Disappointed with Hired Help

[AgPro Farms]

I have to say i'm pretty disappointed with the hired help in this addition. I was under the impression that they were supposed to be "smarter" in 17, but I don't think they work as well as they did in 15. The problem I have is this......

When i'm farming, I keep my equipment working in the field. For example, when turning around, I stay in the field, not out in the road, weaving through trees, climbing rocks, etc. In 15, I would often times create end rows, then cut the hired help loose to handle the rest if I was working somewhere else. What's aggravating in 17 is that the helpers don't seem to acknowledge end rows. I was just working the case optim with row crop duals and the large lemken cultivator, and after 2 end rows (plenty for me to turn around in), my helper is still out in the road turning around. Anyone else having or noticing this?

[manosaurus]

Yep. Ps4. My pig manure bunker has more intelligence than the AI in this game. The best is the NH cr10 getting stuck on a windrow of straw....

[Faelandaea]

While they still have a long ways to go before being really cool, they are WAY smarter than FS15. They handle fields like a dream compared to FS15 and since FS17 released I haven't had much problem with them. The only issue I had was them turning the wrong way, but this was successfully fixed in patch 1.3, which you already have installed.

If you want to see a comparison - go play FS15 just for a day with AI help. All they do is go to the end of the field and make a basic turn, and if there are obstacles there, then you are screwed. But in 17, they see obstacles, and back up/maneuver in ways to not only avoid the obstacle, but to not miss any headland either.

Since FS17 released, I only had one instance of AI getting stuck on something and that was a tree, but it was on a mod map and I am certain that the map author did not do collisions properly on that tree or my AI would have avoided it.

Also - a note - if you use modded implements, then the AI can and will revert back to FS15 ways of doing things. This is not Giants' fault in those cases. Mod authors are just being lazy and not bothering to bring converted mods up to even half the standards of FS17. I have deleted multiple mods after doing review videos because of precisely those issues. But the default equipment seems to handle very well, and any mods I have where the mod author actually did something with the mod - those handle okay as well.

[Plasmatic]

Aside from plows maybe.. but the AI plows about as well as a mouse can pulls a 700 ton grain train.

(that is to say not very well at all) They plow the field fine, but they leave massive chunks unplowed at each end.

[Zetor9145]

Aside from plows maybe.. but the AI plows about as well as a mouse can pulls a 700 ton grain train.

(that is to say not very well at all) They plow the field fine, but they leave massive chunks unplowed at each end.

But to be fair they used to in 15 as well, At least they are not getting stuck every 5 mins. But yes the AI should really be programmed to turn round in the field on the headland and the do the headlands after. But as I said in a post the other day...They are a lot more helpful now even if you have to finish the headland yourself.

[Plasmatic]

Aside from plows maybe.. but the AI plows about as well as a mouse can pulls a 700 ton grain train.

(that is to say not very well at all) They plow the field fine, but they leave massive chunks unplowed at each end.

But to be fair they used to in 15 as well, At least they are not getting stuck every 5 mins. But yes the AI should really be programmed to turn round in the field on the headland and the do the headlands after. But as I said in a post the other day...They are a lot more helpful now even if you have to finish the headland yourself.

I solved it by downloading a mod for a chisel plow instead.. it's only 4.2 meters wide, but they don't miss a third of the field with it.. There's also a massive 15m wide john deer chisel plow, but that's a bit extreme..

[Beastofwar]

I am impressed how well they can maneuver a beet harvesting trailer to the exact spot when turning. In FS15 you had to do that yourself or buy a large harvester.

Then again i hoped Courseplay functionality would be in game now, as in combines calling tractor/trailers or trucks beside them to unload, and those unload themselves in the silo or have combines drive to an offload container themselves and return where they left off.

But i guess that comes back when Courseplay does.

[wildberry]

I had AI plant trees on a field with trees already at one end. I was amazed at how it turned around to start another row. Couldn't have it done better myself. What I do find is that AI is better with smaller equipment. Besides that I plow, cultivate, and harvest around the field then let AI do the rest without complaint.

[W1der]

Actually ... my impression of the hired help ... is that it in fact has gotten "better".
However ... as they work differently from FS15 ... I have not fully learned how to "help them" do their job ...
And some of the fields, might have been setup wrongly by Giants ... so that the Hired help gets confused.

I noticed that with some of the fields ... the hired help is making super tight turns (way better than I could have done it) ... and with other fields they act as if they do not know what they are doing ... making long turns ... and still they drive a few feet in to the field, before they stop, back up and lower the "tool" ...
I do not dare to have the "crop destruction" activated when using hired work ...

Regarding the "plowing" ... I think they are doing a good job ... very realistic ... how ever ... they lack the knowledge of finishing the head lands at the end ... and I need to do that manually.
However ... not a big problem in my world.

[wildberry]

Regarding the "plowing" ... I think they are doing a good job ... very realistic ... how ever ... they lack the knowledge of finishing the head lands at the end ... and I need to do that manually.

I use the Kverneland mod plow from Giants with a Huerlimann XM or Fendt 300... I do the edges of the fields (going up and down all sides once myself, therefore two runs per side) then let AI take over, and with this plow they do a good job once the edge is done. I also never had them turn the wrong way, or stop because the fields is supposedly all plowed either. Basically the bigger plows are causing issues as they are for huge fields with lots of space to turn, which the game just doesn't offer.

I do not get why the Salford plow is 90 HP and the Kuhn and Kverneland are 120 HP when they are pretty same size and weight... that is something weird, imo.

[W1der]

Regarding the "plowing" ... I think they are doing a good job ... very realistic ... how ever ... they lack the knowledge of finishing the head lands at the end ... and I need to do that manually.

I use the Kverneland mod plow from Giants with a Huerlimann XM or Fendt 300... I do the edges of the fields (going up and down all sides once myself, therefore two runs per side) then let AI take over, and with this plow they do a good job once the edge is done. I also never had them turn the wrong way, or stop because the fields is supposedly all plowed either. Basically the bigger plows are causing issues as they are for huge fields with lots of space to turn, which the game just doesn't offer.

I do not get why the Salford plow is 90 HP and the Kuhn and Kverneland are 120 HP when they are pretty same size and weight... that is something weird, imo.

I noticed, when the hired help was using a sower, that it stopped before the edge of the field ...
But this was due to an object, up a head ... and it did this to be able to make the turn before the object ...
Ones the the object was cleared ... the following lines where done as expected.

So ... possibly this is caused from using to big "tools" for that specific field ... and the worker is not able to handle this.

[wildberry]

My guess too... sometimes AI can't work out how to properly turn big equipment. I rather have it mention it as a message than that it keeps trying forever to turn.

Well, did you guys have an AI helper in a combine drive randomly over the field in search of something to harvest when all was done already? I have had that twice... it took all it missed but usually it just stops at the end and lets the snippets it missed be as is.

[AgPro Farms]

I'll try my helper out on another field tonight. I've only worked him twice on the one field that this is happening on and it could be they are just having trouble maneuvering larger equipment in not so large fields. Like I said, it was the Case Optum (row crop duals) with the large Lemken Cultivator on the field just north of the main farm (I forget which number). The helper had the same problem with the Horsch Pronto planter as well. I expanded the field, which shouldn't have mattered as I did it numerous times in 15. Maybe he or she will do better on a larger field.

[fenixguy]

I've posted this several times regarding the AI help. The trailed beet harvester with the front mounted defoliator: AI goes to the end of the field (if possible), backs up to give enough room if there's a tree or something in the way, turns, then backs up again (with the trailed harvester, remember) to get the defoliator to the field edge. Literally better than I could do. I'm not understanding the issues with the plows that some people have. The AI seems to plow very realistic. You would need to leave a large headland for a big plow.

I remember one poster complaining about the plowing and said that plows were just designed stupid and he could've done a better job if he had invented the plow... Not kidding. It wasn't the AI's fault, it was the design of the moldboard plow which has been working successfully for 179 years.

[Zetor9145]

I have the mid size JYmpa SJ sub soiler / plough thing and it misses a triangle on every up and back down. Do I moan No. It being the worker is more intelligent than 15 but not so intelligent that once the field has been ploughed they need to do the headlands.

As for my hired workers that do the mowing, Raking and tedding on a field that has a angled headland don't even get me started on that.