FS25 Left Side Entry

FS25 Left Side Entry is a script mod for Farming Simulator 25 that restricts on-foot vehicle entry to the driver's side of the vehicle.

Instead of assuming that every vehicle uses the same scenegraph orientation, the mod uses the vehicle's actual exit point defined by the FS25 Enterable specialization. In the default mode, the normal entry interaction is therefore available only near the place where the player appears after leaving the vehicle.

Features

• Restricts physical, on-foot vehicle entry to the driver's exit-point area.
• Uses the vehicle's real exitPoint instead of a hard-coded left/right model axis.
• Works automatically with base-game and modded vehicle types using the Enterable specialization.
• Does not require editing individual vehicle XML files.
• Preserves the original FS25 Enterable interaction logic.
• Keeps TAB vehicle switching and map/menu entry unchanged by default.
• Provides optional 180-degree and 90-degree geometric entry modes for testing or special cases.
• Excludes Rideable vehicle types such as horses.

Design assumptions

The main goal is to make vehicle entry possible from the same area that is normally used when the player leaves the vehicle.

FS25 vehicles using the Enterable specialization provide an exitPoint. This point is normally placed near the driver's door, access steps, ladder, or another intended exit location. It is therefore a more reliable way to determine the driver's side than checking whether the player is simply on the local left side of the vehicle model.

The mod follows these assumptions:

1. The vehicle exit point is the preferred entry reference.
   If a valid exit point exists, it defines the physical area from which the vehicle can be entered.

2. The original FS25 entry system should remain in control.
   The mod does not replace the complete Enterable implementation. It only changes the reference node and/or interaction radius temporarily while the original distance check is performed.

3. Vehicle model axes should not be trusted as a universal definition of "left".
   Modded vehicles may use different scenegraph orientations. The exit point provides explicit gameplay information and is therefore used as the directional reference.

4. Remote vehicle entry is a separate gameplay choice.
   TAB switching and entering vehicles from the map/menu remain enabled unless explicitly disabled in the configuration.

How it works

The mod registers the leftSideEntry specialization for every vehicle type that already contains the standard FS25 Enterable specialization. Rideable types are ignored.

For the default mode, the mod temporarily replaces:

• spec_enterable.enterReferenceNode with the vehicle's exit node,
• spec_enterable.interactionRadius with a maximum radius defined by the mod.

It then calls the original getDistanceToNode() implementation and immediately restores the original values.

This means that FS25 still performs its normal interaction checks and sets the standard vehicle-entry interaction flags. The mod only changes where the physical entry interaction is allowed.

The default maximum radius is 2.25 m. If a vehicle already defines a smaller interaction radius, the mod keeps the smaller value and never enlarges it.

Entry modes

Three entry-area modes are available in scripts/LeftSideEntry.lua.

1. Exit point — default and recommended

LeftSideEntry.ENTRY_MODE = LeftSideEntry.MODE_EXIT_POINT

Entry is possible only within a limited radius around the actual vehicle exit point.

This is the recommended mode because it follows the access point defined by the vehicle itself.

2. Exit-side hemisphere

LeftSideEntry.ENTRY_MODE = LeftSideEntry.MODE_EXIT_HEMISPHERE

The normal interaction radius is retained, but entry is allowed only within the 180-degree half-plane pointing from the standard entry reference toward the exit point.

3. 90-degree exit-side sector

LeftSideEntry.ENTRY_MODE = LeftSideEntry.MODE_EXIT_90_SECTOR

Entry is allowed only inside a narrower sector centred on the direction from the normal entry reference toward the exit point.

The default half-angle is 45 degrees, giving a total sector width of 90 degrees.

Configuration

All user-adjustable options are located near the beginning of:

scripts/LeftSideEntry.lua

Entry mode

LeftSideEntry.ENTRY_MODE = LeftSideEntry.MODE_EXIT_POINT

Recommended value: MODE_EXIT_POINT.

Exit-point radius

LeftSideEntry.EXIT_POINT_RADIUS = 2.25

Maximum physical entry radius around the exit point, in metres.

If a large vehicle requires more tolerance around stairs or a ladder, this value can be increased, for example:

LeftSideEntry.EXIT_POINT_RADIUS = 2.75

90-degree sector width

LeftSideEntry.SECTOR_HALF_ANGLE_DEG = 45

Used only with MODE_EXIT_90_SECTOR. The value is the half-angle, so 45 means a total allowed sector of 90 degrees.

Disable TAB switching

LeftSideEntry.DISABLE_TAB_ENTRY = false

Set to true to prevent affected vehicles from being selected through normal TAB vehicle switching.

Disable map/menu entry

LeftSideEntry.DISABLE_MENU_ENTRY = false

Set to true to prevent entering affected vehicles directly from the map/menu.

For strict physical-entry gameplay, both options can be enabled:

LeftSideEntry.DISABLE_TAB_ENTRY = true
LeftSideEntry.DISABLE_MENU_ENTRY = true

Compatibility

The mod dynamically adds its specialization to all vehicle types containing Enterable, so it is intended to work with:

• tractors,
• harvesters,
• cars and trucks,
• self-propelled machines,
• motorcycles and other enterable vehicles,
• compatible vehicles added by other mods.

Rideable types such as horses are intentionally excluded.

No per-vehicle configuration is required.

Known behaviour and limitations

Motorcycles and narrow vehicles

On motorcycles and similarly narrow vehicles, entry may still be possible from both sides. This is expected in the default exit-point mode because both sides of the vehicle can physically fall within the configured radius around the exit point.

Reducing EXIT_POINT_RADIUS can make the restriction tighter, but a value that is too small may make entry inconvenient on large vehicles with steps or ladders.

Vehicle-specific exit points

The result depends on how the vehicle author configured the exit point. If a modded vehicle places its exit point in an unusual location, the allowed entry area will follow that location.

If no usable exit node is available, the script deliberately falls back to the original FS25 entry behaviour instead of making the vehicle impossible to enter.

Tested behaviour

The mod has been tested successfully with several vehicle classes, including:

• tractors,
• harvesters,
• cars,
• a motorcycle.

The game log confirmed that the specialization was added to 43 Enterable vehicle types in the tested setup.

Example log output:

Load mod: FS25_LeftSideEntry
Info: [FS25_LeftSideEntry] Left-side entry specialization added to 43 Enterable vehicle type(s).

File structure

FS25_LeftSideEntry/
├── modDesc.xml
├── mod_icon.dds
├── README.md
├── README.pl.md
└── scripts/
    ├── LeftSideEntry.lua
    └── Register.lua

Installation

1. Place FS25_LeftSideEntry.zip in the Farming Simulator 25 mods directory.
2. Enable Left Side Entry when loading or creating a savegame.
3. Enter a vehicle on foot and verify that the normal entry action is available only near its configured exit point.

Version

1.0.0.0

Author

Robert Drygas / ChatGPT