Why is KSP So bad when it comes to cars?

[Qwerty1999]

I mean if it isn't a rocket or an airplane, good luck breaking or turning with it.

I'm serious, i love this game, But why the heck is it armageddon for cars lol?

[Killerdude8]

Would you say... It's Carmageddon?

[GusTurbo]

It's much better if you change the rover controls to IJKL, like the RCS controls, or switch to docking mode to drive. That way you don't flip over with torque.

[Claw]

Yeah, like GusTurbo says. Set up your keybindings to separate the torque from the steering inputs. I actually drive in staging mode, but have my torque input separate from the steering. Then I can use both to keep control of the vehicle when crashing down steep mountains.

A few other things:

- Disable brakes on front wheels

- Disable steering on rear wheels

- Try to keep the Center of Mass low, or the wheel base wide

- Keep the SAS on, but try not to have too much torque on the vehicle

Also, you have to watch out for some of the glitches in the terrain. Sometimes the seams between terrain tiles are unforgiving.

(By the way, it's called Kerbal Space Program... But I like cars too. )

Cheers,

~Claw

[Qwerty1999]

It's much better if you change the rover controls to IJKL, like the RCS controls, or switch to docking mode to drive. That way you don't flip over with torque.

Yeah i hate that, being the total newb that i am sometimes i add more wheels and weight so it dont flip, but that don't work... So i'll definately try docking mode, sense i don't know what IJKL Is lol.

[GusTurbo]

Yeah i hate that, being the total newb that i am sometimes i add more wheels and weight so it dont flip, but that don't work... So i'll definately try docking mode, sense i don't know what IJKL Is lol.

It's the letters on the keyboard. It's basically the counterpart to W, A, S, and D on the other side of the keyboard.

[alacrity]

One trick I have added to my fueler Carts (Heavy and easier to drive when full, full time suicide light, flip wagons when empty) is to add Linear RCS trusters pointing up so they push the cart into the ground. Helps a little while steering... helps a lot at full speed trips over terrain.

Alacrity

[The Fleet Master]

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/81723-Vagani-Car-Manufacturer-Quality-Products-For-Every-Occasion

Your Argument is Invalid.

[Geschosskopf]

I'm serious, i love this game, But why the heck is it armageddon for cars lol?

Because Kerbals obviously don't drive on Kerbin. Seriously, there's nothing there inhabited except KSC. The "other KSC", Airbase Island, and the Pyramids are all ruins, and there are no cities anywhere. All the Kerbals in existence are born and raised in KSC, where they just take the stairs from home to office. Therefore, they know nothing of wheeled vehicles except to carry rocket parts around. And as you can see if you watch long enough in the VAB or SPH, they don't have a clue as to how to drive.

[gm537]

Why is Gran Turismo so bad at rockets?

(Point being that at the end of the day KSP is a rocket simulator not a car simulator. The others in this thread have already pointed out some ways to help increase the control-ability of vehicles that I would agree with.)

[CpPolar268]

Kerbals don't really know how to drive them so they use rockets instead.

[MockKnizzle]

Ditto on rebinding the rover controls. By leaving them on default you're telling your rover to flip with the reaction wheels.

[r_rolo1]

There is stuff that can't be solved by rebinding keys, unfortunately:

a) There no such thing as fractional braking or acceleration in KSP for rovers. Imagine how if you would drive a car where you can't throtle the acceleration, just full throtle or nothing ...

In fact there is no braking at all in KSP. You have the analog of a hand brake and doing reverse to slow down ...

c) The suspensions of the wheels are not adjustable, and most of the times are too stiff

d) No actual steering, just left/right at X angle or straight ahead ...

There are other things that do not help, like the non-existent option of adding ballast to rovers after they land elsewhere ( that is a big issue. Every pound of material thrown to space is worth its weight on gold, but due to the lower gravity of most planets/moons compared with Kerbin, you most of the times want heavier rovers than their Kerbin counterpart to increase stability... otherwise you will need to restrict heavily the velocity to avoid getting out of the ground with any minor bump ), or lacking the ability of adjusting the center of gravity of not completely filled parts ....

[katateochi]

yeah rovers are kinda interesting in KSP; by which I mean that your most basic, just-about-able-to-make-it-down-the-runway type rover is about the easiest functional craft you can make in KSP. But a really good high-speed-yet-stable-and-tough rover is I'd say harder to get right than a simple SSTO (and may well kill more kerbals during testing).

There's a thread with loads of nice rover designs and some design tips here

[Whackjob]

Obligatory rover picture.

/still gotta get around to making a new one

[Rarity]

If you think about it, aside from some basic car features and actual car (not rover) parts, the game isn't that bad at car like vehicles. You have to remember that all the wheels are electric, and their motors are built in. Then, there's also the fact that speed is measured in meters per second, not miles per hour. 10 meters every second is roughly equal to 22mph. 25 m/s is 55mph. That's not slow. And some people have made rovers that somehow do like 60 m/s.

I don't see Curiosity leaving skid marks on the Martian surface.

[r_rolo1]

Yeah, I have to admit that for unmanned rovers, the features in the game are not that bad ... if you can discount phantom forces due to fautly collision boxes and the ridiculous low grip you have on the ground in any KSP solid surface ( and better not talk of how skewed things are in highly jagged areas, where you can actually have gravity pushing up or sideways ... just try to climb any mountain in Kerbin to see what I mean ). But giving us wheels that can deliver 23 m/s and leaving us with little options to control that output is bad. Imagine what it would be if rockets only had the mainsail as engine and no SAS avaliable ...

[RobotSpider]

The TTWheels OmniWheels/Multiwheels mods have some better options--not perfect, mind, but better. And yes, keybinding helps.

[rkman]

i add more wheels and weight so it dont flip, but that don't work...

If you add more wheels and not disable the engines on those extra wheels then you are adding more horse-power: higher top speed, faster cornering - a recipe for disaster.

[Alshain]

Definitely change the key bindings but remember that will also change it for taxiing your planes. Took me a while to realize that and I couldn't figure out why my plane turned so slow. Then I realized I was turning only with yaw control. Switch the IJKL and it turned on a dime.

[peadar1987]

If you think about it, aside from some basic car features and actual car (not rover) parts, the game isn't that bad at car like vehicles. You have to remember that all the wheels are electric, and their motors are built in. Then, there's also the fact that speed is measured in meters per second, not miles per hour. 10 meters every second is roughly equal to 22mph. 25 m/s is 55mph. That's not slow. And some people have made rovers that somehow do like 60 m/s.

I don't see Curiosity leaving skid marks on the Martian surface.

Yeah, the m/s thing is a big one. People complain about their rovers flipping out if they go above 20 m/s. There are no roads in KSP. Doing 45mph over rough ground is actually quite a risky endeavour!

[SkyRender]

The biggest problem with the stock rover wheels (and this has been an issue since they were added) is that their code is just a bit of a mess. When you switch to a new polygon in the terrain, the suspension spontaneously switches to stiff-as-a-board for a few seconds, and the vehicle will start shaking over the ground like it has no shocks at all. As well, handling on hills is inverted: super-steep slopes propel you upwards at absurd speed with perfect lateral handling (once you get out of stiff-as-a-board mode), while slopes with almost no inclination will slow your progress severely and cut your lateral handling to "turn and you flip" even when stiff-as-a-board mode ends. Fixing the handling on the rover wheels has been something of a long-time request, at least as far back as 0.20.

[magnemoe]

Yeah, the m/s thing is a big one. People complain about their rovers flipping out if they go above 20 m/s. There are no roads in KSP. Doing 45mph over rough ground is actually quite a risky endeavour!

Mun is so fun with fast rovers, hunt for crater rims and see how much airtime you can get.

In ksp you can easy do 45 m/s over rough ground, that is 150 km/h speed like this is hard on bad paved or gravel roads even if the road is straight and wide.

[michaelphoenix22]

The TTWheels OmniWheels/Multiwheels mods have some better options--not perfect, mind, but better. And yes, keybinding helps.

can anyone recommend an alternative to this mod or a differ place to dl it... the mod author seems to be throwing a hissy fit over the curse migration and isn't publishing it.

[Qwerty1999]

Why is Gran Turismo so bad at rockets?

(Point being that at the end of the day KSP is a rocket simulator not a car simulator. The others in this thread have already pointed out some ways to help increase the control-ability of vehicles that I would agree with.)

Lol KSP Sometimes is just a explode alot of things, and wonder in awe how you managed to do it... as all the parts go flying 4th of July EVERYYYYYYYYY DAY!!!!