Prairie Grass for FS22

This mod / prefab will add a paintable Prairie Grass texture to your Paintable -> Plants menu, allowing you to paint in a new type of specialized meadow grass that will mow directly into Hay.

Prairie Grass Features

• Mowable with standard mowers directly into Hay
• 4 growth stages, mowable at 3rd stage just like Meadow grass
• Two variants Normal & Tall
• NOT Plantable as a crop

Prairie Grass

• Grows 20% taller than standard meadow grass
• Results in 10% more harvest than standard meadow grass.
• Costs 10% more to paint

Tall Prairie Grass

• Grows 50% taller than standard meadow grass
• Results in 20% more harvest than standard meadow grass.
• Costs 20% more to paint

Mod Installation Instructions

If you'd like to use this prefab as a mod, you can - but unfortunately, due to in-game restrictions - this mod requires additional updates to both the map.xml and map.i3d files for the map being used, and as such cannot be used with base game maps. Follow the instructions below to use as a mod

To install:

1. Download this mod, add to your mod folder, and add as installed when you start the game.
2. Unzip the Map being used, locate the map.xml file. Open the file for editing.
3. Find this line:

   <paintableFoliage layerName="meadow" startChannel="0" numStateChannels="4" />
   

4. Add two lines following that line so that the block looks something like this:

   <paintableFoliages>
       <paintableFoliage layerName="grass" startChannel="0" numStateChannels="4" />
       <paintableFoliage layerName="meadow" startChannel="0" numStateChannels="4" />
       <paintableFoliage layerName="prairie" startChannel="0" numStateChannels="4" />
       <paintableFoliage layerName="prairieTall" startChannel="0" numStateChannels="4" />
       <paintableFoliage layerName="decoBush" startChannel="0" numStateChannels="4" />
       <paintableFoliage layerName="decoFoliage" startChannel="0" numStateChannels="4" />
   </paintableFoliages>
   

5. Open the map.i3d file in the same directory, in the same text-editor.
6. Find this line: (or meadowFR.xml depending on the map, note that the fileId may not be the same in your map)

   <File fileId="335" filename="$data/map/mapUS/foliage/meadow/meadowUS.xml"/>`
   

7. Add these lines right blow that line; the fileId you use must be greater than the largest id used wthin the map. It's easiest to initially pick a overly large number; if you open the map.i3d file in GE and save, it will automatically renumber these Ids.

   <File fileId="10336" filename="../../../FS22_PrairieGrass/prairie/prairieGrass.xml"/>
   <File fileId="10337" filename="../../../FS22_PrairieGrass/prairie/prairieGrassTall.xml"/>
   

   Note that the ../../../ must match the directory structure of the map you're using. If the map.xml file is located in maps/mapUS/map.i3d, your mod directory is three levels above the map.i3d file; you one need ../ for each level.
8. Find this line: (note that the fileId may not be the same in your map)

   <FoliageType name="meadow" foliageXmlId="335"/>
   

9. Add these lines right blow that line; the foliageXmlId for each line must match the related fileId created above for each foliage.

   <FoliageType name="prairie" foliageXmlId="10336"/>
   <FoliageType name="prairieTall" foliageXmlId="10337"/>
   

10. Save your changes.
11. (optional) Open the map.i3d file in GE and save - doing so will automatically renumber the foliageXmlId that you created.
12. Launch and test your map.
13. (optional) re-zip your map file.

Map Making Instructions

To install the brushes included here as an integral part of your map ther are two versions of said instructions, both sharing the same data; You can either follow the XML based instructions: README.xml or the step by step instructions below.

1. Download the mod and unzip it.
2. Copy the prairie folder from this mod into your maps/mapUS/foliages/ directory
3. Update the icon paths in both priarieBrush.xml and prairieBrushTall.xml to match your map directory location. ie:

   <image>maps/mapUS/foliage/prairie/store_prairieGrassTall.dds</image>
   

4. Follow steps 2-9 above, but update the paths used in step 7 to be local, and look like this: foliages/prairie/prairieGrass.xml
5. Open storeItems.xml and find this line: (it may not include the $data/ depending on your map structure)

   <storeItem xmlFilename="$data/foliage/meadow/meadowBrush.xml" />
   

6. Add two lines following that line to add the two new brushes.

   <storeItem xmlFilename="maps/mapUS/foliage/prairie/prairieBrush.xml" />
   <storeItem xmlFilename="maps/mapUS/foliage/prairie/prairieBrushTall.xml" />
   

7. Open the mod file maps_fruitTypes.xml and merge the new fruitTypes with your map maps_fruitTypes.xml file, appending the new fruits after meadow, and adding the fruitTypeConverter to the mower section.
8. Open the mod file maps_fillTypes.xml and merge the new fillTypes with your map maps_fillTypes.xml file, appending the new types after meadow.
9. Open the mod file maps_growth.xml and merge the new fruit into your maps_growth.xml file, appending the new types after meadow.
10. Copy the <l10n> translations for the brush names from the mod modDesc.xml and merge into your map's modDesc.xml file.

Note for all of the above files - if you do not have a custom version of the same file currently in your map and are referring to the basegame $data/maps/ files... to use this mod, you will have to have map specific versions of each of those files.

Once that is done, yous hould not only have the paintable meadow foliage in game, but you'll also have prairie and prairieTall in your foliage layers to use in-game.

Screenshots

Prairie Grass (normal) in an open meadow, from player perspective

Prairie Grass Tall in an open meadow, from player perspective

From left to right, Prairie Grass Tall, Prairie Grass, and Meadow after being mown with a Krone BigM