Minor improvements you would like in the next game

[MrSquealypig]

With the new generation of consoles coming out I would imagine Giants has started planning their next installment, so I was wondering what sort of minor/relatively simple-to-implement improvements you guys would like to see.

Obviously a lot of people would like things like seasons, courseplay, GPS, classic equipment, and more big brands in the base game, but all those require a lot of time/money/work, so I wouldn't consider them minor.

Here are some little things I would personally like to see:

1. More birds and maybe some bugs.
-Birds on fields have made the game feel a lot more alive, and I think it would be fairly simple to add some different kinds/colors of birds, and maybe some bugs like bees, lightning bugs at night, etc., just to liven it up a bit more. I know a lot of people request deer and other wildlife, but this would be an easier start.

2. Tarp/cover animations.
-In FS17 there was a mod trailer with a tarp that stretched across when you covered your load and it was a lot of fun to use. This might be tricky though since all trailers are different shapes and sizes, so this might be the most difficult item on my list.

3. 3x time speed.
-I have always found 5x speed to be too fast to do everything I need to do in a day, but real time is too slow. 3x seems like a perfect compromise, and I can't imagine it would be hard to add.

4. Sitting in the passenger seat when hiring workers.
-I used to think this would be too difficult to implement, but there have been a lot of mods released for FS19 that put your character in different positions and stances than sitting in a standard tractor or harvester, so maybe we will be lucky enough to get this feature, which I have always wanted, this time around.

5. Mini bales/balers in the base game.
-Anyone who likes pushing the limits of small farming (which I've seen a lot of people like me do) knows they are a necessity when trying to farm with low-power tractors. It would be nice to have them on day 1 of the games release.

6. A shovel and broom that are equipped like the chainsaw.
-We finally got them as mods, and now I can't imagine farming without them. Nothing is more convenient for animal care.

7. Custom map-starting cash amount.
-Imagine if you could role-play expanding your operations into a new region by having your cash from another map carry over to your new location. That would be very simple to do if you could choose the amount you start with on a new map.

8. A way to remove bushes and shrubs.
-I have heard you can remove them by plowing a new field and then changing it back to grass in landscaping, but that seems unnecessarily-complicated and risky. I wish we could have a new tool or machine, or even just an option on existing mowers that says "turn on shrub mulching" to get rid of them.

9. Fruit trees.
-I'm not asking for fully-realistic orchard mechanics and equipment, which would be extremely complicated to add. I just want simple trees that you place on the map with fruit that shows up every few days, that you can drive a special trailer up to, that fills up with crates of the fruit that can me moved like egg boxes. Start with apples and oranges and then maybe modders can customize them to add more fruits later.

10. Young livestock.
-Just like the fruit trees, I am not expecting a fully-realized birth and growth mechanic for livestock. I would just like to see little cows and chicks and sheep walking around in the pens with the adult animals, or in a separate pen that doesn't contribute to the milk/egg/wool production.

What improvements would you all like to see?

[raran]

2,4,5,7,8,9 and 10 are already in the game one way or another.

[MrSquealypig]

Yeah, they are as mods (some only on PC though), but I would like them in the base (console) game so that we do not have to wait months after release for them.

[this_is_gav]

In terms of minor additions I've said it before - proper hedgerows and other field boundaries.

Tie it to livestock too, where a field needs to be enclosed (hedge/fence/wall + gate) and to have set features inside that to accommodate X amount of different livestock.

Cutting back hedges would be another job for quiet times in Seasons too.

[Trizzo3987]

On consoles squared off fields would help since courseplay doesn’t seem to be obtainable, not much need for hired help if you have to reset them at the end of each pass, removing hedges would be nice as well, would like to see tobacco as a crop as well or himp, to me it seems like being able to send a hired helper from point a to b with a load or equipment would be simple maybe not but to me would be nice even if the maneuver wasn’t visible

[duncan_101]

As things stand now I probably won't be buying the next FS unless there are some substantial new gameplay improvements.

a new crop or a new brand of equipment won't be enough for me to buy the new game.

[blue_painted]

Given that this thread is for minor improvements, so specifically not large features:

1. Replace "Sleep for X hours" with "Sleep until XX o'clock" or "Sleep until dawn/morning"
2. Related to the above, get rid of "You are not tired"
3. Make the "proximity to hitch" configurable.
4. Make the arrangement the equipment categories configurable - I've no idea what they are the moment, but alphabetical would be a good place to start.
5. Mods to be assigned to categories by hard and fast rules -- so we don't have Seasons GEO under "Bale technology"
6. Make the mod-selection list searchable.
7. "Save player" location in base game -- there's a mod, of course, but why should that be needed?
8. Connected to the above, allow multiple farmhouses/sleep triggers, so that you wake up where you went to sleep
9. Make the locale information -- currency, units etc etc, -- set and stored on a per-map basis.
10. An age range of farmer/player characters -- most farmers are not in their early/mid 20s like the current models.

... a nice round ten!

[MrSquealypig]

Lots of good ideas.

Exactly the kind of changes I am looking for.

[Ritchie]

A boiler suit and wellies for your character and maybe a baler twine belt to really bring the whole ensemble together.

[PS4farmhand]

The real dirt color should be base game.... I dont understand why it hasn't and won't be added. I know its a mod but I'm on console so that mod isn't available to me. They (Giants) could come up with their own idea of doing or Giants could work with the modder to have his idea implemented in the game. there's other ideas but they've mostly been covered by previous posts

[Achtung Baby]

Just my usual rant regarding the lack of options for the combine, the Auto combine mod in FS 15/17 was one of my favourite mods. Why have an ever expanding farming game yet your AI workings cannot perform simple tasks?

[Bryan83]

Multiple contracts as a basic feature.

[thecaveman991]

Ability to manually select 14 crop types and Start Up, so that player can eliminate/replace crop types they will never farm and tidies up UI and Season GEOs. For me I would love to replace Sugar Cane, Cotton, Beets and Potatoes with Lucerne, Rye, Chick Peas and Triticale.

[GBFarms]

I would like finance options on vehicles and machinery expanding from the basic loan system we have already.

Edit: and lime texture dirt (white) base game. Kinda thought this would be implemented within seasons. Even if the snow texture was used.

[Bryan83]

Another thing I thought of, and should be real easy, in the shop menu, instead of total capacity on seeders, list how much seed and fertilizer it holds. Could do it like the fuel and DEF.