MoreRealistic is a deep modification of the game focused on improving the driving experience and making Farming Simulator more enjoyable as a “driving farming simulator”.
IRL, I drove my first tractor at the age of 7 (only the steering wheel, Ford 7000 and IH745). I am also a software engineer (but not only). I discovered and played LS2009 just before Farming Simulator 2011 was released.
MoreRealistic history
I started modding with FS2011 -> the game physics was too bad (unrealistic flying tractor. The more weight on the wheels, the more power you get, no rolling resistance, etc etc). So, I created MR11 to get the best driving experience from the vanilla game and fix many bugs like the farm bales elevator. Once FS2011 with MR was feeling great to me, I released MR11.
But it was a bit late: Farming Simulator 2013 was released too, and it took me “ages” to make MR11 (thousands hours). Then, I worked on MR13 because vanilla FS2013 was feeling so bad compared to MR11. Another time, it took me a bunch of time to get the “MR engine” ready, and then, I had to convert every piece of equipment to be “MR”, including expansion vehicles. I spent another couple of thousand hours on this one.
When FS15 was released, I gave it a try: still not good, I could not feel I was driving a tractor. I checked what could be done with modding, but didn’t achieve to do anything good (didn’t even achieve to apply proper gravity) => so no MR15.
When FS17 was released, it felt the same. As usual, it was like playing with “playmobil” tractors. I achieved to make MR17 and spent a lot of time to convert vehicles. Of course, there were even more vehicles than before = I guess I spent the most time on this one (more than 3000 hours ?). At the end = I spent all my free time on this mod, but did not have time to enjoy the game with it.
Then, FS19 was released => I had a new job, and no time for playing (more than full-time job = 3000 hours per year). So, no MR. The same for FS22 => same job and still no time for FS or MR.
Why MR25?
I bought the game just before release, and I achieved to play almost one hour before trying to mod the game. The driving experience was too bad:
- Just set manual direction change to “ON”, and try to cultivate a field with base MT635 = unplayable. Each time you shift in reverse, the R1 speed is selected (crawling) and you have to shift all the gears up to get a decent reverse speed. It quickly became unbearable.
- IRL, John Deere 3650 is one of “my” tractors (spent a couple hundred hours driving it) => gearbox is “badly” set in game. (hi-lo lever is not in the right direction, and it feels like driving a powershift tractor). Gear ratios differences have also nothing to do with IRL, I couldn’t feel driving a 3650.
- MF 8570 harvesting at 10kph whatever the yield, the crop, or the incline.
- I bought a Fendt (vario transmission): driving experience was “disgusting” (in 2 words: flat and dull).
- This was already more than I could handle: the “simulator” word was lost.
Features
- Rolling resistance (something not present in the base game engine, but really, really, really important IRL for farming vehicles) and air resistance too, but not so important.
- Better tire forces (example: no more possible to pull more than your weight).
- Earth gravity (this was not the case in base game FS2011 and 2013).
- IRL mass (realistic fillType density, no mass limit, better center of mass).
- More realistic harvest and working speed (still a bit “easy” compared to IRL, but you will want that high horse power shinny tractor or bigger combine now).
- Engine with proper torque curve (try to compare John Deere 3650 and Landini REX4 120 with or without MR, at work in a hilly field).
- New transmission management. The MR game engine makes use of its own function, including for automatic shifting, for a far more realistic experience. It can handle hydrostatic transmission. Try making 0-40kph with the MT635 with or without MR, automatic shifting ON. Drive 30 seconds the Massey Ferguson 8570 on road without MR and with MR: if you love driving by yourself, it is difficult to get back to the base game feeling.
- No automatic brake when going downhill and going faster than max vehicle speed – let’s hope AI is able to brake now.
- MR Combines take into account “liters per second” and crops (less yield = faster combine speed. Harvesting less than 100% of the header width = more speed).
- MR Combines are limited by header max cut speed, combine threshing capacity, and engine power (chopping straw = consume more power = maybe less speed if the combine is underpowered in the current crop).
- Variable center of mass depending on the fill level.
- Tires have a great impact in game now (example: just try to cross a wet field with a full trailer fitted with narrow road tires).
What should you not expect from MoreRealistic?
- Overriding every piece of equipment in the game, the expansion, the official mods… (It would require me more than 24 hours a day to achieve that in an acceptable time).
Fun facts
- I bought the game on Steam first. And then, I had to buy it directly from Giants because modding is not welcome on the steam version of the game… (no lua game source).
- Each MoreRealistic project is started from scratch. I do not copy code from previous game.
- It can take me dozens of hours (hundred ?) to remove some unwanted vanilla features that would take Giants minutes to remove (say hello FS2011 “damping” value).
- It seems every piece of equipment I look at is “wrong” (maybe I look too much?):
- APE50 is not CVT driven IRL (manual gearbox like a motorbike, but shifting lever = rotating the whole left handle. And then, you have a reverser lever).
- Aprilia 125 is not 100Hp at all IRL (especially the current 4 strokes engine).
- Landini REX4 is not a GT version (this is a F version in game).
- Amazone Spreader is not a 3200 model (this is the 2600 version: not the same width at all).
- GreatPlains 1500 has the wrong optional attachment: this is not a fertilizer unit; this is the small seeds attachment unit.
- Challenger MT635/645 and MT655/665 = not the same engine: sisu 7.4L and 8.4L / not the same transmission: funk 18/6 and 18/9 (and so, not the same weight either).
- In base game, more than 90% of vehicles share the same engine (same torque curve, just a factor applied to derate the power). You can’t feel the difference between a 8.4L valmet engine and a 3.6L deutz engine => this is not a wanted experience for a driving simulator, especially with manual gears.
- A few times, MR25 has been stopped (nearly aborted) because I didn’t achieve to “bend” the base game engine like I wanted.
- With base game engine, when playing with Giants studio attached to debug and “vehicleDebug” active, the game engine is eating your memory (RAM) => this is fixed with MR engine.
- MR is best suited for “hardcore” players who play vanilla game and don’t spend time searching for mods => the ones that would never know MR exists.
Changelog
20260329
- New woodcrusher code = we want to limit/avoid the sliding at work = now we only rely on “joint” between the wood logs and the crusher (no more forces and frictionVelocity).
- Add converted Lemken Solitair 12 seeder.
- Fix speed text display problem when there are 2 “dashboards” for the same node (example: John Deere 8R pillar speed display).
- Add converted Geringhoff sunlite 40 header.
- v1.17 of the game.
- Fix broken detection of already loosened soil.
