I entered the FS world with 15. Being a "heavy equipment nerd" I though it was a really cool and unique game. The countless numbers of violent fantasy and FPS games do not interest me. That it was not just a machine sandbox was refreshing. Due to various reasons I didn't play it that much. Never had any mods installed. I bought 17 when it was released, and thought that everything was a little bit better. No big step, but just I bit more polished.
After a few months I was rather tired of it, mostly due to the fact that the improvements or new stuff hardly added to the gameplay. The world still zombie-like, and the AI traffic/pedestrians were still weird, repetitive and just plain unrealistic. Felt like something other games had 15 years ago. The "transporting pallets" and "moving grass" missions were gone, and replaced by farming mission. Fine, but why not keep the old ones as well for more variety? Farming missions were nice, but the whole senario and lack of realistic interactions with other farmers quickly made them boring. Trains? Well, nice but how many farmers run trains for transport? If we can run trains, why not run a factory that takes crops and produce something?
And then the more basic problems with realism that in the end made the game feel like something for small kids. "Factories" (sell points) with (obvious) lots of traffic to/from them are accessed by dirt roads half covered with grass. Really? Empty lifeless buildings in the middle of nowhere buys all kinds of crops in infinit amounts, day and night. Run straight across fields from the combine to the place, dump it on the ground were it just disappears and you get money. Harvest, plow, plant, fertilize during the same hour, and then wait 1-2 "days" until repeating the process. Absolutely no randomness or realism in terms of environment or economy. Birds singing in the woods 24/7, but no wild life what so ever to be seen. Not another tractor in sight on the roads or fields despite there being other farmers. The total lack of attention to these kind of details showed real quick to me. If this was the first or second installment of the game - fine. But then you realize it is actually the 6th version, and it is just treading water and not going anywhere in terms of gameplay. It was just unrealistic and repetitive to me, and I almost didn't play it for half a year.
Then I found out about Seasons, and it was like the game was 50% better. Finally some obvious basic realism in terms of environment, economy, wear and tear. Something that lends to actually playing the game and simulating a farm, and not just simulating farming equipment. Without Seasons I would not play FS today.
And I wondered why this had never been incorporated in game before... Maybe because GIANTS don't see the game the same way as a bunch of hard core gamers? I mean, they released 19 without proper support for gaming devices. Maybe the PS/Xbox kids that just want to run anything *now* is the core target group that makes this game viable?
I understand that new brands are interesting and lucrative. But is FS about to become just a photo realistic ad platform for brands? I understand the need for a new graphic engine (or whatever they have built) to advance the game. But it's a massive undertaking, and almost everything else seems to have been put on hold. With the very minor evolution between 15 and 17, I hade hoped for massive improvements in gameplay for 19. Now it feels like a restart again, with just the rudimentary things there and lots of stuff that needs development and refinements. Just like BulletBill wrote: "look at what our new graphics engine can do". Yes, fine, but was graphics and sound so broken and bad in 17 that that was almost the only thing needed to be fixed? (I actually think the engine sounds in 17 is very good - definitely as good as it needs to be.) I stand at Lone Oak Farm and look at the beautiful sky or the autumn leaves or the summer grass (so gorgeous I can almost smell the freshness of it), and I wonder why graphics was the number one priority for 19 after what we got with 15 and 17. And no, I don't find the graphics/texture in 19 that fantastic. It's like the equipment has gone in a photo realistic direction (probably a demand from the manufacturers) and the environment has gone in another (modern cartoon-like) direction. It's like a discord between those two that I do not feel in 17.
Then I think about how much moders have done to 17, and all the stuff I find interesting and realistic and just fun. Seasons, of course. But other things as well. Planes and helicopters in the sky come and go. Factories with sounds and all kinds of goods. Boats out on the sea. Traffic rules you "must" obey at stop signs or traffic lights. Follow Me - just obvious on a big farm. Office hours you have to follow when buying or delivering stuff. Going to the real estate company in town to buy pieces of land. Rent crop dusting airplanes. A letter box with my name on it. A dog and a cat walking around the farm just like in real life. The list goes on and on with stuff that adds to realism and makes the world come alive. And all the stuff I haven't seen but feels natural to me regarding gameplay and running a farm and being part of the fictional local community. Grazing animals at other farms. Cars outside factories during working hours, otherwise empty parking lots. Other farmers delivering to sell points or working on their fields. Equipment that actually breaks down and need repair/towing. Crops destroyed by weather or pest insects. Some proper interaction with the bank regarding finances, or with neighbors about - well - anything. Just some randomness and surprises in the gameplay that makes running a farm challenging - not just rinse and repeat in a 100% predictable manner day after day. The feel of being a farmer in the community, and just not running photo-realistic machines in a zombie-like world.
It is a bit sad to me, because I feel the potential in this unique game is about so much more than just adding brand names and having "better" graphics. I understand that it is probably not GIANTS role to provide us with maps that suits every possible taste. But not even the basic skeleton they did provide in this commercial game called FS19 were finished when released. Somehow I feel that the small advancements that are there in gameplay in 15, 17, and 19 are kind of random and haphazard without an overall logic progression from release to release. To me, they don't add up or age with grace. I lack a clear direction of where they want to go with the game, and I think that is bothering me with 19.
I do still pray about an updated Seasons for 17 with even more realism!
. You with oxygen david and black sheep modding are the reasons why I kept going on 17. Without you guys I rather play fallout 76.
