This game would be best described as the Dippy Tiny Mower game (loading screen of the Dippy Maze Game) on steroids. After spending quite some time playing that one, I decided the concept warranted being made into a full dippy game. But, now that's it's done, I'm not sure it's right to call it a dippy game. It turned out to be more of a Dippy Combine Simulation.

At this point, there's a good chance some of you just thought or said, "Combine? Isn't that a verb?" Yes, it is, but it's also a noun. According to the dictionary it's "A self-propelled grain harvester. In one operation it combines cutting, threshing, separation and cleaning of grain, as well as dispersing the stems, stalks or other crop residue." The word is also a verb referring to the action of harvesting a field with a combine.

For the purpose of this game, you can think of it as one really big mower. For those who haven't seen one in person, by big I mean the from the outside of one drive wheel to the outside of the other being about the width of your standard 2 lane highway with the header (the cutting part) being a few feet wider than that. The combine I spent many an hour operating (an L2 Gleaner) had a 22ft wide header. Now here's the fun part, I was operating this thing and driving it on highways at the age 13 or so and that was perfectly legal. You don't need a driver's license to drive a tractor and/or combine on the highway. But anyway, back to the game...

What I have attempted to do is replicate the experience of operating a combine as best as possible within the limits of Flash 7 programming (with Flash 8 I could do better). I've done my best to replicate all aspects of the experience down to variations in the density of the plants being harvested. I even went as far as to replicate most of the sounds and used actual sounds where I could. I'm pleased with the outcome with one exception, the driving of the thing.

Granted, using the arrow keys to drive anything sucks, but trying to replicate the feel of a hydrostatic drive and rear wheel steering is nearly impossible. There is also the little problem is Macromedia's decision to use degrees when talking about the rotation of an object and use radians for all the calculations. The result is a diagonal creeping motion that's really annoying. It happens when the machine is turned just enough (less than 1 degree) to cause the calculations to produce side movement but not enough to see the rotation on the screen. So you'll think you're straight but you're really not. The problem bears mentioning because it's going to cause you to hit the truck if you play long enough (don't worry, it'll make sense later).

The other problem with the driving was the turning radius. Real combines don't turn very tight. When I got the physics of the turning to where it felt realistic, the game play sucked due to not being able to replicate the feel of the hydro. In the real thing, if you can't turn quite tight enough, it's no biggy to spin the wheel, yank the hydro in reverse, then unspin the wheel and go back to forward. With the keys, that process was just too slow. So, I made the turning radius quite a bit tighter than it should be but not as tight as the dippy mower. The end result is not quite realistic, but it works.

This brings us to the controls. The controls are realistic, but can be a bit confusing and/or annoying. However, I decided not to change them. That's one part of the experience I decided was not worth losing to improve game play. If you learn to use the keyboard shortcuts (as opposed to clicking the switches) it's tolerable.

Well once again my description is running long so I'll move right along to how to play. But, I've got a few more tidbits to share. I know, I'll add a section down there. Enjoy the game...

Here's the scenario, it's a nice hot summer afternoon and you're just about done with wheat harvest. You've got one more field to go. The problem is, there's one of those pesky popup afternoon and evening thunderstorms heading your way and according to the guy on the radio this one is going to be quite nasty. In fact, one county over, it is producing baseball size hail and 60mph winds.

For the non-farmer types out there, when wheat is ripe and ready to cut, it doesn't take much of an impact to cause the grains of wheat to fall out of the head of the plant and onto the ground. If you've ever seen what baseball size hail can do to a car, you can imagine what it will do to these little plants. The problem is, if the grains get knocked out and fall to the ground, there's no way the combine can get to them. If the combine can't get them, you can't sell them. The stems of the plant are also dry and somewhat brittle and tend to break if bent too far. A 60mph wind tends to bend plants quite a bit. For the sake of the game, we'll assume you didn't buy crop insurance. So, put simply, if the storm gets to the field before you do, you're going to lose a significant portion of your crop and your income. Your goal is to get the crop harvested before the storm comes (read "the timer expires").

To get the grain harvested, you're going to need to know how to operate a combine. Arrow keys to drive is pretty simple so I won't explain that. The other controls however, are not as simple. There are four of them and they are represented by switches on the dashboard. They are used as follows...

Cylinder On/Off - This switch starts and stops the guts of the machine. The guts include all of the equipment needed to separate the grain from the straw, put the grain in a big hopper/bin, and eject the straw out the back. You have to turn this one on first.

Header On/Off - This switch starts and stops the header. The header is the part of the machine that cuts the heads off the plants, gathers them all together in the center, and feeds them to the cylinder. As such, the cylinder must be running before you can turn the header on and you have to turn the header off before you can stop the cylinder.

Auger In/Out - This switch extends and retracts the unloading auger. This is the part of the machine which carries the grain from the hopper/bin and dumps it into the truck. What truck you ask? The difference between the mower and the combine is the fact that the combine is constantly collecting grain. When the hopper/bin gets full, you have to go to the truck parked on the dirt road along side the field and unload the grain. Clicking the top of the switch extends the auger, bottom retracts. You can't retract the auger when it is running. Well, in the real thing you can, but it's a VERY bad idea and is likely to cause damage!

Auger On/Off - This switch starts and stops the unloading auger. Once you're along side the truck with the auger extended, you click this switch to unload the grain. The auger has to be fully extended before you can start it, and you have to stop it before you can retract it. If you start the auger when it's not over the bed of the truck, you're just dumping grain out on the ground.

While we're on the subject of the dashboard, we might as well cover the gauges and lights.

Next to the switches is the Fuel gauge. There should be enough fuel in the tank to finish any field the game may generate assuming you are efficient in your harvesting. If you should happen to run out of fuel, there is a time penalty while you wait for more fuel to be added. There is a score bonus based on how much fuel you have remaining when the field is done. The rate of fuel consumption is determined by how hard the engine is having to work which is measured by...

The Manifold Pressure gauge is the other analog gauge on the dashboard. This gauge measures the amount of vacuum being drawn at the intake manifold of the engine. The harder the engine is working, the more vacuum it draws. When you turn things on you'll notice that the needle goes up. When you turn things off, it goes down. Therefore, to save fuel, you can turn off the header and cylinder when you're not actually harvesting. In other words, when going to unload the grain.

The act of harvesting also causes the gauge to move. How much it moves is determined by the density of the plants, and the speed of the machine. This is where the green yellow and red on the gauge come into play. When the gauge is in the green, you're utilizing the machine to its fullest potential. When the gauge is in the yellow, you're overloading things just a bit. When it's in the red, you're about to have trouble. Specifically, you're about to have a "Cylinder Choke."

As you might image, cutting the plants is much easier than separating the grain from the straw. As such, it is possible for the header to cut the grain faster than the rest of the machine can process it. If you're doing this a little bit (gauge in the yellow) you're causing a small amount of the grain to be ejected with the straw, in other words, wasting it. If you push things a little harder (gauge in the red), you cause quite a bit of grain to be wasted. If you push things past that (peg the gauge), you choke the cylinder and everything comes to a halt.

When this happens in the real world, you have to shut off the machine, get out, crawl underneath the machine between the drive wheels, use a metal bar to pry open the latches on a small door (at which point the door swings open and dumps straw and dust in your face), dig out all the straw that's wedged in the cylinder by hand, close the door, get back in the cab, start the machine, and then you can continue harvesting. It SUCKS! In the game, you have to wait 15 seconds and you incur a score penalty.

To avoid this problem, you need to adjust your speed based on the density of the plants. Darker squares equal denser plants. Deciding when and how much to adjust comes with practice. But, I have made it a little easier to figure out by replicating one of the sounds of the real thing. As the cylinder starts to become bogged down, the machine will start to emit a low pitched growling sound. The more bogged down the cylinder becomes, the louder the growling becomes. When you hear it getting loud, that's your warning to slow down! There is a slight delay between when you slow down and when the needle starts to drop. This is normal. The delay is the time it takes for the machine to process the grain the header just shoved into the cylinder. Therefore, it's a good idea to slow down immediately when you go from sparse to dense areas of the field. If you get too close to the choke limit before you take action, you might have to stop and let the machine catch up.

There are two warning lights on the dashboard. One of those is the Cylinder Choke light which you'll see if you do what I just talked about. The other is the Grain Level light. This light comes on when the grain hopper/bin is 90% full. At this point, you should be preparing to head for the truck. This usually means turning out of the grain and into an area you've already cut (or the edge of the field). Since you're only at 90%, you can continue to cut a little bit more. When the hopper/bin is 100% full, the light will flash and a beeper will sound. When this happens, you now have an small emergency on your hands. Any grain you harvest after that point is running off the edge of the hopper/bin and falling on the ground (wasted). So, as soon as you hear that beeper, you better take action! This usually means turning off the header.

The last two gauges on the dashboard are the Grain Level meter and the Speed/Gear LCD. The Grain Level meter shows you how full the hopper/bin is. The Speed/Gear LCD is there mostly just for looks. :)

That covers everything you need to know about basic operation of the machine. You should be able to get in there and start harvesting right now. To recap, Cylinder on, Header on, forward, turn into the field, and you're harvesting. But what happens when the Grain Level light comes on? You have to unload the grain.

Basic unloading instructions are pull along side the truck, extend the auger over the bed (gray part), and turn it on. When you do, you'll see the grain start coming out of the auger and the grain in the truck start to grow. If you see grain appear on the ground around the truck, you're not over the bed. If you let the grain in the truck grow too much, you'll also see grain spill out on the ground. If you continue to unload in that spot, you are wasting grain. This is where advanced unloading instructions are needed.

The truck is divided into two halves (front and back). Each half can hold just over 1 1/2 combine loads of grain. So, you can unload one full load in the front of the truck and one full load in the back. This would make the truck 66% full. The truck won't leave until it is 75% full (don't worry, it comes back empty). So, you're going to need to unload a third load. The third load has to be split between the two halves. To accomplish this, you will need to move the machine while you're unloading. This is where hitting the truck due to side creep comes in. If you're not perfectly aligned with the truck and you move forward or back, you made scoot a little sideways into the truck. Luckily, the auger is long enough that you don't have to get too close to the truck. As long as you don't get too close, you will be able to move without worry.

Getting too close (or too far away) causes another problem, an unbalanced load. See, you're truck is a little on the old side and doesn't have a really good suspension (as is the case a lot of the time in the real world). If you unload grain too close to the edge (left/right on the truck, up/down on the screen), you cause that side of the truck to become heavier. This is bad for the suspension and can cause damage. Therefore, there is a score penalty if you do this. But, you won't know you did this until the truck leaves. So, you should be very careful to get the end of the auger just below the center of the truck on the screen. Why just below? The auger has a spout on the end which causes the grain to shoot out past the end of the auger. So, you're actually unloading the grain just a little beyond the end of the auger. To get the grain in the center, the auger has to be a little below center.

Once you've unloaded that third load and turned off the auger, the truck will start and leave and the process starts again, Cylinder on, Header on, take off. Notice I didn't say retract the auger. You don't have to do that, but you should. As an incentive, the speed of the machine is limited when the auger is extended. Since you are racing the clock to get done, you'll probably want to retract the auger when not in use.

That's it, that's everything you need to know to play. Well, there is one more minor thing regarding score. If you run over areas of the field that haven't been harvested, this causes some of the grain to be knocked out on the ground (wasted). Due to the way the machine turns, running over a little bit is unavoidable. So, the game allows you to run over any square one time with no penalty. Each time you run over a given square after that, the amount of grain available to be harvested in that square goes down. So, when going to and from the truck, you should use areas that have already been harvested or the edges of the field. Also, it's a good idea to harvest the grain beside the truck first. Or, leave enough space in the combine to harvest that grain as you pull up to the truck.

When you have harvested every square of the field, and unloaded the grain into the truck (or run out of time), the truck will leave and the game will be over. You will be shown some statistics and your final score (which you can submit to the high scores list if you wish). Speaking of scores...

Your final score is determined by four factors. The amount of grain you hauled away from the field, your efficiency in getting all the grain available in the field, your efficiency in using fuel, and penalties. The biggest factor is the amount of grain hauled.

The amount of grain available is determined at random when the field is created. Fields with an overall higher density (darker squares) have more grain available and are worth more points. However, the amount of time you have to complete the field does not change (8 minutes). Higher density means slower speeds. At some point, the overall density of the field will make it impossible to complete the field in the time allotted and not waste any grain. This is where the skill comes in.

To get the highest score possible, you want a field that is just a little beyond this limit. You can then push the machine a little harder than you should (peeking into the yellow on the manifold pressure gauge), waste a little bit of grain, and complete the field in time. But, you have to be careful not to waste too much. There is a 1000 point bonus for having a grain hauled to grain available ratio (efficiency) of 98% or higher.

The next factor in the equation is fuel. The more fuel you have remaining, the more points you get. There are a couple of ways to conserve fuel. As mentioned earlier, you can turn off the Header and Cylinder when you're not actually harvesting (going to unload, unloading, coming back). You can also save fuel by being efficient in your pattern of harvesting. The more time you spend driving around the field without harvesting, the more fuel you're wasting. Most of this time is spent heading to and from the truck. So, it is better to try and plan ahead. Ideally, you want to be cutting your way out of the end of the field where the truck is parked when the combine gets full. This is where the Grain Level Meter comes in handy.

The last factor in the equation is penalties. They are as follows:

• Hitting the truck - 200 points + 15 seconds
• Choked Cylinder - 50 points + 15 seconds
• Header in water - 50 points
• Unbalanced load - Varies depending on how much

To get the best score possible, you have to avoid these penalties.

Here are a few tips to help you get better scores...

When pulling up to the truck to unload, drive well past the truck to the left of the screen and about two header widths below the truck. Then, swing around and come back to straight mostly aligned with the truck. Slow down and make final adjustments as you get close. This will allow you to stay at full speed until just before you reach the truck.

Start extending the auger out before you get to the truck to avoid having to wait for it when your setting beside the truck. Ideally, you want the auger to be fully extended just as you slow down to make your final adjustments. I start extending the auger just before I make the turn.

Retract the auger while driving away from the truck. No need to wait for it to fully retract before leaving, that's just wasting time.

In really dense parts of the field, don't use the full header width. The header will cut three squares at a time going straight (a little more diagonally). In the densest parts of the field, cutting three squares will slow you down to speed 1 or 2 and it can be hard to avoid chokes. In these situations it's best to move over and only cut 1 or 2 squares.

Plan ahead. If you see that cutting from one side of the field to the other (up and down) yields more than 1/2 a hopper/bin of grain, when you turn and head back toward the truck, don't cut a full header width.

If you're running low on time, turn the Header and/or Cylinder off to move between uncut areas of the field. This greatly increases your maximum speed.

If you have small areas (four or less squares) that you missed anywhere near the truck before unloading, don't waste time going out of your way to get them. Get them the next time you come back to the truck. Just make sure and leave enough room in the combine to get them by heading for the truck as soon as the light comes on or before.

The truck driver is assuming you are going to work the field from left to right. When he leaves and comes back, he will park a little farther to the right side of the field. You should plan accordingly.

Slow down when turning while in denser areas of the field. The header will cut a little more diagonally than it does straight and one end of the header will be traveling much faster when you turn. This leads to much more manifold pressure when you turn which could lead to a choke.

The background photo on the loading screen is one of mine. It is one of the photos I am most proud of and I'm glad to have found a place to use it. It was taken at the edge of my front yard looking into the neighbor's wheat field.

The little tractor that is the loading bar is a "D Series" Allis Chalmers. In fact, it's pattered after a D-19 that my Father and I restored for a guy in Arkansas. If you'd care to see the real tractor, here it is. Yes, the filters are on the wrong side in my graphic. The other side of the engine doesn't have any good large details and I need a right-facing tractor. So I put them in on the wrong side, sue me. :)

The combine is, as you might guess, is an L2 Gleaner circa 1979. I don't have digital pictures of that one. If you want to see a real one though, just do a google image search for L2 Gleaner.

The majority of the sheet metal on the L2 gleaner was unfinished galvanized steel. The texture on the text on the loading screen is supposed to be that.

The truck is loosely based on a 70's vintage International 10 Wheeler we once had. It was in that truck that I learned to drive a stick with 10-speeds and no clutch. There was a clutch, but it was only used to start and stop. All gear changes were done without it. As best I remember, you shifted out of 7th gear at about 35 MPG. I also remember that I could do 1st to 5th starting from a dead stop on the south side of an east-west 2 lane highway and hitting 5th before the rear wheels cleared the other side. Them's some low gears. :)

Why is there a pond in the middle of the field? It was a little boring with just a plain field, it needed an obstacle. That's the first one that came to mind. It's actually more of a low spot in the field where water tends to stay, also known as a mud hole. As an aside, when you have one of those and the water stays in there for a long enough period of time without drying up, you'll get fish. I've seen up to a 6 inch long catfish in one of those holes and the only source of water for the hole was rain. Really, it happens.