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!
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.
Would you like to see Cattle and Crops available to purchase on Steam. CnC has created a Steam Greenlight program and needs your help. Please take a few minutes and vote YES.
By voting YES, you’ll help convince Steam to allow Cattle and Crops to be added to the Steam gaming library.
It didn’t really take long. By Friday evening I had pretty much decided that I would sign up and support the Cattle and Crops Kickstarter campaign. I guess it was a combination of several things. First, as I stated earlier in the week….Cattle and Crops caught my attention from the very first minute I learned about them. Second, the gameplay trailer they released on Friday convinced me this was more than vaporware and third…I guess I didn’t want to be the “odd-man” out come Spring 2017 when they plan to release an early access version. Anyway, I pledged the $49 dollar level which includes the Season Pass for 1 year. After more research (and some viewer feedback) I determined the season pass wasn’t a “Pay for play” scheme, but just another way of marketing and packaging DLC. Bottom line is I’m excited.
The Kickstarter campaign (as of Saturday, 1 October) has 1,340 backers and has raised $68,178 towards their goal of $84,298. With just over $16,000 to go, I have no doubt this Kickstarter campaign will be funded. While I’ve backed other projects via Kickstarter campaigns, this will be the first software project I’ve participated in. I’ll be sure to post updates as more news is made available and of course I’ll provide a full review of the early access version once it has been made available sometime in the Spring of 2017.
If you want more information on the Cattle and Crops Kickstarter campaign, please visit their Kickstarter website. Additionally, I also invite you to join the PC-SG Simulation Gaming Community. We’ve already started conversations regarding Cattle and Crops and invite you to join in.
A brand new Cattle and Crops Gameplay Trailer was released today. If you’ve been holding onto your pennies in anticipation of the new Cattle and Crops farming simulation game releasing this year versus pre-ordering Farming Simulator 17, then go ahead and place that pre-order for FS17 TODAY! Cattle and Crops will not….I repeat, WILL NOT release in 2016. Yes…this is disappointing news. But in the past few hours we’ve learned a lot about who’s behind Cattle and Crops and a much better idea regarding their plan.
First, please direct your attention to the brand new game play video which was released today.
I must admit, I’m still mostly captivated by what I see from Cattle and Crops (CnC). For me, this has been the case from the very first video they released. However, it’s all starting to make a little more sense to me. Just as I mentioned earlier in the week when I posted the CnC news regarding the upcoming gameplay trailer, we haven’t heard much from CnC and I had started to hold little faith that we would see this game title actually release in 2016 despite what they stated on their website. The software business (including the gaming world) is all about marketing. We’ve heard practically nothing from CnC compared to GIANTS and their upcoming release of FS17. But again, it’s all making sense now.
I do applaud the CnC folks for not rushing this product out the door. If it’s not ready….then it’s not ready! While I’ve often thought the whole CnC concept was vaporware (not real, just a hoax) I’m now convinced this is an actual product/concept and I will continue to follow its progress. But we still have many unanswered questions. In my opinion, wonderful graphics is only part of what goes into a true simulation based game. The short gameplay trailer really didn’t demonstrate anything more than that. Time will tell just how much focus they have dedicated to produce a more realistic simulation versus an arcade experience.
The Cattle and Crops website has been updated to include much more detail regarding CnC, the people behind CnC and the future plans (including the Kickstarter campaign). Please visit the Cattle and Crops website for more information. When you view the actual Kickstarter page (and I hope you do), please pay close attention to what they are calling “Season Pass”. You’ll find this starting at the €44 level. I really don’t know what this means, but it looks like….sounds like…some sort of subscription “pay for play” model???
In closing, I don’t need to worry about my attention being pulled away from FS17 later this Fall or early Winter. As I’ve stated, I pre-ordered FS17 a few months ago and am looking forward to sinking my teeth into all that is new and different. At this time I’m undecided if I’ll participate in the Kickstarter campaign. I’d really like to better understand what they are attempting to achieve with what they are referring to as a “Season Pass”. I’m certainly not a cheapskate, I support GIANTS (and others) by purchasing most DLC made available for their titles. My advice to CnC is scrap the “Season Pass” concept and just produce affordable, quality DLC (like GIANTS) but please don’t become another Train Simulator.
Until next time…
Happy Farming!
Jerry
P.S. In the long run, it’s probably very smart for CnC to delay their release until the Fall of 2017. After all, at that point FS17 will be a year old and unless GIANTS changes their highly predictable release schedule, FS19 will be a long one-year away. This could mean the audience (you and I) will be ready to try something new. If CnC is successful in accomplishing all they hope to accomplish, it should also drive FS19 to be that much better.
