Water Buffalos: Farming Simulator 25

Water Buffalos are new animals introduced in Farming Simulator 25.

Summary

"They're valuable milk producers, high-performance lawn mowers and overall smart and gentle creatures. Buffalo milk and mozarella are in high demand. Rich in fat, protein, and minerals - taste, too! So think about joining the dairy industry with those mighty, horned behemoths! And look at those baby buffalos! Aren't they cute? Yes, they are!"
— From 25-second video about water buffalos in Farming Simulator 25

Why Water Buffalos are awesome

Water Buffaloes adapt to harsher environments: Hot and humid? No problem. That's why they feel at home in South/East Asia, for example. Ideal creatures to keep on our new, Asian map! In many cultures, they're also significant symbols for prosperity.
They're high-performance lawn mowers: Grass-eating animals? Not that special. Un-bull-ievable, but true: in Farming Simulator 25, your fields of grass will be cut by grazing livestock. Not just the water buffaloes.
They're valuable milk producers: Water buffalo milk is especially rich in fat, protein, and minerals, making it ideal for producing dairy products. Which you can, too.
They're social, gentle, and smart: Despite their size and strength, water buffaloes are generally gentle and social animals. They form strong bonds with their herd and handlers and often show a calm and docile temperament.

New products and productions

Water buffaloes are mainly used to produce milk. You can of course also keep them for breeding and selling for a profit when dairy production is either not your thing.

But, as buffalo milk and mozzarella are in high demand, you might want to go for it and deliver the fresh milk to new production sites for processing.

Baby Buffalos

By the age of 18 months, water buffalos are matured. That's when they start producing milk. And offspring. They also start reproducing, and tiny baby buffaloes will soon appear in your pastures. Look at how cute they are!

When you buy them from the local animal farmer, you can either get some fresh and cute water buffalos or strong and mighty ones. She can also give you some more information on how water buffalos are properly handled on your farm.

How the buffalos are developed

"The process begins with creating a comprehensive reference list from real-life animals to study their anatomy, behavior, and movement patterns in detail. Once this research phase is complete, we move on to crafting high-poly models using sculpting software like ZBrush.

The next step involves preparing a low-poly model with accurate topology, making it ready for the texturing phase.

In Substance Painter, we bake the intricate details from the high-poly model onto the low-poly version and begin painting the textures. At this stage, the model is complete, but the next phase involves bringing it to life through animation.

Before we begin modeling an animal, it’s important to find good reference, and have a good understanding of the animal's anatomy. Since the sculpting is done by hand, it's easy to make small errors in such complex structures.

That's why we do multiple iterations of checking at each stage. To ensure accuracy, we carefully study every aspect, from the bone structure and muscle alignment and even the tiniest details, like the pores on the nose.

Animation is a challenging process because it involves bringing a static model to life. The real test is making sure the animal's character shines through in the animation, allowing viewers to feel its personality and natural movements.

The game features a system developed to ensure animals interact correctly by keeping them within a defined space where they're aware of each other's positions.

I'm particularly proud of the final integration of the animals into the game. It's incredibly rewarding to see them evolve from initial concepts into living creatures with their own unique personalities."
— Roman Pelypenko