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22 NOVEMBER 2016
GAMES
FEATURE
This year’s instalment in the Farming
Simulator series, Farming Simulator 17,
is the most advanced yet, upholding
the tradition of introducing new and improved
machinery and animals. Now there are more
than 250 vehicles and tools from 75 different
manufacturers.
“Our major new partner is AGCO, who’ve
given us access to popular brands like Challenger,
Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Valtra,” explains
Martin Rabl, Marketing and Communications
Manager on the title. “Aside
from the obvious tractors, there
are many other vehicles and
machines farmers have to work
with. For example: ploughs,
cultivators, sowing machines,
fertilisers, manure spreaders and
sprayers are all used to prepare
your fields. Different combine
harvesters are also needed for
crops, potatoes, sugar beets or
sunflowers. Trailers are needed to
transport goods. Outside of the
fields, a whole different set of
machinery is used in the forests,
where you can quickly cut and
de-branch trees.”
As always, the developers
behind Farming Simulator –
GIANTS Software – have paid
close attention to what the fans
want, and have implemented the
most-requested changes from the
community.
“Many of our devs read the
forums and post there to give
people answers or clarifications,"
explains Rabl. "For the very
passionate modding community,
we also set up modder
The popular Farming Simulator series is quizzed developer GIANTS
Software’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Martin Rabl, on where the series
gets its realism, and what fans can expect from the latest entry. Words Alesha Kolbe
field of
dreams
teamspeak calls, which help them
get the most out of their mods. Of
course, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
are also very important platforms and
we support content creators as well
as we can.
“There are also a lot of features
we’ve added because the community
suggested them. For example, based
on their feedback we added manual
engine starts and the ability to be able
to leave the lights on
when leaving the tractor.
In Farming Simulator
17, you will be able to
tip your goods almost
anywhere on the map
– not just at dedicated
selling or storage
points.”
Rabl notes that a
community highlight
this year was FarmCon
16. “This was our very
own Farming Simulator
community event, with over 250
participants, which took place
at an event farm in the German
countryside.”
This dedicated playerbase is what
keeps the series trucking on after
all these years. Those returning for
Farming Simulator 17 will not be
disappointed, with a host of new
vehicles and animals available. “We
have many more new vehicles
available now. It’s the largest fleet of
the series so far.”
It’s clear that there will be more
choices available no matter which
career path you choose to take.
“More fruit types (sunflowers,
soybeans, oil radish), more animals
(pigs), more types of machines, and more
transportation methods," promises Rabl. "Added
layers of realism like multiple fertiliser states or
manual engine starts are great features for those
who want deeper gameplay. Of course, if you’re
more of a casual player, you’ll be glad to hear that
many of these features are fully optional.” And
let’s not forget the inclusion of mods on console,
too.
Rabl also promises a ton of post-launch
support. “We will continue adding content to the
game via DLC, in addition to all the free user-
generated content our players will have access
to via the mod portal – integrated in both the PC
and console versions.”
• Farming
Simulator 17
is out Oct 25
There are
also a lot
of features
we’ve added
because the
community
suggested
them ... based
on their
feedback we
added manual
engine starts
and being
able to leave
the lights on
when leaving
the tractor