M35 Mako

[Logan.Darklighter]

I designed this homage to the Mako from Mass Effect 1 back in KSP .25.

Had surprisingly little trouble porting it up to 1.04. Though some oddities/bugs have shown up that I'm trying to address:

- It's a bit part-heavy, coming in at around 180 parts. But I've certainly seen worse. Nevertheless it does mean that putting more than one of these out on the field is going to make things start to get laggy.

- The system that I used to get a Kerbal in and out of the tank no longer seems to work right. I'm not sure if that's a fault of the craft or of the specific set of mods I have running. Currently you can use Crew Manifest to get a Kerbal OUT of the Mako, but you can't get them back IN.

- When I made the Mako back in .25, the root part was a Rovemax module (buried deep inside the center of the frame) but I mounted it sideways. This caused no issues back then, but in 1.04, if you use the improved chase cam mod, it thinks the left side of the tank is the front and the right side is the rear. In all other respects though, it is unaffected. Mechjeb for example will navigate properly.

But these are minor issues and I think I can fix them (particularly that last one - since I can now make the root part the cockpit pod instead of the Rovemax module.)

I find it a fun craft to work with, and I hope anyone else using it will like it as well.

I used a LOT of mods to create this, I hope this is the full list, but if you load it and find something missing, let me know.

Mod parts required:

B9 Aerospace (Cameras. some struts and the headlights)

Aviation Lights (the "brake lights")

Lackluster Labs (LLL) Most of the body pieces

Procedural Fairings (the sides of the "nose")

KW Foundries Wheels

BD Armory (Guns and Countermeasures)

Realchutes

Not needed but HIGHLY recommended:

Mechjeb and the mod that allows mechjeb to be used with all pods. Mainly for help with the dynamic stability.

Vessel Viewer

Raster Prop Moniter (with this, you can actually see OUT of the Mako from the cockpit through the cameras placed around the hull - if you don't want to bother with that, then remove the cameras, it'll reduce the part count)

Crew Manifest (almost required to move Kerbals in and out (but see above for problems with that)

So how does this version of the Mako handle? Pretty damn nice I must say. The KW Wheels really do a nice job of recreating the whole "Stable yet bouncy" feel of the original from Mass Effect. You can go up to 20-21 MPS on level ground and the wheels will handle at least as much as 30-40 on a down-slope. You can get the wheels off the ground in a tight turn and even tip it over, but you have to be REALLY TRYING HARD to do so! These pics here with the lifted tires were done when I was pulling the Mako HARD over at a full 20 Meters per second!

(There is ONE oddity you'll have to address when you load it up. For some reason the left-right steering is reversed and I can't adjust it in the SPH. When you load it on the runway, right click on each wheel and click "invert steering" on each wheel individually. Then it'll drive correctly.)

Also - the scale of the Mako is more correct than others I've seen. This is more like a standard sized rover and will easily pass through the underpass in the research section of the launch site.

The brake lights work and the Mako if stopped HARD from 20 MPS will nose dive but will NOT scrape the nose on the ground (unless you're on a steep incline or hard terrain).

The headlights are BRIGHT and will illuminate everything you need to see. And there's four of them, so you can afford to lose a couple.

The turrent works and spins a full 360 degrees. The main gun is the BD Armory Howitzer. The main drawback is that it only has 20 shots. So make them count!

The coaxial guns are Hidden Vulcans. And they have enough ammo to deal with minor ground targets. Only drawback is that they don't traverse up and down. But they'll point wherever the turret is pointing.

The main problem with this version of the Mako in terms of taking it into an actual fight is that it's really not armored. I figure you'd need to get by with speed and maneuverability - dodging around the shots of slower vehicles and finding an opening for a shot. And any missile hit would wreck it instantly. So I gave the Mako countermeasures against missiles.

How does the Mako climb? Like the original, pretty much. A mountain goat.

And I've taken it up into the mountains west of the KSC and driven it up even steeper inclines then that! Enough so that I think this version of the Mako earns it's place on the "Mountain Climbing" team.

Lastly - this version of the Mako has Monoprop Engines, but they aren't enough to actually lift it. Or even really cushion a fall fully in full Kerbin gravity. I'm looking into the possibility of a version that uses Bajamoto's "Pop out" engines. But for now, this Mako CAN be airdropped with a combination of Parachutes and the Monoprop Engines!

So there you have it.

And here's the download link for the craft file. Have fun!

M35 Mako

[ZLM-Master]

Yop !

Not Bad at all In my memories , you can push this wheel very far on high impact before break them !

may i suggest you to paint some or all part ! That make it a great looking !