With the Platinum Addon, LS22 gets an update that no gamer should miss. Accordingly, our rating also increases.
A year ago, in our GlobalESPortNews test, we attested the LS22 to be the best of its kind. No wonder, because with three varied maps, new production chains and fancy seasons as well as a constantly growing fleet of vehicles, the current offshoot from the house of Giants was convincing all along the line.
But that was by no means the end for Farming Simulator 22: The Platinum Edition brings numerous new contents such as the new map Silverrun Forest and improvements to forestry as of today. The 20 Euro Platinum Update is considered an essential add-on by the community. Why this is the first time LS22 has won a Gold Award, read the test.
Our friend the tree
At Silverrun Forest, everything revolves around wood processing. We don”t just get the renewable raw material directly from the forest thanks to new powerful vehicles and machines. We also erect many new production buildings to sell the goods produced there at a high price. We also supply large construction sites and breathe new life into the sleepy US town.
There are alternatives to a career as a forester. A few fields and manageable green areas also allow us to engage in agricultural activities, including animal husbandry. But of course – the stars of the latest add-on are clearly our friends, the trees, and their many uses.
In the centre of the very idyllic US map, which in between looks like a national park, is the old sawmill reminiscent of Hunt: Showdown. We buy it for a measly 250,000 euros and use it as the centre of our wood processing empire. Alternatively, we turn to the sawmill not far from the town. But it only functions as a service provider and cannot be purchased.
But no matter what the ownership structure looks like: In the sawmill we process tree trunks into boards, beams, walls and wood chips. These, in turn, want to be processed in the eight new production facilities for wooden goods. Whereas in the basic game only the carpenter”s workshop took wood from us, we produce scratching posts for cats in the pet accessories factory, for example, or barrels, buckets and bathtubs in the barrel factory.
We get the metal we need for this from another new feature of the Platinum upgrade: the iron ore deposit. This is a production site in the beautiful surroundings of the city that cannot be bought. In general, although we find a populated centre, many production buildings and starting points are further away.
The peace and quiet during deliveries and the deceleration on tours through forest and river landscapes are two good reasons to do the driving ourselves. Although we could also send our computer-controlled helper, which by now acts solidly, but then we miss out.
Back to the metal: We fetch the iron ore needed for this from the mountains in a trailer for bulk material and bring it to the new iron smelting furnace. There we turn the raw material into the valuable metal, which we then take on pallets to either the barrel factory or the furniture factory. Only when we actually take the consumer goods assembled there to the sales station does the fair wage go into the pocket of our lumberjack shirt.
What does the update cost?
The Platinum expansion has been available since 15 November 2022. In the Giants e-shop or on Steam, the package costs just under 20 euros. Owners of the Season Pass get started without additional costs, because the update marks the end of the first season. By the way: The Season Pass costs 40 euros and also offers various vehicle DLCs such as the Antonio Carraro Pack. If you want to find out exactly which packs offer which content and also prepare yourself perfectly for the new update, don”t miss our current special edition on LS22!
The seven sales outlets already known from the base game will be expanded in the update to include the Silverrun Market. This is a building similar to the farmer”s market, which takes practically all goods from us – and, like all the production facilities on our farm, cuts a fine figure.
So there are many uses for the more than 20,000 trees on Silverrun Forest. In addition, we also do forestry on the other maps with the equipment and machines provided by the update. With the exception of the iron deposit, which is exclusive to the new map, and the production chains based on it, the new content is compatible with the old content.
Silverrun Industries
But the full forestry programme is only available on the new map, for example through the deadwood missions. Anyone who has ever been in the forest will certainly be familiar with the markings on trees reminiscent of failed graffiti artists. We are allowed to apply these ourselves with a purchasable spray can and mark trees accordingly for further work.
The generic AI tasks are enhanced by tree cutting activities. Here the tables are turned and we cut down trees for the clients and receive a daily wage. We are only allowed to remove dead trees from the botany. If we get hold of a healthy trunk, we pay a fine and better watch out next time. The themes of creating and destroying continue throughout the missions, as we use a hydraulic hammer to shatter entire rocks when necessary to make room for something new.
When we are drawn out into nature, we also have to talk about transporting goods as well as working outdoors in general. In accordance with the new tasks, Giants has expanded the already lavishly equipped vehicle fleet. For example, we drive through the branches with trucks and tractors from the Swedish manufacturer Volvo, and fell and load trees with machines from Komatsu, John Deere or Pflanzelt Maschinenbau.
Operating the heavy equipment is really fun and sometimes feels massive. In addition, the developers once again convince with a loving modelling of the interior. When we go to the roots of full-grown trees with the Hannibal T50 from Impex, which is called a “full harvester”, and literally “harvest” them, we already feel very powerful.
We also notice very positively that forestry has become much more accessible since the update. Whereas in the basic version it was still comparatively difficult and exhausting to correctly register and load logs, this is now much easier. Therefore, even forestry sourpusses should give it a chance from now on.
Material roller coaster ride
Forestry as well as transport and logistics are carried out in the LS22 with this deceleration typical of the series. This is largely due to the still exemplary setting options before the start or during an ongoing game. By the way, if you have not yet received your special edition, you will find a remedy in the game: the already extensive help chapter has a new entry in which the finer points of forestry are explained separately.
Furthermore, the LS22 also offers more of the same in the Platinum Edition – for better or worse. Little has changed in the gameplay, the technology runs similarly stable as in the base game (we had no crashes in our pre-release version) and small quirks have also been “taken over”.
An example of this is the stumbling operation in the building mode. Unfortunately, there is no way to align the buildings to any form of grid or to move them after construction. So it”s still adventurous to set straight fences and gates to add structure to your yard.
Speaking of adventurous: In addition to all the above, Silverrun Forest offers two major construction sites. On the one hand, the wooden roller coaster near the eponymous village of Silverrun is waiting for its reopening. For this purpose, the disused beauty needs all kinds of material from our forestry in eleven construction phases before the wagons whizz across the tracks again. And when the time comes, we ride right along with them in the first-person view.
A little away from the spectacle is the boatyard, which we first have to buy for 125,000 euros before we deliver wood in the form of beams, boards, tiles and metal. After two construction phases, we watch the launch and pocket a fat chunk of profit. Thanks to our forestry.
Editor”s verdict
I”ll tell it like it is: Silverrun Forest is for me the best map in Farming Simulator 22. There are several reasons for that. Firstly, I love the interpretation of North American nature and the sensible interweaving with forestry. Those who read my guide at the time know that I am still a “beginner”, so that on the other hand I very much appreciate the rare opportunities for arable farming, livestock breeding and grassland technology. The spatial freedom of the map with its vast nature as a motif has a direct effect on my individual playful freedom.
Although forestry was present in the basic game, its real potential is only now unleashed. With new – and of course original licensed – vehicles, I drive into the forest with good cheer and load one log after the other onto the trailer. It”s finally fun. That”s how it should be. New production chains complement the previous ones, much of the content (except for the iron – perhaps Giants should make that purchasable on other maps) also works on the old maps and the Silverrun-exclusive large-scale projects give even notoriously aimless players like me a task.
The help chapter is also a support for complex steps. If something is too difficult for me, I configure the game exactly as it suits my needs. And if you want an even deeper insight, I recommend our special issue.
