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.
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.
In part three, we once again review our overall soil conditions on the second day after planting our wheat crop on field #2 of the Graceland map for Farming Simulator 15.
Please return again tomorrow for Practical Soilmod Workflow Part 4.
In part two, we take a look at the over all soil conditions on the day after planting for our wheat crop on field #2 of the Graceland map for Farming Simulator 15.
Please return again tomorrow for Practical Soilmod Workflow Part 3
I recently blogged about and provided some general information on the wonderful soilmod mod for Farming Simulator 15. That blog post provides a general overview of how soilmod works and most importantly how it changes the entire game play. I’ve spent many hours reading as much information as I can and watching a few hours of YouTube content. While I started to gain a simple understanding of soilmod, I had to actually commit to using it to fully understand how to develop my own process and overall workflow.
Of the several hours of YouTube videos I watched, one thing I really couldn’t find was a simple and practical step-by-step process. Most of my favorite FS15 YouTubers have awesome videos demostrating the soilmod, but they are also doing many other things in the video and don’t really take the time to explain their workflow.
If you are new to soilmod, understand that my process and workflow may not work for you. But I wanted to take the time to document it and provide it to anyone wanting to get more from the farming simulator experience. The soilmod is awesome and if you truly want to take FS15 to the next level (and you play on PC) then give it a try. I think you’ll enjoy it!
Now for my video. This first video will be the longest of the series and includes a general overview of the differences between game play without and with the soilmod. I then discuss my own personal workflow for how I plan, prepare and plant my crops when using soilmod.
During the video, I reference a spreadsheet tool and my own process workflow document to help me keep track of each fields lifecycle from field prep, planting, fertilizer, herbicide and water application through the final harvest. Links to these documents are listed below the video window.
Calculation Tool for Soilmod (version 2.0.2) This is the spreadsheet tool I demonstrated during the video. This spreadsheet will function in Microsoft Excel and Apache Open Office. Apache Open Office is open-source and free for personal use.
I’ve developed my own workflow checklist which I also demonstrated during the video. As this document is my work, you are free to download and customize how ever you see fit.
While I think it is safe to say the soilmod is not for everyone. However, if you are looking to take your farm simulation to the next level…I I hope you’ll try the soilmod. Give it a solid go, have fun and learn from the experience. You may not experience high crop yield immediately, but keep at it. I truly believe you’ll appreciate Farming Simulator 15 much, much more with Soilmod.
Please return again tomorrow for part 2 where I review the soil conditions and action plan after the harvest.
Ok, so this really isn’t my first impression of the Soilmod. I did mess around with it several months ago and failed miserably to grasp the concept. I really had a lot of things going on and just couldn’t take the necessary time to research how this mod changes Farming Simulator 15. But I’ve got to admit that I’m actually enjoying the challenge of using the soilmod and while I’m not sure if I could say I would never farm without it, I’d have to say I’m very close. Yes, I did just recently mention I was starting to use it again. But this post comes about a week into my endeavour and I’ve planted and harvested my first field. I’m pleased with the results.
Before we really dive into my understanding of this wonderful mod, allow me to briefly state how the vanilla (default) game reacts to our process of field preparation, planting, fertilizing and harvesting of our crops. This won’t take very long as we all know the vanilla version of FS15 really only cares about if we seed a field and we earn a bonus for fertilizing. That’s really it. We don’t need to worry about the condition of the soil as it relates to anything at all. It’s dirt and it will grow crops. We don’t need to worry about moisture, we don’t need to worry about pH levels and it doesn’t matter if we spread or spray fertilizer. Speaking of fertilizer, there is no set timeframe for when to apply the fertilizer. It can be done before planting or after planting. Just as long as the fertilizer is applied BEFORE the crop heads into the final growth stage you’ll enjoy the bonus of a higher crop yield. Because of this, I’ve never messed with using liquid sprayers.
My old workflow (before soilmod) typically would be to plow or cultivate the field after the last harvest, While not required and no added benefit, I just did this because I really had nothing better to do. I would then mostly likely spread fertilizer and soon after seed the field. Even on a large map like States or Graceland, I could manage as many fields as I could afford. I typically didn’t have plant withering turned on.
Impacts of Soilmod
Soilmod changes everything and I do mean EVERYTHING about FS15. All the things I previously mentioned that we didn’t need to worry about in the vanilla game are now areas we MUST think about. When you install the Soilmod mod into FS15, it radically transforms Farming Simulator 15 from just a game into a real life farming simulator.
Before I go further, I would suggest you take the time to watch two YouTube videos on the subject of the soilmod. The first video is about 18 minutes in length and if you are like me, I had to watch it several times before I really grasped all it was telling me.
The second video is just over 5 minutes and provides a high level overview of the soilmod.
As I’ve spent several days and many hours reading about the soilmod and attempting to put into practice what I’ve learned on my virtual farm, I’ve also been trying to accumulate additional information to assist me as I go about re-developing my workflow.
Here are a few helpful (at least I find them helpful) reference materials:
For me, I find the Soilmod Calculation Tool to be the most useful. I typically use that to plot and plan how I will initially start the planting process. I’ve developed my own workflow checklist which is sort of a mishmash of all these tools into something I can comprehend. I print these and have them on my clipboard in the virtual farm office. I can quickly at a glance see what needs to be done and I can record the daily numbers for each field to make sure I’m on track to a good harvest.
Putting everything to use
I struggled in the first few days of keeping all my tasks sorted. As I pointed out, Soilmod really does change things. No longer can you just plant, fertilize and then sit back and watch the wheat grow. The soilmod really forces you to be a lot more attentive to details. In addition, you can’t rely on creating the plan based on soil conditions and weather forecast on day 1. Just like in real life, wait 5 minutes and the weather forecast will change. Unfortunately, each time you start up FS15 the weather forecast is recalculated. So on the first day, the weather forecast might show one or more days with temperatures above 22 degrees celcius. Temps above 22 c will have a negative impact on soil moisture. However, if you shutdown FS15 and restart, you may see a completely different weather forecast. From my understanding, the only thing that won’t change is the frequency of rain. If rain is shown in the forecast, then each time you restart FS15 the opportunity for rain will remain.
Coming Days
Over the next few days I will provide more information regarding my use of the soilmod in FS15. I plan to record and release several YouTube videos documenting the planning and workflow I use. This video series will step you through each of the multi-day processes including field planning, preparation, planting all the way up through harvest.
Bottom Line
As you may soon learn and especially after you watch the 5 part YouTube series I have recorded documenting my workflow for the preparation, planting, daily maintenance and eventual harvest that the Soilmod is not for everyone. I really couldn’t agree more with that statement. So I’ll say it again, the Soilmod is not for everyone. However, if you are wanting to take your virtual farming to the next level…then at the very least, you should give Soilmod a solid try. Find a map which is Soilmod ready, install the soilmod mod and get to work. Will you be successful? Will you fail? Perhaps the answer to both of those questions will be YES! But you’ll learn….and you’ll improve…and you’ll feel a level of satisfaction from your game play. YES…you will also work hard at it.
Please return tomorrow for the first part of a five part YouTube series showcasing my process and workflow as I plant a field of wheat on Graceland with the soilmod installed.
Note: This article was written and scheduled for release approx. 10 days ago. Since writing this and the present time, I’ve learned a lot about this wonderful mod. This week will be dedicated to the Soilmod, specifically the Practical Used of the Soilmod modification for Farming Simulator 15. Each day I will release a written blog article and YouTube video covering how I use the Soilmod in my FS15 game play and my typical workflow. I’ll provide some tools and tips and document the process as I prepare a field to plant and harvest wheat.
It’s been several months since I was first introduced to the Soilmod for Farming Simulator 15. During this time life was hectic and I struggled to truly grasp the concept. Out of frustration I removed the mod from my mod folders list and haven’t looked back.
Over the past few weeks I’ve really enjoyed playing Farming Simulator 15 and in really thinking about it, FS15 is has become my favorite simulation based game. I say this because unlike flight sim, truck sim, bus sim etc. you are somewhat limited in what you can do. But with Farming Simulator, you can work crops one day, the next day you can tend to your animals and the next day you can do a little forestry. Not to mention that each of those activities have a wide variety of different equipment to choose from. You can also mix it completely up by playing a different map. Bottom line is there is just so much variety with FS15.
Just a few weeks ago I somewhat re-branded my blog site to better match my simulation game play. Realism through Simulation has been something that I’ve really always considered important and I figured if I really wanted to take my farm sim game play to the next level I needed to master the soilmod. So that is just what I’m doing.
I’ve installed the Soilmod on my Graceland map. The Graceland map is soilmod ready so I spent a few days and harvested all my crops, backed up the game save and then installed the soilmod. But of course, before doing all that I watched a few hours of YouTube videos and read as much as I could online about how soilmod changes the FS15 game play.
I’ll be honest, I’m currently somewhere between lost and confused…but I’m learning. There are some great soilmod reference sheets available and just through my own trial and error, I’m attempting to figure my own way through this. Because at the end of the day, I can read about or what how others do it…but you really must adapt a process which works for you and that is what I’m attempting to accomplish.
Of course, I plan to write future blog articles on my experiences (both postive and negative) about the soilmod and how it is changing my FS15 game play. But for now that will need to wait because I have far more questions that I have answers. So stay tuned…
