Vehicle Sync

The harvester steers the grain cart. Unload on the go, in multiplayer.
Leader/follower machine synchronisation, modelled on the real systems used on modern farms.

One player drives the combine harvester, another one sits in the tractor with the grain cart. When the tractor driver engages the sync, the harvester takes over the tractor's steering and speed and keeps the cart right below the pipe outlet. The harvester driver can nudge the cart to fill it evenly. The tractor driver can take over at any moment.

Features

• Join, engage, track. The tractor joins the harvester's sync network, drives into the operational zone and engages. The sync goes from Acquiring to Tracking once the cart is in position.

• Nudging. The harvester driver moves the cart forward, back, left or right in 25 cm steps, or releases it.

• Instant takeover. Steering, the pedals or cruise control give control back to the tractor driver immediately. After a steering takeover the tractor keeps the harvester's speed, so the cart does not brake hard below the pipe.

• Safe aborts. The sync ends after a 5 s countdown when the harvester stops, reverses, turns sharply or drives faster than 16 km/h, or when the cart is full. A short stop does not end it.

• Home point. By default the cart sits below the pipe outlet. The tractor driver can store another position, and it is saved with the savegame.

• In-cab terminal. One window shows the state, the cart fill level and a top view of the harvester, the operational zone, the home point and the cart. It works with the mouse and can be moved by dragging.

• Multiplayer first. Everything is calculated on the server and synced to every player, including players who join a running game.

• Driver assist, not an AI helper. A player has to sit in the tractor, like in the real system. No helper wages, and no AI job slot is used.