Self implied rules

[JaVaDy]

When playing FS I have some self implied game-rules:

• No trucks on the fields, use an auger-wagon to transport harvest from harvester to semi trailer

• No trucks on the farm, only allowed for transporting goods (water, fuel, crops to selling points)

• No hired workers, except for plowing (to prevent me from going crazy)

• No driving through fields, but keep to the roads

• No loan

• Animals have to be transported from animal dealer to stable and vice versa, nothing bought with fee (except chickens, there are no means for chicken transport)

• Animal food should consist of crops, no ready made stuff from the shop

• No John Deere equipment

• No swearing during the game, though it's allowed when traffic is concerned

• Don't follow advice from wife during game to prevent from going broke

This my list for Westbridge Hills on console (with 6-day seasons)

What self implied rules do you use ?

[chedly_farms]

• No loans

• 18 mph max on roads/in-game speed limit

• 9-11 mph on fields around the farm yard

• No hired workers except maize/corn forage harvesting

• No driving through fields, but keep to the roads

• Cows get 12 hours rations at a time (morning/evening feeding)

• Eggs are picked up and sold every morning

• Try and keep to equipment that is found in the area in real life

• For now, no autoloading equipment

• Non Seasons - Hay is never baled the same day as it's mowed

• Only one type of crop is stored in 1 bin at a time. One bin=one type of crop. Three bins=three types of crops. After all, you would store corn in the same bin with soybean in real life. Also, on Marwell, I use the grain storage buildings to store grain not equipment

• fill silage bunks/clamps as close to real life as possible

• simulate seasons, a growth stage could last as many as 20+ days, when I'm done with the work, I move on.

• have fun, it's a game

[Crazof]

in any given day, the amount I get paid for contracts has to be higher than the amount I paid workers.

although I have to admit this was much harder to do with seasons in FS17 than it is with seasons FS19

[Old McGlenno]

A few of mine have already been mentioned, so I'll try not to be redundant:

-Forced break for lunch and dinner (go to my house and fast forward time 30-45 minutes). If super busy I could skip lunch...can always eat in the tractor. Generally do not skip dinner though, gotta keep the (imaginary) wife happy
-Try not to work at night unless in an emergency
-Always drive to the shop to purchase/return equipment
- I really try to obey traffic rules/etiquette, but it is SO HARD. Sometimes I just HAVE to swerve off the road to go around a car that is moving at like a centimeter per hour lol

There's probably lots more but I'm tired

[kahfs]

Interesting ideas. Some are good sound farming practice, like not seed with 17 kph, not race around on the field with semi-trailer or mix crop in the silo. It is not my intention to offend anyone making their own rules, everybody should, I think. But some of the rules mentioned seem to be just opposite of what real farmers would do. Why no loan? Loans help farmers become productive. So does hiring helpers. Many farmers hire a contractor for harvesting root crop. And what is the issue having your slaughter animals and milk picked up? All pigs for slaughter on my dads farm were picked up by a hired truck driver. So were the milk from neighboring dairy farmers. Where I live, farmers are way too busy too haul their own products. So my question is, are these "back-to-basics" rules really inspired by real life farming in your part of the world?

[Crazof]

I'm not sure anybody said these rules were inspired by anything real. So many things in FS are just too easy to do, so self regulation helps to make some things just a little harder.

[BC144601]

I understand the rules and agree with most, but no loan?
I do take out a loan from time to time depending what I want to buy or between growth cycles, my money can get low at times because you need capital to keep the lights on and grow the farm and equipment.

There's always walking the fine line between going negative, buying, repairing, planting, plowing, wages and keeping the lights on, and if you're playing with seasons it's even more of a thin line, because one mistake and you can lose all of your crops.
I do hire workers, what farmer doesn't need help.

[Dairydeere]

My rules that apply for my seasons farm

• Once I take out a loan, I have to repay in full before I consult the bank to borrow more

• Obey traffic laws to the best of my ability

• Getting AI help is allowed. Every farm has hired help

• No trucks in field for harvest unless silage harvesting with silage trailers. Grain carts bring it to the truck

• No storing more crop types than I have bins. For multi bin grain legs, I count the bins and that is how many types I can store

• Limited teleporting. Obviously, on a 4x map, it is hrs not to when I have to get back to another field and I didn’t have a helper follow me. But my pickup truck needs some work on it

• Seed tenders in the field. It is not often that you return to your farm to fill from a tender when it can come to the field

• This is just a fun thing for me now that I do PC, but having hazards on down the road is such an awesome thing to have now

• Must own a John Deere

• Edit: iwan073 reminded me that changing engines size in the same model is a big realistic no no too. Very fun to have implemented into my challenging gameplays

[redglasses]

One of my biggest ones is that the shop is only open 9:00 to 17:00 every day. If I want fert or seed after I have to go to the garden centre which is open 9:00 to 20:00. Also selling point have open and closed times unless they have a great demand.

[Dairydeere]

Shamrock Valley actually has that feature on it. I think that is really cool to have. I gotta try that map sometime, OxygenDavid can work wonders

[iwan073]

Now I’m on a multiplayer map with Barrcott, no rules apply. Since he cheats the hell out of this game.

But when I play by myself:

• Never upgrade engines. What you buy is what you get.
• Stay on roads
• Don’t use the easy money options that AlienJim offers, like diesel runs or purified air... Feels like cheating to me.
• When working on fields in rain, I reduce maximum working speed by half. Unless on tracks or twin tires. Then only 25% slower.
• Don’t constantly produce silage bales. Way too easy money

[humbe]

- No selling land I have bought. (exploit as price is constant)
- No mods making gear available that is strictly better than existing gear. For instance no cheap old gear that works as good as new gear in game anyhow.

[El_Nino_NL]

Couple of rules I apply.
- Only buying equipment from the store, I can look it up on the website or app, but buying from the store.
- If I buy equipment from the website/app, I can pick it up the next day after 12:00 as it had to be ordered. (I sometimes forget my own buying rule, so this works as a penalty)
- No trucks on the field, only tractors and harvesters
- Can take a loan, but with a max of €100.000,-. On smaller farms the cap is at €50.000,- as the equipment is cheaper
- Playing with seasons I can buy 4 hay bales to start with for the cows. The rest of all the food must be harvested/mowed etc.
- All animals (except chickens) must be bought at the animal dealership.
- Slurry is mainly used for the grass fields. If there is enough, I will do (part of) other fields as well.
- Playing on small farms I have to do all by myself, no hired workers as there is no money for hired helpers. Harvesting I do have a helper for a small fee, because my (in-game) son likes to ride the harvester.
- Bigger farms, I will have hired workers.
- Only driving on the roads.
- Every morning the animals will get their feed.
- Seed/(liquid)fertilizer/lime must be bought at the store and transported to the farm. This can be on the pallets, but also in a designated trailer if I have the appropriate storage facilities.
- Fuel must be bought at the fuel station in town. As for the rule above, I can transport the fuel to a storage facility on the farm if I have one. No barrels or tankers on the farm to fuel up from.

Think this is about it for me and my rules.

[Barrcott]

Now I’m on a multiplayer map with Barrcott, no rules apply. Since he cheats the hell out of this game.

But when I play by myself:

• Never upgrade engines. What you buy is what you get.
• Stay on roads
• Don’t use the easy money options that AlienJim offers, like diesel runs or purified air... Feels like cheating to me.
• When working on fields in rain, I reduce maximum working speed by half. Unless on tracks or twin tires. Then only 25% slower.
• Don’t constantly produce silage bales. Way too easy money

Is buying & selling cheating ?
Me: driving a load of fuel I've just bought for a delivery

Iwan: are you cheating again ?

Me: no mate it's called wheeling & dealing

Iwan: be right back I'm off to make coffee

Coffee:

I know right ?:

[iwan073]