation will become my goal as I not only play the various simulation based games I enjoy, but it will also become the threshold for what I write about and how I write about it here on GrizzlyBearSims.com.
Mods, Mods, Mods – The root of all that is evil?
One pitfall I see many gamers fall into with regards to realism has to do with mods. Before I go any further, let me say this. I absolutely love and support the modding community. While you may disagree with what I’m going to say next, I truly believe the modding community has been instrumental in the success of many of the simulation based games I play. Said another way, many of these game titles would have been dead a long time ago without a strong modding community supporting them. Imagine what it would be like to play ETS2, ATS, FS15 etc. without mods?
But some mods are perhaps the root of all that is evil…or certainly go along ways towards breaking realism. Again, before I go further….let me just say that I’m NOT writing this article to instruct anyone how they should play their simulation based games. If you want to haul in the wheat crop pulling a loooooooooonnnnnnnnggggggg train of tippers that is your choice. Likewise, if you want to cultivate a field with a cultivator measuring almost 150 feet, again that is your choice.
Perhaps the reason why I’ve been thinking about my own game play style and choosing to write about it has to do with a Twitch channel I watched recently. I’ll keep the identity of the streamer to myself, but he was clearly struggling and I (and many other viewers) were trying to coach him on a few things. Most of the issues he had were caused by some of the mods he was using. But towards the end of his broadcast he mentioned that he was bored with Farming Simulator 15 because it was too easy. Yes, he was cultivating his field with a 150 foot cultivator.
As I try to wrap this up, no I certainly don’t count the rivets or bolts and I don’t compare color swatches. But for me and how I choose to play these simulation based games…I do strive for authencity. I believe playing simulation based games as authentic as possible, goes a long way towards keeping the level of play from becoming boring. It’s one of the reasons why I will routinely plow AND cultivate a field before harvest. It’s also the reason why I don’t use a 150’ cultivator.
Realisim thorugh Simulation works for me.
Until next time…
Best of luck with your simulation adventures….regardless how you play the game.
