Precision farming is coming to Farming Simulator. Today, Giants Software announces a special project initiated by John Deere and funded by EIT Food, the leading food innovation initiative in Europe. The objective of this project is the implementation of precision agriculture in a public play environment. And Farming Simulator, the undisputed leader in agricultural simulations, was chosen. The project is expected to take place over a period of two years and involve various European partners.
The goal of the precision agriculture project is simple and is based on the fact that the public's knowledge of agriculture is in decline. The link between society living in large metropolitan areas and modern agricultural technologies is almost broken. EIT Food, together with John Deere and other partners, is poised to change this public image of modern and sustainable agriculture by increasing transparency and trust in modern agriculture.
Against the widely held assumption that it is only possible for small family farms to produce quality organic crops, the project aims to bring to light a modern technology known as precision agriculture, which enables large farms to produce high quality products while respecting the environment.
This is where GIANTS Software comes in: modern precision farming technologies will be introduced in Farming Simulator to raise awareness about sustainable farming among the general public.
A free module
Designed as a free play module for Farming Simulator, Precision Farming will be introduced through various new play features over the two year life of the project. Although the exact course of the development of the final module remains to be determined with the University of Hohenheim (Germany) and the University of Reading (Great Britain), the first version of the module will present heterogeneous fields with regard to the types of soils.
This means that the player will be able to manage different areas using variable rate technologies. The sustainability and technical efficiency scores will quantify the result of their in-game actions. We already had several mods that allow the regulation of fertilizers and pesticides, such as the DPA mod for example. John Deere being involved in the project, it's a safe bet that seedlings and fertilizers can use any GPS module. Hopefully in the future they will become compatible with new capabilities of the Giants Engine.
Not before 2 years
As the project is currently in the design phase, more information will be revealed later as the project progresses. Over the next two years, Giants Software will communicate on these new features being developed in partnership with EIT Food and John Deere.