Jump to content

Rubber Band Inc: Caterpillar tracks.

electronicfox

By electronicfox
in KSP1 Mod Development

 Share

Recommended Posts

EndlessWaves

EndlessWaves

Posted
Posted
I looked at the 'proof of concept'video twice now and it really looks and acts like a tracked vehicle. I presume you would have released it by now if all obstacles have been removed and all problems solved. What are the things which still need to be addressed?

I got the track animation working earlier, so most of the technical problems are solved. Now it's mainly a case of getting a part to release quality and ensuring it'll always behave reliably and that all the various aspects can be configured to behave as expected.

In particular I'd say one thing that may need more work is the track friction. Right now the tracks need very high forwards friction and very low side friction to turn on the spot and they do have a tendency to slide down hills when you stop sideways. Whether there are working ranges in the existing systems (perhaps higher power instead of higher forwards friction?) or whether the friction needs changing dynamically is something that needs investigating for example.

Out of interest what do you think about the suspension stiffness in that video when it goes over obstacles with that load on? Is it too wobbly, too stiff or about right? Ignoring the braking, I know that's too strong.

This has been worked on since about January

I believe we started the project in early December.

Also, I'm assuming these are electrically powered like the rover wheels, right? Is the sound playing during the video supposed to be an engine noise? That wouldn't make much sense...

They'll use whatever resources are specified in the config file. They consume resources based on torque output and wheel RPM (only when those wheels are being driven). Values for each factor can be specified independently of each other and for each resource and you can have as many resources as you like.

There wasn't much rolling resistance so to limit top speed torque is specified as a function or RPM and I'd expect most units to have decreased torque as they go faster. This is why resource consumption is also dependant on RPM so it does go up as you attempt to go faster rather than down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TheCardinal

TheCardinal

Posted
Posted
....

Out of interest what do you think about the suspension stiffness in that video when it goes over obstacles with that load on? Is it too wobbly, too stiff or about right? Ignoring the braking, I know that's too strong.

...

I think the stiffness is just about right considering there's over 240 tons on top of it.

Is the stiffness related to the load on top or fixed at a specific value? If it is fixed, it probably is best if the user can adjust the value through a right click as the best value can change with every vehicle or load.

By the way, the braking is a bit too strong but have you ever seen an M1A1 tank do an emergency brake at 50 mph?

skip to 34'.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
EndlessWaves

EndlessWaves

Posted
Posted

I can't take credit for that aspect, it's a freebie from the unity wheel collider component.

Lower limits are easy to judge (if it bounces off rather than flexes it's too stiff) but it's useful to know what people feel is a reasonable upper limit to how much these things should bend. Making the track itself heavier allows you to use stiffer suspensions as there's more weight on it when unloaded, but in a rocketry game you want to minimise weight as much as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
electronicfox

electronicfox

Posted
  • Author
Posted

An update:

Animated tracks are now working and looking good.

Notes before watching the video:

-suspension is not yet set up on these tracks.

-Due to derpment on my end, I exported the model with the face normals on the tracks inverted, and the wheels not rigged properly, so ignore those hiccups in this video, it is purely a test for the texture animation.

-You can see the level of customisation available with the tracks in the hotkey menu during the video.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Zaeo

Zaeo

Posted
Posted (edited)

Well, you seem to have encountered the "inverted faces" issue. you need to duplicate the treads, then flip normals, And then recalculate after selecting whole tread,

That "SHOULD" solve that odd texture thing going on in the test vid.

having "double faces" for the treads may be bad for optimization, but this could allow you to have a "belt" look rather than a "piece of paper with ridges"

Edited by Zaeo
Link to comment
Share on other sites
TheCardinal

TheCardinal

Posted
Posted
Looks neat, better if this will be included in the stock :D

Squad has said on several occasions that it can't be done so it wouldn't surprise me if they 'assimilate' this part/these parts into the stock. It will be a real addition to the game, wished for by many users ever since the beginning of the game.

Many modmakers have added special things to KSP but usually they knew in advance it could be done. This is different, it was created against the current belief that it couldn't be done. Several have tried it nevertheless (without succes). Thereby enforcing the belief. And now .. the common belief has been proven untrue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
electronicfox

electronicfox

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I didn't really start on this believing it couldnt be done, with persistence and some skill, anything is possible in a game. If squad for any reason decide to implement this into stock then so be it (so long as credits are given to Endlesswaves and myself of course).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EndlessWaves

EndlessWaves

Posted
Posted
I dont think they work upside down, Ill need to ask EndlessWaves if it would even be possible for them to work as such.

Each wheel can only work in a single orientation but it doesn't have to be any particular orientation so upwards facing wheelColliders allowing you to drive using both sides of the track should work fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
shand

shand

Posted
Posted
Each wheel can only work in a single orientation but it doesn't have to be any particular orientation so upwards facing wheelColliders allowing you to drive using both sides of the track should work fine.

Thats good news: i look forward to flipping my tracked probe :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
electronicfox

electronicfox

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Each wheel can only work in a single orientation but it doesn't have to be any particular orientation so upwards facing wheelColliders allowing you to drive using both sides of the track should work fine.

ah there we have it then. I'll come up with a design or two that will allow upside-down travel for folks that want flipable rovers, almost unstoppable so long as all rover parts are within the side-on silhouette of the track parts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...