Back to basics for Swiss / German developer Giants Software. The Alpine Farming DLC for Farming Simulator 19 takes your cows to graze in the mountain pastures. Change of scenery, and gameplay, a little. For this time, let's leave large crops aside in order to concentrate on animal husbandry.
The Alpine Farming DLC arrives this November 12 on all platforms. A winning formula for the player and for the developers, the packs always bring a lot of very detailed contents to the realization without fault. This new extension is no exception to the rule and proposes to shake up our playing habits a little. Exit the large plots to harvest, and make way for the meadows on Erlengrat, the new map.
Bordered by mountains
Erlengrat plunges us into the European mountains, probably on the Swiss side, in a setting surrounded by snow-capped mountains characteristic of the country. For the gameplay, which is more on the inside of the map, the relief is flat. We are close to a lake, and have 25 small plots, which cover a good third of the scenery. A village, also typical, with houses using heavily wood, brings together the various points of sale, including a cheese factory and a chocolate factory for milk, and a lot of life (train station, concession, ski resort, etc.). The rest ? Endless expanses of grass! And that's good, since the DLC arrives with all the equipment to take care of these meadows.
Also remember the train. Yes, this vehicle that no one uses for lack of interest. Well, you will be able to reactivate the “change to the train” option, since the latter is transformed here into a mobile point of sale. It is wonderfully placed on Erlengrat, in the upper left part, at the level of the plots to be worked. The harvest from a field can therefore go directly to the silo at the station while waiting for the next train to Fellsbrun. Nothing is automatic, you have to climb into the locomotive, load a wagon, then cross the map from one end to the other until you get out. From there, a message will warn you that the convoy continues on its way to Fellsbrun and then offers to sell the contents of the wagons.
Electric, shy but present
Overall, Alpine Farming does not innovate on the vehicle side. The manufacturer Pöttinger comes to show off his know-how with his tedders, rake, balers, wrapper ... in short, all the hay equipment that we are used to using as a base in Farming Simulator. Only SIP belt rakes stand out in their class. For the real novelties, we will have to look at the self-propelled side. The CC 66 mower from the manufacturer AEBI to start. True large format "mower", we already knew this type of material via mods released recently, but the quality of realization here is incomparable. As for its use, one can cast doubts. The meadows are so huge! What to do with such a small piece of equipment?
No, the vehicles that could justify the purchase of the DLC (in addition to the superb map) are the Lindner UNITRAC 122 LDRIVE, and the range of RIGITRAC tractors including the highly anticipated SKE 50 ELECTRIC and its charging station. He is the only one in this category. The Unitrac is an all-round utility vehicle. Like the ItRunner pack, your vehicle is capable, on its back, of transporting dumpster, spreader, slurry tank, and self-loading wagon. We bet that modders will soon add a whole bunch of wacky tools! Manoeuvrable (4 directional wheels) and nervous, this vehicle is a little nugget that blends into the background.
Electric therefore made a timid entry into FS 19. The Rigitrac SKE 50 Electric, not very powerful, with a very small size, earned it the nickname at Simulagri of “tractor without a license”. All kidding aside, it's really fun to drive. The nervousness typical of electric motors, as well as the noise, is faithfully reproduced. It discharges slowly, and its terminal is capable of recharging it in 10 minutes in game. A good point from Giants that having forced the player to put down his tractor for a period of time for this recharge.
In the end, everyone will have their opinion according to their style of play, aficionados of large-scale culture may be missing out, while enthusiasts of breeding, especially dairy, will find their happiness there. Personally, and this is not the opinion of all the small team of Simulagri.fr, the general architecture of the map and its enchanting decor justifies the investment of $19,99 for those who already have the game. Better, the Premium edition freshly available on Steam, and including all the DLC for a price of 39,99 euros, becomes essential for those who want to embark on the Farming Simulator 19 adventure.