STACK #169 Nov 2018

GAMES FEATURE

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h, Deere!

involved in getting them onboard with the game, and is there a reason they haven’t been included until now? A lot of talks with the right people. We sometimes say jokingly that the larger a company is, the longer it usually takes to get them into the game. There is some truth in it though, because more people need to sign off the idea and workflows need to be discussed. Once these people were identified and processes defined, the road was clear to add John Deere to Farming Simulator 19 . Why did you decide that Farming Simulator 19 was the right time to introduce cotton?

In some of the biggest news since sliced bread, John Deere machinery has been added to this year’s instalment of Farming Simulator. We spoke to GIANTS Software marketing and PR manager Martin Rabl about what else we can expect from Farming Simulator 19 . Words Alesha Kolbe

• Farming Simulator 19 is out Nov 20

We’ve been thinking about adding cotton for some time

What kind of feedback did you receive from the last entry, and how have you addressed it in the new game? Martin Rabl: Some of the most common feedback was that, despite the already huge list of vehicles in Farming Simulator 18 , people wanted John Deere machinery in the game. Obviously this decision is not simply ours to make, but we intensified our talks with John Deere and are very glad that we could make it happen for FS19 . Another big part was multiplayer. While we’ve added a lot of features to the game which affect single and multiplayer, the players asked for specific online features. So for this year, we sat down and thought about what would really change the way

already, because we get more and more players in North America, and eventually it all fit together. With John Deere in the game it made sense to also add a US environment in FS19 . Cotton is very common on US farms, so we had the connection just there. What was the most challenging part about adding horses and horse riding to the game? Getting the animations right, and especially syncing the animations in

John Deere is here!

don’t all have to work together on the same farm but can start your own career or play like a contractor with almost no owned land, focusing on helping others – for money in return, of course.

multiplayer. If two players look at the same horse online it should always do the same movements on both screens. For example, not eat from the ground on one player’s screen but stand with its head up on the other player’s screen. Can you confirm if players will be able to buy/sell farms in the new game, as hinted at by the ‘For Sale’ sign in the latest trailer? You can’t really sell your farmhouse, but on the harder difficulty level and with multiple farms in multiplayer, you can freely set your farmhouse on the map – so kind of like buying your farm. In the trailer, our farmer just bought that farm which was up for sale. What other surprises can fans expect to see in Farming Simulator 19 ? We’ll reveal a few more very interesting new vehicles and tools before launch, but I can’t tell you yet!

you play online. The multiple farms feature and missions in multiplayer came to mind, since now you

The addition of John Deere machinery is a very exciting one for fans – what was

Another big part was multiplayer

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NOVEMBER 2018

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