Before I get to the meat of this blog post, please take a few minutes to visit and SUBSCRIBE to my good friend Duckzorly Gaming’s YouTube channel. He produces excellent content on a variety of games including Farming Simulator 19, Two Point Hospital, Cities Skylines & Satisfactory. As I said, his content is some of the best on YouTube and if you’re not a subscriber, please do me a really big favor and click the Subscribe button. I assure you…you won’t be disappointed.
In addition, if you are anxiously awaiting the release of the upcoming Farming Simulator Platinum DLC (Claas DLC) then you’ll want to watch Duckzorly’s recent video release where he covers the history of the Claas company and provides a detailed preview of the upcoming DLC. DZ did an outstanding job researching and presenting the history of the Claas company and their evolution into one of todays leading manufacturers of agricultural machinery.
Farming Simulator 19 – State of the Game
I could literally fill pages and pages and even more pages on this blog site about my own views regarding the current state of Farming Simulator 19. However, much of how I feel is exactly how many of you already feel. As a matter of fact, Duckzorly released a video titled FS19 – State of the Game which if you haven’t watched it, YOU NEED TO! His thoughts, feeling and desires for future versions is 100% spot on.
Yes…I know! It’s almost one hour long. If you don’t have a full hour of time to watch in one sitting, then please pick it back up at another time. Duckzorly covers all the “Hot Button” topics which many of us have been discussing at great length in forums, discord etc. for many months. Please watch his video below and I’ll provide my final thoughts below.
My Final Thoughts
I’ve been playing the popular Farming Simulator since FS15. I absolutely fell in love with this game with the FS15 version. This love affair continued into FS17 as the game itself was made better with the addition of the Seasons Mod. During the late summer and fall of 2018, our excitement for what we believed would be FS19 was replaced with sadness, bitterness and dissatisfaction in a product and a developer who we’ve historically held in high regard.
As I stated earlier, I could fill pages and pages with hundreds and thousands of words regarding my own bitter experiences with FS19. While it’s better now than it was on release. My personal opinion is Giants simply don’t care. They seem to have their priorities mixed up and in less than one years time, we most likely will start to see information regarding the release of Farming Simulator 21. How will Giants tease us with FS21? Most likely with just a bunch of CGI illusions and snake oil but hopefully I’m wrong.
I’ll return shortly with more thoughts on Farming Simulator 19 and more, very soon.
I recently read a few comments on an FS19 Facebook Group. The comments were comparing FS19 with FS17 and basically the original commenter summed up FS19 as “finally being on par with FS17”. Of course, this individual was referring to the fact that in the last several weeks we’ve seen some truly awesome mods get released which have helped to narrow the gap between where we left off with Farming Simulator 17, to what we have now with FS19 and also the long awaited 1.3 patch. But I beg to differ with his opinion…as the delta between FS19 and FS17 is still fairly wide. Wide enough Evil Knievel might think twice before attempting a death defying jump on his trusty John Deere tractor.
Now before I wade off too deeply into this blog posting. Just allow me to state for the record that this is an opinion piece and most importantly, it’s MY opinion. As my blog postings do often appear on a few different forums…the opinions expressed here are my very own. With that out of the way, let’s lace up the boots and go wading into these weeds.
Vanilla Comparisons
I believe if you strip away all the mods from Farming Simulator 17 and also do the same with FS19, and conduct side-by-side comparisons in their vanilla or default states, Farming Simulator 17 would out shine Farming Simulator 19. While FS19 touted many enhanced features including horses, a dog and John Deere…to quote Shania Twain…”That Don’t Impress Me Much”. The horses are meh, the dog doesn’t really do anything (why can’t he ride in the back of my truck?) and I’ve had as much John Deere equipment I’ve ever could have wanted since my first intro to Farming Simulator with 15. Of course, I know those who play on consoles haven’t had that.
The one thing which (again…my opinion) narrows the divide between vanilla FS17 and FS19 is Cotton. While we’ve had modded cotton before, GIANTS have done it right (for the most part) and given us cotton and some equipment to work with it. Hopefully they will continue and give us even more.
The Patch
Many (even including myself) had hopes the 1.3 patch for FS19 was going to solve all the problems with the game and half of the problems in the world. While “the patch” did resolve an issue I had been having with my Logitech G27 controller and I suppose a few other issues, I still believe a vanilla FS19 is still lagging behind that of its predecessor. One of the many factors that drive this position is what my ears tell me. The sounds in FS19 just don’t seem to be on par with that of FS17. I’ve heard the reasons for this are due to a change up with the individuals who were part of GIANTS with FS17 were no longer there when FS19 was being developed. As I don’t have time right now to do a side-by-side comparison, I did find another YouTube whose ears are telling him the same thing mine are and here’s a video he made.
Light at the end of the Tunnel
Farming Simulator 19 was an absolute lemon for me for the first few months after release. As more mods were released including quality maps, Courseplay, Guidance Steering (GPS) and just a few weeks ago FollowMe showed up…it’s becoming once again apparent that it’s our wonderful modding community that will end up saving the day. I suspect by mid-summer (hopefully not any later) we’ll see the Seasons Mod show up which is expected to bring even more goodness to Farming Simulator than we had in FS17.
I’m really not sure why GIANTS (and they are not the only one) relies on the modding community to keep their franchise games propped up. As I’ve said before, if it wasn’t for the modding community…Farming Simulator would have already been uninstalled from my PC. While I’m not optimistic GIANTS will do anything about the sound issues I pointed out earlier, I can (and will) look past that once Seasons comes out.
The Microsoft Phenomenon
Perhaps all this can be likened to what I’m going to call the Microsoft Phenomenon. If we look back a decade or two, the various Operating Systems Microsoft have developed could resemble a rollercoaster with highs and lows along the route. Windows XP once service pack 3 dropped was a fairly rock solid OS, then along came Vista. As we made the turn and proceeded up the next hill along came Windows 7, but then we took another drop and fell with Windows 8. While Windows 10 is causing a few gray hairs in my professional life…we seem to be on the uphill once again.
So perhaps this is happening with GIANTS. Who knows…and I could go on and on and on…but GIANTS really needs to hit it out of the park with Farming Simulator 21 (if there will be such a thing). Farming Simulator is such a fantastic simulation game and truly has so much potential and I believe there’s no one better to drive this franchise forward than GIANTS. So….just do it already!
Happy Friday to all. This is the last Friday in the month of September which just brings us even closer to the 20 November release of Farming Simulator 19. Today I present to you the 4th installment of #FactSheetFriday and of course my overall opinions of what we’re seeing.
If you’re like me and found the #FactSheetFriday entries last week to be a bit boring, you’re not alone. Many of the folks I interact with felt the same way. I believe most will find this weeks version to most certainly be more exciting than last. Especially if you are as excited about harvesting cotton as I am. Let’s dive in.
We kick things off with a bit of the same old, same old with the Challenger MT800E Series tracked tractor. This was the tractor I was excited about in the early days of FS17. But simply due to the nature of how it handled with Courseplay, I eventually learned just not to even try. If you remember back to #FactSheetFriday week 1 (7 September) where we were introduced to the Fendt version of this tractor I once again felt hopeful. Time will tell…but at least we can say we’ll have a bit of variety for this type of tractor in FS19.
In addition, the Bednar cultivator shown attached to the Challenger is a 6m cultivator which will seed and fertilize and will require a tractor capable of 500HP. While I’m not sure if everything is purchased as one unit, according to the Bednar website the trailing unit is a Bednar Presspack which in the real world can either be used separately or combined with other equipment as shown in the photo.
Now we’re talking. The second photo released today by GIANTS in their #FridayFactSheet media promotion is the Case Cotton Harvester. Honestly, there’s a lot about FS19 which excites me….but this is at the very top of my list. The Case Cotton Harvester will feature a 6m working width and is capable of producing 20,000 liter cotton bales (or modules). While I realize we’ve had the ability to plant and harvest cotton since at least FS15 (with mods), this will be cotton done right and that excites me.
Finally we have the entry for the Case Maxxum Series tractor. But more importantly, we see the attached cotton bale (or module) trailer attached. While we have no specific information on this trailer, it would appear the large cotton bales are winched onto the trailer. As another virtual farmer posted on Twitter, this trailer may also be ideal for transporting a skid steer.
While this weeks #FactSheetFriday only contained three images and identified four pieces of equipment, simply because of the subject matter (cotton) I’m highly excited and like many, I’m counting down the days until the 20 November release of Farming Simulator 19.
Everything I’ve seen, everything I’ve read all indicate to me that GIANTS are moving the needles all in the right direction and doing their part to not only make their Farming Simulator franchise the best of all agricultural based simulations, but also keep it at the top for years to come. What more could we ask for?
I’m sorry…I’ve just been triggered by something. My friend Duckzorly spent some time during one of his recent Farming Simulator 17 Livestreams standing on his soapbox talking about the madness some in the FS community seem to be showing/exhibiting after it appears there will only be ONE (1) John Deere combine in FS19.
For the record, it wasn’t Duckzorly’s livestream video which triggered me to write this piece. Actually it was another video I stumbled on where the YouTube content creator just seems to be really upset, disappointed…but mostly upset with the fact that only one John Deere harvester has been announced for FS19. Really??? Geez dude….you really have your priorities out of whack and you need to take a chill pill STAT!
Patience Grasshopper
Let’s take a deep breath and try to put things into perspective. First, Farming Simulator 19 is the first of the long running agricultural based simulators by GIANTS to include John Deere in the base game. In other words, FS19 is the first to include an “officially licensed” John Deere piece of equipment in the base game. Something that many of us believed would never, ever happen.
Second to that point. We’re still two months away from the release of Farming Simulator 19. While I understand those who are studying the FS19 Fact Sheets are drawing conclusions that there will only be one JD combine in the game, we’re still two months away from release. So really…anything can happen.
Third, because this is the first time John Deere has been officially licensed into Farming Simulator, perhaps the John Deere company is taking a “wait and see” approach to determine what the next phase will be. Or perhaps it’s GIANTS who are taking the “wait and see” approach…or equal parts of both. Or…here’s an idea! Stop the presses…unfortunately I can’t say you heard it here first (as Duckzorly was the first I heard suggest this idea) that the usual DLC we see GIANTS release a few months down the road will be a John Deere themed DLC. From a marketing perspective…that right there ladies and gentlemen is a brilliant idea. Take my money now!!!
As it stands on Tuesday, 25 September…we’re getting six pieces of John Deere branded equipment. This includes one JD weight, one JD 7.6m grain header, one JD 6.0m corn header, one JD 8R series tractor and ONE JD T560 harvester. There appears to still be one (yet to be revealed) JD vehicle (believed to be the JD Gator) that has not been announced. If this is all the JD equipment we see on release day, then be thankful and shut up about it. In the days, weeks, months after release of FS19 the internet will be full of John Deere mods which may or may not work well for FS19.
Bottom Line
We all have opinions, complaints and plenty of hopes and dreams for what Farming Simulator will deliver to us on 20 November. Later this week (perhaps tomorrow) I’m going to share some of these with you and discuss whether or not GIANTS have lost the plot with the direction (or at least the perceived direction) they are taking FS19.
But until then, if you want to talk about Farming Simulator 19…join me as I say farewell to Farming Simulator 17 on an upcoming YouTube Livestream on the South Mountain Creamery map with Seasons. In the mean time, please consider also visiting my good friends and excellent YouTube content creators Duckzorly Gaming and Eustace Pharmer. If you’re not familiar with these two channels, you are missing out on some of the very best and family friendly Farming Simulator entertainment on the entire interwebz.
Remember! One John Deere combine is better than NO John Deere combine.
TGIF and welcome to another GIANTS #FactSheetFriday blog update from GrizzlyBearSims. Today is Friday, 21 September and we have four brand new fact sheets of equipment we can expect to see in Farming Simulator 19. FS19 is scheduled to release in less than two months. OK…if you are reading this on the day of release, it’s only one day less than two months. But hey….every day counts when we’re as excited as a child on Christmas morning right? Let’s get right into my review.
All the items featured in this #FactSheetFriday from GIANTS are all related to forestry. Before I dive in too deep, I must state for the record that forestry in Farming Simulator is not what keeps me coming back for more. Said in another way, while it does add other things to do…I wouldn’t be disappointed if at some stage GIANTS decided to remove it from the base game. And to be perfectly honest, one of the reasons I feel this way about the forestry concept is down to how poorly the timber handling characteristics have been in previous versions of Farming Simulator. Of course, my first experience came in FS15 and yes, things were a little better in FS17. I think time will tell just how much the game physics related to handling of logs, bales and pallets have improved in FS19. I’m just really thankful for auto-loading trailer mods which have really helped to improve my overall enjoyment.
Earlier this week we were treated to a video from GIANTS which featured the Komatsu Tree Harvester. It was a great video which compared real life footage and FS19 in game footage of this awesome tool. While I don’t do a lot of forestry, I’m looking forward to trying this piece of kit out on my virtual farm.
Next up is the Komatsu 875 Forestry Forwarder. I’m not real sure what’s up with those blue tracks as in looking at photos from the Komatsu website it appears the tracks are black. But never mind that.
Next up is the MAN TGX 26.640 Timber Truck.
Finally, the Steyr Profi CVT tractor and the Fliegl Long Neck Combi Plus timber handling attachment. I think we’ll just have to wait and see how beneficial this setup will be for our virtual logging efforts.
Final Thoughts
And perhaps a question to ponder. I’m as excited about FS19 just as much anyone else. But after viewing this #FactSheetFriday I’m somewhat left with a question. It appears the Komatsu equipment will be an addition to FS19 and the Ponssee equipment we’ve had in both FS15 and FS17 will stay. As the primary concept of the Farming Simulator franchise by GIANTS is about…FARMING! For no other reason than variety, I’m curious as to why the Komatsu equipment line is truly needed in the game?
Now this is what I’m talking about. I’ll leave you with a brand new video featuring gameplay footage of harvesting crops in FS19. Cotton…I can’t wait. Enjoy and thanks for reading.
We’ve officially reached the point in the calendar where GIANTS Software will begin releasing weekly updates on the quickly approaching release of their much anticipated (and hopefully not over-rated) Farming Simulator 19. Each week (or thereabouts) a #FactSheetFriday update will be available from GIANTS and will feature information and specifications on the over 300 vehicles and tools to be included in FS19. While I’m sure most of us just wish 20 November would hurry up and get here, I actually enjoy the way GIANTS pumps up the hype on their new updates.
As I’m in the process of easing back into producing Farming Simulator 17 content on my GrizzyBearSims YouTube Channel and after an almost three month hiatus, I plan to discuss many of the new features we can expect to see in FS19 and have decided to do much the same here on my blog site. So each week after GIANTS releases a new #FactSheetFriday announcement I’ll provide some opinion and discussion regarding what we’ve learned as we patiently await the release of Farming Simulator 19. I’ll try to release these on Friday (or as close as time permits). Today I’m enjoying my lunch while writing this posting for you. Finally, As I was on vacation last week when GIANTS released the first #FactSheetFriday, I’ll include both last weeks and this weeks announcement in this posting. Let’s get started…
#FactSheetFriday Week 1 – 7 September
GIANTS Software kicked off their popular #FactSheetFriday weekly updates by showing the first of four fact sheets on equipment we can expect to see in Farming Simulator 19 which releases on 20 November.
The first of the four fact sheets covers the AGCO IDEAL Combine Harvester and matching header. If memory serves me, the IDEAL Combine was one of the first images GIANTS published many months ago regarding equipment that might be included in FS19. She’s a beauty and will most certainly look great on your virtual farm.
The next image shows the Fendt 1100 MT and the Elmer’s Manufacturing HaulMaster large auger wagon. While I do like Fendt tractors, I’m certainly hoping this tracked version handles a bit better than the Challenger provided in FS17.
Next up is the Samson Slurry Tank and matching drip hose boom attachment. I think what excites me most about this entry will become a bit clearer in the next photo.
In the 4th image from #FactSheetFriday week 1, is of course the John Deere 8R series tractor and the Garant Field Container for slurry and digestate. If I had been a betting man, and someone offered a wager a year ago if I thought John Deere would ever make it into Farming Simulator, I would have said NO WAY! I’ve actually said “No Way” many times when folks asked my opinion. But…I would have lost that bet as GIANTS managed to pull it off and this is great news for all of us. Plus it’s not just the JD 8R we’ll see in game.
Final Thoughts
Of the four images featured in the first week of #FactSheetFriday it was hard to narrow the list down to one favorite. I can say that perhaps the one I’m least excited about is the Fendt tracked tractor and Elmer’s auger wagon. While I’ll certainly use them in FS19, we’ve had similar in FS17.
As for most excited, it’s a tie and for different reasons between the John Deere 8R and the Samson Slurry Tank. I know everyone fell over backwards when it was confirmed that John Deere would be in the game and yes…that’s absolutely fantastic news. But the reason I’m pleased about it is because while JD tractors are common mods for FS17, most of them are absolute junk. There are a few which both look and perform really well…but the vast majority are just junk. So having JD as an officially licensed partner to GIANTS should open the door for other models produced by GIANTS and this will be a good thing.
The Samson Slurry tank….I know…it’s main purpose is to spray liquid poo onto the field. How exciting can that be? If you look at the image just above, you see the boom reaching out from the slurry tank to the field container? Yep…that’s immersion folks and I like it.
#FactSheetFriday Week 2 – 14 September
Alright, so hot off the presses for the week ending 14 September Giants has once again teased us with four new fact sheets. These are all in the category of “Go Big, or Go Home” and you know how much I enjoy big time farming.
The first image shows the mighty Case Quadtrac and Wilson Pacesetter grain trailer. The Case Quadtrac has been one of my favorite “in game”pieces of equipment since FS15 and I am very much looking forward to tearing up some ground in FS19. I’m going to further discuss the Wilson trailer at the end of this section.
Image two shows off the Vaderstad Seed Hawk in all her glory. This will really help make quick work of what will hopefully be some massive fields to come to FS19.
Farming Simulator just wouldn’t be the same without some Grimme equipment and this isn’t the same old potato harvester we’ve had in FS15 and FS17. I look forward to growing some spuds and putting this girl through its paces.
The 4th and final image of the week two #FSF is the Hardi Rubicon 9000 self-propelled sprayer. While the sprayer itself isn’t all that exciting since we’ve had these types of equipment in previous versions…it’s the idea that this rig will spray herbicide products that will kill weeds. While the weeder in FS17 was cool for about 5 minutes, it really lacked immersion. Now that we have weeds that grow in our fields, this little sprayer is going to help you maximize your virtual profit like never before.
Final Thoughts
My final thoughts for the week two #FactSheetFriday announcement was fairly easy for me to rank from most excited to least excited. The Vaderstad kit and the Grimme are at the bottom of my list simply because we’ve had variations of both before. While I’m totally excited about controlling weeds on my virtual farms, it’s actually the Wilson grain trailer that truly has me excited and here’s why.
Until now, all the “in game” trailers all look European. While there are modded versions of the Wilson and other brands commonly seen around USA farming operations, much like the John Deere mods…they all seem to have issues. While I absolutely love mods and use a ton of them. The one thing we can be guaranteed of is the reliability of the Giants models and it’s that little point that has me excited about the Wilson grain trailers being added to FS19. Remember, key word immersion and they’ll look awesome on our US virtual farms.
Well there you go folks. Am I right or am I wrong in my opinion regarding these two #FSF announcements? What are you the most and least excited about? Leave a comment or join me on the GrizzlyBearSims Discord Server and we can talk about it.
Virtual Farmers…are you paying attention? There’s a whole lotta goodness coming our way this fall. Yes, Giants is set to release Farming Simulator 19 for PC, Mac, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 20 November 2018. The ability to pre-order your very own copy is available directly from the Giants website, Steam and even places like Amazon. At the present time, the going rate for FS19 is $34.99 on both the Giants website and Steam. Amazon appears to want $5.00 more with their price set at $39.99. If you want my advice, pick the Steam version and enjoy automagic updates and a carefree method of managing the install/licensing etc. But whatever purchase method you choose, I firmly believe the very best agricultural based simulator to date will be Farming Simulator 19.
Will you Buy FS19?
From all that I’ve read, from all that I’ve heard…Farming Simulator 19 will break a trend in which we’ve seen with past releases of this popular franchise. It’s been argued in the past that the differences between versions have been minimal at best. While I didn’t play FS11 or FS13, I did come onboard with FS15 after perhaps 2-3 months after initial release and of course I’ve played FS17 for over 800 hours. Personally speaking, when I look back and compare FS15 to FS17 I see the value in upgrading. After all, with FS17 we were introduced to the amazing Seasons Mod which truly changed the way FS17 is to be played and gave us a much, much higher level of immersion than we’ve had in previous releases. Yes…even including the Soil Mod which truly lifted the imaginative game play on FS15.
Going out on a limb
I’m going to go right ahead and crawl my big ole bear butt right out onto the limb and state for all to read….Farming Simulator 19 will be the very best agricultural based simulation ever released by Giants AND will be the very best of all of these genre based games currently available to us at this time.
My Excitement
I’ll admit I found the Missions/Contracting options in FS15 and FS17 somewhat boring after a while. I felt in FS17 more could have been done to make it more of a real job by allowing us to use our own equipment and also the ability to do tasks such as empty the combine. In FS17 the combine could hold an infinite amount of whatever and this sort of blew the immersion out of the water.
Yes, we will need to find a way to contain ourselves until 20 November. But I truly believe the extra few weeks we’ll need to wait will be 100% worth it. Want more info on FS19? The Giants website is always a good source, PC-SG will also have all the latest and greatest news and YouTube….There are a number of YouTube videos discussing all the wonderful new features FS19 will hold and I would expect we’ll all see preview videos from the usual suspects when they received their pre-release copies and showcase game play on their channels. So get that popcorn ready, get your farms all tidy and ready to sell on FS17 and draw a BIG circle around the 20 November date on the calendar and be prepared to work hard.
When one is bored in a hotel room and there’s basically not much worth watching on TV, I often find myself surfing the internet and catching up on news related to my favorite simulation based games. To my knowledge, the official release date for the much anticipated Farming Simulator 19 is only known to Giants. In other words, I’ve seen nothing official come from Giants regarding a release date. As I mentioned back in April in my posting titled “T-Minus Six Months and Counting…” history (based on previous releases) had me speculating that FS19 would release in the late October/early November time frame of this year. However….
Again…too much time on my hands (I think I recall some music lyrics in that sentence STYX????) anyway, while reading some Facebook postings I discovered this little tidbit of information on Amazon. Now before everyone gets excited….I have no idea if this is actually true and no idea of knowing if this is legit software. I remember hearing some stories about folks selling vaporware on Amazon and other sites and customers never received their games. But this states a release date of December 31, 2018 (New Years Eve).
I absolutely see no reason for anyone to rush out and purchase this. Even if you typically purchase the boxed versions versus Steam, I would suggest a “wait and see” approach on this and wait until Giants actually announces a release date. But hey…I’m stuck in a hotel room in Orlando and bored out of my skull….so I thought I would share my boredom with you all.
You know the saying, “hell will freeze over before” ______________ (insert what ever comment). Ladies, Gentlemen and Children of all ages….things are starting to get a bit chilly in the devils playground because I woke this morning to the news that John Deere will be included in Farming Simulator 19 due to release sometime this fall.
As I typed on Discord this morning, “It’s 5:20 AM, the hotel coffee is weak today…but OMG. History certainly was made today. John Deere and cotton. WOW…Just WOW. What exciting news. Now hopefully the next time we see anything regarding FS19 it will be actual game footage as I’m not a big fan of CGI”.
So I had my shower and I watched the trailer again. But I’m still not trusting things….on my way to the office I managed to get lost (briefly) then find myself, to get lost briefly again in search of coffee before finally making my way into the office. With a good, strong cup of coffee in hand (and pouring down throat) I watched the trailer one more time. Yep…it’s really, really true. John Deere is coming to FS19.
This is really awesome news. While I’m fully aware we PC users have always had JD green equipment to choose from, and pretty much every single map I’ve ever played (once I was introduced to mods) have had at least one green tractor or other green piece of equipment installed, not all John Deere mods are created equal. As a matter of fact, some of the poorest performing mods I’ve ever come across have been John Deere. So with Giants now having a license to distribute John Deere equipment in FS19 it most likely will mean a much more reliable set of JD equipment which will truly benefit us all.
Hang on a minute…let me watch this just one more time…..
OK…I’m satisfied I’m not dreaming. Here’s the CGI trailer revealing John Deere. Enjoy….I need to get to work now.
From the San Francisco Bay Area….have a fantastic day!
Before anyone gets too excited, let me state for the record that I don’t have any official information regarding the release date for Giants Farming Simulator 19. But we all know the saying, “History repeats itself” and today marks exactly 6 months to October 24, 2018. What’s the significance of this date? Well…Giants released Farming Simulator 17 on October 24, 2016. Of course, we must also keep in mind that FS15 wasn’t released until October 30, 2014. But that adds an extra week of waiting and I’m sure none of us want that. Right?
But seriously, at this point in time, only Giants truly know the date they are marching towards. We can certainly hope in the coming weeks/months Giants will ramp up the marketing hype (as they did with FS17) and share more details, hopefully with actual game play video and all the specifications of any new equipment/features we can expect to see. But we also know the agricultural simulation gaming space is becoming quite competitive, so perhaps Giants will be a little less likely to release all the details.
We do know a few things we can expect in FS19. Based on earlier communications from Giants, FS19 will introduce new farming activities, new animals (including horses), brand new mechanics and new crops. In addition, improvements have been made to the Giants gaming engine to allow a much more immersive “eye candy” experience including shadows. All very cool stuff and all reason enough for me to give them my money. But what about the things we don’t know…or the things we hope will be included?
Unfortunately, we’ll just need to wait and see what happens. Many will argue and say there wasn’t much difference between FS15 and FS17. But I have a feeling FS19 will surprise us all in many ways. While it may still not tick all the boxes for all players, I really am excited and can’t wait to learn more and of course experience it all first hand on release.
But for now….I’m headed back into FS17 to do a little field work. Oh I do love this game….
