The talented Courseplay team has just unveiled during the holidays the very first version still largely in development of their famous eponymous mod. This new edition arrives with a completely revised interface perfectly integrated into the game menus. The mod is only available for PC / MAC and will not be on the ModHub for a while. We remember that for FS19, the courseplay only got there after 3 years.
For this new opus, the courseplay developers (now 3 in number) have decided to take a radical decision: the disappearance of the ATH interface in favor of the use of the game's menus. This choice makes it possible to capitalize on the new features of FS22 in terms of creating tasks for workers in order to have everything in one place. Clearly, if you've already gotten into the habit of creating tasks for your base workers in the game, you should easily be able to create courseplay tasks.
The developers have already indicated that we will not review the old interface (on the left) but that they were still considering offering a reduced interface with the essential commands in order to be able to stay in the game without having to go through the menu. In the meantime, it will therefore be necessary to use the new menus (on the right).
What functions are currently available?
For the end of the year 2021, courseplay is only compatible with your solo parts and only the field work functions are available (and some are still in very partial use):
- Harvest
- Soil work
- Mowing
- Weed control (mechanical and chemical)
Automation between vehicles (a tipper and a harvester for example), as well as the coupling with Autodrive is still under construction and will arrive gradually in the months to come. The objective of the developers is already to collect the first feedback on this new base. Multiplayer support is expected to expire later in 2022.
Creating your first race
We call a race, a course that the worker (managed by the AI) will have to follow in the field. This route is calculated taking into account many parameters such as the quantity of headlands desired or also the working method of the rows (depending on the shape of the field).
Farming Simulator 22 already offers “improved” workers capable of doing most of the work in the fields, but it doesn't give you more precise control. This is where the courseplay will come into play.
Step 1: Create a task
Make sure that the vehicle that is going to perform the task is equipped with the desired tools and then get into it. Press the Esc key to get to the menu and go to the tab with the little wheel (the one to create tasks).
Click at the bottom of the screen on "Create a task" or press the "Enter" key. In the creation screen, choose the new task "PC: Work" and start it at the first point. You now have to click on "target position" and place the entry point of the worker in the field and his working direction. Be careful to place it in the field and on an edge.
Step 2: Generate the race with the courseplay
Press the “Backspace” key or click on “CP: Open / Close Race Generator” at the bottom of the screen to bring up the race options selection window. Choose your options and generate the race (at the bottom of the screen or with the "Enter" key).
Working width | The working width is in principle automatically detected but you can adjust it by clicking on the arrows |
Row management | Round trips : the default mode which will be appropriate in most cases. The vehicle will work in row and go directly to the next one. Spiral (turn around) : for round fields or with quirky contours that are not very compatible with very straight rows. The vehicle will start from the outside then turn until it reaches the center of the field. Circular (by block) : Very close to the "round trip" mode except that the vehicle will not try to make the next row next to it but will go to the opposite symmetrical row. It will start with the far left row, then go to the far right row, and so on. The field will thus be worked in rows, but from the outside to the inside. Inside to outside : Useful for the passage of the plow, the field will be worked from its central row to the outer rows. This allows for unplowed ground around the center of the field for maneuvering. |
Pound | Smooth turns : Practical if the contours of the field are curved and do not require a maneuver to reach the corners. With this option, the worker will not reverse and will favor speed of execution. This option is also useful if your field is surrounded by houses or obstacles that prevent maneuvers. Maneuvers : Recommended in most situations. The worker will do the maneuvers necessary to treat the corners of the field well. Flyers : Allows the worker to bypass obstacles in the open field (posts, trees). |
Number of headlands | The desired amount of headlands. |
Direction of headlands | In which direction to work the headlands, clockwise or counterclockwise. |
Row orientation | The rows will be parallel to the longest edge of the field but you can force the long edge if the automatic mode is not satisfactory. |
Beginning of the headlands | Determine where to open it will start: headlands or rows (back and forth) |
Back to the first point | Determines if the worker should return to the first point of the race after finishing |
Step 3: Start the task and activate the race
Once the race has been generated (you should see the blue lines showing the course that the worker will follow on the map) you will have to close the generator (at the bottom of the screen or "backspace" key) then launch the task with the "space" key or at the bottom of the screen.
Your worker will now go to the indicated field (using the Giants AI) and once there, the Courseplay AI will take over to follow the course of the race.
If Giants' AI can't get to the field correctly, you can take control of the vehicle yourself and drive it into the area. You will then have to place yourself under the starting point of the race (a blue round sign with a white arrow) and engage the worker at this time with the H key. Attention, do not engage the worker as long as you are not in the field and under a point of the Couresplay route. If you do it outside, the worker will be piloted by the Giants AI and will not follow the courseplay instructions.
The manager of your saved races
Courseplay also integrates a race manager so that you can save them in folders corresponding to the fields. This will prevent you from having to generate the races each time. The use of this manager will probably have to be modified and improved but for now here are the basics for version 7.0.0.7.
Courseplay automatically creates a folder that will be used to store all your races. The folder will be on your hard drive:
C: \ Users \ […] \ Documents \ My Games \ FarmingSimulator2022 \ modSettings \ FS22_Courseplay \ Courses
There will then be sub-folders containing the name of the card played, the multiplayer or single player mode.
Save the active race in the manager
When you have an active race, go to the race manager, the icon with landmarks on the left. You can only save a race in a folder. It is therefore mandatory to create at least one folder (C or “Create folder” key at the bottom of the screen). We recommend that you create one folder per field.
Once the folder has been created, you can save your race there by pressing X or "save a race" then clicking on the folder where the race will be stored.
Below is an example of recording a harvest run in 6m for field 47.
Recall a race from the manager
To recall a race from the manager, make sure you are in the vehicle (or at least click on it from the menu) then go to the race manager menu (the landmarks).
Select the folder corresponding to the field, then click on "Load race" or "X" key and point to the race to load.
In the example below we load into the harvester the race called harvest 6m for field 45.
Records management
When you are in the race manager, you can switch to "edit" mode at any time with the space key or by clicking at the bottom on change mode. Once in this mode you can move, delete or rename a race or a folder.
In the example below, we delete the harvest run 6m from the field 47 folder.
Advanced vehicle options
When you are in the vehicle or if you have selected it from the task menu, Courseplay offers you options for its behavior. This part is still under development at this stage (version 7.0.0.7) and many options are present but not implemented.
Show race | By default, you will only see the first start and finish points of the race in-game. To have better control, you can request the display of all the points of the race. To have a better immersion, you can also hide all the points in the game. |
Stop on arrival | Allows you to specify whether the worker will stop the engine at the end of the stroke. |
Maneuver only in the field | Recommended in order to leave the hand to the AI of the courseplay on the course. When the worker leaves the field, the Giants AI takes over. |
Avoid crops | Useful when the function of calling buckets from a harvester will be implemented in order to prevent the latter from crushing the crops when joining the harvester. |
Allow AR walk for pathfinding | The courses may contain reverse gear for maneuvers. |
The other options are contextual depending on the vehicle and the tools used. They are present but will be implemented as and when the Courseplay updates.