FarmCon 24 Review: Gameplay & Farming Simulator 25 Machinery
FarmCon 24 Review: Gameplay & Farming Simulator 25 Machinery
The entire Farming Simulator community was excited for FarmCom 24: after all, this is where all the latest news and features get unveiled! Luckily, this event did not disappoint. The GIANTS Software presentations by Stefan Maurus, gameplay programmer and lead integrator, and Manuel Leithner, produced and lead gameplay programmer revealed plenty of information and new features. Together, these features will define the new generation of Farming Simulator – and show the players what to expect in the future.
Let’s take a deeper look at what was unveiled and what you can expect from the game’s latest release.
It’s all about the rice
For Farming Simulator, it was time to move beyond its Central European roots. Rice is one of humankind’s main staples of food – this crop is incredibly important to communities worldwide, and fans have been asking the developers to add it to the latest game. Well, here it is: rice is coming to Farming Simulator 25, and we can choose between two different types of rice.
On your farm, you can grow either short-grain or long-grain rice. The cultivation process is highly detailed and significantly different from other grains like wheat or barley. It all starts with growing seedlings in greenhouses and moves on to flooding the fields and planting these rice seedlings with high-tech machines. The machinery will also be updated – this will be the debut year for Asian rice transplanting machines, such as the featured Iseki PRJ8D.
North American and Southern European rice cultivation specifics
Rice isn’t grown only in Asia: American and European countries have been proud producers of these crops for many years. Farming Simulator 25 aims to get this right from the very start – including machinery and farming methods used in these regions. For example, you will be able to use large harvesters, such as New Holland CR11, to grow and harvest your rice the way it’s done in Europe and America. Economically, maps will also reflect their locations, as the prices for rice will be different depending on the region you’re playing in.
Massive leap in realism and graphics
Realism is incredibly important for all simulation games, and Farming Simulator has been striving to make itself the best simulator out there. The newest FS25 will not be available on last-generation consoles, and it has an increased demand for your PC’s resources. But that is done for a reason – this next-generation update brings massive improvements in graphics. Reflections, light, and shadows are completely revamped. The sun shines differently through the clouds, and different sources produce realistic light effects. The foliage rendering is also massively improved, making sure that no two fields look identical and everything is as close to real life as possible. Dynamic soil will respond to your vehicle movement and, together with updated water effects, will create a great look on your brand-new rice fields.
Improved UI and HUD
The heads-up display – or HUD for short – has been significantly upgraded, responding not only to the player feedback but the changing gaming hardware as well. The new version is significantly more flexible, and now includes partial transparency, which will give players more visible area. This will be helpful for both efficient work and simply taking in the sights of the new game engine. It will stay fully scalable, working on high-definition monitors as well as multi-monitor systems.
Updated swathing – and pre-order machinery to do it!
Swathing is a harvesting method, very widespread in North America. It’s a way to dry out your crops, leading to better harvest and a lower risk of bad weather affecting your crop. Now, it’s fully included in Farming Simulator 25. Also, the people who pre-order the game will get a swatch from MacDon as a bonus. With this machinery, you can easily mow crops into a swath. As the crops dry up, you can use specific headers to pick them up and thresh them more efficiently. It’s a great little addition – letting players use the stock game functionality to farm exactly how they want to do it.
Improve baling and consumables
In yet another step to improve realism, Farming Simulator 25 will include wrapping film and net rolls as consumables you need to buy and use. This is a great improvement for many, as it takes some “invisible help” away from doing all of these processes. You can choose from several different color bales, plus more realistic interactions and animations, which will make this process a lot more engaging.
Official GPS mode released, AI helpers improved
Previously only available as a community mod, GPS will now become an official feature on Farming Simulator 25. It can be an absolute game changer – both figuratively and literally. With steering assistance, fieldwork should become much more accurate and easier, letting players work on other tasks. With dynamic field boundary capture and automatic course generation, the GPS on Farming Simulator 25 will work on any map.
The AI helper system is also massively improved, letting you use much smarter and more efficient workers. This will mean much more efficient field management, helping you work on significantly larger farms and get everything working exactly how you want it.
What’s next for the FS25 development?
The GIANTS representatives on FarmCon 24 noted that all of the announced changes and features were only a small insight into what’s to come in the future. There will be plenty of new improvements, both big and small, as well as some new features. We expect some new updates to keep dropping until the game’s release on November 12, 2024.
Conclusion
Farming Simulator 25 will mark a major step in the series, expanding the functionality, visuals, and farming practices themselves. While, of course, not every fan demand will be met, we are happy to see the addition of rice farming and the visual features that will make this a very exciting farming experience.
Visual improvements and additional layers of gameplay realism should make this game an excellent entry. I can’t wait to try it out when it releases—and enjoy it for the upcoming three years!
