Constructive feedback thread for FS22

[this_is_gav]

Thanks Kerminator for acknowledging and participating in the thread.

I would have to think the game has to be nearly complete and giants probably doesn't have much time to change too many things. With the massive delays in shipping lately because of covid they would have to be shipping off the hard copies of this game to retailers soon if they want any chance of fs22 making to retailers in time for November 22nd. Any big changes would probably have to be included in an update after the game releases.

Yeah, I realise most of this isn't possible for FS22 release now even if GIANTS wanted to (probably 12+ months late for some of them), but Kerminator and Chris asked for further constructive feedback in today's podcast, so I thought I'd break down my comments and provide a dedicated thread for others to do the same.

If the environment is still being worked on as has been suggested, then those comments can still hopefully be taken on board.

Maybe others might be considered for an update and and if that's still unrealistic then they might be considered for the next game.

This thread can stay open after FS22's release, so when we get our hands on the game more feedback can be added for future consideration too.

Note to Gav: I hope this aligns with "constructive" feedback and hasn't wandered too far into "wishlist"

Haha, no they're fine.

I agree with nearly everything you've said with one exception. Although I agree that skies should never be white, the image which you've included seems to show haze or fog which could give the impression of a somewhat white sky. It may be that you've chosen a bad image to depict your point.

No, you're right and it was a bad screenshot to use. I might sift through those released and scan the videos for another tomorrow, as I'm sure I've seen another one, but couldn't remember where off the top of my head!

Obviously we're still to see this sort of thing 'live', but if we can get such a scene like that every day, or at certain angles no matter what time (a bit like FS19 where the sky often looked white with overblown highlights) then it would be wrong in my opinion. If such a scene is only likely once every few days it would be fine.

[ChiefContractor]

Blue:

Seasonal Cycles:

This was done by Jos, who is the lead at GIANTS for Seasonal Cycles to better integrate this feature and optimize it into the base game. He previously worked with Realismus Modding on the Seasons mod you are used to.

We've been very clear in the past that if a "seasons" type of thing were to be added in to FS that it would not be as in depth and hardcore as the mod, because we don't want to force these more "hardcore" features on people.

That's why it's Seasonal Cycles coming to 22 and not Seasons. We love the mod community, and I'm sure someone will create something rather quickly for those who are wanting an experience more along the lines that they're used to with the Seasons mod.

Regional Settings:

This is a question I can only answer based on my preference, and my preference is to always have it set to the units that make sense to me. I'm sure there are some who would like to see it change based on the map region, and there are also others like me what want to use what makes sense to them so they don't have to fuss over learning new units & conversions.

uh how is 9 day seasons or anything below hardcore. 3 days is barely enough time to think

[Kerminator]

Chief,

I'll restate that it's Seasonal Cycles we're adding to 22 again, not the Seasons mod. There's a reason for the distinction in the name.

The main point is to have changing seasons and months added in to the base game for changes in weather and scenery. The only additions beyond that are still optional in the game menu, you can turn off the crop calendar and plant whatever you want whenever you want, or you can pause the calendar and nothing will change state. You can also turn off snow in the winter if you don't want to remove it or have it impact how your vehicles behave.

I personally have never been a fan of using the seasons mod in my saves for example, but I'm rather excited to see these streamlined functions of Seasonal Cycles added. Mainly because it adds variety in scenery and lighting changes due to season, month, time of day, and weather. It does this without restricting you too much.

[ChiefContractor]

but still seasonal cycles doesnt mean 12 days in a year. if it was seasonal cycles thered be a minumum of 2 days to allow say new players to complete the task theyre at before the next month

[Kerminator]

but still seasonal cycles doesnt mean 12 days in a year. if it was seasonal cycles thered be a minumum of 2 days to allow say new players to complete the task theyre at before the next month

Yes I understand that, but the settings for changing days in the seasons mod can break saves if you change them after the fact. The solution of the lower timescales in Seasonal Cycles is the best alternative to simulate 3, 6 or 9 day seasons while keeping it optimized.

That way players can play as fast or as slow as they want to do whatever tasks it is they want to do.

But again, I'm sure the mod community will expand on this idea and you'll eventually be able to do it more along the lines of what you envision.

[ChiefContractor]

but still seasonal cycles doesnt mean 12 days in a year. if it was seasonal cycles thered be a minumum of 2 days to allow say new players to complete the task theyre at before the next month

Yes I understand that, but the settings for changing days in the seasons mod can break saves if you change them after the fact. The solution of the lower timescales in Seasonal Cycles is the best alternative to simulate 3, 6 or 9 day seasons while keeping it optimized.

That way players can play as fast or as slow as they want to do whatever tasks it is they want to do.

But again, I'm sure the mod community will expand on this idea and you'll eventually be able to do it more along the lines of what you envision.

6 "days" is basically 34h of daylight then. so i dont know how its "simulating" them amounts of days

[FarmBoss]

but still seasonal cycles doesnt mean 12 days in a year. if it was seasonal cycles thered be a minumum of 2 days to allow say new players to complete the task theyre at before the next month

Yes I understand that, but the settings for changing days in the seasons mod can break saves if you change them after the fact. The solution of the lower timescales in Seasonal Cycles is the best alternative to simulate 3, 6 or 9 day seasons while keeping it optimized.

That way players can play as fast or as slow as they want to do whatever tasks it is they want to do.

But again, I'm sure the mod community will expand on this idea and you'll eventually be able to do it more along the lines of what you envision.

Just a thought for Kerminator.
When starting a new game and choosing a map, you could possibly have a "season length" choice as well. Once the game begins, there's no changing the season length. No worry about breaking save files then.

[ChiefContractor]

logic is good

[garyst]

Well if there is any chance I would like to see the sorghum textures fixed. From what I've seen in the preview videos and pictures the combine shouldn't be cutting the whole stalk down. They just cut the top of the plant off where the grain is. Also would like to see the sorghum plants in rows like the corn is, not look like the seeds were broadcast spread across the field.

[Mobias]

Re the whole seasons thing. I always had it in my mind that you'd be able to turn the feature off entirely and play FS22 as you did past FS games without seasons. It does strike me that people who like playing with seasons are the ones who like playing the sim realistically and want that extra depth, and therefore certainly want a wide choice of seasons length.

But again, I'm sure the mod community will expand on this idea and you'll eventually be able to do it more along the lines of what you envision.

Thats good to hear. If its opened up for modders to adapt and add features to then that will end up being the solution to please everyone.

[Drmattymd]

The solution to include the option for 3, 6 & 9 day seasons are the lower timescales of .5x & .33x so using these you get 24x24 hours and 36x24 hours instead of the 22 standard of 12x24.

-Kermit

So how does slowing the time down affect the weather? For example, if one of your three days its raining, will slowing down time allow the rain to pass or will it just rain slower all day. If the forecast is calling for rain does time speed have any effect on when or how long it rains? More days gives you the ability to make up for rainy days.

[Mwal]

Season length
I know this has been touched on a quite a bit already but this game has always been big on customizing play style. It’s tough to see that go out the window on what’s to me the single feature that kept me playing the game and brought my interest back into it. I understand that seasons was a mod and you added your own separate version that was never promised to be the mod, but customizable aspect of seasons went so hand in hand with farm sims customization they were like a perfect pair. I know the answer to this is often modders will fix it but then on the other side the reason you say you don’t is it causes game breaking issues. I’m not sure how these two things can be a problem and an answer from the same company. Some clarity on that would be nice because this is a buy or don’t buy feature for some of us. It would also be interesting to hear what the reason a selectable at start season length wouldn’t be possible for this issue as this sounds like a logical solution to the problem and we already start and stay with a map without the ability to change mid game and what about the ability to play without productions? I also know that the feature to extend the days has been shared as a solution but it’s very immersion breaking and feels like a half hearted last minute solution to what would have been a game style breaking issue for a portion of the player base.
Bugs and issues with the game
This is a bit of a pain with this game and not much has been said that I’ve heard about the feature you were rolling out around the drop time of one of the dlc. Is bug reporting and information about bugs going to be more transparent or function the future? This game has had (in my opinion) notoriously bad interaction with players when it comes to in game issues. It might be a small studio but it’s also a small player base so I feel like if the big games can handle it we shouldn’t have to see things like people being directed to fill out a ticket by a giants employee on the forum then coming back a month later to the forum complaining of no response. I understand being busy but will more resources be put towards this in the future?
Weird night time lighting
I firmly believe this is a product of people complaining about night time being difficult to work during which as and equipment operator is true in real life. Have you considered a way to scale brightness at night or just an option to eliminate it altogether for those who choose to just drive the tractors? It seems like a better choice than to change the game so drastically.

I would also like to add that I share the same concerns and criticisms that many of the posters have shared here. There’s a wealth of good takes here hopefully giants really takes this thread to heart. I know it’s just a little forum with a small group of people but it’s also a pretty diverse group when it comes to how they play the game and the approach they take to playing, when they agree on things that seem wrong or concerning I think that says something.

[Kermen]

Hello, I used to play fs17 on ps4 and had many, many hours of enjoyment.
I recently got fs19 on my PC however one thing that I was really disappointed in was that there was no way to drastically increase the draw distance due to it being limited to 200%
It would be awesome if you would be able to increase it further to mabey 400% in fs22 as that is the point where the circle of higher detail would be large enough that it wouldn't be very noticeable.
I understand that due to limitations the draw distance circle was smaller on ps4.
However, it would be amazing for those with reasonably powerful computers or on ps5 or xbox series x to be able to increase the draw distance to make it so that the draw distance circle isn't noticeable.
Also, the FS podcast is amazing and fs22 is looking like it will bring many great additions to the farming simulator

[IseOlen]

Yes I understand that, but the settings for changing days in the seasons mod can break saves if you change them after the fact. The solution of the lower timescales in Seasonal Cycles is the best alternative to simulate 3, 6 or 9 day seasons while keeping it optimized.

"might brake something" is weak compared to "will definitely lack variety". Having fixed length basically removes possible variations - all crops are ready to harvest at the same day? Or have just 1 day to harvest? What if it rains on that 1 day - having rain last 3 times longer just isn't a solution.
We have had excellent Seasons mod with variable length for years now. Don't be shy and use what community has approved (the Seasons mod is just full of excellent ideas).

[Hoffa82]

Perhaps if you slow down time to 0x the rain stops falling mid air and you can harvest in "bullettime", or is that Immersion-breaking? /s