Playing the Game Realistically. What says you?

[chedly_farms]

We have a decent discussion started in the mods discussion thread but, I don't want to derail that thread too much. And I feel this is a matter that some people feel very strongly about. And there maybe some players out there that would like to play the game more realistically but don't know how.

So just to start the discussion off and to rehash things I said in the mod discussion thread...

Illinois Farmer and I were discussing that a lot of youtubers don't play the game too realistically and in turn I personally don't like watching lot of lets plays. I personally slow down and take my time trying to do all the processes as close to life as I can. Driving a combine through a field at 26mph is not my cup of tea. I love to harvest at about 4 - 5 mph. And how how people fill silage clamps makes me cringe, lol.

But to each is own. Do you all try to play real? or MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, get the job done fast!?

[Illinois Farmer]

Obviously, since we were talking I like playing realistic and only like watching people that play realistic Ha. Also not to start a fight, everyone is entitled to play the game how they see fit and watch whoever they like.

[Kimpak]

I agree Chedly. I love watching DJGoham doing farm sim news and new mods. But I can't watch his lets plays because of all the modded harvest speeds and capacities etc.. I get that's how some people want to play and there's nothing wrong with that.

I'm somewhere in between unrealistic and realistic. I play as realistically as you can with the vanilla game mechanics plus seasons. Like leaving my semi at the edge of a field while using a tractor to chase the combine instead of just driving the semi into the field. But I don't use vehicle realism mod, mostly because it sounds like it'd conflict with a lot of things and just be annoying to me. I like to drive on the roads for the most part, but I'll still cut though fields in some places where I just don't want to go around. I do use auto-loading trailers for whenever I have to do bale work for anything over 20 bales or so. But I don't auto-load pallets of anything. I also don't like using any of the mods that cheat in a PTO or hitch on a machine that isn't supposed to have one or use the roto-arm to create insane abominations. Or even attaching the front and rear mowers together onto the front of a tractor and pulling a baler or forage wagon behind. Kind of cheaty in my opinion.

[chedly_farms]

Obviously, since we were talking I like playing realistic and only like watching people that play realistic Ha. Also not to start a fight, everyone is entitled to play the game how they see fit and watch whoever they like.

I hope nobody comes on here to fight. I think the point of my post is more towards how does the fandom play as I am curious. Am I in the minority? Not that it matters, I just like looking for good discussion points. Some of the best discussed threads on here were a brainchild of my boredome while I "work".

[Mwal]

Realistically, I was gonna jump into the other one and comment but out of respect for chedly I will comment here. The bigger dairy’s by where I farm actually do drive semis and straight trucks along with the chopper in the fall it’s pretty common actually and a few are getting so big 2-3000 head, they hire construction companies to haul their silage with side dumps. Boxes are still common too with the smaller guys but when you get bigger you spread out and it’s just not economical to destroy expensive Ag tires putting on so many highway miles. A truck is built for it. Tractor not so much. The new thing seems to be those side dumping carts that load the truck, but I only see those sporadically but I will say there seems to be more and more every year though. The other harvest thats almost completely loaded on trucks on the field is sugar beets. If the trucks can’t go they drag em with safety pulls on a tractor. Now to the op, when I play realistically I tend to combine both my background in construction and farming together so I would say I play aggressively but within the realm of realism of far and what would actually be possible. With in game prices the way they are it allows me to dabble in things like big loaders, trucks, dozers, and excavators with a farming twist. I guess if I did a role play I would be the owner of a construction and trucking company that also farms.

[chedly_farms]

I agree Chedly. I love watching DJGoham doing farm sim news and new mods. But I can't watch his lets plays because of all the modded harvest speeds and capacities etc.. I get that's how some people want to play and there's nothing wrong with that.

I'm somewhere in between unrealistic and realistic. I play as realistically as you can with the vanilla game mechanics plus seasons. Like leaving my semi at the edge of a field while using a tractor to chase the combine instead of just driving the semi into the field. But I don't use vehicle realism mod, mostly because it sounds like it'd conflict with a lot of things and just be annoying to me. I like to drive on the roads for the most part, but I'll still cut though fields in some places where I just don't want to go around. I do use auto-loading trailers for whenever I have to do bale work for anything over 20 bales or so. But I don't auto-load pallets of anything. I also don't like using any of the mods that cheat in a PTO or hitch on a machine that isn't supposed to have one or use the roto-arm to create insane abominations. Or even attaching the front and rear mowers together onto the front of a tractor and pulling a baler or forage wagon behind. Kind of cheaty in my opinion.

Now the only autoload trailer I use is for the small Gallignani bales. But I drive about 3mph picking them up (simulating a walking speed pretending the family is walking along stacking the wagon)

[chedly_farms]

Realistically, I was gonna jump into the other one and comment but out of respect for chedly I will comment here. The bigger dairy’s by where I farm actually do drive semis and straight trucks along with the chopper in the fall it’s pretty common actually and a few are getting so big 2-3000 head, they hire construction companies to haul their silage with side dumps. Boxes are still common too with the smaller guys but when you get bigger you spread out and it’s just not economical to destroy expensive Ag tires putting on so many highway miles. A truck is built for it. Tractor not so much. The new thing seems to be those side dumping carts that load the truck, but I only see those sporadically but I will say there seems to be more and more every year though. The other harvest thats almost completely loaded on trucks on the field is sugar beets. If the trucks can’t go they drag em with safety pulls on a tractor. Now to the op, when I play realistically I tend to combine both my background in construction and farming together so I would say I play aggressively but within the realm of realism of far and what would actually be possible. With in game prices the way they are it allows me to dabble in things like big loaders, trucks, dozers, and excavators with a farming twist. I guess if I did a role play I would be the owner of a construction and trucking company that also farms.

In my head, I'll decide if the ground is too wet to drive a semi into the field or not. If I do HUGE scale forage harvesting, I will use semis and trailers or hook trucks. But If I want to play along where the ground is too wet, I'll use that Vicon dump wagon with a tractor on duals. But my playstyle is usually determined by the make believe world in my head.

[ValhallSN95]

I've always played as realistically as possible, just because it was what I grew up doing back when my granddad was still alive and farming.

[NotoriousWeber]

I try to play as realistic as possible. I use alot of realism mods, but not all of them. One i haven't gotten into is the hose mod.

I tried stacking bales for quite awhile. It's fun, and i enjoy it....but the physics of bales drive me NUTS sometimes. So I use the self loading trailers from the Anderson DLC. I don't use any autoload mods...mainly because alot of time they cause mod conflicts. I also don't cheat in money. I like to start from scratch and work my way up. I do use the loan system, because that's what its there for...but i never F-11 money in.

I would say the biggest culprit of breaking any sort of realism is stacking pallets or putting pallets on a trailer. I always attempt to load them...and if they don't want to cooperate i just super strength them onto the trailer.

I guess I just find playing realistically alot more enjoyable. To me, playing unrealistically just seems like a money grind. Eventually you have so much money..what's the point?

BUT! As stated before..to each their own. Everyone plays differently and that's what makes this game awesome. So many people can play so many different ways and still find enjoyment in it.

[Boost_GLR]

I try playing as realistically as i can.

If im working a field far from the farm, i use semis on the side of the field and use an auger wagon with a tractor.

Also when it comes to baling, ill use an autoload trailer sometimes. But i wil run a front loader or similar to grab the bales and set them on the trailer and let autoload place it. I just pretend someone is there helping organize. Lately ive just been stacking them myself.

I also research the country of the map im on and try to use brands that are common in the country. I will also look and see what is commonly grown there and mimic that as well.

[Illinois Farmer]

I only use f11 when I'm landscaping and to place buildings and buying some equipment at a start of a map because I never think of being a 1st generation farmer because I'm a 6th irl. I max out my loan to act like I'm paying for the farm from my relatives, like I'm doing irl right now.

[Honkyfarmer]

I play realistic but I also use a lot of hired help. I like a mix of doing field work and managing. I like the struggle of working up to the items I want to have when I have "made it" as a new farmer. Implements are great but the map has to look rea orl i lose my immersion.....followed by my interest

[chedly_farms]

I guess I just find playing realistically alot more enjoyable. To me, playing unrealistically just seems like a money grind. Eventually you have so much money..what's the point?

This is where I’m at. I play the game to farm. If I just want to cheat through and clean up a bunch of cash to buy the biggest machine, I’ll just use a subsidy. And if I do cheat, I feel the game save is dirty and unusable until I forget about my cheating.

[blue_painted]

My realism as far as money goes is diametrically opposed to NotoriousWeber -- I from the UK and I play UK farms and here you pretty much can't start small and build up, because almost anything that can be a farm already is part of a farm and people seldom sell single fields. So for me I will put a million or two in the bank, buy up sufficient fields to make a viable farm, equip with matching size of kit, and then cut down the cash to a sensible level. I have played financing most consumables by loan, usually on hard economy, with the intent of paying off the loans. The kit I will age and dirty with Easy Dev Controls.

I always play 9 day Seasons. I've got a couple of old combines where I've reduced the header speed down to 2 or 3mph -- I remember walking alongside those little old combines and they weren't doing 6mph! I won't drive through hedges, even where there are no collisions and I even go back and put collisions *on* to electric poles in fields. I find that more and more I "prepare" the map I'm going to play, I might adjust the field defs, I usually remove all decorative-only bales and pallets and I often make more gateways into fields -- and my favourite is to adjust the gate openings so that gates open right back against the hedge. Usually by the second year I'll plough the headlands back closer to the hedge or ditch line: one or two more bouts around a field can add a lot of ground!

As far as vehicles and kit goes: I don't use "cheaty" mods of the kid described up-thread. I tend not to use out-of-region kit and techniques, so for example I won't use a USA style mower in Europe, or an over-loader waggon and an artic at the field. Which brings me to ... I seldom use workers or Courseplay *except* for jobs that a UK farmer would typically not do: Grain is usually sold off the farm and carried by a haulage company, so I have a cheap lorry+trailer that I lease and then run with Courseplay to transport and sell the grain. I love having the refillable diesel tank(s) and I've setup a fuel depot with a tanker on Courseplay. I do the same for milk on a dairy operation: The milk buyer's tanker is run on Courseplay, although perhaps Autodrive would be better. Anything else, except corncart, I drive myself.

No GPS guidance steering on old vehicles. I will use autoload for bales -- again, to mimic UK practice, a lot of straw baling is sold off, so a contractor would come in bale, cart and sell the straw but since Courseplay isn't good at loading bales I do that with an autoload trailer and drive too fast - one of the few times I drive at silly speeds on the field. I will usually autoload big-bags and the like at the shop but unload with a forklift or front loader.

I tried manual attach but couldn't get on with it -- I think it was because I need to use a mouse and I play with a XBOX controller - and I always try to hit trailers and implements with the tractor properly positioned so that the implement doesn't magically jump two metres closer!

[FarmBoss]

I like to play as real as possible. I like to start with as little as possible and grind to the point where I don't feel I need anything else.
Some plays, I will not allow myself to take a loan, so I am forced to move slow. I'll sell logs from my small homestead using a pickup, or do small fertilizing contracts until I can afford a reasonable tractor. I think you know where I'm going with this. My end goal is to work up to chickens, sheep and finally cows.
Some plays I'll work as quick as possible toward pigs. Then I'll use their manure to feed greenhouses. I'll build greenhouses until they can cover maintenance cost of everything else. It can be a lot of work, but I find it is rewarding. There is pretty much never a reason for me to be sitting around wondering what to do.
My rules:
No shortcuts through fields, always stick to roads.
Never drive on a field that I don't own.
Tab to vehicles as little as possible.