It was at GamesCom 2018 that the Giants team unveiled its first trailer with ingame images, but also presented a playable demo that we were able to test. Balance sheet.
Eyeful ! We were amazed during these few days of the show! The Farming Simulator 19 stand and its John Deere 6155M were a hit. It must be said that with the new revision of the Giants Engine, the game has nothing to envy to the AAA titles which reigned supreme not far from it.
Graphics, let's talk about it
Contrary to what we have heard on some Youtube channels, the images, which were shown to the general public, are indeed images of the game. At this stage of development, we can even speak without tweezers of final images. The visual slap is due to the new lighting but also to the Bloom effect, to the metallic textures which are no longer "plastic", and to the particularly abundant and detailed vegetation of the environment. It must be said that the demo turned on a muscular configuration based on nVidia 1080 Ti. What else. The models have also evolved, what could be more normal, and the interiors of the John Deere cabins are identical to the real cab, with textures of exemplary finesse.
The animation remains faithful to what we could see on Farming Simulator 17, was there anyway some things to reproach at this level there? Not in my opinion. On the other hand, the animation of the animals and more particularly of the horses, newcomers to this opus, is absolutely remarkable. The youtubeur Marlonn (En3rgie5) has also made the merger with Alexandra Ledermann in his analysis of the trailer, and he did well, the game of the same name was aimed at a female audience, and that's probably what Giants is looking for with this diversification: to broaden your audience in an era where there is more and more talk offemale agriculture.
Cultures, the basis of the game
For the moment, we do not know what will be the big news around breeding. It must be said that it is a bit the pet peeve of the game since these beginnings. Breeding remains somewhat basic, and the game is still articulated as much around machinery and therefore cultures.
The weeds are there, and weeders and other herbicides will finally be used for something. For the demo, a Hardi self-propelled sprayer and an Einboeck rotary hoe demonstrated their effectiveness. From memory Marc Schwegler, lead artist at Giants Sofware, had spoken to us "A feature that would provide a bonus if there is no crop processing and how to feed the cows so that they produce either more milk or more meat, depending on their food. " In other words, if you opt for mechanical weeding, and work organically, the gain linked to your harvest will be greater.
On the cereal harvest side, in addition to the Fendt / Massey IDEAL, we could see a John Deere T560i harvester of a less imposing size at work. The straw chopping is finally made more realistic, with a clearly visible deposit on the ground. The swaths are on the other hand identical to those of FS 17. The passage of the machine in the plots now bends the crops. Plants lie down and then get up, but can also be destroyed depending on the size of the tool to be passed over.
The vehicles
For machines, the list goes on and on. If we will find part of the FS 17 inventory, the trailer gave a glimpse of the firms Case IH, Elmer's, John Deere, Fendt, Bednar, Vaderstadt, Hardi, Krone, Komatsu, Fliegl, Valtra, or even Manitou. The bednar's choice is interesting because the manufacturer has a rich catalog of tillage tools.
We were finally able to discover the new interface for selecting options on the hardware. For tractors, the change of options, such as the configuration of the wheels, is immediately visible. By the way, Trelleborg will no longer be the only tire brand, Michelin making its appearance, like the latest update of Pure Farming.
A few questions for the Giants team
The advantage of a show is that it allows you to meet members of the development and marketing team. So why deprive yourself. Thomas went to meet them, and filmed the demo available at the booth while chatting with Ken Burgess from Giants Software and Daniella Wallau from Astragon.
Thomas Lutz: When will you reveal the official list of the equipment park available in Farming Simulator 19?
Kenneth : The list of equipment will begin to be revealed during the month of September in the same way we did for Farming Simulator 17.
TL : There was an annoying bug in FS 17 with balls moving when reloading a game, even though they were stored upright. Is this corrected?
KB : Yes, the bullet bug has been fixed base in Farming Simulator 19.
TL : Will we have all types of John Deere equipment in the game? Tractor, harvester, etc.
KB : It will be a surprise to come… but probably 🙂
TL : Can we see a worker at work in the demo?
KB : No, impossible to see the worker at work because the demo version does not include them.
TL : For weeding, if we work without chemicals, will the harvest bring in more money?
KB : I can't tell you, but on the other hand, if you don't weed, the yield will be affected, and therefore you will earn less money.
TL : Will crop destruction be adjustable? Because in the demo, the cultures lie down but rise again. Will it be possible to destroy them by rolling over them?
KB : Yes it will be possible to destroy them by rolling over them if you spray or work without narrow wheels.
TL : The American map is located in which region? We see palm trees.
KB : It is not located in a specific region, but we were mainly inspired by California.
TL : How do you see the response of competing simulations, in particular Pure Farming or Cattle and Crops?
KB : Pure Farming may become a serious contender in the future, but at the moment we don't have enough perspective, the Polish game is too new, and Cattle and Crops is still in development. On the other hand, we must admit that they are graphically well done.
Bruno Giacobbe : In France, we all know Focus Home Interactive which publishes the game. Few players know Astragon. Can you tell us more about its role?
Daniella Wallau : Focus Home Interactive is our international publishing partner for Farming Simulator 19. We are responsible for publication and distribution in the German market only. As Gamescom takes place in our territory, we are providing a space to see the demo and conduct interviews with the developers.
Thank you to the Giants Software and Astragon team for their welcome and the answers to our questions.
2 interesting videos to watch:
A general presentation by Lars
Cotton harvesting with the Case IH 635 Module Express