Cattle and Crops continues on its way and has been making updates lately. If it becomes difficult to follow them all, the changelog of the latest one, 0.0.9.4, did not go unnoticed since the game now allows us to test the silage system.
The first thing we say to ourselves is that we will finally see a forage harvester in the title. And it was no surprise that Claas equipment landed near the hangar: a Jaguar 960 fitted with a 900-row Orbis 12 nozzle. Just that. The story does not say if it is equipped with a Shredlage spark gap ^^ but given the appearance of the corn silage coming out of the chute, we don't see any grains 🙂 I hope the developers will see again the grimy green flow that comes out of the beast because it is not terrible and it contrasts with the general quality of the graphics.
The graphics let's talk about it
Nothing new on the horizon. The game still runs as well with the graphics set to "high" even on my modest config (Core i7 + nVidia 960M - Warning! To record the video, I have to go down in quality, do not completely rely on my video. You better watch En3rgie5's video who has a hairier PC).
The style is totally different from a Farming Simulator. Where the title of Focus reveals very detailed textures, at Cattle & Crops we work more on the detail of the models and especially on a graphics engine allowing ambient occlusion, so dear to 3D graphic designers when it comes to rendering photorealistic. Just look at the look of the Jaguar 960, it's amazing.
So we attack the silage?
Yes I will stop sprawling. Let's get into the heart of the subject. The available mission guides us behind the wheel of the forage harvester on a plot of a few square meters. The game being simulation-oriented, I told myself as much to do as in the field and attack by clipping. First thing that catches the eye, or rather in the ear, the sound of the tool when we enter the corn… Wouhaaa! You can feel all the effort of the machine!
The second that we see is thecorn animation, it is very far from what we are used to seeing on Farming Simulator. The corn follows the movements of the rotors until it is swallowed by the Jaguar. It's beautiful, it's clean… Nothing to say. When you stop the beak, the corn stops dead and gets stuck, until you restart the mechanics.
The workers are real pros
Finally the other element that stuck me, it is the work of the worker follower. When trimming the field, the worker stands with his trailer behind the forage harvester. So far it's really screwed up. Artificial intelligence is already well developed. But it doesn't stop there. When the clipping is finished, the employee comes directly to the side and no longer to the rear. It's fluid, it's clean, really the AI has been done really well on Cattle & Crops.
With the trailer full, the worker goes alone to the silo to empty it. It will only remain to settle.
Only downside noted for the moment: when backing up with the forage harvester, the following tractor does not move back… hoping that this will be corrected later because it complicates maneuvers in the field.
So much for this progress report on a title that is still as promising. I will come back to the added features as they come out. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please be aware that the forum is in place and fully functional. There is a section for the game and I will be happy to answer your questions. SUBSCRIBE!