GIANTS Software - Forum

Let the adventure begin!

Edit don_apple: fixed link to youtube video.

YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spunky, in my estimation as a real world truck driver, I would have locked the differentials (if you can, that is) and slow climbed those slippery hills in 4th.

Other than that, nice job.

Our headquarters in Holmakra.

Welcome back Spunky fans!

It's been a long time since I've updated this space, as real-world concerns keep getting in the way of putting together a worthwhile blog post.

As I posted awhile back, I've sold the farm in No Man's Land to move back "into the woods" where it all began many moons ago. Spunky Junior continues to live and work on his slice of NML and he's doing well.

Our first year in Holmakra was a challenge. Carving a homestead out of endless timber and living out of a tent through the harsh Scandinavian winter. Through sacrifice, I survived and the screenshot above is the result of a year-and-a-half of grind in getting the wood to the mill and transporting the processed lumber to market to earn money.

It's invigorating in a sense, however, just me and the sounds of nature. The winters are beautiful here, like stepping out of a painting.


Taking it old school in pulling logs out of the woods. At 24.2 tons, she's a heavy beast but her all-wheel traction can't be beat.

Presently, I'm working on cutting some shortcuts through the woods in trying to cut down the time it takes to get to the mill. Eventually, pastures will be cleared for livestock and ground opened up to allow industry to move in. Holmakra will be a thriving ecosystem, at least that's my plans for it.

We are in April as I type this and I'm still living out of a tent. I've decided that creature comforts can wait until I've acquired all the necessary equipment I need. For now, every day is the same in getting the wood out while laying the groundwork for the future.

It's going to be a pretty awesome future, so stick around. As always, thanks for reading and see you up the road!


Taking a load of processed lumber to market in the dead of winter.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm really proud of myself for resisting the urge to use money mods. Everything you see in these photos I've grinded to afford. I am using contracted services (like the radio tower and wind energy), which I feel is allowed as its a legitimate business enterprise but it's only been a nominal daily amount thus far.

Good to hear from you, I was getting ready to send out a search party.

Looking forward to the new story.

Ditto

Dear Spunky,

What an adventure you are having! I’m so envious, but I doubt I have the fortitude you show. I am very interested, though, in the fine piece of equipment you are using to move your logs. I wonder if such a machine is available where I live. I will be checking on that while I await the next update from you. Stay well, Spunky.

Iris, the Simulated Farmer

SimulatedFarmer wrote: ↑Sun Jul 10, 2022 5:48 pm Dear Spunky,

What an adventure you are having! I’m so envious, but I doubt I have the fortitude you show. I am very interested, though, in the fine piece of equipment you are using to move your logs. I wonder if such a machine is available where I live. I will be checking on that while I await the next update from you. Stay well, Spunky.

Iris, the Simulated Farmer

Hi Iris! I hope you are doing well! The mod's name is the 1120 Series, but a Google image comparison search appears to have the model based on a 1990s-era Steiger Panther III or something in that ballpark.

Spunky!

Thank you. I’m going to buy one. Also, I have purchased a small cattle and horse farm in Cotswold. It’s a special challenge for me to begin with animals only. I am doing a bit of logging with barebones equipment.

I have started documenting my escapades, but have little experience in these things. I will share them with you down the road, if you wish.

Best to you and your family.

Your “old lady” pal,”

Iris

SimulatedFarmer wrote: ↑Sun Jul 10, 2022 10:53 pm Spunky!

Thank you. I’m going to buy one. Also, I have purchased a small cattle and horse farm in Cotswold. It’s a special challenge for me to begin with animals only. I am doing a bit of logging with barebones equipment.

I have started documenting my escapades, but have little experience in these things. I will share them with you down the road, if you wish.

Best to you and your family.

Your “old lady” pal,”

Iris

I would love to read about your escapades. One of the things I enjoy about Farming Simulator is that it forces you to think and strategize a little bit. Other games may be more linear in leading you down a certain path to accomplish a set goal, but with FS, how you get to your goal is up to you.

The decisions I've made here may be made a hundred different ways by different people. It's the "opportunity of choice" that's the most exciting, at least that's how I feel about it.

Hi all!

PixelFarm Modding put out a message on Facebook today that its update to Holmakra is in testing with Giants and a new save is recommended. At this point, Spunky Sr. is in mid-June of his second year and proudly boasts that he's felled 456 trees (not kidding) to this point with about 100 hours invested on this save.

So, I'm putting it out to the community in whether I should start over on Holmakra or is it time for something new on a new map?

As you all know from past history in this space, I can be persuaded either way.

I think you should move on.

If it was me I'd continue on the same save, likely not updating map, and await running into issues before moving on...

I admit I like the current story line. I, also, like the Holmakra map. Yep. I was a lot of help…NOT!!!

First an essay and then an update.

I've done a lot of thinking about the blog lately. I went back and looked and my first post in this space was August 16, 2020, back when it was "Spunky Dogg Logging." The name was in honor of my dog (who has since passed on), who wasn't named Spunky, but acted like it. He was a spunky dog. I added the extra "g" to be a bit more exotic.

Originally, this was a space to catalogue my adventures playing Farming Simulator, a game I had never tried but stumbled across it on YouTube. I came on with FS19 and remember how amazed I was at how much the game allowed you to interact with the environment. To make your own decisions and either reap the rewards, or suffer the mistakes.

There's (in general) no hand-holding in FS. It forces you to think, use your brain, plan and strategize. A lot of it is learning through trial-and-error and I'll admit I've experienced a lot of enjoyment in discovering a particular tactic or piece of equipment worked out better in a particular situation than I thought it would.

Here we are, approaching the two-year anniversary of the blog with more than 400 posts and 50,000 views. I will always remain humble and thankful that anybody besides myself would read what I put in this corner of the internet.

I also reflect on all we've been through since I've been writing this story of ours. I started out on New Woodshire, a map released on February 28, 2020, less than six months before the blog began. It was a good map for a beginner new to the game.

From there, it was No Man's Land and the visionary visual genius of Alien Jim. I put six in-game years the first time through until a freeze led to a corrupted save and then a reboot. The second time through eventually ended with the same result. I was making progress on the third play-through when Holmakra came out and then we had a split-storyline with Spunky Jr.

Then updates to Holmakra would require a new save and another reboot and a new decision - where to go from here?

I realized I fell in love with Spunky because he was a character I created who was trying to live the old-fashioned American dream by building nothing into something from the ground up. He did a little farming, he did a little forestry, he raised some animals on the side. And after six years, he was a success.

Since that first adventure on No Man's Land, I realized I lost some of that magic, some of the spark that made his story so much fun to write about and to play.

But, I feel I may have found it with a new map - Chainsaw Valley.

Chainsaw Valley has that feeling of New Woodshire, but is still a little more open-world like No Man's Land. It's not perfect, but it may be the happy marriage between two maps I have loved so much.

So, I'm going to go back to the beginning with Spunky. Tell the story from the ground floor. My goal is to not only match the six years I invested on the first No Man's Land, but surpass it.

I would love to have you all with me, but that's your decision. I'm not forcing anyone to read anything.

I guess this is the start of "The New Adventures of Spunky Dogg Farms & Forestry"

As always, thanks for reading and see you up the road!