An iconic farming game for all ages
Farming Simulator 17 is a farming simulation game developed by Giants Software. It’s the eighth premium edition in the farming simulator series and has a gameplay similar to its predecessors. Users must grow crops, rear livestock, operate machinery, and manage finances. However, there’s more! Farming Simulator 17 introduces new features, characters, and mechanics, and is more environment-friendly in its approach.
Manage the daily operations of a farm
As the name suggests, Farming Simulator 17 creates a simulation of a farm with all its processes intact. This means that once you’re in the game, you must plow and fertilize fields, sow seeds, get rid of weeds, and harvest crops. Simultaneously, you must rear livestock, sell your crops in the market, drive farming vehicles like Fendt and Valtra, manage finances, increase income, and gain a profit so you can buy more land and start the process again.
Though the premise may seem boring to new farmers, it’s anything but. Published by Focus Home Interactive, Farming Simulator 17 is quite popular. It gained over a million players in merely the first quarter of its release. Some new features included in this version are crops like sunflowers and soybeans, a bigger collection of farming equipment, and natural fertilizers for people who don’t like chemicals.
Become the best farmer in the land
Apart from its zen-like gaming appeal, there is a purpose behind the endless plowing of fields. The overall goal of playing any of the games in the farming simulation series is to buy the entire available land on the map and grow the largest farm possible. However, when it comes to Farming Simulator 17, you must also complete different missions created by other farmers.
All plots available for purchase are owned by farmers who will pay you if you complete a mission. These missions, once completed, can help you buy the land at a much lower cost than the original price. Apart from missions, there are some notable changes in Farming Simulator 17, including the option to fertilize fields multiple times and fixed plowing after a set number of harvests.
Earn money growing crops
Farming Simulator 17 provides players with a variety of crops ranging from ones that are purely field-based to ones that require a greenhouse to grow. All crops have different monetary values and can help you generate much-needed income. You can also create beehives or a tree nursery to bring in additional cash. While both options are generally quite profitable, they do require special equipment and more effort.
Indulge in animal ranching
Farming isn’t limited to crops and players have the option of creating a ranch for sheep, cattle, and chickens. Pig farming is a new addition and courtesy of Farming Simulator 17. Since ranching requires vehicles and equipment for management, you will have to shell out money. To manage the economics, you must learn to make the farm profitable, which means growing and processing animal food right there on the farm.
Make passive income easily
Apart from farming and rearing animals, you can make money in Farming Simulator 17 by generating clean energy. In places that are not being used, you can purchase and place Windmills and Solar Panels. While both of these investments will generate passive income gradually, getting into the business and dealing with manufacturers can be a little expensive.
Select your character
For the first time in the history of the farming simulation series, players get an option to select a character. As a farmer, you can now choose whether your character is male or female. While it isn’t much, it does open the game to future characters as well as more roles and content.
Explore the farm on a train
Trains add a fun element to the Farming Simulator 17 game. You neither have to buy them nor do you have to pay any fees, you can just jump aboard and go anywhere on the map. While it’s a good option to transport goods from your farm to the market, it’s also an amazing way to experience the scenery of the surroundings.
Change the setting of your farm
Farming Simulator 17 comes with two maps: Sosnovka and Goldcrest Valley. While the former is located in Europe, the latter is in the US. This is a new addition to the game. When you launch the game, you get an option to select the map of your liking so you can begin farming in a location of your choice.
Make the best of mods
When you download Farming Simulator 17 on your Windows computer, you get access to over 1050 mods, all of which are available on ModHub. With the help of these mods, you can enjoy enhanced performance and modify gameplay. To make it easy, all the mods are segregated into different categories so that you can easily find the latest or the most popular ones.
Minimal graphic and sound changes
While playing Farming Simulator 17 is quite fun, the graphics and sound aren’t as good as other simulation games. A notch better than the previous version, 17 has better texture details and two radio stations that users can listen to while they are driving vehicles. However, player animation remains awkward and may seem off-putting to some users.
Can you play Farm Simulator online?
Similar to Farming Simulator 15, this version also supports online gaming. Farmers have an option to select who enters the game, whether it’s a friend or a stranger. Regardless, anyone who enters must have the same DLC as the host. The invite-only game lets you have full control of your farm as well as your funds. Users that join must share all resources and work as a group.
Can you play 2 player Farming Simulator 17?
Farming Simulator 17 is a multiplayer game wherein six players can enter the farm simultaneously. The only drawback to the multiplayer function is that there are no achievements. Even the host player won’t be able to earn anything while they’re in multiplayer mode.
Is Farming Simulator 17 free?
No. Farming Simulator 17 is a premium expansion pack featuring new crops and vehicles. To play the game, you must purchase it.
Are there any alternatives?
While Farming Simulator is quite popular and has a range of other titles in the series, it also does have a few well-known alternatives. A few popular farming genre games are American Truck Simulation, John Deere: Drive Green, and Agriculture Simulator: Historical Farming.
Should I download Farming Simulator 17?
Farming Simulator 17 brings the best bits of farming simulation back to desktops, which is why it’s a game worth downloading. The entire experience is quite surreal and lets you make a lot of money. The only drawback is that the game still has outdated animation. However, if you can look over that aspect, you’ll enjoy playing Farming Simulator 17.