LV+P Farm Truck [V14.0.3]

The gap it fills

Eco's vehicle progression has a hole in it. The Steam Truck shows up early in Mechanics and does the job for a while. The modern Truck is a long way past it, different specialty, different bench, and a lot of research in between. If you're not levelling Industry, you're stuck with steam for a long time.

The Farm Truck is built for that stretch. Combustion flatbed, crafted at Mechanics 5, and every part of it stays on the near side of Industry.

Staying close to vanilla

This was the goal that drove everything else.

• It handles like a vanilla truck. It's built on Eco's own vehicle foundation, so the steering, acceleration, braking and suspension are the game's own, not an imitation.
• It uses the game's systems. The cargo stacking in the bed, the light toggle and the exhaust are the same ones Eco already uses elsewhere.
• It costs things you already make. No new ores, no new parts, no new bench. Every ingredient and every repair part already exists in your world.
• It fits the progression instead of skipping it. It doesn't replace the Steam Truck or make the modern Truck pointless. It sits between them.
• It looks like Eco. The model, materials and item icon follow the game's own art style.

The idea was that it should look like it came with the game, not like something bolted on.

Where it sits

<table> <thead> <tr> <th> </th> <th>Steam Truck</th> <th>Farm Truck</th> <th>Truck</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Skill</td> <td>Mechanics 2</td> <td>Mechanics 5</td> <td>Industry 2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Bench</td> <td>Assembly Line</td> <td>Assembly Line</td> <td>Robotic Assembly Line</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Labour</td> <td>1000 cal</td> <td>1500 cal</td> <td>2000 cal</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Speed</td> <td>18</td> <td>19</td> <td>20</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Cargo</td> <td>24 slots / 5000kg </td> <td>30 slots / 6500kg</td> <td>36 slots / 8000kg </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

* the vanilla trucks carry via their flatbed attachment

Every ingredient and repair part is pre-Industry on purpose. Rubber wheels and steel plate both need Industry, so the Farm Truck uses iron wheels and iron plate instead for repairs as well as the recipe. A truck you could build but not maintain until Industry would show up at the same time as the thing replacing it.

What it does

• Drives, steers and brakes, with wheels that spin and a steering wheel that turns with them
• 30 storage slots, 6,500 kg, and cargo that stacks in the bed as it fills
• Burns wood and other solid fuel
• Headlights and tail lamps that light up, not just cast a beam
• Exhaust smoke off the stack
• Repairs with a combustion engine, iron wheels, a light bulb and lubricant
• Air pollution and minimap presence, same as any vehicle like it

Install

1. Stop the server.
2. Extract the zip into your Eco server's root directory, the folder that already contains Mods/. It puts its files in Mods/UserCode/FarmTruck/.
3. Start the server. It compiles the mod on boot.

Players don't install anything. Eco sends mod assets to connecting clients automatically.

To uninstall, delete Mods/UserCode/FarmTruck/ and restart. Any Farm Trucks already placed in the world go with it.

Notes

• Built and tested against Eco Server 0.14.0.2 (release-1054).
• Server-side only. No client mod, no launcher, no dependencies.
• Free.