Farming Simulator 25 releases November 12th. There’s still some time to pre-order which gets you the MacDon Pack! Or go for the fancy Collector’s Edition, including a USB Ignition Lock to start your in-game tractors.

Horia, tell us a bit about you and your position!

I’m an Associate Producer for the Environment Department here at GIANTS Software, and I also work as a Technical Artist. I’ve been in the gaming industry for about 20 years now, and for the past 8, I’ve had the pleasure of working at GIANTS. My journey here started with Farming Simulator 17 back in 2016, and I immediately connected with the unique aspects of the game. Before joining, I worked on a variety of titles, like Call of Duty: Ghosts, Dead Rising 3, and Test Drive Unlimited 2, mostly in outsourcing.

But it was with Farming Simulator that I found a new passion – this game is special to me, and being part of its growth and evolution has been truly exciting. Watching the franchise expand over the years and knowing I’ve played a role in that journey brings me so much happiness and pride. I’m thrilled to help bring this world to life for our players, season after season.

Inspiration & Atmosphere

What kind of atmosphere were you aiming for? 

With the Hutan Pantai map, we wanted to create an authentic East Asian atmosphere that embodies the harmony between countryside landscapes and the vibrant, modern cities typical of this region. This symbiotic relationship—where the bustling cities are sustained by the hard work and dedication of the rural areas—is central to the map’s vision. The contrast and connection between these two areas were essential elements for us to capture.

We also wanted to integrate specific elements unique to the region, showcasing how the modernization of cities has facilitated the movement of goods. Through features like elevated highways and suspended train bridges, we connect the fields to the urban centers, creating a seamless flow that mirrors real-world infrastructure. Our goal was to present a world that feels both familiar and rich with the unique cultural blend of East Asia.

In addition, we made it a priority to preserve the heritage and culture of the region by designing a traditional village and a temple area, both with architectural styles that have been in use for hundreds of years. These elements honor the historical and cultural richness of the area, ensuring authenticity and a sense of legacy.

Where did the inspiration come from?

Our inspiration came from a variety of sources, each helping to shape a different aspect of the Hutan Pantai map. For the traditional village area, we drew heavily from Studio Ghibli films, especially ‘From Up on Poppy Hill’, one of my favorite animated films. Ghibli’s art captures the soul of these small, timeless villages, and that’s the feel we wanted for this area.

For the industrialized town area, we looked to the vibrant, neon-lit streets of bustling cities like Seoul and Tokyo. Those lively, illuminated scenes bring an energy that reflects the rapid pace of modern life, something we aimed to recreate with our urban spaces through bright lights and dynamic structures.

The inspiration for the temple area came from multiple sources, including several K-dramas and close-up visual references that beautifully showcase the intricate architecture of these structures. By drawing from these detailed depictions, we were able to create a space that feels authentic and respectful of the cultural heritage it represents.

For the farming areas, we explored both traditional and modern agricultural practices unique to East Asia. We wanted a blend that showcased the roots of farming life alongside its evolving practices, creating an experience that honors the past while embracing the future. Drawing from such a wide variety of sources allowed us to bring a diverse and immersive world to life, filled with elements that feel true to the essence of East Asia.

Creation & Challenges

When starting to work on a new map – how do you approach it?

Every new map starts with extensive research focused on the specific area or theme we’re aiming to recreate. We dive deep into the culture and unique characteristics of that region to bring the most authentic experience to our players. Our approach involves splitting up tasks within the environment department to ensure we gather as much relevant information as possible.

Some of our team members focus on researching the local architecture, while others concentrate on understanding the vegetation, farming practices, and community-specific elements we need to capture. We also pay close attention to details that we should avoid to ensure the map is respectful and enjoyable for our community.

Once the research phase is complete, we move into the prototyping or pre-production stage. Here, we experiment by gray-boxing, creating basic 3D models to establish the layout of the map. This stage allows us to test and adjust the positioning of essential elements like production buildings and landmarks. It’s an exciting process of turning research into a tangible environment, and it helps us set a strong foundation for the final map.

How did you approach the environmental design and landscape?

Our approach to Hutan Pantai’s environmental design started with a clear vision focused on symmetry and balance. This map stands apart from others by emphasizing the unique contrast between tradition and modernization, a recurring theme in the region’s landscapes. We concentrated the industrial area near the city, where a port serves as the endpoint for the farming process, symbolizing the export of goods beyond the map’s boundaries. While this is just a metaphor rather than a gameplay feature, it reinforces the flow and purpose of the farming life cycle.

Our goal was to capture the essence of East Asia as accurately as possible, blending the charm of the countryside with the dynamism of industrial progress. The flow of farming processes on this map moves from the southwest to the northeast, guiding players through this journey of production and transportation. It’s all about balance—maintaining an equilibrium between heritage and technology, old and new. This balance is not only in the physical layout but also in the map’s character, creating an experience that feels true to the cultural and geographical realities of East Asia.

What were some of the challenges in the creation of the map?

Creating the Hutan Pantai map brought its own set of challenges, especially with the complexity of the city. This was beyond anything we’d done before, so we had to carefully balance authenticity with performance. We wanted the city to feel real and dynamic without taking up too much of the map’s surface area or impacting performance on consoles and PCs. Achieving that balance was a significant technical and creative challenge.

Another major challenge was designing the infrastructure to connect the city with the rural areas. Building a highway that seamlessly links the main city to the rest of the map required meticulous planning, and adding tunnels to the route brought another layer of complexity. Ensuring this infrastructure was both functional and visually integrated into the landscape was a true test of our design and engineering skills.

Team Efforts

What aspects are you the most proud of/what’s your favorite part of the map? 

I’m proud of every part of this map and what we achieved with Hutan Pantai, pushing the boundaries a bit further. But what I’m most proud of is the incredible work of our Environment Team. Their talent and dedication truly brought this vision to life.

Our technical artist, Evgen, played a huge role in the technical breakthroughs we needed. Kevin, who has an amazing eye for detail, meticulously refined every element with a patience and precision that brought out the best in each piece of the map. Our vegetation team, Vanessa and Kenan, created the rich, immersive plant life that adds so much depth. Gabriel poured countless hours into bringing the neon-lit cityscape to life, making it pulse with energy. And Anton, who had the patience and dedication to elevate every element, always pushed to make everything just a bit better.

It’s a team effort through and through, and seeing each of their contributions come together in this map is what I’m most proud of.

The post Preview & Interview: Hutan Pantai appeared first on FS25 mods.

Massey Ferguson MF 95 Tractor:

• Power: 285-425 hp
• Transmission: Variable (CVT)
• Top Speed: 50 kph / 31 mph
• Price: 250,000

Samson PG II 28 Genesis Slurry Tanker:

• Capacity: 300 hp
• Working Width: 27.8 m²
• Filling Speed: 13.91
• Top Speed: 16 kph / 9 mph
• Price: 212,500

This combination of tractor and tanker is ideal for spreading slurry on fields in Farming Simulator 25.

International CV Series truck in Farming Simulator 25

• Price: €675,000
• Transmission: Automatic
• Power: 350 hp
• Fuel Tank Capacity: 246 l
• Top Speed: 90 kph / 55 mph

The truck is a red color with a white “International” logo on the front. It has a flatbed trailer attached to it.

Elmer’s Manufacturing Super 7 weeder

• Price: €46,500
• Power Requirement: 250-450 hp
• Working Speed: 12 kph / 7 mph
• Working Width: 15.3 – 27.3 m

The weeder is red and has a large number of tines that are used to remove weeds from the ground. It is pulled by a tractor in the image.

Case IH Steiger 715 Quadtrac Tractor:

• Price: €685,000
• Power: 778 hp
• Transmission: Powershift
• Fuel Tank Capacity: 1,968 l
• Top Speed: 40 kph / 24 mph

J&M X-TENDED REACH 1112 Auger Wagon:

• Price: €95,000
• Power Requirement: 300 hp
• Capacity: 6.7 t
• Working Width: 39.6 – 41.4 m

The post Farming Simulator 25 – The Last Fact Sheet appeared first on FS25 mods.

JOHN DEERE S7 SERIES

• Type: Harvester
• Power: 547-625 HP
• Fuel Tank Capacity: 1155 L / 741 DEF
• Top Speed: 40 kph / 24 mph
• Weight: 20.4 t
• Price: €381,000

JOHN DEERE RDF35

• Type: Header
• Price: €105,000
• Working Width: 10.7 m
• Top Speed: 10 kph / 6 mph

Specifics:

• S7 SERIES: This harvester comes with a powerful engine range of 547-625 HP and a variable transmission. It has a fuel tank capacity of 1155 L for fuel and 741 L for DEF. It can reach a top speed of 40 kph and has a weight of 20.4 t. The price tag for this machine is €381,000.
• RDF35: This header, attached to the S7 SERIES harvester, has a working width of 10.7 meters and a top speed of 10 kph. It’s priced at €105,000.

ENNEBOGEN 340 G

• Type: Telehandler
• Power: 136 hp
• Transmission: Variable (CVT)
• Top Speed: 40 kph / 24 mph
• Weight: 9.4 t
• Price: €145,000

Specifics:

• SENNEBOGEN 340 G: This telehandler has a 136 hp engine and a variable transmission. It can reach a top speed of 40 kph and has a weight of 9.4 t. The price tag for this machine is €145,000.

Certainly! Here’s a description of the machinery featured in the image, which appears to be from Farming Simulator 25:

INTERNATIONAL TRANSTAR II EAGLE

• Type: Truck
• Power: 400 hp
• Transmission: Manual
• Top Speed: 80 kph / 49 mph
• Weight: 7.5 t
• Price: €45,000

BRANDT H550 BEAVERTAIL

• Type: Trailer
• Price: €106,000
• Length: 12.31 m

Specifics:

• INTERNATIONAL TRANSTAR II EAGLE: This truck has a 400 hp engine and a manual transmission. It can reach a top speed of 80 kph and has a weight of 7.5 t. The price tag for this truck is €45,000.
• BRANDT H550 BEAVERTAIL: This trailer has a length of 12.31 meters and is priced at €106,000.

HOLMER TERRA DOS 5-40

• Type: Harvester
• Power: 652 hp
• Transmission: Variable (CVT)
• Top Speed: 40 kph / 24 mph
• Weight: 36.1 t
• Price: €685,000

HOLMER HR 6

• Type: Header
• Price: €53,500
• Working Width: 2.2 m
• Top Speed: 10 kph / 6 mph

Specifics:

• HOLMER TERRA DOS 5-40: This harvester has a 652 hp engine and a variable transmission. It can reach a top speed of 40 kph and has a weight of 36.1 t. The price tag for this machine is €685,000.
• HOLMER HR 6: This header has a working width of 2.2 meters and a top speed of 10 kph. It’s priced at €53,500.

The post Farming Simulator 25 – Fact Sheet Collection 8 appeared first on FS25 mods.

Alongside new screenshots visualizing how the ground will deform, Senior Software Engineer Eddie Edwards from GIANTS Software will go further into detail on how it actually works.

Eddie, tell us about you and your position first – what’s your role?

I’m one of the Senior Engine Programmers for Farming Simulator. I’ve been at GIANTS since the early days of FS13. I created the original PlayStation 3 port, and I have been responsible for other ports of the GIANTS Engine to PS4, PS5, Switch and iOS. I’m very much “the PlayStation guy” at the company, but I also work on cross-platform engine technology such as Density Maps, rendering, shader compiler, some physics, audio, etc.  

There’s not much in the GIANTS Engine that I haven’t worked on to some extent over the last 12 years! And in particular, of course, I created the new technologies that bring us ground deformation for FS25 – the improved Density Map system, the new terrain geometry system, and the terrain virtual texturing system.

 Firmness & Viscosity

How the Ground Deforms

Depending on the ground type, the deformation and compression of the soil is dependent on multiple factors. Take a look!

Which factors define how the ground deforms?

Eddie: A number of factors affect this. Firstly, every ground type has a different level of “firmness” and “viscosity”. Tarmac cannot be deformed at all, for instance, while mud can be deformed a lot (due to different “firmness”), and driving on snow instantly crushes it, while driving on mud causes it to compress over a longer time (due to different “viscosity”).  Also, if the ground is wet, this affects the deformation as well.

Which vehicle you are driving also affects the deformation – the weight of the tractor and the width of its tires both affect the reaction of the terrain. And a slower-moving vehicle will sink faster than a fast-moving vehicle.

How does ground deformation affect gameplay? What will players “feel”? 

For the first time, FS25 gives a real physical response from the terrain – you will feel the tractor bumping over the ground, and you will see it creating ruts and tracks, and if you go back and drive over those ruts and tracks you will feel the effect from them as well. 

It is also harder to steer if you have dug into the ground, just as it is in real life. Driving in rain will be more difficult than driving when it is sunny. Your tire configuration now has a greater effect, too, and you may need to consider which tires are best to use for different seasons and different types of field work.

The Fun of Plowing

Plowing on another level

While the deformation on the soil is individual to the machines, their weight and other conditions, one field activity in particular will probably feel a whole lot different in Farming Simulator 25.

What kind of machines/equipment will showcase ground deformation best? 

Plowing is a new experience now – the plow creates real physical furrows which can not only be seen more clearly on screen but also affects the tractor when driving over them.  Also, machines with caterpillar tracks come into their own now, as they can handle uneven ground so well.

Want to know more?

Let’s talk performance, visuals & challenges!

What were the technical challenges in implementing ground deformation?

The ground deformation works on a grid size of 12.5cm which works out to 16K x 16K for a 2km map (that’s 256 megapixels – the map itself is only 4 megapixels). There were various technical challenges with storing this data efficiently, and also with processing the data efficiently, for instance when tools like cultivators or plows work on the fields, and when vehicles drive over the fields and react to these fine-scale bumps and ridges.

There is also a “procedural” level of ground deformation, which is mapped with geometry in a similar way to how the terrain is texture-mapped with images, except it runs on the CPU instead of on the faster GPU, so we had to heavily optimize this code.

How is ground deformation data stored and managed?

Since ground deformation works at a higher resolution than we’ve dealt with before we wanted to save memory in areas which are not deformed (e.g. on rocky mountains, or in places where the player has not yet been), so we created a “sparse” version of the Density Maps.  This stores tiles of data only in regions where deformation actually exists. Furthermore, to reduce memory footprint even more, the tiles are all compressed, using a more advanced version of the existing Density Map compression that we’ve used in the past.

Additionally, to support fast operations on this high-resolution data we created a Density Map Processing Unit (DPU) which is like a little GPU emulator that runs on the CPU, and is capable of performing operations on Density Maps at much higher speeds than previously.  It can actually be programmed using our in-house shader language, although this feature is not used in FS25 yet.

For speed, the whole system (data compression, DPU operations, and procedural generation) is written using native SIMD instructions (SSE4.1 or AVX2 on PC and consoles, and NEON on ARM-based Macs).  There is far more SIMD-optimized code in this version of Farming Simulator than we’ve ever had before.

Tell us about how you optimized deformation physics for performance.

In previous versions of Farming Simulator the custom vehicle physics was dealing with terrain at a resolution of 0.5m. With terrain deformation and displacement, the resolution is now 0.125m – 4x greater in each direction, or 16x as many triangles.  This made our wheel vs terrain collision detection 16x slower, so we wrote a custom implementation of this for FS25 which is approximately thirty times faster than the old code, so overall our vehicle physics is now about twice as fast as before, even with all the new features.

The new physics code involved some quite heavy math and numerical analysis – fortunately I have a Master’s Degree in Mathematics, which helped me a lot on this task!

How does the game handle visual transitions for ground deformation?

Another new feature for FS25 is the terrain quadtree mesh, which enables high resolution triangle rendering near the player but uses a lower resolution further away – there is no need to render the deformed geometry when it is hundreds of meters away. 

The geometry smoothly morphs from deformed to not-deformed some distance from the player.  However, this transition is quite well hidden because of another new technology in FS25, which is the terrain virtual texture system. 

Although deformation is not rendered in the distance using triangles, it is still shaded and rendered into the terrain texture (using a graphics technique called normal mapping). So the deformation is still clearly visible, even on distant areas where the rendered triangle count is very low, and you can see the tracks left by the AI vehicles even if you are watching them from half a kilometer away!

What do you personally like most about ground deformation in the game?

It was a very rewarding experience to implement all these new technologies, and I love the fact that the result is not only a better visual experience for the player, but also that it interacts with physics and gameplay in such interesting ways, making FS25 a much more interesting and realistic “simulator” than ever before!

The post Preview & Engine Interview: Ground Deformation appeared first on FS25 mods.

1. CLAAS JAGUAR 990 TERRA TRAC Forage Harvester:

• Horsepower: 925 hp
• Weight: 18.6 t
• Maximum Speed: 40 kph / 25 mph
• Transmission: Variable (CVT)
• Price: €625,500

2. CLAAS ORBIS 900 Header:

• Horsepower: 840 hp
• Weight: 4.1 t
• Cutting Width: 9 m
• Maximum Speed: 10 kph / 6 mph
• Price: €127,000

Both pieces of equipment are made by the real-world agricultural machinery manufacturer CLAAS.

1. NEW HOLLAND AGRICULTURE T7 LWB PLMI Tractor:

• Horsepower: 224 hp
• Weight: 7.3 t
• Maximum Speed: 50 kph / 31 mph
• Transmission: Variable (CVT)
• Price: €283,500

2. VÄDERSTAD Rexius 1230 Roller:

• Horsepower: 120 hp
• Weight: 8.3 t
• Maximum Speed: 12 kph / 7 mph
• Working Width: 12.3 m
• Price: €81,000

Both pieces of equipment are made by real-world agricultural machinery manufacturers.

1. CASE IH AGRICULTURE Puma 260 CVXDrive Tractor:

• Horsepower: 302 hp
• Weight: 7.3 t
• Maximum Speed: 50 kph / 31 mph
• Transmission: Variable (CVT)
• Price: €270,500

2. CASE IH AGRICULTURE RB 456 HD Pro Baler:

• Horsepower: 120 hp
• Weight: 4 t
• Maximum Speed: 17 kph / 11 mph
• Bale Width: 125 cm – 150 cm
• Price: €65,000

Aprilia RX 125:

• Horsepower: 15 hp
• Weight: 134 kg
• Maximum Speed: 100 kph / 62 mph
• Transmission: Manual
• Price: €4,000

Piaggio Ape 50:

• Horsepower: 3 hp
• Weight: 492 kg
• Maximum Speed: 38 kph / 23 mph
• Transmission: Variable (CVT)
• Price: €5,500

The post Farming Simulator 25 – Fact Sheet Collection 7 appeared first on FS25 mods.

Hand Tools & Sheds

Turning tools into individual items means that you don’t just buy them to have them appear in your virtual hands when you press the appropriate button. They exist as items on the map, can be stored in tool sheds, and can be shared with your fellow farmers.

Select forestry machines can also hold your chainsaw when you go into the woods. Simply attach it by placing it in the highlighted spot.

Bale Wrap Resources

Until now, you just baled like there’s no tomorrow, did you? Don’t worry, you still can. But! Bale wrapping now consumes foil or net wraps. With that, we introduce one of our new partners in Farming Simulator 25: Rani Plast and their RaniWrap series of stretch film for bale wrapping. Available in various colors.

In addition to RaniWrap, there are multiple others of your favorite brands to choose from. Just pick your favorite wrapping film brand if available at the dealership.

The post FS25 Preview: Hand Tools & Bale Wrap Consumables appeared first on FS25 mods.