As I type this blog article on 28 September 2016, we are less than one month away from the release of Farming Simulator 17. Giants will release Farming Simulator 17 on 25 October. The ability to Pre-order (with incentives) is currently still available. Just about everyone I know have either already pre-ordered FS17 or have committed to making the move. Actually most everyone I know, while certainly reserved regarding the true differences between FS15 and FS17, are actually pretty excited about the new release. I actually fall into this category as well. While I’m trying very hard not to get my hopes up, I am still excited about the changes I’ve seen and read about.
Again, as I’m typing out the words in this article, some farming sim enthusiasts are still actually weighing the value of Farming Simulator 15 and its DLC packages. A fellow FS15 gamer posted a question in the Steam discussion groups asking for opinions if “it really made sense” to purchase the FS15 DLC he is currently missing in his collection. He recognizes the cost of the missing DLC (he confirms to own the Gold Edition) exceeds the price of FS17, but still wants to know if it is really worth it.
There is a saying (at least in the US) that goes like this. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. Said in another way, what is valuable to one individual, may not hold the same value to another. By the way, I’m certainly not calling FS15 DLC trash. I actually responded to this individuals question with the following statement “I think you are the only person who can really answer this question”. I went on to add some additional content to my answer, but really the true answer is defined in that first statement.
Earlier this week I sort of touched on the economy of the video game market in a post I wrote about the new Schwarzmuller Trailer Pack DLC for ETS2. I explained how the initial purchase of a game like ETS2, ATS or FS15 somewhat covers the developers cost to bring that title to market, but DLC sold along the way continues to keep the lights on and provides further motivation and financial support for future work. This is certainly the case for the DLC we’ve seen released by Giants for FS15. Each Farming Simulator version (13, 15, 17) are unique and unlike in the Flight Simulation market where you may have purchased an add-on for FSX 10 years ago AND that same add-on (or a slightly updated one) can be used for Prepar3D with no extra cost just isn’t the case. The best we can hope for is DLC equipment sold for FS15 (like the JCB as an example) would be part of the default equipment list in FS17. But more about this in just a minute…
Value of FS15 Today
As I previously stated, most everyone I know is truly excited about the upcoming release of Farming Simulator 17 on 25 October. The anticipation of this release has actually caused me to have a renewed interest in FS15. I’m going to announce in a few days a new project I’ve started. In a nutshell, it’s about limited game play on YouTube. But the excitement around FS17, does actually have me playing FS15 a bit more than I had been playing in recent months. However, even though I’m excited about the release of FS17, I also know that while FS17 will most likely dominate my virtual farming efforts….I’m not entirely sure I’ll immediately pull the plug on FS15.
On 25 October (the day FS17 officially is released) there will be absolutely no mods available. Mods that I hold very near and dear in my game play such as Drive Control, Courseplay, Auto-Combine and others will not be available for FS17. Most likely, dates on the October calendar labeled as 26 October, 27 October, 28 October etc. will be just like 25 October. Oh…I’m sure there will be some mods which were originally developed for FS13 which were converted for FS15 which will once again be converted to FS17 start to appear. But, I personally believe many days (perhaps weeks) and in some cases a few months may pass before we see our must have mods available. The main reason for this is the folks that develop a mod like Courseplay will not see FS17 until we all see FS17. Another saying which I believe applies here goes like this….”Good things come to those who wait”
FS15 DLC in FS17
Even at this late date we don’t know all the equipment which will be available as default/in-game equipment when FS17 releases next month. Giants has certainly done an outstanding job in building the suspense all the way to release day. What we do know however, is much of the JCB equipment which was sold in the FS15 JCB DLC will be available in FS17 as default equipment. It’s still unclear regarding the New Holland DLC pack and the Holmer DLC packs. But if I were a betting man, I would say these will also be included (or most will be included). In time, Giants will develop and release brand new and exciting DLC for FS17 and the cycle continues.
Bottom Line
For some, it may be worth picking up FS15 DLC (even in this late stage) to continue to broaden and enhance game play in FS15. For those on PC, I might suggest you look into mods…but that of course is a different story with the console platform. October 25th really is just around the corner. But if we reflect back on our childhood memories, the weeks, days and hours leading up to Christmas morning also seemed like eternity. But really….the value of FS15 DLC at this point in time is truly in the eye of the beholder.
I’m sure you must know the struggle each of us have when just starting out on a new map. Especially if you are itching to get started with livestock. Of course I’m talking about the lack of having any hay or straw on day one. First we must harvest the wheat or barley crop, then rake and either bale or pickup the straw with a forage wagon. In so many cases we don’t have these pieces of equipment when just starting out and equally we lack the funds to purchase them.
Finally…someone has developed the Buy Bales mod which (just as the name implies) allows for the purchase of straw or hay bales from the store. As the mod description reads, you can choose either straw or hay bales and they will appear stacked at the vehicle shop, these bales will function as any bale made with a baler. The purchase of bales include either 8 straw bales or 8 hay bales. These are available under the Misc category. The cost for 8 straw bales is $6,200 and 8 hay bales is $9,600. The rental mod seems to accept these as rentable…but of course that shouldn’t be the case.
My Feedback
It’s unfortunate this mod is coming out in the final weeks before Farming Simulator 17 is due to be released. This mod could very well be one of the more important mods a virtual farmer should consider and it’s been seriously lacking in game play. After all, we as farmers can sell our straw and hay bales, why haven’t we been able to purchase them?
Now at first glance you may think “Wow that seems expensive”! Well….let’s break it down. In looking at the straw bales, 8 bales for $6,200 comes out to $775.00 per bale. If I’m not mistaken, bales when sold by us farmers earn around $600-650 (I’m guessing from memory, but don’t think I’m far off). So yea…there is a price difference. But this would be expected as when we sell a hay bale, we are selling at wholesale prices, but purchasing at retail. That’s business!
The only negative comments I have toward this mod is A. It shouldn’t be rentable. B. Perhaps it should be deliverable. When you purchase a stack of hay or straw bales, you must retrieve them from the store versus having them reset to the farm. Perhaps the mod could be expanded upon to offer two different types. One being slightly more expensive to cover the delivery/stacking charge. The only reason I’m suggested this is because the beginner farmer may not have all the necessary equipment to efficiently move the 8 bales from the shop to the farm.
How can I get this mod?
The Buy Bales mod is located here. I have personally downloaded, installed and tested this mod. The mod works and I use it on all my maps.
As discussed just a few days ago, I started a new map (new to me) called Oklahoma. I have been looking for some time for a map which would fit a farm based in Eastern Colorado and my search results have never been fruitful. While the Oklahoma map is based in Oklahoma, the map (including soil textures) could also be located in far eastern Colorado in what is known as the Five State Region. This region is one of the largest producers of feed grains and livestock in the United States. In addition to the typical crops of corn, barley and wheat, this area also produces large amounts of alfalfa and sorghum. This is exactly how I plan to run this map.
Please note: All photographs are credit to the mod author and obtained directly from the American Eagles Modding website.
The Map
Again, this is a 4x map with large fields (51 fields in total) with the largest field at 500+ acres and the smallest about 7 acres. For those of you who are not fans of forestry, trains, missions and don’t want to earn fast money with a BGA, then this map may appeal to you. The Oklahoma map is about farming and ranching, as a result you’ll really need some massive equipment to keep (and help) to stay on top of it all. While this map would be a great map for multiplayer, it can also be farmed solo with the aid of CoursePlay. I plan to farm it solo and will rely (not heavily) on CoursePlay to assist me. After all, a farm this size would employ many employees.
It appears the Oklahoma map was released several months ago and has been updated to version 2. I typically try to stay away from newly released version 1.x maps as these will frequently have bugs and when new versions are released to address these bugs it may require a full restart of the map play. While I’ve done this in the past, it certainly isn’t the desired action.
Starting Equipment
I’ve played many large 4x maps in the past and some start you out with either a large amount of equipment or as in the case of Graceland, a large sum of money. The Oklahoma map is slightly different as you take ownership of the main farm and own three fields (Fields 1, 2 and 3) which have already been planted and are ready for harvest. The starting equipment you’ll find waiting for you are two Case IH Axial-Flow 9230 Combines complete with large grain and corn headers. One MAN TGS 18.440 Truck with the Krampe SB 30/60 Tipper. Finally you have one white pickup (Piqup) to help you move around the large farm.
No, I didn’t leave anything out. As you are starting out you don’t own any tractors, plows, sowing machines, balers, forage wagons etc. The idea is you’ll need to get your crops harvested and sold and then begin adding additional equipment as needed. The rental mod may prove to be your best asset as you begin building your farming empire.
Map Strategy
There are many ways to tackle the initial strategy for making a living on a new map. In most cases the need to purchase new equipment, upgrade existing equipment and purchase additional fields are high on the priority list. Maps which include forestry, missions or a BGA can certainly aid in the fast-track process. However, as previously stated the Oklahoma map offer none of these. I view this as a positive change from the standard maps. As I would frequently use the BGA to quickly build up my cash-on-hand, not having the BGA is making me re-think my strategy.
All 51 fields have been planted and are ready to harvest when you start a new game. As a result, I’ve turned off plant withering and also I’m not using soilmod with this map at this time. My initial strategy has been to harvest crops from my three owned fields (wheat, sunflower and corn). With the wheat crop, I set the harvester to leave the swath and after selling the first few loads of wheat I had enough cash to rent a tractor and large forage wagon. I picked up enough straw to fill the mixing station and managed to place into storage over 500,000 liters. The rest I sold to help generate more cash-on-hand for rental purposes. Next I proceeded to rent a large John Deere 9630, cultivator and Air-Seeder so I could replant the harvested fields.
With regards to the ready to harvest fields which I don’t currently own. Most maps I’ve played which featured already planted crops in un-owned fields, I’ve just left alone until such time I could afford them. With this map, at least in the early stages I’m going to harvest the crops on behalf of the bank with the intention of purchasing afterwards.
Livestock, Livestock, Livestock
The Oklahoma map is really geared towards raising livestock including cows, sheep, pigs, chickens and horses. At the start of game play, you already own a few head of each and all animal types have the necessary feed items available to them. Of course, this won’t last long so it will be important to get started quickly stockpiling straw, grass, chaff (for silage) and get the mixing station processing TMR. To get a jump start, I rented the necessary equipment. I picked up the straw from the wheat harvest using the large forage wagon. I rented the Krone Big X and the EasyCollect header and managed to fill both silage bunkers to 100% (still had corn left in the field) and then rented mowing equipment and managed to collect approx. 250,000 liters of grass. Again, I plan to run a large amount of livestock on this farm and slowly getting everything in place.
Oklahoma also offers fattening of animals including chickens, calves, pigs and horses. The last map I played which offered fattening of animals seemed to have an issue with the way the fattening and selling process worked. Basically when you made your initial purchase of animals (example 10 calves), then once these were fattened and ready for slaughter you still had the original 10 animals. It appears with the Oklahoma map, that once they reach slaughter weight and you sell the animal, then the total animal count is reduced.
Manual Operations
Most maps I’ve typically played have offered built in augers for loading stored materials such as grass, straw, silage etc. Oklahoma offers none of that. It’s all done manually with either a portable auger or front end loader. I’ve found a new portable auger which I’ll review soon. I’m sure it will come in handy on this map.
Summary
I’ve spent about 10-12 hours or so on the Oklahoma map. I really enjoy it. I don’t tend to farm multiple maps simultaneously, so I figure Oklahoma should keep me busy (and entertained) until Farming Simulator 17 releases. While I don’t plan to document each and every day on Oklahoma, I will occasionally provide updates and details on how I’m playing this map. If you are looking for a challenge, give Oklahoma a look. Good luck!
It’s been a while since I’ve released a mod review for Farming Simulator 15. I had just about decided not to release any additional FS15 mod reviews as we are less than two months from the release of FS17. But I also believe many will continue to use FS15 for some time and may benefit from these reviews. As a general rule, I really only write mod reviews for mods which I use. But this works towards your advantage as you can be certain the mod truly works. As I’ve started farming another large 4x map, I have several new pieces of equipment queued up to test and review in the coming weeks. I think you’ll like what I have planned. Finally….YES, I will be reviewing FS17 mods as they become available and as I need them in my farming efforts. As with all my mods, you can find my complete list here.
There are many reasons why we choose to use mods in our games. While Giants has done an outstanding job in providing a variety of default equipment in Farming Simulator 15, a lot of this equipment has more of a European look/feel to it. If you are striving for an “As Real As It Gets” experience and you are also farming on a map set in the USA then this newly discovered 48’ Dakota Spread Axle trailer might just be the thing you are looking for.
I’ve started farming on a brand new (new to me) 4x map called Oklahoma. I know….I know….for anyone who knows me, you know I’m a native Texan living in Colorado. As most native Texans will agree…Oklahoma and Texas have a rivalry that goes back many, many years. Anyway, I was looking for a new map….I wanted a larger map and one that was set in the USA. While the Oklahoma map is situated in the state of Oklahoma, it could also be just about anywhere else (including eastern Colorado). I will release an in-depth review of the Oklahoma map for FS15 in the next few days.
As you can see from the screenshot below, the 48’ Dakota sells for $45,750 (rental price of $152 per hour) and carries a maintenance charge of $75 per day. The capacity of the trailer is 47,572 liters.
These trailers are CoursePlay friendly and work well when using the auger wagon or hauling grain to market. They might be a tad long when using to empty a combine directly as the turning radius is quite large.
They attach well to the default MAN truck. However, I noticed an issue when testing with the default Tatra Phoenix. I’ve tested with other trucks including the International Transtar II (shown below) which I use in my farming operations on the Oklahoma map..
The trailer has a few interesting pieces of eye-candy including a folding ladder, top cover and even Oklahoma license plate.
How can I get this mod?
The 48’ Dakota Spread Axle Trailer 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 spent some time in my lazy-boy recliner on Monday evening doing a little reading on the highly anticipated release of Farming Simulator 17. As I recently pointed out, the summer of 2016 (like most summer months) has been really busy for me. I’ve just not had time to spend gaming and when I don’t game….well I also don’t have much time to blog either. Of the simulation based games I frequently play (when I have time) I must admit it is Farming Simulator which is one I really enjoy and I think the reason for this is because it is not just one dimensional. Meaning, with American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2…the task at hand is driving a truck. With Train Simulator the task is driving a train and with Flight Simulator….Ok…you get my point. Now…please understand that I do enjoy each and every one of those sims. I also realize each of those do offer a great deal of variety in the types of trucks, trains and aircraft which can be operated. But the general premise is still one dimensional.
While Farming Simulator can certainly be one dimensional if that is how one desires to play it. Of course, in the early stages of a new map the game play is often devoted to just farming (planting, harvesting, sell, rinse/repeat). But as your farm/map gets rolling there’s plenty of other things to do including animal husbandry and even logging. Yes…yes…I know. The element of logging might be a short stretch with regards to connecting it to farming. I’ll also be honest and say that until I purchased my Logitech joystick and figured out how to get both the wheel/pedal AND joystick all working together, I absolutely hated logging. By the way, I recorded a YouTube video documenting how I managed to get it all working in Farming Simulator 15. Even without a joystick, a chainsaw and this modded woodchipper can help earn some good money and help remove some of those trees which always seem to get in your way. But hey….this blog post isn’t supposed to be about any of this.
The countdown to the release of Farming Simulator 17 is on everyone’s mind (including mine). If you are a Farming Simulator fan, then you know FS17 is expected to release on 25 October 2016. In early March of this year, I typed up a Top 10 wish-list of sorts for what I had hoped FS17 would include. Once FS17 has been released and I have a few hours with the game, I’ll certainly compare notes between my wish-list and FS17. But….from what I’ve been reading several of the items I called out may have been addressed. We already know FS17 will include more crop and animal types to the base game. Of course, with mods the sky is the limit and our friends who play Farming Simulator on a console platform will finally (with the release of FS17) have mod support.
As I mentioned at the top of this article, I spent some time relaxing in my Lazy-Boy recliner on Monday evening. With laptop in my lap, I began reading the over 40 pages in the FS17 Feedback thread on the official Farming Simulator Forums. Through the 40+ pages, the topic of conversation which began on 28 July 2016 is for the purpose of comments and feedback related to the screenshots, videos and other information officially released by Giants. While representatives of Giants have occasionally posted answers to questions and feedback to opinions, I only found a few examples of this. By the way, the links to the feedback thread are for the English language section. I’m told Giants may be a little more responsive in the German language section. As I don’t speak German…that does me no good. However, there is still a lot of good information in the English language section.
Some details I learned pointed me to the Giants Farming Simulator Facebook page. On the Notes page, I found information regarding the “New Environment” including the new North American themed map which is set in the Pacific Northwest of the US (Washington State). While I’m not that excited about finding and collecting the gold coins (I know some of you are), I am really interested in what Giants has described as interacting with local businesses, farmers and residents. While the missions in FS15 were fun in the beginning…I always felt more could be done other than just moving a pallet around or mowing. From the sounds of things, the new Mission System in FS17 will certainly be more interesting as we’ll have the opportunity to earn money by performing tasks on fields we currently don’t own. That’s pretty cool!
2017 – The Year of Farming
2017 is certainly shaping up to be the year of farming. In addition to the Giants release of Farming Simulator 17, we also have other “Farming” themed titles slated for release this fall. Of course, Cattle and Crops is the one at the top of my watch list. Of the “17 or 2017” branded titles, Professional Farmer 2017 was the first to release earlier this year. I sampled it by watching a few YouTube videos and quickly realized I would just keep my pennies in my pocket. Professional Farmer 2017 is available from Steam for $19.99
Next on the list is Farm Expert 2017. It’s been available as a pre-release beta but now has been officially released as of 1 September. I watched several videos and while I think it shows some promise I personally don’t plan to purchase at this time. Many of the reviews seem to point to issues which were present in the pre-release and didn’t get fixed in the full version. From what I have read (and seen), Farm Expert 2017 is more about the actual “Farm Management” versus farm equipment driving simulation. But having said that, I’m certainly going to keep my eye on this title and see how it progresses over time. Farm Expert 2017 is available via Steam for $19.99.
Pure Farming 17 is one I just recently learned about. They have a website and Facebook page with a few published videos. But unless I’m mistaken, the videos appear to be CGI and not actual recorded game play. The release is slated for early 2017.
Finally, Cattle and Crops. Some speculated Cattle and Crops was nothing more than a hoax. I suppose that could still be the case, but other than being excited about FS17, I’m also holding out some excitement for Cattle and Crops. It could still prove to be vaporware….but from all that I’ve read and seen about this new entry, it has all that we love about FS15 and all that we want FS17 to be rolled into one. Like Farm Expert 2017, Cattle and Crops is also supposed to be more than just a farm equipment driving simulation. But really who knows? Cattle and Crops, if you are reading this…why are you not pushing more videos, screenshots and general information out?
Final Thoughts
I’m just speaking for myself here. While I’m already committed to purchase Farming Simulator 17 (pre-order via Steam), I plan to just carefully and cautiously watch the other titles. I really don’t have an interest in owning and playing multiple farm sim games. Meaning, if I felt confident Cattle and Crops, Pure Farming 17 or Farm Expert 2017 had what it takes to beat Farming Simulator 17, then most likely one of those two titles would replace FS17 for me. But as it certainly stands today….I feel pretty confident in saying that FS17 will be enough of an improvement over FS15 to justify the cost and FS17 will become my “Farm Simulator” title once it is released.
However, if anyone from Cattle and Crops, Pure Farming 17, Professional Farmer 2017 or Farm Expert 2017 is reading this. This blog site averages around 4,500 – 5,000 page views per month. I’d be more than happy to write an honest review based on game play if you care to contact me.
As I’m traveling the next few days this will be the last blog post until mid-September.
I suppose I should never underestimate just how busy the summer months can be for me. The summer of 2016 has been no exception. While the US Labor Day holiday is officially behind us, and Labor Day is somewhat the official end of summer. I’m not 100% sure when things will slow down for me.
Since returning from our European vacation, I’ve been busy with business related travels and other projects. I did find some time over this past long weekend to enjoy some Farm Sim 15. I’m still farming on the Sosnovka map which was part of the FS15 Gold expansion pack. I figure I’ll continue with this map until Farming Simulator 17 is released. Speaking of FS17, I did pre-order a few months ago. I received an email from Steam which enticed me to pre-order to receive the Challenger MT700E Field Viper and the Valtra T-Series Cow Edition. (see below). I figured I would give FS17 a shot and didn’t want to miss out on these two free tractors.
The release date of FS17 is still over a month away (releases 25 October 2016) and while I’ve watched a few YouTube trailer videos, I’m still not 100% sure if we’re going to see anything that different between FS17 and the current FS15. Sure, FS17 will feature two new crops (sunflowers and soybeans) and one new animal type (pigs). But those of us who play FS15 on the PC platform have had those and more through the wonderful world of mods. Of course, the really big news with FS17 is now console players will get access to mods.
Here are a couple of YouTube videos showcasing FS17. But the big question I have regarding these videos. Are these actual game play or still CGI teasers?
While I didn’t own FS13, the move from FS15 to FS17 will be a new experience for me. Things like how long it takes for the mod developers to catch up will be a topic I’m keen on following. For example, Courseplay is one of my must-have listed mods. FS17 won’t be complete until Courseplay has been made available. Will the FS15 version (4.01) work in FS17? At one point I heard the Courseplay developers were on hiatus. Does anyone know if they are once again active?
Finally, I’m somewhat surprised the YouTube channel for Cattle and Crops has not been very active in recent weeks. With Giants releasing videos every few weeks (and less than two months to release) I would think Cattle and Crops would also be keeping us excited. But looks like the last video from Cattle and Crops was over 3 months ago.
I’ve been busy. Actually…that is a lie! I’ve been extremely busy. But this is just how the summer months are for me. Plus my wife and I are just a few weeks away from our European vacation. She and I both have jobs where we are the only individuals who do what we do. Meaning….we have no backup. We work extremely hard before a break or vacation and then work extremely hard once we return. Anyway…
Yesterday, Giants released a video preview (well they call it a trailer) for the upcoming Farming Simulator 17. When I first watched it, I had just come back from a two hour long meeting (that translates into two hours of wasted time which I’ll never get back) and I thought WOW….but then I realized it was all CGI or computer generated imagery. Sigh….
Like you, I’m excited about the release of FS17. I really am. While FS15 was my introduction to this franchise, I’ve read forum posts and blogs from frustrated fans who expected a lot more with FS15 than Giants delivered. So….I’m somewhat skeptical in exactly what FS17 will be when it releases towards the end of October.
FS15 is a great game. But it has issues. Will these issues be addressed in FS17? What is really new with FS17? These are valid questions but you won’t find the answers in the below preview. BUT….Giants is certainly willing to take your money now. Of course, we can speculate right?
From what I’ve seen, it looks like there could be a few new things with FS17 that wasn’t included in FS15 (at least without mods). It appears we will see a few new equipment brands in FS17. We may also see some new animals (perhaps pigs) and it looks like a few new crops may also be added. But these are all things that we had in FS15 through the modding community. But wait….I know folks who play on the console platforms don’t have access to mods. However, it appears this may be changing with FS17. “Among the many new features to be announced in the coming months for Farming Simulator 17, we are happy to unveil that modding support – which is exceptionally popular on PC – is making its grand debut on consoles!” WOW….this is great news for console gamers.
OK…I realize the end of October is still over four months away. But I’d really rather see video of actual game play instead of the CGI preview they released. Yes, the CGI stuff looks amazing. But I really, really, really doubt FS17 is going to look anything like this CGI preview. What will it look like? I think it will look like FS15, but hopefully slightly better.
Bottom line. I think console players will be over the moon with FS17. I think those of us on PC will be less impressed only because we’ve had access to mods all this time and we all know that mods are really what makes Farming Simulator beyond awesome.
Enjoy the preview. I’ve got to get back to work now.
I’ve recently started playing the wonderful Graceland map by NOR3MSTI (same map developer that created the States map). You can download version 4.x from American Eagles Modding. Anyway, much like his States map, Graceland is a large map. It represents your typical mid-west USA type farm operation. It’s BIG on farming and it’s BIG on animals. The map includes your typical chickens, dairy cows and sheep…but also includes the fattening operation for chickens, cows, sheep, pigs AND lamb. Graceland also sets itself apart from other maps I’ve played by including no equipment (other than the in-game pickup). In easy mode you start out with 10 million dollars, in normal 5 million and in hard mode 2.5 million. This blog article is starting to sound like a mod review for Graceland, I’ll do that at a later time.
In my own personal effort of “Realism through Simulation” I strive to do things as accurately as possible. Or at the very least as accurately as both FS15 and my limited knowledge of farming will allow. While I can harvest a field and turn around and direct seed it without taking the necessary time to cultivate it first, my “Realism through Simulation” effort tells me this is a cheap shortcut and not how I play the game. However, in my quest of “Realism through Simulation” I am not interested in using heavily modded equipment which breaks with realism. In other words, the 47.4m cultivator some use will not be seen anywhere near my farms. Finally, my criteria is also not so structured that I’m going to count the number of bolts and/or compare paint swatches. My mod criteria simply needs to be within a range of what would be seen in the real world and function well within the virtual world of FS15.
So in an effort to find a suitable cultivator to help me manage the large fields on the Graceland map, I searched several of the common FS15 mod sites. I began comparing what I could find versus real world data. The cultivator I chose (and the one I’m reviewing for you today) is the Bednar Strom Atlas AM 15m cultivator. Bednar Farm Machinery is a real world company based in the Czech Republic. While I could not find this exact cultivator model in the 15.5 meter width on their website (the largest in the AM class is 12 meters), but plenty of real world cultivators including John Deere, Case etc. are made in the 40-50 foot range.
Note: actually in conducting more research after the purchase and initial use of the Bednar, I have found a nice John Deere 50’ cultivator which I’ll test and possibly review later. If the JD model works as well as the Bednar (or better) then I’ll likely use the JD.
As you can see below, the Bednar can be purchased for $68,200 and costs $15/Day Maintenance. The required power is 257 kW/350 HP and has a working width of 15.5 meters.
At the time I conducted this review, all of my smaller tractors (NH T8’s and Case Magnum’s were busy doing other things) I had this massive NH T9 available so I paired it up with the Bednar cultivator. As you can tell from the image below, the Bednar is brand new and still clean. But that won’t last long.
This is field #2 which is typically planted in wheat. I had finished the harvest and picked up the straw yesterday.
Lots of wonderful dirt and dust animation. Plus the Bednar cultivator gets nice and dirty just as you would expect.
The Bednar cultivator pulls nicely behind the NH T9. But then again I would expect it. The cultivator handles nicely when driven in manual mode and also works well with CoursePlay.
The Bednar cultivator looks great when at work and when in transport back from the fields.
How can I get this mod?
The Bednar Atlas AM 15m cultivator mod is available here. I have personally downloaded, installed and tested this mod. The mod works and I use it on all my maps.
The end is here…after carefully planting, fertilizing, watching weather forecasts and monitoring soil conditions over the past several days…the day of harvest has finally arrived and I wrap up this five part practical soilmod workflow for Farming Simulator 15.
Did you play along? Were you successful? Did you fail? Regardless…do you think you can improve and do better next time? Or did you realize the soilmod is just too much?
I hope you’ll continue to use this wonderful mod. Remember, while I think there are plenty of lessons to be learned from each crop you plant, fertilize and harvest using the soilmod. I also firmly believe the soilmod provides us that “real life” unpredictability when it comes to harvest yields that regardless just how close you follow any plan the results will always vary. This is what keeps me playing this game over and over and over.
Thank you for watching, liking and subscribing. I appreciate it!
In part four, we once again review our overall soil conditions on the third day after planting our wheat crop on field #2 of the Graceland map for Farming Simulator 15. Just one more day until harvest!
Please return again tomorrow for Practical Soilmod Workflow Part 5.
