Farming Simulator 22: This time it's seasonal

[Skipper]

@mjgreeny75

Question to those who played it: have they also improved the wood logging, particularly the loading of the logs? I ragequit after trying to handle that gripping claw thingy for half an hour…

I’ve been buying farm plots and need to do some tree clearing. Give me a bit this weekend and I’ll get you an answer on that. There are multiple dedicated tools, tractors and equipment, but I’ve yet to try any. I’ll be leasing those to do the work.

Just picked up my first large tractor today, the EXTREMELY speedy JCB Fastrac 8330. ZERO regrets on that one. It’ll do 45mph with anything that doesn’t restrict its speed, which speeds up so many things in game. No more hours long runs to sell things. Quick pickups of tools, etc. I think it’s the fastest tractor in-game, there is a medium version that’s slightly less fast. This large one is not upgradeable, so it’s locked at 348hp and 11.9t pull weight. I’m good with that. This is my, “step up,” on tractors. I’ve kept my other three for now but might sell one later to get a second fast tractor. Still unsure which way to go from here: additional crop types, production chains, more tractor/tool upgrades, additional farm plots, etc. I’m remaining debt free for now as well, which means harvest day is my major payday each year. I’m going to need to start having kids to expand this farm.

[Ginger_Yellow]

Yeah, a Fastrac is always one of my first upgrades (there’s a medium one too which isn’t quite as fast). Less necessary now you can order workers to go somewhere, but still very handy

[Skipper]

I should also mention this fantastic purchase. The Brantner TA23065 Power-Tube trailer with the extension on it, putting it at $38,500 for 38.6 cubic meter capacity. Fantastic medium transport bang for the buck.

[Ginger_Yellow]

Yeah, I have one too. It’s very nice for the price but quite finicky about where you can fill it, which is annoying.

[Skipper]

What did you upgrade to when you needed a big trailer? Anything good? I’m assuming you’re hailing with a big rig by this point.

[Ginger_Yellow]

You mean a semi trailer? I’m just using the cheapo Krone curtainside trailer, as it suits my honey transporting needs. A truck is actually next on my shopping list, but I’ve been waiting for one to show up second hand. Also, what did show up second hand was the sugar cane harvester, so I had a bit of a change of plans and diverted into sugar cane, which will at least eventually feed into my bakery. I just need to get a cow farm going (at least I already have straw and grass and silage). 700k for the biggest and best cow barn is a lot of money though.

[Skipper]

700k is one hell of a lot, or at least is is for me at this point. 200k for a tractor was a stretch purchase.

Ready to see pics of your sugar cane kingdom. In the words of the philosopher Homer Simpson:

“First you get the sugar,
then you get the power,
then you get the WOMEN!”

[barstein]

strawberry thief

[mjgreeny75]

@Skipper

I’ve been buying farm plots and need to do some tree clearing. Give me a bit this weekend and I’ll get you an answer on that.

ok, keep me posted! The problem for me was getting tree trunks onto the trailer with a gripping hook that could open, close, go up, down, sideways, forwards, backwards and tilt, all with different controls. What a nightmare…

[Eric_Majkut]

I’m really surprised at how hooked I’ve been on this game but there’s something really satisfying about the progression.

Random pics from my game:

[Paradroid]

I bought FS19 and was kind of enjoying it, but what really put me off was the almost total lack of any in-game help. For example, after the very short tutorial it just dumped me on my farm and said have at it. I was left scratching my head when it came to buying equipment; there was no indication whatsoever of what tools were compatible with what machines, or even which machines I need to accomplish certain tasks.

Is FS22 any better in that regard? Or would I have to bite the bullet and search online any time I want to do or buy anything?

[Ginger_Yellow]

It’s definitely better for compatibility. There’s now a “combinations” button in the shop when you choose an item that lets you see what tools/vehicles are compatible with it. And they now have “packages” which show you what you need to get started on a given crop/animal. There is also an outside game “Academy” which covers the basics. But a lot of it is still pretty opaque and if you want to min/max at all you’ll be spending a lot of time on Reddit and the forum.

[Paradroid]

@Ginger_Yellow

There’s now a “combinations” button in the shop when you choose an item that lets you see what tools/vehicles are compatible with it. And they now have “packages” which show you what you need to get started on a given crop/animal.

Wow, those sound absolutely perfect! OK I think I’m sold on this one then - thanks!

[Ginger_Yellow]

Man, I’d forgotten how slow and painful sugarcane harvesting is. I’ve spent the last few hours in real time just in two months of game time so I can get the whole field done. Still, with the sugar mill I built it should be pretty lucrative. The opportunity cost in terms of slowing down the growing and harvesting of my other crops could be an issue though. I seem to have accidentally got myself into a situation of growing almost entirely labour intensive crops. Only my one sunflower field can be fully automated.

Verdant waves of cane:

Harvesting late into the night:

[Skipper]

@Eric_Majkut

I’m really surprised at how hooked I’ve been on this game but there’s something really satisfying about the progression.

It’s got the one-more-turn kind of gaming pull in spades (pun intended.) I too, have been quite surprised. I blame @Ginger_Yellow for mentioning it in the flight sim thread and on COURSE the gameplay mechanic would click with me. Hell I spent hours last night cultivating other farmers fields just to try out my new cultivator. A month ago I didn’t know what the fuck a cultivator was.

@Paradroid

Is FS22 any better in that regard? Or would I have to bite the bullet and search online any time I want to do or buy anything?

New to the series pretty much so what Ginger_Yellow mentioned is correct. There’s also a large community. I’ve learned a hell of a lot, not dissimilar to other complex games, from YouTube. There is a -brief- help guide in the game in addition to what he mentioned at the store. There is also a tutorial in-game that gets you through the basics, and the aforementioned Academy on their website that walks you through a ton more.

The game is best learned in steps: your first crop from start to finish, trying animal husbandry, a greenhouse, a new crop, new equipment, mowing/baling, using more equipment, etc. If you peer only at the things in the store and decide it is complex, that’s a bit akin to looking at everything for sale in the nexus in Eve Online as a newbie. Tons of things and you don’t know what 95% of them are. You’ll pick it up.

The game has some wonkyiness to it and can be a bit lacking in frenzy. This is not a racing or flight sim. It’s a serene game though. I get a lot of satisfaction harvesting something I grew or buying more land to expand the farm. It can be just as complex at times figuring things out.

This is an example:

@mjgreeny75

The problem for me was getting tree trunks onto the trailer with a gripping hook that could open, close, go up, down, sideways, forwards, backwards and tilt, all with different controls. What a nightmare…

Like him, I don’t know how to use a claw hook on a logging trailer. I’ve never even backed up a trailer in real life. I’ve been in a backhoe and skid-steer loader one time each. I’ve never used a farm tractor before, hell I don’t even have a riding mower. And yet all this is fun.

The Academy, still growing at this time:

Farming Simulator Academy: Official Tutorials Overview

[Paradroid]

Thanks for your thoughts mate. Yeah I’m definitely getting this one. Accidentally buying the wrong kit in the shop was my number one complaint with FS19, so that one improvement alone will be enough for me. When I was actually doing stuff it was a thoroughly relaxing experience and, like you, sometimes I’d plough other people’s fields just for the hell of it.

[Skipper]

Today I found out that the game has in-game radio and besides the built-in channels, there are several good internet streamed channels available. This helps a TON. I should have guessed based on Truck Simulator, etc, but just never thought to check. It isn’t on by default, “5,” turns it on and, “4 or 6,” changes the channel back or forth.

I’m in between harvests for what I’m growing so I decided to branch out on a few contracts of different things. I did multiple cultivating contracts last night. Today it’s attempts to see if harvesting of any kind works for a contract.

My first take was a small grain field right behind the farm. Strangely I used all my own gear but came up short somehow?

Fully harvested field 47. It’s not large.

Grain delivered as requested to Feed South. But … I can’t reach the correct finished state / percentage.

I had to fail it. Some things I did may have affected it, though. I used that new trailer, and I can see why Ginger mentioned it’s finicky about filling. Did I accidentally fill outside of the trailer? Second, I set the harvester to make hay rows, collected and baled that hay. Surely that wouldn’t be the missing though, it’s hay, not grain. At any rate, after failing, I DID get to keep the bales of hay. So … wasted time but made a little money.

Second contract, I decided I’d take the harvest contract for the biggest plot in Elk Creek, field #70. The pay was just over 14.5K, minus about 1200 if you borrowed the gear, which I did just to make sure I’d match anything needed. It was corn anyway, so I’d have needed a different header and a larger harvester.

I decided I’d try the drive along harvesting with the AI lady running the combine. So far so good …

This particular combine has some fantastic graphics and effects:

I decided I wasn’t cut out for ride-along combine emptying and switch to full-bin emptying instead. I think this screenshot speaks for itself on the prior row when I gave up.

Done and hauling the last load:

Sending them down the train and, “success,” noted:

And results:

Soooo, not sure what happened to the first harvest contract. Maybe I dropped things off at the wrong point? There’s only one drop in down there, but whatever. At least I proved I can harvest that large field. I’ve also purchased a bit of gear during all of that, a baler and a bale trailer with auto-loading.

[Eric_Majkut]

I’ve never taken any harvest contracts but I know they’re bugged right now. I believe the bug is something like any crop that drops straw the game is figuring in the volume of the straw as part of the total that needs to be delivered to finish the contract, but you can’t actually pick it up. But basically don’t do harvest contracts until they fix it. Devs are working on a patch but are VERY uncommunicative :(

[Eric_Majkut]

[Skipper]

Noted. That would make sense. I wonder if I’d not put the harvester into baling rows if that would be the switch causing it or if it’s truly specific crops. I would think corn would do it but I was okay. I didn’t collect anything though.

That last video is using the heavy mover mod which I’d like to find. I’ve seen a couple of people in videos with it.

Besides in-game, where is the best all around mod resource site for the FS series?