The latest update adds a whole 13 new vehicles to LS22 and fixes some bugs. More updates and new content are planned for 2022. The developers give us an outlook in an interview.
The update to version 1.20 for Farming Simulator 22 is available now. Besides the adjustment of prices and other in-game values, it brings a whole 16 new vehicles as well as three new original licensed manufacturers. But that is by no means all, because the first season is just beginning.
In an exclusive interview, we found out what the content philosophy of developer Giants looks like, what you can look forward to in the coming updates and how the Swiss software company assesses the successful launch of LS22. We spoke with Martin Rabl, Head of Marketing, and Wolfgang Ebert, PR and Marketing, from Giants.
Content update available now
From 16 December you can update your LS22 to version 1.20. The latest update brings changes in two areas. On the one hand, the developers want to use the update to make minor adjustments. On the other hand, you will also get new content in the form of 16 machines, including equipment from three manufacturers that are completely new to the series: From now on, vehicles from the American company ABI Attachements, the Danish company Kongskilde Agriculture and the Dutch manufacturer Vervaet will expand your fleet.
The Hydro Trike 5×5 from Vervaet has cult potential, because the vehicle, which Martin calls a “self-propelled slurry tanker”, not only looks cool, but also has a very small turning circle due to the single wheel at the front.
Fans are looking forward to the return of one of their favourites with the Case IH Steiger Quadtrac. In addition, the Case IH Steiger Rowtrac and IH Steiger Wheeled from the series are now also available in the game.
In addition to models from the new additions, the update also adds vehicles and implements from Amazone, Bomech, Fliegl, Krone, Kuhn Primor, Landini and Samasz to the LS22. Owners of the LS22 will receive all of this as free DLC.
Improvements and adjustments
Furthermore, the update brings improvements to existing elements of LS22 and thus mainly benefits the game balance. Giants wants to adjust prices (for goods, sales, used machines) as well as repair costs and thus prevent the exploitation of economic factors.
In addition to this fundamental value adjustment in many areas, the new update for the LS22 also contains some bug fixes and comfort improvements. For example, a bug was fixed in the helper that affected work with a rotating plough. Often the AI farmers were not able to turn the plough after it had been driven over the field.
In addition, the cost of computer-controlled labourers is now basically lower and they will no longer continue to be paid if you pause the game. Although every improvement to the helper is basically good, there is still a lot to be done here in the future. Giants themselves know this. Martin promises:
The issue of the helper is not yet finished for us. We are still working on it.
A small improvement has also been made in the construction mode. It is now easier to place the new vines in parallel lanes. Until now, it was really annoying when we placed new vines a few pixels apart when building large grape fields, only to get stuck with the small tractor while working.
Speaking of fields: We can now remove the prefabricated fields if we have other plans for the land. Wolfgang explains this to us using the example of the map Elm Creek, where there are a lot of fields and very little free land to cultivate.
The last major improvement of the new update for the LS22 is actually not that insanely spectacular, but still very necessary: It’s a kind of mobile home that you simply hitch to your vehicle like a trailer and tow around.
What sounds like fun at first has a sensible background. In this way, you can buy a relatively cheap place to sleep after the start of the game in order to skip the night. Until now, you only had the option of building the very expensive farmhouse or letting the night pass at 120 times the normal speed. The farmhouse in particular tied up a lot of capacity unnecessarily, which would be better invested in vehicles and machines in the beginning.
This will also benefit you in multiplayer mode, as each player will be able to get to a sleeping place quickly and easily, which will facilitate the flow on the server.
The roadmap for Season 1
Free updates like the current one are an important part in the continued content philosophy for LS22, as Martin and Wolfgang reveal to us in the interview. Another important part are the larger content expansions that await you in the Season Pass. Here you can expect a total of four updates up to and including autumn 2022, which can offer you new machines, manufacturers and new content. Wait, can? Yes, exactly, because the guys from Giants are still keeping quiet about what exactly awaits you.
As already communicated, LS22 will receive an update in each of the four seasons ahead. In contrast to the free content expansions (as is now the case with version 1.20), the Season Pass DLCs are assigned to a major content theme. However, we still have to wait and see what content awaits us in the Winter Update. Giants did not want to say anything concrete about this yet, but referred to the successful Anderson DLC or the Alpine addon for LS19 for orientation.
This is how we can imagine the upcoming content. At the end of the season, a fourth map will be released, which could already be seen in advance on the official roadmap graphic. However, it has not yet been decided to which region we will travel next after the USA, the Alps and France.
In terms of content, they are less focused on a fixed theme when it comes to the concept of the free updates. There will be more of these in the future in order to offer buyers who only own the game without the Season Pass a few new features. Cooperations can also arise spontaneously, as we learn in the interview. There are many requests from manufacturers who want to implement their machines in LS22, so there is always room for new content. So we can remain curious.
“We are very proud “
At the end of the interview we had the opportunity to ask Giants about the very successful launch of LS22. Within the first week after its release, more than 1.5 million units were sold worldwide. Especially in view of the realignment in the organisational processes of the Zurich studio, they can’t rate this success highly enough. Martin Rabl comments:
We are delighted at how successfully it has been received. We changed the cycle and went into self-publishing. There were also completely new organisational structures internally. We always asked ourselves if it would work – and we are more successful than with the previous game. We are very proud.
Wolfgang Ebert adds:
It may have been apparent with the predecessors that the niche was getting bigger, but the perception is now different. Farming Simulator is no longer ridiculed like it used to be and people play it because they enjoy it.
According to Wolfgang, they had made the observation in the past that the previous parts were also frequently bought, but not played as passionately as is now the case with LS22 at the latest: “You don’t play this for 1,200 hours and not stand behind it.” For the developers, this evolution in perception is a decisive factor in the recent success.
Mods as a third leg
Free updates like the current one to version 1.20 and paid updates as part of the Season Pass are two important mainstays of LS22. The third are the mods passionately created by the large community, which Giants sees as an absolute enrichment for the series. Moreover, the mods play their part in ensuring that every player can find the gaming experience they are looking for.
Martin and Wolfgang are critical of some of the remarks they keep coming across. Specifically, they say that Giants only looks from year to year to see which mods from the community are running successfully in order to then “simply” implement them in the new spin-off.
This perception is too one-sided for them, they say, because usually they think long in advance about content they would like to have in the game. In the course of a normal development process, creative considerations are made, implementations are checked, possibly discarded or postponed.
Sometimes there are situations where the paths of Giants and the modders cross. Wolfgang says:
Many of the things we have in mind already exist as mods. Many things may soon be available as mods.
He adds that Giants are thinking about how they can integrate certain functions and features into the overall game and admits that individual mods definitely have it easier here:
Mods are often faster, but don’t look far enough
When asked where they get their inspiration for new content, we get the unequivocal answer: “Our template is out there! We just have to look at agriculture and see what’s possible there. Our template is the real world. “
Editorial conclusion
In my eyes Giants is exactly on the right track with the further content for the LS22. The fact that bug fixes and constant adjustments to the in-game values are necessary is something that we in the editorial team have noticed time and again in our numerous hours of play and also noted in the test.
However, I find it praiseworthy that Giants does not limit itself to simple bug fixes, but also provides a lot of new content free of charge. As far as the season is concerned, we will have to wait and see, because the developers are still not revealing much here. But the work done so far makes me quite optimistic about the future. And if there’s one thing we can learn from farming, it’s that good things come to those who wait.
What do you think of the new update? And what content should developer Giants definitely implement in LS22 in the future? Feel free to write us in the comments!
