How you choose your map

[Barrcott]

I know there's other posts on favorites & sizes but how do you pick your map ?

I turned on my console last night & didn't turn a wheel for nearly an hour & a half just installing & looking for the next prospective adventure , in that time I still couldn't decide .

So the question is have you a story you want to pursue ? Dictated by the size of the kit you want to use ? Where certain sell points & dealer's yard is ? & After choosing, how long do you give the map before you decide to keep going or bin it ?

[chedly_farms]

I choose a map by a few criteria.

Number one being, does this map/terrain look real enough for me to get "lost" in it? Does it feel real? Is this a map I can play on/in and get a sense like I actually live there. How are the roads, they need to look real, no flat colors will do. Is the terrain, rolling and have elevation or is it flat. Too much elevation causes problems with machine power, to flat is very borings. And Is the map organic feeling so to speak? It can feel to blocky or computer made. Also as to trees and bushes, foliage is key for me. Don't duplicate the same tree and put 30 of them beside each other.

Number two, will working the fields get boring? I don't hire workers. So working fields can't be boring. Not too big or too small. Can I work it with 6 meter equipment and not take more than 2 hours to work the field. I also like odd shaped fields with good views. And by good views, all I simply mean is are they unique? On Marwell you get a nice mix of tree lines and fields in different stages that provide nice colors. So to repeat above, Foliage is key for me.

Number three, what's the animal barns/silage pit situation. I like doing silage, so having cows is very important. Does the cow barn(s) look real enough for me? Most do, so this isn't an issue. Also I need a nice silage pit, possibly two or at least a place to put a second or third. I like having separate pits for grass and corn silage if possible.

There are probably more things, but these are most important.

[vondeylenfarms]

Kinda like said above, I choose maps that fit close to resemblance to where I'm at which is northwest Ohio. Large fields, large farm yard area and how the terrain and roads look. I have downloaded several maps just to check them out and see...lots of awesome maps and look great but just not for me. I enjoy the larger machines and equipment so I need room for those

[bossmanslim]

My general criteria basically in order. The example maps are an example, but that doesn't mean the criteria is the only issue I have with the map.

1) Does the map have some roll to the terrain or is it super flat? I hate flat maps as they look unnatural (see Welker Farms)
2) How chopped up is the map by map objects such as wood piles, fixed roads, deer stands, random buildings, fences and junk in general (see Ravenport)
3) Is all the land on the map except the town purchasable (see Old Steam Farm)
4) Are the roads too narrow and/or are the sell points excessively far from the map center (see Geiselsberg)
5) Does the map have buried trees that I can't remove without using the Giants Editor (see Lone Oak)
6) Does the map force the player into a certain starting position or not? Can I rework that starting area to my preference or are all the buildings fixed and thus it's a "play my way" not play "your way" map. (see Marwell Manor)
7) Are the fields out of square enough that courseplay can't handle them (see County Line)

Maps I've liked:

- Felsburnn
- Midwest Horizon
- Old Timers Farm
- Grizzly Mountain
- Old Farm Countryside

Maps I basically have only 1 issue with:

- Lone Oak, too many buried trees
- Babrosty, dirt roads are actually placed road objects and thus can't be removed.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

I've been playing long enough I can usually tell within 10 min of driving around a map if I am going to like it or not.
If it is to small and crowded or looks like a video game its a hard no.
If it passes that I will give it an evening or two to try, if it feels like the map is going to be frustrating I punt it and move on. Typically if it gets past the 6-10 hour mark I will put hundreds of hours on it.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

1) Does the map have some roll to the terrain or is it super flat? I hate flat maps as they look unnatural (see Welker Farms)

For what it's worth Welker Farms map is pretty accurate to reality. There is a reason Montana speed limits were “reasonable and prudent" for the longest time lol.

[bossmanslim]

1) Does the map have some roll to the terrain or is it super flat? I hate flat maps as they look unnatural (see Welker Farms)

For what it's worth Welker Farms map is pretty accurate to reality. There is a reason Montana speed limits were “reasonable and prudent" for the longest time lol.

It's not as flat as portrayed in the map.

[Odoyle rules]

Yeah I’m also on the same page as above but playing on Xbox one I also look for slot counts, the more slots the more variety of vehicles and machinery, I like hagenstedt or how ever you spell it I liked the map then sold everything and it brought the slot count down to 257 so I had 1150 ish slots to work with and I’ve developed a perfect logging/contracting business, with a little help from some landscaping and painting here and there it’s great. I have created a quarry and job sites with various tasks to suit an earth works contractor and I couldn’t be happier

[blue_painted]

My only rule is the map has to support Seasons: at least the trees and foliage do, I can do a Seasons mask if I have to.

Things I like on a map:
1. FS19 placable animal husbandry - works best with Seasons
2. "Real feel" natural shaped fields, preferably right up to the hedge line.
3. Consistent theme and style - US flags on US maps, German buildings on German maps, UK street signs on UK maps etc.
4. Collisions on hedges, pylons and poles etc.
5. Some variation is elevation (but not huge mountains)
6. Local world - town/village to "place" the farm and help generate story.

Things that put me off:
a. Decoration-only buildings - barns where you can't get in.
b. Massive, out of scale buildings - barns/sheds for 100 tractors on a tiny farm
c. Everything arranged East/West or North/South ... some things have to be but.
d. No multi-terrain angle - fixable but just another task
e. No old-style Field defs
f. geeky one - lack of organisation in the .i3d because that just makes my tweaks harder

[TaintedBlackCat]

No boring ground textures. Not a fan of farm yards that have 4 hectares of perfectly clean, undamaged, brand new looking concrete or tiles.

Map must have good options for paintable textures in landscaping mode. Minibrunn has paintable weeds and bushes. Meadow Grove has some neat custom textures too.

It's a must for me, definitely realistic looking ground textures is in my top requirements.

Thanks for reading

[SJ_Sathanas]

If it's a seasons map I look for lots to do away from my own fields ie; contracts or forestry otherwise I tend to run-out of things to do.
I like either a very small tight map for small to medium vehicles or a logging only map that i can expand into farming. This was tricky on Xbox but not an issue on pc.
Favourite maps so far are Holmakra and Medaow Grove.
I like Ravenport because it was my first FS mal but I don't play it very often. Keep meaning to try it with seasons.