rover throttle control?

[innovine]

So I just landed my first rover on the Mun and I can't seem to control it's throttle at all.

Rover is basically just 4 wheels stuck to a metal plate, some solar panels and a kerbal in a control seat.

I was using WASD until I realized it was also pitching the rover, so following a tip on the wiki, I remapped the rover controls to numpad 8456. I can use 4 and 6 to turn left and right, but here's the thing, no amount of 8 and 5 change the throttle. It's like 8 and 5 have no effect at all. I think the throttle is stuck on at a low amount, as my rover just starts off rolling and picks up some speed and actually rolls up some hills. I have been unable to stop it from moving (I just end up rolling it and exploding). I can even disable the motor for all 4 wheels and it keeps on going... I am in some hilly terrain which makes it hard to see the horizontal, but I drove for a while in one direction and did a 180 and drove all the way back, so I don't think I'm rolling downhill! I don't have SAS or ASAS enabled.

Please help!

[Johnno]

Rovers don't have a throttle.

[LeadMagnet]

Anything with rover wheels attached will roll if on uneven terrain. Disabling the motors will not stop it rolling, that will just disable the wheels ability to move what it's attached to.

Think of like gas in a car. If you empty the gas tank, the car will still move, just not under the power of the engine. Same thing with wheel motors.

The only thing that will stop wheels moving is the brakes. If your rover is tumbling while braking, try tapping the break key in quick bursts. You can also remove the front wheels from the brake action group, just be careful braking in reverse!

Johnno is right, there is no throttle setting for wheels, but you do need power. If you don't have solar panels, batteries or generators attached, you have no power for the wheels to move. But, even out of power if you're on a hill, the rover will move unless you turn the parking brake on.

It's always best to test your designs in the SPH. Drive around the runway for a bit, see how it handles. Test in day and night cycles to make sure you have enough power for all senarios.

[innovine]

So why is mine rolling uphill, if I just disable all the motors?

And what is the break key? The key assignments are left, right, and throttle up and down. If there is no throttle, the input settings menu is incorrect.

My rover also has solar panels, it clearly says so in my original post. Please read it before replying.

Edited September 6, 2013 by innovine

[Michael Kim]

Any pictures?

[mellojoe]

I think we might need some pictures to help us identify the problem.

Rover wheels are electric. You press forward and they go forward. They are on/off only. To brake, you can press backward to slow you down or you can press the "BRAKE" key (usually "b" but also the bottom of the three buttons next to the altimiter). "Brake" is also a toggle, so it is either on or off. It is like a parking brake as well, in that if you have it toggled ON, your craft won't roll if you get out of it.

Also, are you using rover wheels? Or the unpowered landing gear by chance? Also, are the wheels pointing in the correct direction? It is very easy to misake their orientation and have them on upside-down or backwards. I've done it a million times. Rover wheels only work in one oreientation. The "friction" seems to only work in a small area on the bottom of the wheel, so it only has one valid contact point. If you have the wheels rotated 90* or updsidedown, they won't work. Even though a circular wheel should work in any orientation in reality, in KSP terms only the correct bottom of the wheel touching ground actually works.

[SirJodelstein]

Actually, it is possible to precisely throttle rover wheels: Using the trim controls used for plane controls works for rover wheels as well. No need to keep "w" or whatever key you assigned "rover forward" to pressed down - just put the trim to as much forward speed as you like.

[Mars Mullo]

Another trick is to use the Actions controls in the VAB.

E.g I have a 10 wheeled rover and the front pair of wheels which are set higher up have no power or steering .. they are there to soften any hill climbs.

Anyways I have the 9 key set to toggle it from 8 wheel drive with full steering to two wheel drive with no steering on the back to pair and steering on the front two pair of wheels. The drive wheels become only the second last pair.

It works really well.. I can cruise and charge up on two wheel drive and then when on a hill side punch in 8 wheel drive and climb like a YAk!

My fasted speed was 31 m/s on the Mun.. thats 31 x 3.6... umm ~110 km/hr... its a bit slower on Kerbin though.

P.s also rule of thumb is one and half solar panels per wheel. And the standard attached panels are better than an array because the arrays are flimsy and I cant travel faster than about 30km/hr or the panels break.

My Rover Mk IV... I'm quite proud of it. The hardest things to get right were the wheel alignments, ability to get kerbals in and out.

It has an outside char underneath for on extra passenger.

It has docking ports front and back... the most I ever had together was nine in a land train... and it was fast.. but turning was very very wide.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o75/Martin_Ellis/Martins%20KSP%20screen%20shots/MunRoverIV.jpg' alt='MunRoverIV.jpg'>

[Mars Mullo]

Another trick is to use the Actions controls in the VAB.

E.g I have a 10 wheeled rover and the front pair of wheels which are set higher up have no power or steering .. they are there to soften any hill climbs.

Anyways I have the 9 key set to toggle it from 8 wheel drive with full steering to two wheel drive with no steering on the back to pair and steering on the front two pair of wheels. The drive wheels become only the second last pair.

It works really well.. I can cruise and charge up on two wheel drive and then when on a hill side punch in 8 wheel drive and climb like a YAk!

My fasted speed was 31 m/s on the Mun.. thats 31 x 3.6... umm ~110 km/hr... its a bit slower on Kerbin though.

P.s also rule of thumb is one and half solar panels per wheel. And the standard attached panels are better than an array because the arrays are flimsy and I cant travel faster than about 30km/hr or the panels break.

My Rover Mk IV... I'm quite proud of it. The hardest things to get right were the wheel alignments, ability to get kerbals in and out.

It has an outside char underneath for on extra passenger.

It has docking ports front and back... the most I ever had together was nine in a land train... and it was fast.. but turning was very very wide.

I'd post an image but don't seem to have permission.

[Jebadiah Kerban]

Use cruise control and IJKL and also WASD to control and also tip shup down motors for certain ones

[cantab]

Rover wheels are electric. You press forward and they go forward. They are on/off only. To brake, you can press backward to slow you down or you can press the "BRAKE" key (usually "b" but also the bottom of the three buttons next to the altimiter). "Brake" is also a toggle, so it is either on or off. It is like a parking brake as well, in that if you have it toggled ON, your craft won't roll if you get out of it.

Some notes on this. The icon by the altimeter works as a parking brake, click it to turn on, click again to turn off. The 'b' key works as a normal brake, hold it to brake, release to not brake. You can also slow down by using reverse power (or forward power if you were already reversing), which gives less stopping power and is less likely to make the rover do an endo.

[Zephram Kerman]

Lots of good stuff here. But, I wonder if the problem is something completely different? The fact that you can coast a long way, turn around and coast all the way back... that tells me it's not the motors or brakes. (Unless perhaps you missed one motor still enabled?)

Does it do this on Kerbin, too? There are weird geometry problems that will cause small rotation moments. Perhaps something like that is inducing acceleration. A good test would be to build another one just like it, and see if the problem repeats.

[toadicus]

Lots of good stuff here. But, I wonder if the problem is something completely different? The fact that you can coast a long way, turn around and coast all the way back... that tells me it's not the motors or brakes. (Unless perhaps you missed one motor still enabled?)

Does it do this on Kerbin, too? There are weird geometry problems that will cause small rotation moments. Perhaps something like that is inducing acceleration. A good test would be to build another one just like it, and see if the problem repeats.

Here's my thinking, based on my observations:

"Rover forward" and "Rover backward" controls (whether W&A, I&K, or 8&5) are hold-on toggles that apply 100% power to powered wheels when the key is down. When no controls are down, all powered wheels are at 0%.

Rover wheels are frictionless. If noting acts to slow them down, they will keep turning.

Rover tires are internally frictionless. No energy is lost to deforming the wheel as it contacts the ground.

So, on airless worlds in flat areas, once you get up to speed you will remain at that speed. To slow down, apply reverse power, brake, or navigate up a steep hill.

On Kerbin, Eve, and Laythe, air drag still applies to all of your physics-significant parts, and will slow down your rover if power is not applied constantly.

[zarakon]

There are a few things that may be contributing to the behavior you're seeing

1. I believe wheels have their own momentum, and will continue spinning after you remove the motor input

2. The Mun has low gravity (duh). But this means that if your rover is very light, such as your metal plate with 4 wheels, the wheels won't make good contact with the ground. This could explain why it feels like you don't have much power - your wheels are probably slipping.

In combination with the momentum of the wheels it could also explain why you seem to keep accelerating after you've removed input - your wheels are spinning faster than you're moving, and due to the light weight of your rover and low gravity, they are able to continue to impart significant velocity to your rover while also taking a long time to lose momentum.

To make a better Mun rover, it can be helpful to add weight to it or add some upward-facing ion engines to push the rover down into the ground for better traction.

[Claw]

Lots of good stuff here. But, I wonder if the problem is something completely different?

There is lots of good info here.

But you guys know that the OP is 10 months old right?

My guess us that the OP got it figured out by now. Plus some things have changed since then.

[michaelhester07]

Nothin like some good ol post necromancy. Musta left the timewarp on before commenting.

[Mars Mullo]

Actually, it is possible to precisely throttle rover wheels: Using the trim controls used for plane controls works for rover wheels as well. No need to keep "w" or whatever key you assigned "rover forward" to pressed down - just put the trim to as much forward speed as you like.

SirJodelstein? Is there a display at all for the trim control? I have used it but there is no indicator as to how much trim your applying.... seems to be only seat of pants stuff.

E.g showing 1-100% of trim applied as a version of throttle.

Also do you get up to speed and then apply trim or do you apply trim and see how fast it takes you.

I have been using it but it seems quiet haphazard as to if I am using it correctly.

[Mars Mullo]

Nothin like some good ol post necromancy. Musta left the timewarp on before commenting.

Please note this thread is listed as being unanswered.

So valid to coment in my reasoning.

Anyone agree?

[kanewinter]

Arrived here because I'm having the same issue. MechJeb can drive my rover but I can't!

[James Kerman]

Welcome to the forum @kanewinter. This is an old thread and the game has changed somewhat since the last post. It might be helpful to start a new thread and include an image to help diagnose your issue.