As eager fans gather for FarmCon 2024, developer Giants Software has shared a preview of one of the biggest new features in the upcoming Farming Simulator 25 rice farming. The entire system looks complex and satisfying, as only a game in this franchise can achieve.
The almost 30-minute preview video shows off more than just rice farming. It details how the game’s engine has been improved since Farming Simulator 22 to offer an unprecedented simulation experience with more realistic weather patterns, shadows, wheat, water, and tracks. Not every fan can make it to FarmCon, but this video makes seeing these changes possible for everyone looking forward to the next entry.
Watch your rice planter work like a typewriter
There are no shortcuts in the Farming Simulator franchise, and this preview shows how complex the rice farming process is in Farming Simulator 25. The rice seedling machine seen in the cinematic trailer for the game is shown in action here, highlighting how each individual rice plant is picked and planted as you drive through your paddy.
The process is explained in even greater detail, though. One variety of rice can be planted directly into a rice paddy before it’s flooded. Once fully grown, it can be harvested with a traditional harvester similar to the combines you’d use on a wheat field. The preview shows a few of these, each harvesting rice differently.
Farming is about hard work and preparation, though. You’ll need to grow the other variety of rice in a greenhouse to get it going before you can plant it in your already flooded paddy using a rice planter. I didn’t expect this level of detail between the varieties of rice, but I’m looking forward to figuring out which one is most profitable by the time you’ve grown everything, used your machines to harvest it all, and sold it.
While we get a look at the small-town commercial animal sellers in the game, we don’t learn anything about the new retail elements Farming Simulator 25 is introducing. These enable you to grow food and take it directly to customers effectively, whether that’s selling it as it is or processing it into something else to be sold in a shop or restaurant.
Rice farming and retail are just two of the improvements this game offers. It will be interesting to see what else Giants Software shows off during FarmCon 2024 and as we approach the game’s release on November 12, 2024.
