Court Farms - underwhelmed.

[BoxTunnel]

I'm sure I'll get some grief for this but after giving the game a rest for a long while I was tempted to play again by the release of OxygenDavid's Court Farms Country Park. I spent most of Sunday afternoon playing it and, as the title says, I'm underwhelmed.

Looks great but as usual with OxygenDavid's maps hyper-realistic does not always equal fun. The last map he made I spent any considerable time on was Oakfield back in FS17. Marwell Manor was OK as was Calmsden but neither of them really hooked me

Court Farms is just not "balanced" and prioritises "reality" over gameplay. Ok, so you have a million new buildings and I'm sure if I drove down to Banwell I would recognise a lot of stuff (as I did with Oakfield which was 20 miles or so north of where I live) but there's just no fun in it for me. It took me an hour just to get the header and combine into the field, only to realise one or the other needed maintenance, taking them back to the workshop etc, etc. That is not fun on a new map.

However, a few hours play reminded me of how good this game is, so I went back to AlienJim's Western Wilds and before I knew it it was 4am!

There is realism and there is gameplay - AlienJim nails the gameplay aspect every time and BulletBill's Lone Oak back in FS 17 is still the best map I've played.

As I said, I'm sure the Oxy fanboys will give me grief for this but hey, go for it. You probably have 1970's bathrooms in your house as well!

[UncleRico]

What in the world does bathrooms from the 1970s have to do with anything. Other than that I would just add there’s styles for everyone, what one person thinks is best the next may consider the worst. Maps are mostly personal taste, not much to argue about.

[b101uk]

I have to say quite a lot of gateways are ill-thought-out and while they may open inwards the gate opens inwards from the wrong side, thus restricts the ability to enter the field from the common direction, which is made worse by gates only opening by 90deg, rather than a more natural extent dictated by the hinge\post limits, in fact there are a large number of gateways that are just too narrow for how close they are to the road side and the width of the road\track that make it imposable or near imposable for a smaller tractor with a smaller trailer to enter, yet alone a small harvester with a header trailer to enter or tractor with front mower without running through the hedge on the opposing opposite side of the road.

now I am not advocating double gates everywhere, just appropriate size gates with appropriate opening angle limits dictated by hinge\post limits rather than a farcical 90deg, that would be appropriate for the road width and field equipment.

[Totenfarmer]

Just thought I should mention that there is a youtube video on how to edit the xml to allow the gates to open up more, not sure I am allowed to post the link here, but it should be easy enough to find.

I like the map in general, it's nice to look at. It looks amazing to be honest, but as always with his maps there is always something, Calmsden is awful to set up for multiplayer since the map border also contains buyable productions etc. This map is a step up, but what keeps me from playing it is that there is little room for cutomizing the yards..I know there are buildable plots, but what if I like one farm but would like to change a few buildings or remove the rabbit pen f.ex. All respect for Oxy though, he spent a lot of time with the map, and it shows.

I went back to an old favourite map of mine; Yagodnoe, not for everyone though, it's a 4x map set in the russian far east, with lots of different productions if you're into that. You don't have to use the productions though, all crops can be sold as is.

[Hoffa82]

Saying one does like a particular mod or map is to me strange, all you gonna get is "don't like it? Don't play it" and a mapmaker that is maybe upset/sad or whatever, what is the modder gonna do with that information?

But taking a swipe at others that do like the map is to me like saying "everyone that likes the colour blue is stupid because I don't like blue".
Isn't it a bit unnecessary? If it was the only map, of course that's another thing, or one of giants base maps. Then complain all you want.
But when it's a modded map/mod someone put a lot of hours in for free,...well, I don't think that's very nice.
I've seen many talented modders get fed up and quit because some users feel the need to say they simply don't like what they are making for some reason.

I mean, I don't go to every baker in town and tell the I don't want their bread, I go to the one that I like and buy their bread and then I'm happy.
Maybe do the same with mods?

[blue_painted]

I can agree about the gates -- with almost every map I go around changing the gates so that they open back to the hedge -- and I will probably add collisions to the hedges.

There's a 1.1 coming out soon to fix a few minor issues, so at the moment I really just looking around and planning. As for the rest ... I like a challenge: As much as I can, I drive every machine myself but I can see if your play style relies on AutoDrive or CoursePlay, or FS22 AI driving, then it's going to be a problem.

[Lawma]

Me thinks that last line was written sitting on the john ,dropping a deuce, in a 1970s bathroom.....

[UncleRico]

Hahaha

[chedly_farms]

I'll take a realistic map any day over cookie cutter maps with all the production bells and whistles. Me personally, I get lost in realistic maps, in a good way. There is just something in me that just smiles when I'm playing and have the most realistic looking scenes in the background.

[Ashtooth]

Saying one does like a particular mod or map is to me strange, all you gonna get is "don't like it? Don't play it" and a mapmaker that is maybe upset/sad or whatever, what is the modder gonna do with that information?

But taking a swipe at others that do like the map is to me like saying "everyone that likes the colour blue is stupid because I don't like blue".
Isn't it a bit unnecessary? If it was the only map, of course that's another thing, or one of giants base maps. Then complain all you want.
But when it's a modded map/mod someone put a lot of hours in for free,...well, I don't think that's very nice.
I've seen many talented modders get fed up and quit because some users feel the need to say they simply don't like what they are making for some reason.

I mean, I don't go to every baker in town and tell the I don't want their bread, I go to the one that I like and buy their bread and then I'm happy.
Maybe do the same with mods?

The OP provided constructive feedback as to why he doesn't enjoy the map, and doesn't appear to be trying to sway everyone's opinion.
Saying "don't like it? Don't play it" to the player because the modder might be upset or sad is like telling the modder "don't like it? Don't read it"
Hopefully modders can be mature enough to accept feedback when it's offered up, good or bad.
Feedback of any kind is what helps to make things better.

I'm not a fan of the map either, but maybe that's because my bathroom is up to date.

[Lawma]

Well now I'm officially concerned. I feel like I should stop playing farming n upgrade my 5 year old house bathroom. Id hate to be labeled

[Pigladalex]

Can only really comment on Calmsden, can’t remember last time I played Oakfield & sadly court farms isn’t on console (yet I hope lol)

I found Calmsden to be a really good map, but I didn’t like the entire map being single track roads, with the others being painted asphalt, just didn’t feel as realistic as people said but hey everyone’s view is different and everyone’s style is different.

I kind of got bored of Calmsden after a while, but it’s difficult as I prefer UK maps (being a UK farmer all my life, plus autism it’s kinda all I know and enjoy replicating real life tasks I’ve done) and there doesn’t seem to be a large selection of them on console at least, mostly America or European maps (which again, everyone’s play-style is different and this is my opinion)

Another note, hope this made sense as it’s 1.14am and my eyes are half closed

[Turbojugend]

Can only really comment on Calmsden, can’t remember last time I played Oakfield & sadly court farms isn’t on console (yet I hope lol)

I found Calmsden to be a really good map, but I didn’t like the entire map being single track roads, with the others being painted asphalt, just didn’t feel as realistic as people said but hey everyone’s view is different and everyone’s style is different.

I really enjoyed Calmsden, poured a ton of hours into it. My only real gripe are the narrow roads (I'm guessing this is also why there is no vehicle traffic on this map). Yes, I understand this is true to life and you have to tailor your equipment and work style to the map. But I enjoy doing contract work in the downtime on my own farm, and some of the implements the game sets you up with makes this very difficult on smaller roads. Sure you can bring your own tools and vehicles, but half the fun in contract work is getting to play around with unfamiliar equipment.

I'm sure Court Farms will be similar and I'll enjoy it just as much as Calmsden. However, this time I may save the contract work for a different map.

[skenzer]

1970's bathrooms are amazing! The days before low-flow toilets, ahhhh, I miss those days.

[BoxTunnel]

…snip

But taking a swipe at others that do like the map is to me like saying "everyone that likes the colour blue is stupid because I don't like blue".
Isn't it a bit unnecessary? If it was the only map, of course that's another thing, or one of giants base maps. Then complain all you want.
But when it's a modded map/mod someone put a lot of hours in for free,...well, I don't think that's very nice.
I've seen many talented modders get fed up and quit because some users feel the need to say they simply don't like what they are making for some reason.

I mean, I don't go to every baker in town and tell the I don't want their bread, I go to the one that I like and buy their bread and then I'm happy.
Maybe do the same with mods?

Didn’t take a swipe at any one as far as I can see. Also it was constructive feedback. Perhaps the modder will read this and decide to make a few changes with his next map, like making it more playable. Up to him.

I didn’t jump on the map saying “this is awful, never make a map again Oxygendavid, you are rubbish”.

Me thinks that last line was written sitting on the john ,dropping a deuce, in a 1970s bathroom.....

60’s mate.

Well now I'm officially concerned. I feel like I should stop playing farming n upgrade my 5 year old house bathroom. Id hate to be labeled

You should, you will be labelled.

Folks, I’m a Brit and I tend to play UK maps, so I’m used to tight lanes, small farmyards and small to medium machinery.

My point was that this map, for me, was not very enjoyable and that got me thinking about Oxygendavid’s maps, and the last one I really enjoyed was Oakfield back in FS17.

Oxygendavid creates beautiful maps that are very realistic and have lots of custom scenery, buildings etc. Doesn’t mean they are fun to play.

I am currently playing Ballyspring, which to me is equally as good as Oxygendavid’s maps visually but more importantly it’s fun! I’m enjoying it!