Fruit Tree Update
2026-06-26Introducing Tree Crops A new farming system has arrived! Tree Crops introduce long-term orchard management to ACRES. Added new fruit trees: • Apple • Banana • Avocado • Orange • Fig • Lemon Tree crops use the Perennial Growth System: • Trees grow through 4 unique growth stages • Mature trees continue producing after harvest • Harvested trees return to a regrowth stage instead of being removed • Orchards can produce multiple harvests without replanting • Crop stress continues accumulating across seasons Orchard Gameplay Changes Mature trees (growth stage 2+) now affect farm operations: • Block tractor movement • Block adjacent pathfinding • Prevent normal field actions in occupied spaces New Tree Harvest Implement • Tree harvesting collects fruit from the tree cell and neighboring left/right cells • Designed for efficient orchard harvesting with tractor equipment
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Tree Removal • Plowing a tree cell removes the tree and returns the land to a plantable state Performance Improvements Hourly Game Update Decoupling Heavy ECS updates are now decoupled from game speed, preventing simulation slowdowns during higher speed settings. Game progression now runs using an elapsed-hours model instead of per-frame updates. The following systems now scale using HoursSinceUpdate: • Crop growth • Weed spread • Mulch decay • Producer updates Updates now run through a sequential simulation pipeline: • Mulch • Game Simulation • Producer Updates • Weed Updates • Storage Decay • Overlay Refresh This reduces frame spikes and keeps simulation timing consistent regardless of frame rate. Multithreaded Crop Simulation Crop simulation now uses concurrent processing to improve performance on larger farms. Improvements include: • Multi-threaded crop processing • Reduced cell update contention • Localized state collection before merging changes • Deferred rendering updates back to the main game thread Large farms should see smoother simulation performance and improved stability. Tractor & Harvest Improvements Tractor harvesting has been optimized. Previously: • Each harvested cell immediately updated storage • Large implements could trigger dozens of storage updates per frame Now: • Tractor harvest results are queued • Storage updates are processed once per frame • Storage capacity is validated before items are added This improves performance with: • Large tractors • Multi-row implements • Tree harvesting (Player and worker harvesting remain immediate.) Pathfinding Improvements Improved Livestock Navigation Livestock pathfinding now uses a proper lowest-cost search system. Changes: • Replaced basic queue processing • Added min-heap based node expansion • Paths now prioritize the lowest-cost movement options Animals should make more accurate movement decisions, especially in larger areas. Action Queue Optimization Improved action processing performance: • Removed expensive array shifting operations • Actions now use a moving queue index • Queue cleanup only occurs after all actions are completed This reduces unnecessary memory movement during gameplay. Storage & UI Improvements New Storage Update Events Added: OnStorageRowUpdated Storage changes can now notify UI systems immediately while only updating when relevant items are modified. Graphics Improvements Field Shadow Controls Added new shadow control support: • FarmField now exposes bUseShadow • Applies to crop rendering and high-poly weeds The graphics shadow setting now correctly controls field object shadows. Fixes & Improvements • Improved simulation stability on large farms • Reduced unnecessary storage updates • Improved tractor harvesting performance • Reduced frame spikes during world updates • Improved foundation for future large-scale farming systems
