Farming Simulator 19 features

Happy days! FS19 is finally here. This page will no longer be updated. Thanks for following the process. Looking for great mods? Check the curated list of mods for Farming Simulator 19.

The next chapter in the Farming Simulator saga will soon be upon us. Bit by bit we’re learning more about what Farming Simulator 19 will be like.

Thanks to Lars “Lisertan” Malcharek, Giants Software community manager (thanks Lis! ?), we now know that the following features are confirmed to be a part of the upcoming game.

(Remember this: There is still much we don’t know about FS19. This page will update as soon as we get more info about confirmed features. So, check back often.)

The Game

Title: Farming Simulator 19
Release Date: 20th of November 2018
Developer: Giants Software
Release Platforms: PC, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4

Farming Simulator 19 Minimum PC requirements:

64-bit Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10
2.5Ghz Intel or an equivalent AMD quad-core processor
Nvidia Geforce GTX 560, AMD Radeon HD 7770, or better (min 2GB Vram, DX11 support)
4GB Ram
20GB free hard drive space
Sound card
DVD-Rom drive (for retail versions)

Gameplay

There are different startup levels. You can start with everything, like vehicles, equipment, and a farm. Or you can start with nothing but money.

New Farmer: This is where you get the most. A small farm. Some equipment. And some money.
Farm Manager: In this level you’ll get a lot more money. But really no farm or equipment to write home about.
Start from Scratch: True hardcore – No farm, no equipment, almost no money. Only for the brave ?

Other stuff:

You can build your farm from the ground up. And expand on it. Lisertan in the official Farming Simulator Forum:

Everything is placable. Houses, stables, silos, workshops, everything. You can pick a random spot on the map (let’s say a forest) buy the land, cut down all the trees, remove everything and place your farmhouse there to start your farm there. Or just a stable or.. whatever you want.

First Devblog – Farm Building Explained

Lisertan does a great job explaining how all this build your farm stuff works in the (… ta-da…) very first Dev-Blog for Farming Simulator 19! After reading Lis’ description I have to say this is freakin’ huge! The level of freedom each player now has, is taking FS19 to a completely different level. The new mechanics is really and literally a Game Changer!

You can read the Dev-Blog here.

Fields will become parcels

In FS19, you don’t just buy fields. You buy entire areas of the map, including forests and meadows. Lisertan used the map below of Estancia Lapacho as an example of what a map with buyable parcels may look like (it may look different in the final version of FS19). Instead of buying up the map field by field, you’ll buy one parcel after another.

Also, you can’t cut any trees on the map until you’ve bought an area with trees on it. Nice! 🙂

The ground can adapt to placeables. Placing an object may level the ground, if necessary (Just not everywhere from what I understand). Comment from Lisertan on Discord:

Point is: We don’t want floating houses and stuff, so the ground will be altered to ensure it looks and works nice.

Need more money? Or maybe you wanna move your farming operations to a different area? In FS19 you can sell areas you already own.

3 maps: A revamped version of the FS17 South American map, 2 brand new maps.
Locations: USA, South America, Western Europe.
Deers are in the game. And, there will be birds! They will sometimes follow seeders, without affecting gameplay. In other words: Your seeds are safe…
The user interface has changed. Still familiar, with added transparency.
The map sizes has NOT changed.

Developer Blogs

Here are all the Giants Software developer blogs:

The Felsbrunn Map

The European map is called Felsbrunn. And oh boy! This is pure beauty!

The map is still being worked on. What you’re seeing in the video below, is an early version. When released, the map will, of course, have both cars and people.

Do you notice the birds?

The Ravenport Map

The North American map is called Ravenport. This is probably a fictitious place, because I can’t find one single reference to a real life Ravenport anywhere. The closest I can think of is Davenport, Iowa. Maybe the NA map is inspired by the Iowa landscape. That could make sense. Farms make up over 90 % of Iowa’s land.

(Update October 11, 2018) Scrap that! I was wrong. The Ravenport map is highly influenced by the US West Coast. It really reminds me of the areas surrounding Carlsbad, a couple of hours south of Los Angeles.

Nevertheless… The map looks awesome! You can see it for yourself in the following video:

Animals and Crops

Nav meshes (the animal areas) are buyable and placeable in different sizes. These sizes put a limit on how many animals you can have. Want more animals? Then you’ll have to pay up to expand the animal areas.

Chickens, sheep, pigs, cows are still part of the game.
Crops will bend when you drive over it. No more corn stalks inside your cabin…
There is a limit on how many animals you can put in one stable. (Giants is thinking about having 3 stable sizes – The largest without limits.)
There will be two new crops: Cotton and oat.
Crop destruction has become part of the game. No longer a mod. It can be turned on or off.

How much of the crop that gets destroyed when you drive over it, depends on your selection of wheels. When you are using wider tires, the crop losses are significant.

However, if you equip your vehicle with a set of narrow wheels, you won’t lose crops at all.

Lime is being introduced to the base game.
You won’t be losing money on stuff like seeds and fertilizer anymore. Got leftovers in the tanks after planting or fertilizing? Now you can just empty your tank and store the leftovers until the next run.
The crops will affect soil compaction. How much varies from on crop type to another. This also determines how often you’ll have to plow (thanks Jeytav).
Those mysterious and invisible milk trucks that used to collect milk automatically by midnight in FS17, are gone. In FS19 you have to deliver the moo juice yourself.
Chickens are buyable again! (And sellable, of course.)

Getting Rid of Weeds

Weeds are visible in FS19. They come in two stages: Young and old.

To remove weeds in an early stage, you can use a weeder.
To remove old weeds, you need to spray your fields with herbicides, using a sprayer.

If you don’t remove the problematic plants before harvest, the crop yield will be reduced by 20 %.

Horses and a dog

Horses are a new breed to Farming Simulator 19. All in all, you can have 16 of them on your farm. Unlike pigs, cows, and sheep your horses won’t reproduce. But through good care, plenty of water and oats, and training, they’ll eventually become valuable Five Star Horses. The horses come in 8 color variations. And, yes, you’ll be able to ride them…

Then there’s the farm dog. Also, an FS19 first. It will follow you and come when called. It will be your best friend in FS19.

Machinery

Farming Simulator 19 vehicles will have … (wait for it) … Gearboxes! Or maybe not! Remember this statement from Lisertan on Discord earlier this year?

Gearbox is in, however not sure if manual/semi-automatic will make it in (as we are still testing here) it will be in soundwise and drive-feel wise 100%. How/if it works with pressing a button to go up or down gears, we will see (but that IS the plan)

Well, things have changed. Today (October 30, 2018), Lisertan made this comment on Discord:

There is nothing to say about Gearboxes. We fiddled around with them for a bit, we didn’t like where it was going, so there is no real system right now.

So, no gearbox in the base game? Only time will tell… Ok. Moving on.

When buying stuff from the shop, you’ll get a 3D preview of the machinery. Any configuration changes will show as well, prior to buying.

Still, inside the Farming Simulator 19 shop, you can move and zoom the camera.
Tractors are grouped into HP classes in the shop.
Vehicle seats have been given a suspension animation. Throttles and brake pedals are also animated.

There will be hoses connecting various tools/tanks to each other, and to the vehicles. Hoses are attached automatically.
Equipment will eventually show signs of wear and tear.
The working speed and the strength of tractors will decrease over time.
Vehicle interior will have cab lighting and dashboard illumination.
The windscreen/windshield wipers are animated (Thanks ShadowHusky™).
John Deere is finally a Farming Simulator brand.
AGCO’s IDEAL harvesters is confirmed for FS19.
There will be a Fendt IDEAL, and a Massey Ferguson IDEAL combine.
Samson (Danish manufacturer of slurry tanks and muck spreaders) is making its Farming Simulator debut.
Not all of the FS17 DLC vehicles and equipment will carry over to FS19.
The new vehicle count is now at 38 (per 19th of February 2018 – Source)

JD T560i, Hardi and Krone BiG M

The FS19 Gamescom trailer was released early this morning (21^st of August). It’s the first gameplay trailer showing of Farming Simulator 19.

First, the trailer is spectacular. The game itself looks like a million dollars. And it revealed more sweet stuff.

First, the Krone BiG M is making its comeback. (I believe it was first introduced in FS13). John Deere is also represented with a combine, not only tractors. In the video, we see the T560i. And Hardi makes its first appearance in the franchise.

Other vehicles and equipment in the video:

Bednar (soil preparation)
Manitou telehandler
Fliegl DPW 210 BL
Väderstad Tempo L
John Deere 8400R
Fendt 1149 MT
Elmer’s HaulMaster 2000
Case IH 635 Cotton Picker
Komatsu 931XC
Wilson Pacesetter grain trailer

(Thanks At0mic for compiling this list on Discord) You can see the video for yourself below. For an updated list of available vehicles and equipment, please visit the official FS19 web page.

The Mahindra Retriever

Utility vehicles, also known as cargo all-terrain vehicles (CATV), or just “utes,” are a brand new vehicle class in Farming Simulator 19. Sure, there have been some John Deere Gator mods in previous games. But nothing official from Giants.

The Mahindra Retriever is one of the “utes” Giants is putting in the game for the first time.

In short, it’s a two-seater 4×4, with a small bed. Perfect for smaller hauling and transportation tasks around your farm.

The real-life version is equipped with an 83 horsepower engine, capable of doing speeds up to 60 miles per hour, or almost 96 kph.

Komatsu is in Farming Simulator 19

The stream of confirmed features for FS19 keeps getting stronger. And better by the day. Today (20^th of August) Giants announced that Komatsu is making its Farming Simulator debut.

For those who wonder, Komatsu is a Japanese multinational corporation. It’s one of the world’s largest manufacturers.

Pictured above is the Komatsu Forest 931XC harvester.

Elmer’s Massive Grain Carts

Canadian company Elmer’s Manufacturing is a new (and confirmed) brand in Farming Simulator 19. We’ll be enjoying their massive HaulMaster Grain Carts later this fall. And boy, these carts are enormous! The bushel capacities are set to 1300, 1600 and 2000! (That’s 46.810, 56.380 and 70.480 liters…). The carts also come in a range of various colors.

P.S. Do you see the tractor in front of the Elmer’s cart? My guess? The Fendt 1100 MT…

Missions

In the mission system, you can choose whether you want to work with your own vehicles or if you want to use those of the field owner. If you decide to use your own machinery, you’ll earn more money when completing the mission.

And, there’s no need to drive from field to field on a mission hunt. In Farming Simulator 19 you can pick your missions from the contract list.

And more:

Time mission limits has been removed completely.
More mission types. For instance, transport missions are back! (For those familiar with FS15.)
And missions will work in multiplayer.

Other Things

Giants is working on stopping the rain leaking through roughs. 90 % done.
The function of AI workers have also been improved – How, is still unclear.
Multiplayer can be made competitive, with up to 4 teams. (Giants is playing with the idea of 8 teams!)
Giants are talking to the Courseplay developers. Not for integration, but for compatibility.
You can now sleep through the night (skip the night).
In FS19 you have to own the land in order to cut the trees on it. No more free lunch… (source)
Character customization: Got a favorite brand? Let your character show it. Branded caps will be available in the new game.

Game Engine Features

A communication glitch between Giants Software and publisher Focus Home Interactive led to a statement about FS19 being built on a brand-new platform. This is not the case. Giants’ community manager Lisertan made it clear on the official FS forum that the engine has been revamped, not replaced.

Still, the following are some of the improvements made to the engine:

Dynamic sky – The FS19 clouds will be real 3D objects. They change color to grey before it starts to rain. The clouds also reacts to winds.
Sun and moon have been added, both moving over the sky.
Volumetric fog – Makes the fog look more realistic utilizing lights and shadows.
Depth of field – A feature the blurs objects that are not in focus, giving everything a more movie-like quality.
Color grading – Tone mapping – For better in-game graphics.
Bloom – A lighting effect.
Global illumination – Adds more realistic lighting.
Dynamic eye adaption – An effect that mimics the eye adjustment when going from a dark environment to a much brighter. And the other way around.
Light scattering – The light is broken up by objects in the game world.