AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Yn0z
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2020 9:36 am

AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by Yn0z »

Hi Everyone,

I really am starting to feel like an *$#%§*...I ran a seasons year again yesterday and managed to harvest one canola crop and two meadows. However, I had a lot of downtime with 6 day seasons despite doing contracts...I understand the added realism but this is the second try and I still cant get double cropping right despite doing it exactly according to schedule.

At his point, I am either too new to the game or too stupid to understand the appeal of this mod...any input into how seasons function and how to make it fun would be great because I see a lot of people with amazing screenshots etc.
TobiHH
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Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2017 2:31 pm

Re: AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by TobiHH »

On which map are you playing? Which time scale did you set?
I play on a 4x map also with 6 days per season on 5x speed. It`s often quite challenging to get all the field work done and I never really have downtime. It all depends on your playstyle.
humbe
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Re: AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by humbe »

I play seasons mostly because time is understandable and it models a year with different seasons.. I played 3-day season to limit time consumption, but increased to 9-day season to be able to get weather windows to create hay.

I play in Real Time mode always, but use the Farm Forward mod to fast forward x6000 when I have downtime. Thus I can skip through fast until I have something to do. Playing seasons without a way to quickly forward time sounds annoying.
SJ_Sathanas
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Re: AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by SJ_Sathanas »

No i had problems getting use to seasons too. It helps not to use AI helpers and I cheated on this particular map by giving myself twice as much field to work with. As they were grass meadows it also meant I had an hey and sileage harvest to do inbetween two rounds of prep and planting. I actually missed the window to get my extra fields replanted so they'll have to wait until the Autumn, just as harvest kicks off.

This has been on 9 day seasons and time set to 5x. I've done a few fertilizing and bailing contracts but I've been very busy almost the whole time. I also skip the nights.

The base game is about a fast turn around while seasons is much more about planning and time management. I still have a non-seasons Ravenport for when I'm not in the mood for Seasons.
Last edited by SJ_Sathanas on Tue Mar 10, 2020 12:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
eric21
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Re: AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by eric21 »

Have the time as normal, do u know how to double crop?
norfolk farmer
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Re: AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by norfolk farmer »

Double cropping would need a different GEO as the vanilla seasons is based on UK conditions. Our winter cropping is planted autumn and harvested late summer/early autumn. I think the midwest geo has the ricght parameters for double cropping.
As has already been mentioned if you play real time there will be periods where you have nothing to do.
bossmanslim
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Re: AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by bossmanslim »

I quit playing seasons because I was tired of spending the majority of my time driving a fertilizer spreader and pushing the fast forward key.

I feel the correct way to play seasons is to pick a time setting, say 5x, and don't touch it. The problem with this is that it rains too long so you can end up with entire days where you can't do much.
Yn0z
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Re: AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by Yn0z »

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback, I used the Montana Geo as it aligns with the pacific northwest map. I ran 6 day seasons. My time scale is 5x.

The thing is I really want to build my farm as I like to start from scratch because it gives me the freedom to develop my farm yard the way i want to but at this point I am struggling so badly I can't expand my 2 fields because I will need a bigger equipment etc.

I also don't get the fertilization stages in seasons and how to do double cropping
bossmanslim
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Re: AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by bossmanslim »

Yn0z wrote: Tue Mar 10, 2020 12:50 pm Hey guys, thanks for the feedback, I used the Montana Geo as it aligns with the pacific northwest map. I ran 6 day seasons. My time scale is 5x.

The thing is I really want to build my farm as I like to start from scratch because it gives me the freedom to develop my farm yard the way i want to but at this point I am struggling so badly I can't expand my 2 fields because I will need a bigger equipment etc.

I also don't get the fertilization stages in seasons and how to do double cropping
Seasons requires 3 fertilizer passes, 1 more than the base game.

Double cropping really only exists on certain geos where something like wheat can be planted in the fall and harvested early enough in the spring to allow something like soybeans to be planted and harvested before winter in the fall.
eric21
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Re: AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by eric21 »

Basically harvesting twice in a field in one year
Mwal
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Re: AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by Mwal »

Run twelve day seasons and maybe the midwest geo if you’re double cropping still doesn’t work I find when I run longer day seasons I do more work myself and leave much less to courseplay. You can always speed time up and skip boring times but I find when double cropping at certain time even twelve day seasons are tight and I’m running short on time. I would also recommend can farm for a map. There are no pre determined farms and there are huge grass plots to lands scape to a farm yard and starter fields. It has a good town and a decent amount of sell points and it’s 4 times size.
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redglasses
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Re: AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by redglasses »

I run 3 day seasons at 5x time scale. When I first tried seasons in 17 I tried 9 day seasons and it was soooo boring. 3 day seasons are best for me, and 5x scale makes it fun when you got to get things done in a very limited time frame.
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aklein
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Re: AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by aklein »

If your finding you have to much downtime with seasons then there are a few things you can do.

First off run at a faster clock speed normally. If you usually play 1x then play 5x or if you play 5x then play 15x I guarantee you wont run out of time at 15x when a game day is about 90 min real time.

Second, use smaller equipment. If your getting the job done to fast then use smaller stuff to take longer at the job. Seasons gameplay is different than base game where you feel you need to rush around to do stuff as fast as possible because the next growth could happen at any moment and your just a few growth stages away from losing a crop as a result of withering, etc. With seasons game play growth happens at very predictable steps often game days apart. Slow down, smell the roses and enjoy the view.

Third, use less automation. Base game play its often more of managing hired helpers or courseplay or any number of other ways to get the game to do the work for you. Seasons is about replicating the year and unless your playing on 3 day seasons at 5X speed you have some time to do the field work yourself or with minimal workers. Instead of rushing to pickup straw with a forage wagon use a baler and pick the bales up manually or with a loading trailer. There will likely be plenty of time to get the various jobs done.

Four, pickup animals. With seasons you should top them off daily so it gives you a nice thing to do in the morning. Head out of the house feed the cattle, milk them and haul the milk to market. maybe move any males out of the dairy pen into a beef pen then head out to the field to do various jobs.

In the end seasons isnt for everyone so if your just not feeling it then dont mess with it. For me base game gets boring after about 40 or 50 hours of game play on any given map. With seasons that timeframe can easily increase 4x before it feels repetitive. As to the double cropping there are very few GEOs that support this function as you have to have two crops that overlap the harvest period for one and the planting period for another so you can harvest crop one and plant/seed crop two the same time. Usually its a cereal crop like wheat or barley being harvested and corn or soybeans being planted but the window of opportunity is often very narrow and you have to hope the weather cooperates with you just like real life.
Noraf
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Re: AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by Noraf »

I'm playing 6 day seasons @4x to give me 15 minutes real-time to an hour ingame. Working from 0700-2230, unless in harvest season, then it can get a bit later.
I do have some downtime now and then, and that is usually spent tidying up on the farm, cleaning equipment, servicing , and sweeping the yard :)
I also keep both cattle and sheeps, so they have to be seen to twice a day (morning : water, bedding if i'm on a manure savegame, and tidying up the pens, early evening : water, feed and tidying up the pens, have a walk amongst the animals to check them out, that they are doing well, no injuries that's in need to be looked at and so on ( yes, i know, game doesn't simulate that, but i do :P ) ).
I seldom have time for many contracts, can do a 4-6 during a year, depending on size. Though i also role play a county contract for road sweeping / snow clearing.
I don't fast forward during the daytime, only use the sleep trigger. So i might have an hour to kill sometimes, and if there's a contract that fits into that window of opportunity, i might take it. Though, then i need to be up to task on all farm needs first. Or i might take a stroll on the map, go look around for possible expansion areas, even if i can't afford that for a couple of years... Or have a trip to the local dealership, if they are open, and look trough equipment they have on offer, i have come across a must have item from time to time, witch basically mean i push that expansion further out in time..........
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chedly_farms
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Re: AM I the only one that finds seasons frustrating...

Post by chedly_farms »

I don't use seasons. It's a personal thing with no disrespect towards Realimus or any players. I prefer the freedom of the base game, but I play as though seasons is a thing. I go weeks without turning growth stages on. But that's the beauty of the game, to play however YOU want to play. With so many options you can change, you can make it what you want.
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