To my loyal and wonderful readers. I’ve been blogging about my interests in the simulation gaming hobby for over 10 years. Later this year will mark the 11th year of this blog. During this time, I’ve shared a lot of experiences (both good and bad) with my readers. While my blog postings can always be found here at GrizzlyBearSims.com, my individual blog postings are picked up and syndicated on several other websites including PC-SG. When I’m actively writing and posting new content, the website and blog postings are viewed by you (my readers) at a healthy rate. Now please understand that I’m not telling you these things to boast or gloat. I’m merely stating that GrizzlyBearSims.com and my blog postings are active on the interwebz and produce a considerable amount of traffic.
About two years ago, I began hearing about a small company called CSIO Tech who was in the process of launching a Kickstarter campaign to develop, build and bring to market an Eaton Fuller style USB shifter to enhance American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2. I watched their Kickstarter campaign video announcement and immediately became a backer. I wrote a few blog postings regarding this product including a full review which I titled CSIO’s SKRS Eaton Fuller Style USB Shifter. Best that memory serves, from the time I initially heard about this shifter to the time I was installing it on my Logitech G27 was only about 4-6 weeks (perhaps slightly longer). The entire process was super easy and left me feeling 100% satisfied. I also personally know several others who also participated in the Kickstarter and all received their shifters and were equally as pleased in the product.
However, about 2 months ago I received a rather odd comment which was posted to the above linked article suggesting the entire Kickstarter and the product was a scam. As I had not had any issues and as previously mentioned knew of several others who also received their shifters right as promised, I figured this posting was meant to be SPAM and I deleted it and didn’t give it any additional thought.
Then right before the holidays I received an email from another reader who also commented on the fact he felt he had been scammed by the CSIO Tech company. I replied to the email requesting more details, but never heard back. As was the case with the first comment, I simply put the idea on the back burner and haven’t really thought much about it.
But things have changed….
Just recently, I received yet another comment on the blog post and this time the reader provided more information which I feel I must act on.
Let me state for the record…
I’m in no way affiliated with CSIO Tech. My only connection to CSIO Tech and the owners/employees of this company was simply as a Kickstarter backer. I paid the same amount of money to back the Kickstarter as anyone else would have done. I received no discount or no other compensation for writing the articles I did almost two years ago. In addition, I do not have any way of contacting CSIO Tech.
But being curious in what has been going on since the time I backed the program and received my shifter, I began to do a little research. After all, while I have no horse in this race….I have several blog articles floating around on the internet all stating what a wonderful product the shifter is and what a wonderful company CSIO Tech is. While I believe most will understand that I have no control over what a company does or does not do to support their customers, I still feel really bad that some appear to have really been treated poorly and perhaps….yes….I’ll say it….SCAMMED!
My Research
As stated, I have no connection to CSIO Tech or any of the employees/owners of this company. I could easily delete the blog postings from two years ago and just ignore the comments and emails. After all, this isn’t my fault. But everything posted on the internet is there for eternity. As previously discussed, my blog postings are read by thousands of people and are syndicated on numerous websites. I at the very least wanted to make an effort to see what was going on with CSIO Tech.
My first attempt to contact was to visit the CSIO Tech website. I was hoping to find a “Contact Us” email address, a web form or some other method of contacting. It appears the only way to contact CSIO Tech is to register for an account and log a support ticket. I attempted this process, but after clicking on Support > Submit a Ticket, it does not bring up any physical way of submitting a ticket for support. It’s as if they have deactivated the support ticket process.
Knowing many YouTube Content Creators either ordered or received a SKRS Shifter, I decided to see what folks might be saying on these “review videos”. I read through comments on three different well known YT channels and found comments from just a few weeks ago where folks had been waiting 6, 8 and even 10 months without hearing anything from CSIO Tech.
My next method of contacting CSIO Tech was to visit their Facebook page. One of the first things I noticed when visiting their Facebook page was the date of what appears to be their last post dated 11 May 2017. There are numerous comments from customers who have been waiting on orders. Many postings claiming fraud, scam etc.
Two Sides to Every Story
Yes, I fully subscribe to the theory that there are two sides to each story. I sent CSIO Tech a private Facebook message as this appears to be the only way of reaching them. In my message I explained who I was, I mentioned the email and comments I’ve had posted on my blog about their service (or lack of service in this case) and simply asking them to explain what is going on. I explained that I would wait until end of day Friday, 26 January before publishing this article. But I stressed the fact that while my experience in dealing with this Kickstarter was 100% successful, I feel bad that others have appeared to be scammed and cheated.
Sigh…
Well…it’s Saturday, 27 January and I received no reply to my Facebook message to CSIO Tech. All evidence I can gather points to something seriously going wrong with this company sometime after mid 2016 and the present day. It’s certainly hard to argue with those who have taken the time to contact myself, leave FB comments and YouTube comments for others and all with the same general theme of being scammed.
Again for the record, the experience I had with CSIO Tech almost two years ago was nothing but positive. But things can change and change quickly. I certainly do not recommend doing business with CSIO Tech and for those who have placed orders which have not been fulfilled, I suggest you contact your bank, credit card company or Paypal and file a complaint and request a refund. In addition, you might be interested in filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
Other Options
While I have no direct experience with either of the two companies I’m going to mention next, it appears these two do offer an add-on replacement shifter (similar to the SKRS). Please do your own research and engage them at your own risk.
I’m terribly sorry if someone read my blog posting and made a decision to purchase the SKRS Shifter from CSIO Tech and lost money as a result. I truly hope everyone understands that my only connection with CSIO Tech was merely as a customer.
Thank you for reading.
Jerry
P.S. As you can tell I originally drafted this blog article in late January with the intention of publishing it then. I actually decided to wait in the hopes I would receive a response from the CSIO folks. It’s now mid-March and I know I’ll never get that response from them. I’m sorry to everyone who have been burned by this company.
Can you believe American Truck Simulator (ATS) has been out for over two years? If you are a fan of ATS, then you know in the vanilla state of the game you have the opportunity to drive in the US States of California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. SCS announced a few weeks ago the next State DLC will be Oregon. I’m looking forward to the release of Oregon and I’m hopeful SCS will truly capture not only the beauty of the Beaver State, but also the unique geology, terrain and industry specifically forestry. I’m sure the Oregon DLC will be awesome.
Just hypothetically speaking, if the Oregon DLC is released sometime between now and end of June (2018), that release will come approx. 7 months after the release of New Mexico. Arizona came to us as a free DLC which was released in the June timeframe of 2016 and while it’s true much work has been done on ATS in the past two years including Arizona, New Mexico along with a Heavy Cargo Pack, Wheel Tuning Pack and a few paint jobs packs….the math doesn’t lie. If SCS continues releasing state DLC packs at their current rate, we could still be a couple of years before one can drive from the left coast to the right coast.
I first blogged about the Coast to Coast map mod way back in February 2016 (over two years ago). The Coast to Coast (C2C) map mod was the brainchild of an individual who is known as Mantrid. He simply created C2C for his own enjoyment as he wanted to be able to drive from coast to coast in ATS and he wanted to do it in a much faster timeframe than SCS could make it happen. Mantrid shared his idea/plan with a few folks who obviously wanted to be able to do the same thing and in the very early stages of this map. In the very early days of the C2C map mod it included Arizona and New Mexico (which are now both officially in ATS) with a route along I-40, I-44, I-70 etc. At that time the C2C Map Mod was very basic and scenery was pretty much a copy/paste from California and Nevada.
Over the past two years I’ve been an “on again/off again” user of the C2C map mod. Perhaps the most recent stint of my actively using it was over 6-8 months ago. But I had the bug to try it again and wow…what a difference a little time makes.
For those who have been active readers of my blog and also viewers of my YouTube Channel, you know I often praise the ProMods team who create freeware map mods for Euro Truck Simulator 2. They’ve managed to create some truly awe-inspiring work which rivals the work SCS provides to us. Just about anytime I’ve discussed the C2C project, I often tell folks that if you are thinking it is ProMods quality, you might be disappointed. But this is slowly changing….
The most recently released version of the Coast to Coast map is 2.4.1 and is fully compatible with ATS v1.30 and is available via link on the SCS Forums. Installing it is pretty easy. Just download the .rar file, unzip that and locate the .scs file. Place that in your mods folder and activate. If you are running other modded maps, you’ll want to review the loading order here.
Since the C2C Project was born it has evolved from a one-man effort into a larger team effort. Individuals have stepped forward to assist Mantrid develop the map and turn it into what it is today. While there may still be some areas of C2C which simply are a copy/paste from scenery in CA, NV and AZ….other areas are really starting to take shape and look/feel more like their real world counterparts.
I’m extremely impressed with what the team has done with my home state of Colorado. Specifically Denver. Driving around Denver, various landmarks appear where I expect to find them. The downtown skyline includes Mile High Stadium, Elitch Gardens (amusement park) and as you proceed south on I-25 you’ll find Ikea located very near where it is in real life. It’s really cool.
Over the weekend I installed the updated C2C map and picked up a load from Denver to Fort Worth. It has long been my desire to be able to drive the same route in ATS that I drive when I go to visit my family in Texas. Thanks to Mantrid and his team of very talented and skilled modders, I was able to do just that. This includes driving I-25 south to Raton, NM then across to Clayton, NM….Dalhart, Texas….Amarillo, Texas, Wichita Falls, Texas and then into the DFW metroplex. This exact route is included in the C2C map thanks to these talented individuals.
Leaving Colorado and headed to Texas for another load of my favorite ice cream. (see image below)
Just about to cross the state line into Texas. This is along highway 87 which connects from Raton, NM to Dalhart (via Texline, Texas). (see image below)
Last November my wife and I drove down to Texas to spend Thanksgiving with my family. We stopped in this same spot for a quick picnic lunch.
I took this photo in November and posted to my Facebook page. (see image below)
In closing, is the Coast to Coast map perfect? No…it’s still very much a work-in-progress. But if you really would like to get out of the CA, NV, AZ and NM area and let the hammer down, then give C2C a try. You might be surprised.
Since late December I’ve really been enjoying playing the early access release of Cattle and Crops (v. 0.1.0.1). If you haven’t visited my YouTube Channel, please do so and watch my Cattle and Crops video series showcasing the available missions in the game.
While my level of enjoyment has been high, it hasn’t been without frustration. I’m a really picky simulation gamer and practically refuse to play simulation based games (especially driving type games) without my trusty Logitech G27 steering wheel, pedals and shifter console. Unfortunately, Cattle and Crops is yet another simulation based game which is available where controller support appears to be somewhat of an after-thought.
After several hours of some trial and a whole lot of error, I have determined the best configuration settings I need to configure my Logitech G27 hardware with Cattle and Crops. While it’s not exactly the way I would like to have things, it will work until such time that hopefully the CnC Devs will better enhance their controller support for the game.
I’m not sure if these steps will work with older or newer Logitech controllers. I only own the G27 and only have that model to test with. In addition, I’m not sure if these steps will work with non-Logitech branded hardware. But my hope is that you might get an idea from this video which may work with these other setups. Good luck!
If you have questions regarding any of the steps I’ve outlined in the video, please leave a comment on the video or alternatively you are free to join my Discord server and contact me there.
Just before Christmas I wrote a blog article discussing my holiday video release schedule on the GBS YouTube channel and also discussed my early opinions on Farmer’s Dynasty and also briefly touched on an older blog article I wrote in late 2016 regarding my outlook on 2017 being the year for farming. After writing that article, two things happened.
First, a reader of my blog contacted me via email informing me of an update to Cattle and Crops which he felt I should look into. Second, Wonko (the owner of PC-SG) also posted his review of his experiences with the new update. After reading Wonko’s posting and also looking into the changes made to CnC, I decided to reinstall CnC with the updates and check it out. I’m really…REALLY glad I did.
Looking back to the early stages of 2017, most (including myself) was really excited about the release of Cattle and Crops (CnC). Initially we believed the early access version which many of us had helped to support in the CnC Crowdfunding campaign would occur in early Spring of 2017 with the official release of the game to be in the late Fall. Unfortunately this time schedule began to slip and the actual “Tech Demo” of CnC wasn’t made available until early summer. As Spring turned into Summer, I was still excited for the release, but that excitement quickly turned to disappointment once I downloaded the Tech Demo and spent a few hours with the game. During much of this time I was trying to get my Logitech G27 working. If you are a frequent reader of my blog and watch my videos, you’ll know that I make every attempt for full immersion with the simulation based games I play. In addition, I’m a firm believer if you are a game developer and wish to create a simulation based game, you MUST include support for 3rd party hardware such as steering wheels and pedals. Without this support, the game is just that. A Game!
For full disclosure, the few hours I spent with the Tech Demo (during the early summer) resulted in me forming a less than positive opinion which I’ve expressed in previous articles and during discussions on my videos. I uninstalled CnC and figured not much would ever come from the game.
Things change and so must opinions, since reinstalling CnC (v 0.1.0.1) my opinion has changed and my level of excitement has also changed. While the current version of Cattle and Crops is most certainly not ready to be considered a complete release, much has changed over the past 5-6 months and I truly must credit the development team for their hard work.
Of course, I’m not going to go out on any limbs and say that CnC will become the simulation game we may once thought it would be. Also, I’m not going to say CnC will become a Giants killer (at least not yet), but I do believe things are on the right path. Yes there are lots of wonderful things about the current state of the game and equally there are also many annoying things as well.
Over the course of the next few weeks, I plan to record my game play and commentary as I re-experience Cattle and Crops. To start, I plan to play the missions (I believe there are 12) and get a feel for the current state of the game. In addition, I’ll spend more time researching the current and future plans.
But for now, here’s what I’m calling episode 0 which I recorded recently. During this episode I discuss some of the challenges I’ve experienced in getting my wheel and pedals setup. But persistence did eventually pay off and things are looking up. Thank you for watching!
It’s been over a month since my last blog posting. The busy travel schedule has ended and as I write this, I’m down to the last two work days left in 2017. I’m hoping they both go by as smoothly as possible. As a matter of fact, at the present time I’m enjoying a big cup of coffee while watching it snow from my 4th floor office window. So I guess this should tell you I’m pretty bored and really just marking time until I can walk out and not have to return until next year.
2017 The Year of Farming
As we were closing out 2016, I wrote a blog posting where I predicted that 2017 might go down as the year of farming. After all, Giants had just released Farming Simulator 17 and we were all salivating over the news about titles such as Cattle and Crops, Pure Farming 17, Farm Expert 17 and others who all were saying their products would be released in 2017. Of course, we all know not all these things ended up coming to fruition. Cattle and Crops delayed their “early access” release by several months and what they released in the early summer was simply not ready even for EA. Pure Farming 17 ended up changing their name to Pure Farming 18 and a release date of 13 March 2018 is now being advertised. Farm Expert 17 appears to be anything BUT an expert as reviews are quite poor for this title.
While we may have been left disappointed by those other titles, I’ve got to say that Giants really helped make up for it this year with the release of their Kuhn, Big Bud and Platinum paid DLC packs along with the unexpected bonus free Horsch Packs. Giants single-handedly saved 2017 and placed themselves squarely in the drivers seat for 2018 and beyond.
Farmer’s Dynasty
I only began hearing about Farmer’s Dynasty a few months ago. Most likely with my busy work/travel schedule (which kept me away from just about everything related to simulation based gaming), I began seeing information popping up on forum sites like PC-SG and began seeing some preview videos on YouTube. I honestly wasn’t planning on involving myself with another “Early Access” game title (especially in the agricultural simulation genre) and had pretty much convinced myself to just wait and see what happens. Especially after learning the developers initially hadn’t planned to add support for wheel/pedal type controllers. (more about this in a minute)
But my dear, dear friend Eustace Pharmer pulled the trigger and through a most convincing preview video featuring Creepy Oliver, the bait had been set and I took it “hook, line and sinker”. According to Steam stats, I’ve spent approx. 1.3 hours in the game and all-in-all I’m not disappointed in my purchase. Is Farmer’s Dynasty the Giant(s) killer? NO! At least not now and certainly not from anything I’ve seen in my short history of playing the game. But, the 1.3 hours I’ve spent playing Farmer’s Dynasty does have me wanting more.
As previously mentioned, Farmer’s Dynasty is an early access release. There are bugs, there could be more bugs coming and obviously the game will most likely change for the best over time. Again, in my 1.3 hours of game play, I’ve not experienced any game crashes, errors and performance has been fantastic running on my high-end gaming machine.
I would best describe Farmer’s Dynasty as a mix between Farming Simulator 17, The Sims and perhaps the upcoming House Flipper. Essentially Farmer’s Dynasty allows you to do some farming, interact with other characters and make repairs to your old, run down farm which you’ve inherited from the death of your grandfather.
In the 1.3 hours I’ve spent playing, I’ve taken the time to repair Oliver’s barn. In return, he gave me his old run down tractor and I’ve spent just a bit of time repairing a few things on my farm. I probably have more questions than answers at this point. While I’m enjoying grinding away in these early hours to build up my equipment, repair my farm and gain social status points. I’m curious just what the future holds. For example, will other maps make their way into the game? Will we be required to grind away each and every time we might choose to start a new map?
Controller Support – Including Wheels/Pedals in Simulation based games
One of the biggest disappointments I’ve seen with Cattle and Crops and also Farmer’s Dynasty has been the lack of support for external hardware controllers and specifically wheels and pedals. While I’m not a software developer, I wish the first line of code that would get built into these types of simulation based games would be for 3rd party controller (wheel/pedal support). Game titles which I’ve previously mentioned all involve some form of driving. While much of the work we’ll do in the early hours of Farmer’s Dynasty won’t involve much driving, eventually more and more will. After all, we’ll be driving a tractor to plow, fertilize, seed, harvest and sell the crops we grow. While not everyone will use a wheel and pedal setup, many do. And from reading comments, many have decided not to support the EA release until such time wheel and pedal support has been added. So gaming developers, if you are going to build a simulation based game that has any sort of driving involved, YOU MUST add support for wheels/pedals.
GBS Holiday YouTube Schedule
I’ve been working hard the past couple of weeks in creating a small backlog of videos to cover the Christmas and New Year Holiday period. My wife has a rather long list of “Honey Do” projects lined up and while I do plan to spend time playing simulation based games over the next 10+ days, I most likely won’t have time to edit, render and upload anything new until after the new year. But don’t worry….here’s my release schedule which covers from now through 1 January.
Wednesday – 20 December – MidtownUSA Ep 3
Thursday – 21 December – MidtownUSA Ep 4
Friday – 22 December – Thornton Farm Ep 13
Sunday – 24 December – GBS Christmas Message
Tuesday – 26 December – Thornton Farm Ep 14
Wednesday – 27 December – MidtownUSA Ep 5
Thursday – 28 December – MidtownUSA Ep 6
Friday – 29 December – Thornton Farm Ep 15
Monday – 1 January – Thornton Farm Ep 16
If you’re not yet a subscriber of my YouTube channel, please consider subscribing. Just visit www.youtube.com/c/grizzlybearsims and click the Subscribe button. You’ll find 100% G-Rated, Family Friendly entertainment suitable for all ages on my channel.
Well….I need to seek out another cup of coffee and take a stroll through the data center. I hope you’ll tune into my channel for my FS17 videos and a special Christmas Message on the 24th. Thank you all for your support and friendship.
Until next time….
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you next year!
I’ve often commented on how much I enjoy the Steam gaming platform update process. Of the Steam games I enjoy (Farm Sim, Truck Sim etc.) when a patch or update becomes available, the Steam client seamlessly (for the most part) installs that update and I don’t need to worry about anything. Likewise, both ATS and ETS2 have even simplified a portion of their mod update abilities via the Stream Workshop. While some gamers might not understand just how wonderful this concept is (for Steam games), it’s only recently made it’s way into the flight sim world.
Historically speaking, anytime we’ve needed to update something in the flight sim arena (FSX and early versions of P3D) it’s been somewhat of an arduous task. Many times applying a service pack or updating scenery would/could lead to issues downstream. I would often forgo taking updates until such time I felt I really either had no choice or perhaps it was time to do a complete and full re-install of everything including Microsoft Windows. But as the title suggests, things have become much, much easier with regards to updating certain elements within Prepar3D v4 and yes….it’s the way it should be.
Prepar3D v4
The P3D update process really couldn’t be any easier than how Lockheed Martin have made it for us. Unless you are absolutely brand new to P3D and only purchased v4 AFTER the latest update (4.1) became available then you probably already know just how easy it is to apply updates. By the way, this same update process existed within v3 (perhaps earlier but I just can’t remember). Essentially you can update P3D by uninstalling only the component you desire to update, then simply install the new updated component. Typically this would be the “Client” component. Complete and easy to follow instructions are available on the P3D website and YouTube also offers dozens (if not more) tutorials on how to safely update the P3D platform.
How we did things yesterday, is not always how we’ll do things tomorrow
Change can be a really good thing! And this is really why I decided to write this article. Upon initial release of P3D v4 some folks began to lose their mind regarding how developers began to change the way add-ons would get installed. Since the dawn of time (as it relates to flight sim) add-ons would get installed in the same directory structure of the sim. This concept worked fine (I suppose), but did present its own set of challenges when it came time to applying updates to the sim. Starting with P3D v4, add-on developers began to utilize the “Documents” method of installing add-ons.
For years the philosophy behind how to build the perfect sim PC consisted of at the very least two hard drives. One HDD which contained the Windows operating system and other applications not related to flight sim. Then a second HDD (preferably SSD) for the sim software. The idea behind this was one could get away with a smaller HDD for Windows and invest their money on a larger/faster and preferably SSD drive to contain the sim and all things related to the sim (scenery, aircraft etc.)
When I built my current gaming machine, I took it one step further and even included a third SSD drive for my Steam games to run on so I could truly keep flight sim separate on its own SSD drive. But with more and more developers moving to the “Documents” method of installing software, things started to get a little tight on my main HDD. Thankfully, if you are also experiencing (or starting to experience) congestion on your main HDD due to more and more add-ons being installed into the “Documents” folder, there is hope for you. You can simply relocate the Documents folder to another drive. As I’m a fan of giving credit where credit is due, I’ll just simply direct you to an already existing YouTube Video which discusses just how to safely accomplish this task.
Now back to the update process discussion….
But it truly gets better…
Oh yes it does! I can’t remember who did it first…perhaps it was PMDG or perhaps it was Orbx, but these were the first two I noticed including a control panel update process for installing incremental updates to their products. Since that time, other developers such as FSDreamTeam and FlightBeam have also moved to this concept and it’s truly amazing.
Specifically speaking about Orbx, I own a lot of Orbx scenery. When I say a lot, I mean….A LOT! Thankfully, Orbx has never charged a fee to upgrade any of their scenery from FSX up to P3D (including P3D v4). Because Orbx has a really large catalog of wonderful scenery, it was somewhat of a daunting task to constantly venture out to their forum site to check when a particular scenery title had made its way to being updated. But through their updated FTX Central client, it knows every piece of Orbx software I own and tells me when that particular title has been updated for V4 or includes an incremental update. As you might have guessed, it really is just as simple as point and click to install scenery or scenery updates.
As I mentioned, both FSDreamTeam and FlightBeam have also developed a similar control panel and it couldn’t be easier to keep everything updated. Thank you to all who have moved to this process.
One can only hope…
that others will follow. I’d love to see developers like Carenado, FlyTampa and others follow suit. Maybe they will….maybe they won’t, but I do feel the developers who have moved in this direction have set the bar which others will be measured against.
Hello to all. Life has been quite busy for me the past few months. I must apologize to my readers as in typical fashion, my busy schedule has had an impact on my blogging. It’s been several months since I posted an article to my blog and for that I must apologize. I had the best intentions of writing more and of course writing about flight simulation. After all, it was flight sim which caused me to create this blog site over 10 years ago.
As I write this, I’m sitting in my hotel room in Orlando, Florida where I’m on my third business trip in the past five weeks. I just got back from dinner (I’m stuffed), turned on the TV (boring) and decided to check my email. One of my long time readers messaged me asking if I had spent any time with the newly released QualityWings 787 Dreamliner and what my impressions were. Well…unfortunately, I had to answer his question with a short answer of no, followed by some additional comments I’m going to share here.
I believe the last time I wrote about the QualityWings 787 was back in June of this year. At that time I had read a Facebook message stating the aircraft was expected to be released in the Summer of 2017. Unfortunately, QualityWings missed their mark slightly. The season of summer came to an end on Friday, September 22nd and the QW Dreamliner was released in early October. Now I realize I’m being a bit cheeky with pointing this out….but details matter right? OK….perhaps not. The good news is the much anticipated QualityWings 787 Dreamliner is available, but the bad news…it’s only available for FSX!
Of course, we knew this would be the case and I even touched on that in my previously mentioned June blog post. QW explains this decision is due to the fact the 787 has been in development longer than Prepar3D v4 (or even v3 or v2) had been in existence. While I understand this fact, I must also mention that I’m of the opinion that QualityWings really have never fully embraced the Prepar3d P3D platform. While it is true they did FINALLY update their Boeing 757 for P3D v2.5…but their treatment of P3D could be likened to that of a “red headed step-child”.
While I fully realize many flight sim enthusiasts still fly FSX and FSX Steam Edition, surprisingly there appears to still be a large number of FS9 users….but I’m of the opinion that FSX (in all forms) is just simply dead. But I must again say that I don’t blame or fault QualityWings for releasing the Dreamliner for FSX. But I’m curious how long it will take them to bring this wonderful aircraft to P3D v4?
I know some might say, “but the QW development team is small” and “these things take time”. I get all that. But I will remind everyone that PMDG was able to update their older Boeing 737 NGX which was released in the 2011 timeframe (if I’m not mistaken). So in theory, the same can be said of PMDG that they began development on an aircraft prior to Prepar3D, but was still able to update/release the NGX for P3D v4 within a few weeks of release.
So….to answer my readers question. Unfortunately, when Prepar3D v4 was released earlier this year I made the decision to embrace it as my flight sim platform and I’ve not looked back to earlier P3D versions or FSX since and I don’t plan to.
But having said that. Just as soon as this beautiful aircraft is released for P3D v4.x, I will purchase it and I’m sure I’ll have more than a few things to say about it here.
I’m exhausted after a long day and ready to turn in. I’ll post this sometime on Wednesday or Thursday. So until next time….Happy Simming!
The wait is over my friends, Car Mechanic Simulator 2018 (CMS18) has been released to the masses in almost all it’s glory. I say “almost” only because there are still a few bugs (some small and some large) which have yet to be squashed. But the devs behind CMS18 are hard at work and making every effort to fix bugs and bring about all the new features promised in this version of their popular simulation based game. I quite enjoyed CMS15 and I’m looking forward to the newest version.
Beginning Tuesday, 8 August…I’m bringing Car Mechanic Simulator 2018 to the GrizzlyBearSims YouTube Channel in a new feature segment I’m calling “The Grind”. Episodes of “The Grind” will feature my CMS18 game play as I progress through the various levels on my career profile. Essentially starting at the very beginning and working my way through the various levels by earning $$$ (hopefully lots of $$$$$$) and XP points (experience points). No Cheating!!!
The first episode will find me about 3 hours or so into my game play. Yes, I’m doing my best to save you from watching me fumble around with the new controls and features of the CMS18 game play. Yes, there are some major differences between both the look and feel, but also functionality with the updated game. But I’ll discuss some of these, point out a few tips I’ve learned along the way and hopefully deliver episodes in the 30-45 minute range once or twice per week.
As I progress through the game play and open up the auction and the brand new features of barn finds and junk yard, I will create a new playlist for these complete restoration projects. I must admit that I really enjoy stripping an auction purchase all the way down, rebuilding with 100% new or rebuilt parts and selling for profit. These special projects videos will include all the steps from initial purchase all the way through the rebuild process.
Now as I stated at the top of the article, there are some bugs in the game. From what I understand, the dev teams are working hard to eliminate these bugs and also bring about some of the promised functionality. In addition, the devs are also hard at work on optimizing the game for performance reasons. I’ve owned the game for approx. a week and in this span of time much progress has been made in correcting bugs and improving the overall performance of the game. More still needs to be done, but the devs are committed and making excellent progress.
Geez…sometimes you have to wonder if all this is really worth it……
It’s been brought to my attention that someone using the name or handle of GrizzlyMan has been doing some pretty despicable things with various Farming Simulator mods (including maps) and re-uploading them to various mod hosting sites including modhub. One specific example has to do with the Hobbs Farm map. Grizzlyman made some edits, created lots of errors and then re-uploaded Hobbs Farm (calling it Texas Dedication of Hobbs Farm) to modhub.
One of my viewers contacted me about this and wanted to bring it to my attention. Note: My viewer DID NOT accuse me (GrizzlyBearSims) and GrizzlyMan as being one in the same person. He was simply bringing this to my attention and simply mentioned some could get confused. Especially since I’m originally from Texas and proud of it.
My internet persona or identity is GrizzlyBearSims. With exception to just a few forums where where I may go by FarmingSimJT, my YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, PC-SG, 3DudesGN and of course my own website/blog site are all branded as GrizzlyBearSims. While I’m not opposed to having my real identity revealed…I prefer to just do everything related to my simulation gaming hobby handled under my branded name of GrizzlyBearSims.
Of course, those who know me…know that I rarely do any modding and again….those who really know the real me, also know that I would never sink to the levels of those who steal from our modding community and violate their wishes by uploading to these dreadful websites. In addition, while I’ve heard about the Hobbs Farm map, I’ve never downloaded it, never installed it and have never played it. The only connection I have with the Hobbs Farm map is to be a member of the Hobbs Farm Facebook community.
I don’t know who GrizzlyMan is (also goes by Grandpa Grizzly) and truth be known, I don’t care to know him. I (Jerry) do not have any sort of trademark or exclusive use to the word “Grizzly”, but I could see where someone might confuse the two of us.
Anyway….I just wanted to write something stating my case and placing it into the interwebz so hopefully there will no confusion going forward.
So I return to work on Monday morning (10 July) after having spent 10 wonderful, relaxing days on vacation. Over half of this time off was spent near Estes Park, Colorado and the beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park. This was a much needed, highly anticipated and just honestly what any doctor could have ordered break for both my wife and I. The last few months have been tough on both of us and I honestly think we began counting the days down to this get-away back in the early spring timeframe.
Between meetings on Monday morning, I decided to catch up on a few of my fellow YouTube friends and the videos they released while I was on vacation. My friend Farmer Klein was the first name that popped up in my list of video recommendations and I noticed the video title was “Old Guy Farmers Single Player Challenge”. Challenge??? What’s this about seemed to be thoughts that entered in my mind. Obviously I know who Old Guy Farmer is…that’s Mr. Jerry Ott who created the wonderful Mountain Valley Farm map which I’m currently running a “Let’s Play” series on. If interested, you can follow my progress on my Mountain Valley Farm series on YouTube.
Anyway…back to this challenge. I watched with excitement as Farmer Klein started game day 1, episode 1 of the special Goldcrest Valley Edit map which Jerry Ott had designed specific for the challenge. As more minutes passed, I began thinking…I want to do this. I want to play this map and I want to participate in the challenge. I quickly read through the rules/guidelines of the challenge….”Must Use Seasons Mod” Ok…that’s good as I just simply can’t play (nor am I interested in playing FS17 without the Seasons Mod. “Game mode must be set on Hard”. OK..that is also OK as I’m playing on MVF set to Hard mode. “Game play time must be set to x15 speed and can only skip time from 9pm to 6am” That’s also just fine. “Game play must be streamed on YouTube or Twitch” This is also great because I’ve really been wanting to stream my FS17 game play more. Etc. etc. I’ll let you read the rules/guidelines at your own discretion.
While I did say several months ago I had no interest in playing another GCV edit map, on Monday afternoon I downloaded the GCV edit challenge map and fired up OBS and kicked off episode one (of 72 total episodes) of this challenge series. Yes…you did read that correct. This series will consist of 72 episodes as each episode will be precisely one game day (6 AM ish to 9 PM ish). 72 days is what 3 Seasons Mod years, set to 6 game days per season calculates to. Yes, this is a major undertaking…but I have until 1 November. There’s a lot of time between now and 1 November! Right? Right????
I’ll admit, my game play during episode 1 certainly was not my finest hour. I must have appeared as if I was a nube to Farming Simulator 17 or perhaps even a nube to simulation based gaming altogether. I really do have over 500 hours of game play recorded in FS17 (and over 700 in FS15) and I’ve been using the Seasons mod since early January.
The truth is, I completely underestimated the stress in knowing that from the moment you enter the game, time is ticking away at a fairly fast pace (game play set to x15). An entire game day (6 AM to 9 PM) passes by at near light speed in just over an hour. As most of my viewers know, I farm at a fairly relaxed pace and I may spend a few minutes painstakingly comparing tractor specs before making a decision (or no decision at all). In this challenge, TIME is definitely of the essence.
Long Story Short….so yes…GrizzlyBearSims took the challenge and I’ll do my level best to not only survive the challenge, but also complete it and also try equally hard to win it. While the rules are clearly defined, I’ve made the decision to follow my own guideline of “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right” way of doing things. Meaning even though time is quickly speeding by, I won’t take shortcuts…I’m not going to drive through my crops etc. I’m plowing fields, applying fertilizer, cultivating, seeding and then fertilizing again. Regardless of the outcome, FUN is the absolute number one priority for each episode.
While I don’t believe it’s too late for others to take part in this challenge, if you are interested in participating…please visit this website for complete rules and information. But don’t wait too long as while on paper there are many days between now and 1 November…trust me, before you know it…summer will be over and just remember, time is of the essence.
For my wonderful friends/viewers of the GrizzlyBearSims YouTube Channel, Are you interested in winning your very own copy of the Giants Farming Simulator 17 Platinum Expansion Pack DLC? I’m gifting a copy to three lucky winners of this expansion pack (via Steam) at the end of the challenge. All you need to do to enter, is watch my livestreams (either live or via YouTube recorded playback) and listen for me to provide the daily code word. Each episode will have a unique code word which I’ll verbally announce during the game play. Once you hear the code word, just follow the information I’ve outlined to enter. You can view these contest guidelines and how to submit the code word on the GrizzlyBearSims Discord Channel. You can enter up to 72 times, pending you watch (and listen) for the code word. Obviously, the more episodes you watch, the better odds you’ll have at winning. I’ll do the drawing and notify the winners on Sunday, 6 November.
