Farming. Oh, the joy of seeding the seeds of good vegetables, or fruit trees, and then harvesting the goods at the end of the season for the family and clients to enjoy. Out of all the manual labour out there, farming has got to be among the top three, as it brings so much satisfaction to see the result of your hard work as it is enjoyed by people everywhere. Regardless of the type of farm at hand, there is something special about farmers and their way of living.
This is why games have forever tried to replicate life at the firm in virtual forms. The idea of turning the farming life into a game has been hit with so much enjoyment that the industry now has its own sector for this type of a simulator. Farming simulators are huge and believe us, not just the village folks are playing them. In fact, gamers from all corners of the globe and social statuses enjoy the frenzy of owning and running a farm on their computers.
What Is A Farming Simulator
A farming simulator is a game that imitates life on a farm. You have all of the elements that make up farm life in the form of a video game. It starts with the land on which you build your farming buildings, including administrative, animal shelters, greenhouses for the more special products, you name it. You then have to figure out the housing for your staff, as well as the garages for your mechanical helpers.
Speaking of mechanics, you will also have to figure out the machines you will use on the farm, including tractors, ploughs, harrows and so on. Sorting out the machines you will use will make your life as a farmer easier, as these mechanical marvels have made it so much simpler for anybody to use the land for food. And finally, you need a good working schedule to get you through the day, which usually means an early waking and a late bedtime. Farming is not always fun but it is always so rewarding!
Five Farming Simulators To Try
Farming simulators have taken momentum since the 2010s. They have been around before but were not as appealing as today. Emerging from a need to turn any activity into a virtual realm, even farming, these simulators are now staples in the gaming industry. Here are five simulators from our offer, including how they’ve evolved over the years.
Farming Simulator 15 - 2015 was the year when farming simulators really started to shine. Beginning with this creation from Giants Software. Although the first FS came out in 2008, it took developers years to really put the game on the pedestal it is on today. Manage the heck out of your farm with harvesting, animal husbandry, selling fresh products, woodwork, you name it! Exploit everything around your lands and develop your farm, even more, investing in new vehicles and tools that will last through seasons. There are many 100s of acres of land at your disposal, some in the new Nordic world, as well as in the North American environment that you know and love, where you can work with one of the more than 140 vehicles and tools for farming.
Farming Simulator 17 - Enjoy endless acres of land you can explore and farm on. You can put your farm anywhere in North America, which is incredible considering this game came out in 2017. When it comes to vehicles, there are more than 250 models to pick from. You can harvest sunflowers, soybeans, corn and vegetables, you name it! And for livestock, you will be taking care of chickens, cows, ships and pigs, which will turn into great products for the enlargement of your enterprise. Once ready, the goods made at the farm can be easily transported to the delivery points, with your trailers and trucks. A new and improved experience, Farming Simulator 17 is also going online now, with a co-op multiplayer mode in which up to 16 people can play at once.
Pure Farming 2018 - One of the first breakthroughs for the farming simulators, Pure Farming is not the most popular but one of the most detailed farming games ever made. You can travel across Europe, America and Asia to plant some of the most wanted crops based on where you are and the season you are going through. You don't have to stay traditional in this game. Plant coffee, hemp, and olives, and watch as the business grows and grows and grows. The farming you will do here is modern and enhanced by technology. All machines you will use are from leaders in the industry. And since you can farm from anywhere, there's something unique about doing it from Colombia, Japan or the good old USA.
Farming Simulator 2019 - Compared to the earlier versions, this is by far the biggest step forward that the series has ever taken that far. The largest rooster of vehicles ever to be put in a Farming Simulator is here, with names like John Deere, probably the largest facilitator of agricultural machines on Earth, at the ready, as well as vehicles and tools from Fendt, New Holland, Valtra, Krone, Massey Ferguson, Deutz-Fahr, and others. With European and American environments at the ready, Farming Simulator 19 lets you develop your farm just where you are feeling the most comfortable, with some new activities that will make things so much more exciting, as well as fresh new machines and crops like oat and cotton. In this game, you will be tending to your livestock, sheep, cows, pigs, and chickens, or riding the horses around for the very first time in the now-legendary series.
Farming Simulator 2022 - The newest game of the series has seen improvements across the board. The variety of farming operations is immense, and most are focused on agriculture, forestry, and animal care. You’ll also have to take seasons into consideration now that the cycles have been added. There are more than 400 machines and tools for you to use in the game, from 100+ brands in the agricultural world, like John Deere, Case IH, CLASS, Fendt, Valtra, and many more. Harvest your crops and sow like a professional with them. New items will be added to the game, for the enhancement of the experience, like the new crops or machine categories. You may now run the farm as a multiplayer experience, in part with your many friends, and by using the free, community-made mods.
Three Expansions For Your Farming Simulators
As with any good game, there is always a way for the gamer to spend more money for a bit more fun with it. Expansions are important to any farmer, we mean virtual farmer, as they are letting us do more work in less time, thus making us more money for the job. Here are three expansions you should consider for your favourite farming simulator.
FS 19 Alpine Farming Expansion - With every expansion comes greatness. In terms of additions, farming simulators will have you in on new equipment, crops and sometimes animals. It's what you would expect from a farming simulator DLC, right? In the "Alpine Farming Expansion" for FS 19, you will enjoy the brand-new and pristine environment of the alpine, as you drive as well as use more than 30 different vehicles and machinery for farming. Brands of well-known manufacturers for real-life farming machineries, such as Aebi, SIP, Lindner, or Rigitrac, have been used in the creation of these virtual farming masterpieces. Widen your farm and horizons by literally going above sea level and onto the side of the mountain, up to one hill, and down one valley. Respect the rules of the changing scenery and weather, and your farming success will surely reach the stars.
FS 19 Platinum Expansion - Help is much needed when you're at the farm. With the Platinum Expansion, you will get all of the help you need in one downloadable. Start with the new CLAAS manufacturer of vehicles as a very first in the history of the franchise. Then go for the new activities added, like the harvesting, or the baling. Then, try all of the 35 new vehicles, all made to look just like in real life, including the much-requested LEXION 8900 combine. This harvester is just one of the many perks coming with the Platinum Expansion of your Farming Simulator 19. Another must-try is the JAGUAR 960 TT, a merciless forage harvester for those looking for some effective silage. Try the XERION 5000 as well, a beast of a tractor that will have you done with your job in half the time.
F2 22 Year One Season Pass - Sometimes expansions come in the form of Season Passes. This one is for the latest of the Farming Simulator games, offering a pass for your first year in the game. The Year 1 Season Pass grants you access to all of the planned game expansions within the first year after the release of the game. You will get the 3 packs planned for 2022 as well as the fall expansion. With the season pass, you always get the price advantage compared to buying the new content separately. Regardless if you are into the base game or not, with the help of the expansions you will always get some more to enjoy. The packs and expansions work for both the single-player and the multiplayer versions of the game. The entire gaming experience is therefore enhanced regardless if you are on your own or playing with your farming buddies.
How To Deal With Virtual Farming Issues
Farming simulators might seem like an easy game to understand and play. Yet think about just how much work goes into growing a potato. You need to prepare the soil, then feed it good nutrients, then plant the potatoes, water it, cover the plants when they grow up and then finally, harvest the potatoes. Then you have to bag them and get them to stores, but that’s another story. So yes, farming simulators take a lot of time and effort to master.
Equipment - In the simulators, you will first have to get used to the vehicles and other equipment you will use. The magnitude with which the programmers have built the vehicles in virtual terms is impressive. You’ve got them virtualized to the smallest detail, meaning you will have to get familiar with all of those buttons, just like one would in a flight simulator. Once you get accustomed to the equipment though, the entire game becomes so much more accessible.
Fruits and vegetables - Growing vegetables and fruits are going to be your main activity in the game. You will get accustomed to growing everything, from the good old potatoes and tomatoes to the more exotic grapes, olives, and even sorghum. The trick with growing good fruits and vegetables lies in the details. Seeds, planting, growing, fertilizers, you will have to do them all while in the game. If you forget about just one of the processes… you will feel it at harvesting!
Management - Everything that you do in the game is about management. Managing time and resources, just like at a real farm. When you go out to deliver some goods, make sure you turn on your watering system. This way, you will have something to harvest by the time you get back. When you work in the fields and can’t do much in the department of processing, turn on everything that is automatic and let the process work by itself. Make money, while you make money. More money means more development and even easier access to new resources. But it all comes down to management.