So, about a week ago, there was a leak which revealed that the next freebie would be Farming Simulator 22. I got really excited, and wrote this essay and delighted to share it with everyone joining this week.
A few months ago, I decided to download Farming Simulator 22 on a family member's Steam profile. I wasn't expecting to like it at all, I was going through a phase where I wouldn't stick with any game for more than a few days. Perhaps I was burnt out, after having just completed Horizon Zero Dawn. Surprisingly, I loved FS 22, and I already have over 500 hours on it. I swear I was planning to buy the game with a coupon, except there was none this time. Instead, Epic decided to give it for free. <3
Anyway, here are some tips for you greenhorns.
Start on the base farm, Elmcreek. Play it on easy economy. Turn off autosave. Disable seasonal growth. Set timescale to 0.5x to take it slow.
Turn off the following for an easier experience: Crop Destruction, Periodic Plowing Required, Fieldstone, Lime Required, Weeds. Disable AI Workers auto refill for fuel, seeds, fertilizer, slurry and manure, this stuff uses a lot of money. I would also turn off snow.
Play the tutorial to learn the ropes.
Basic tips:
Connect a cultivator to a tractor, lower it. Drive across the length of the field in a straight line to cultivate it for seeding. Use the map's color coded filters to check if you have missed any spots on the field, this works with seeding, fertilizing, harvesting, etc.
Attach your seeder to a tractor, lower it, and turn on the seeder. Drive it in a straight line to seed the field. You can change the crop that you want to plant from the seeder's menu.
Fertilize the field once after seeding, it will increase the yield by 50%. Wait one month for the crops to grow, fertilize once again to increase the yield by 98%.
Optional: Roll the field after seeding to increase the yield slightly, probably only worth it on large fields.
Wait till the field is ready to harvest. Switch to your harvester, lower the header, turn it on, harvest. You can store the crop in a silo, or a trailer, until you are ready to sell it.
The starting tools are pretty much garbage, so you will need to invest in better tools soon. You can lease vehicles/tools from the shop to use them on your field. This may be helpful in the first year or two.
Here is a Steam guide that lists the "Average Sell prices + Best Month to sell".
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?l=en&id=2669314393 That list should give you a rough idea on which crops are worth the effort. I personally prefer barley, soy beans, cotton, grass (for silage). I use barley to feed the chickens, and the straw from harvesting barley to make food for my cows.
The best way to make money is by selling silage bales. Mow grass, use a baler with a wrapper, wait a couple of months for it to ferment, and sell the silage bales. Rinse and repeat. Grass regrows automatically after 2 months, you'll need to fertilize the field again after every harvest for maximum efficiency.
To make hay, mow the grass, use a tedder to dry it, and then either use a baler or a forage wagon. You cannot make silage from hay.
Sugarcane does regrow, but it reduces the yield. It is better to cultivate and reseed it. Also, don't use seeds for sugarcane, it's way too expensive. Instead, buy the sugarcane from the shop's pallets section.
Do some fertilizing contracts and silage bale contracts to earn some extra cash. You can borrow the equipment to do the job.
If your vehicles or tools get stuck, open the map, click on the vehicle/tool and reset it. This will send it back to the shop, where you can retreive it from. Do not reset trailers/tippers that have something inside them (grain, milk, etc), or seeders that contain seeds, or fertilizers/sprayers that contain fertilizer. You will lose what is inside the trailers, seeders, fertilizer sprayers. I recommend using the super strength mod (linked above) to pull vehicles that are stuck.
Build some greenhouses to grow lettuce, tomatoes and strawberries. They don't require seeding, fertilizing, you just need to supply them with water.
There are production chains in FS 22, though they are not quite as complex as in Anno. For example, you can harvest sorghum, wheat, barley or oats, and deliver them to the grain mill to make flour. Use the flour to make bread, and sell it for a higher profit.
Animals are fun, get some cow barns, sheep barns, and a chicken coop. You can sell the milk, wool and eggs, or use them in other recipes like cheese, wool > fabric > clothes, etc., for a bigger profit.
Buy nearby farmlands to expand your fields. Take it slow. Construct your own buildings instead of buying the default ones on the map. Set your production buildings to distribute their products to the next one. e.g. Set your mill to distribute flour to your bakeries, or your spinnery to send fabric to your tailors. Speaking of buildings, save your game manually before placing one. Place the building, check how it looks, if it created hills and weird slopes, quit the game, load your save and try something different. This is why you should disable autosave.
You can even listen to podcasts, music while playing FS 22. And I would also recommend Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator for a similar, chill experience. Both games are on sale on Steam until May 30.
Thanks for taking the time to read. Hope these tips helped, have fun.
