The story of getting into this series has been told by me a few times before, where seeing it played by the Yogscast during Jingle Jam 2018 had me interested in wanting to try it out for myself. It took almost a year for me to do so, but it was one of the best things that I could have done. Starting with 17, then almost immediately to 19, I was enjoying my time with the series. Even going back to 15 held some charm to it.
What I was interested to see was what advancement the series could make with its next game. Giants had already said that the next game would be taking an extra year, so more time could go into it. Across this last year, they’ve been showing us what new stuff has been included in this game. For the first time, it seems there’s been a real shakeup of the formula, but in doing so the classic casual play has been lost.
In past games, you had just a 24-hour in-game wait on default setting before planted crops were fully grown and ready to be harvested, but this new game brings seasons. And with it an overhaul to how the crop growth works. Seasonal growth means you sow the crop in one season (usually spring) for it to then be ready to harvest in another (usually autumn). Turning that off doesn’t revert the growth to how it worked in previous games, however.
Instead, it takes 6-7 in-day games to grow if you keep the game on the default one-day months. It does seem that growth states are tied to the seasonal growth pattern whether it’s on or not – even if you don’t have to adhere to the exact months to sow and harvest. I’d tested such on Haut-Beyleron – the new European map of the game, while exploring what this map had to offer.
In fact, I’d explored all three of them while trying out different things. On Elmcreek, I had a bit of an explore while understanding the process behind the new production chains. And on Erlangrat – the returning map from Farming Simulator 19, I had an explore with the build mode and a dry run in feeding cows with these new mechanics. By buying all the bales needed, which meant I missed out on another changed mechanic.
The new maps look great, and feel the closest to real locations we’ve seen in the series. That’s not to say other maps weren’t structured in such a way, but there’s a lot more details here that makes them feel more authentic. Small streams run through the land of Elmcreek, with road signs recognisable as being from the countries of these maps are more frequent.
My favourite area of map is the Oak Hollow Caves of Elmcreek. Located up north, this area is designed to be a tourist hotspot. A beauty hotspot. No vehicles should be driving around this steep and rocky plot of land, so it’s purely on-foot exploration. There’s an outdoor seating area right outside the entrance with a play park and even some toilets. Then the gravel trail to start the walk around this state park.
This gravel path leads to the other end of the caves, with bushes and trees blocking the view on the right side as you walk (or run) along it. Turning onto the thinner dirt path, your view is still blocked until you start heading down on the winding path. And it is a thing of beauty. A lot of detail has been put in to make this state park feel real.
There’s water winding its way through the rocks and forming pools at numerous points of the park. That water continues into the cave, which you can enter and explore – with it creating a tunnel from one side of the park to the other. I love that Giants have included a place like this, but I really should stop talking of it and focus on the rest of the game.
The production chains offer a new way to make money by allowing more to be done with the produce than just be sold. Scattered across the map that can be bought are various production facilities that will turn produce into goods such as bread or cake that can then be sold to stores or other places also on the map. I enjoyed the simpleness of making bread by offering wheat to the grain mill to get flour then delivering that bread to the bowling alley – all while using a new favourite vehicle of mine.
Build mode – or construction, as it’s labelled in-game – bundles together the landscaping tools and all the placeables that were in the shop menu in previous games. Fences and lights have been added to the range to things that can be placed, with solar panels and wind turbines returning – having been absent from Farming Simulator 19. Those two mean you have passive income, since the way greenhouses work has been changed.
Coming in three sizes, greenhouses are now a production point. By putting water into them and selecting to activate either tomatoes, lettuce, or strawberries, the greenhouse will then start producing that choice. Once they have grown enough of that produce, pallets will then be placed beside them that you can sell directly or take to another part of the production chain.
Other new things include bees to have on your farm, which produce honey and can also increase the yield of certain crop if placed close to fields. New crops grapes and olives require going into build mode and striping out a field with the groves or vines necessary to start working with them, while sorghum works the same as other crops. All goods now have fluctuations in price based on the month, which gives more reason to hold onto goods until the right time to sell.
During my Feeding Cows For Christmas stream, I managed fine with the extended growth cycle for wheat. It allowed me to go a bit more in-depth with the exploration of Elmcreek. It also allowed me to fully understand the animal systems now in place. At least for cows. Pastures that have a barn fixed onto them don’t need water to be delivered to them anymore, as that is handled automatically.
All animals now have a health meter and an age count. The longer you keep them, and the healthier they are, the more they are worth when it comes to reselling them. Age is also important for reproduction, as they won’t start reproducing until they are more than 18 months old. The number of animals per pasture has also been decreased, which means there’s no more hoarding over 100 of each animal per pasture.
For the feeding of cows, a new ingredient to the Total Mixed Ration has been added, and it is one that you can only get by purchasing it from the shop. Hardly any mineral feed needs to be added – a single 1000l pallet of the stuff will do, but it needs to be there for the TMR to be made. Silage will now not be instantly fermented when wrapped, which is what caught me out while live.
The contracts that other farmers will offer up are still the same as in Farming Simulator 19, but the information now gives the size of the field you will be working on, so it’s easier to decide if you want to accept that contract or not. It’s now easier than ever to see what you have leased and bought, with those pages of the buy menu sorting the vehicles and tools by category much like the shop pages.
There’s a lot to this Farming Simulator than any previous game, and I’ve yet to fully get committed to one map as I explore everything the game has to offer. As I’ve already said, the production chains change up the gameplay loop in a big way. It encourages you to try out things you might not have done before in order to provide the means to create those goods.
And while the beginning of the game might seem slower whether you have seasonal growth on or off, there’s a lot to be managing as you build up your farming empire. Just because the pace is slower doesn’t mean you don’t need a plan, after all. You just have more time to formulate it. Once again, I would easily call this the definitive Farming Simulator experience, and I cannot wait to see how Giants grow this franchise in the future.
Images Taken From:
Farming Simulator 22 (Original Screenshots)
