v2.4.4.0 — Soil health, hay yield & monitor fixes
New
- Organic matter now affects yield: rich soil (5.0+) gives a small boost, healthy 3.5 to 5.0 is neutral, depleted soil is penalised. OM also builds more slowly, decays a little under constant cropping, and ploughing now burns some off (residue incorporation offsets it).
- Mowed hay and grass yield now responds to your soil nutrients (disc, drum and swather mowers included).
- Grassland compaction relief without reseeding (#680): grassland weeders/aerators now ease pasture compaction while keeping the sward, and deep grassland sward-lifters like the Latapia 5P1H get full relief with the grass preserved (snapshot before the pass, restored after). The sward-restore for deep tools is experimental, please watch for any flicker or odd grass on restored fields.
Fixed
- Subsoilers now FULLY clear compaction. A code quirk meant they were only relieving a small partial amount instead of the full deep-pan clear since the compaction update. All subsoilers now work as intended.
- Alfalfa, grass, clover and other perennials no longer get a false "tired field" penalty on later cuts. Alfalfa now behaves like luzerne everywhere.
- Subsoilers now properly work organic matter and nitrogen into the soil (the deep pass was barely registering before).
- Phantom burnt-weed patches no longer appear on clean fields after a reload. If a field already has them, cultivate or plough it once to clear the existing patches.
Changed
- Soil Monitor now shows "Meadow" instead of "Fallow" on meadow fields, and pauses the readouts (showing "Field asleep") for fields you've put to sleep in Field Sentry.