Will ground vehicles be thing?

[Amos.37]

Since moons/planets are confirmed, and some form of gravity seems to be in the works, will ground based vehicles be viable?
Obviously a ship has several advantages over ground vehicles simply in being able to fly, but I've got to say that since ground based bases are confirmed, it would be awesome to be able to a joint ground and air invasion of a city/base.
And ground vehicles could have some utility in defence and attacks of ground bases, namely not having to worry about recoil so much. You could effectively create mobile weapon batteries and artillery.
Yes you could do this with spaceships as well, but it would likely be easier to engineer a heavy weapons artillery truck or tank than a spaceship because weight and recoil are less of an issue.

 

[AlexiyOne]

Nope, unless you make something like this:

Now instead of a wheel, there is a square with jets attached to it

 

[AlexiyOne]

Plus you can just attack from space without needing ground troops, vehicles would be pointless even though it would be cool to have them

 

[Leftharted]

Plus you can just attack from space without needing ground troops, vehicles would be pointless even though it would be cool to have them

Kinda like a mech, eh? Heh

Since moons/planets are confirmed, and some form of gravity seems to be in the works, will ground based vehicles be viable?
Obviously a ship has several advantages over ground vehicles simply in being able to fly, but I've got to say that since ground based bases are confirmed, it would be awesome to be able to a joint ground and air invasion of a city/base.
And ground vehicles could have some utility in defence and attacks of ground bases, namely not having to worry about recoil so much. You could effectively create mobile weapon batteries and artillery.
Yes you could do this with spaceships as well, but it would likely be easier to engineer a heavy weapons artillery truck or tank than a spaceship because weight and recoil are less of an issue.

Not sure if I recall correctly (gettin' old) but I think gravity isn't in yet at all; and they are just using the magnetic feets atm.

Otherwise, once implemented; 100% agree with every point you made. They need only give us some kind of wheel! Hell, we may even be able to design some kind of rudimentary wheel with rotors, or even tank treads; of course contingent on the kind of wear'n'tear sustained.... im just daydreaming now, heh...

 

[Vexus]

ground vehicles

I know it doesn't really satisfy the desire for a vehicle with wheels bumping over the terrain (which, these moons look so small, if they had realistic gravity it would almost be non-existant), however the Vasama is a perfect starter-motorcycle to get around in such areas and around cities without the need for designing wheels and vehicles and all the complications that come with it.

Here's the Vasama, which has been showcased frequently in many of the dev videos: https://wiki.starbasegame.com/index.php/Vasama

I think it would not be hard for them to design a ship part that instead of providing thrust, instead has an engine that produces torque, which can be attached to an axle and wheels and so on, to make a ground vehicle - just keep in mind, without sufficient gravity, such a device is pointless. So until gravity becomes a thing in sufficient strength to keep you actually on the ground, there will be no need, and instead I'd recommend you design and build a much cooler looking space-motorcycle than what the Vasama offers.

 

[Leftharted]

I know it doesn't really satisfy the desire for a vehicle with wheels bumping over the terrain (which, these moons look so small, if they had realistic gravity it would almost be non-existant), however the Vasama is a perfect starter-motorcycle to get around in such areas and around cities without the need for designing wheels and vehicles and all the complications that come with it.

Here's the Vasama, which has been showcased frequently in many of the dev videos: https://wiki.starbasegame.com/index.php/Vasama

I think it would not be hard for them to design a ship part that instead of providing thrust, instead has an engine that produces torque, which can be attached to an axle and wheels and so on, to make a ground vehicle - just keep in mind, without sufficient gravity, such a device is pointless. So until gravity becomes a thing in sufficient strength to keep you actually on the ground, there will be no need, and instead I'd recommend you design and build a much cooler looking space-motorcycle than what the Vasama offers.

Yea, I imagine gravity with definitely, eventually, be implemented though, so I think it's plausible we get wheels or a likeness in due time.

Also, I'm no game designer, so take my points with a grain of salt; but I imagine that some kind of "hover" module could be implemented? Magnetic feet are "coded", so in theory a similar mechanic could be added to a ship, and maintain a certain distance away from the currently attracted surface. Just a rough idea.. I can imagine a few ways that it could/should function, and IMO fits the theme of starbase... but again, I have zero game dev experience and unsure of technical capability. Just daydreaming.

And of course, I'm still in love with the ideal of starbase, regardless of Any of these additions, heh...

 

[AlexiyOne]

Kinda like a mech, eh? Heh



Not sure if I recall correctly (gettin' old) but I think gravity isn't in yet at all; and they are just using the magnetic feets atm.

Otherwise, once implemented; 100% agree with every point you made. They need only give us some kind of wheel! Hell, we may even be able to design some kind of rudimentary wheel with rotors, or even tank treads; of course contingent on the kind of wear'n'tear sustained.... im just daydreaming now, heh...

Here we go again, mechs aren't just going to be on land, they can be on asteroids and stations also

 

[Croomar]

I've been thinking about this a lot as well.
The dev's answers to gravity in the starbase-faq channel really give off the feeling they are considering gravity. FB is usually quite diplomatic in their answers and clearly tell you when something has not been considered, has not been finalized or just not implemented yet. As for the answers about gravity, they tend to sound like the latter.

Whether they ultimately end up implementing it or not, I'd definitely love to see some kind of ground vehicle.
The issues is true that they'd have no immediate advantages, but that is a matter of game design alone and there's a ton of possibilities to make them viable in-game. I liked the ideas about recoil, in essence it is part of the same matter I considered a possible solution to the issue: Mobility.

Surely a ship has theoretically better mobility than a ground vehicle, but ground vehicles may have a meaningful advantage over them, namely being breaking power and reduced inertia. A ground vehicle can stop on the spot, park and fire for any duration and keep moving afterwards.
As for a ship, you'd need something in the concept of a helicpter to do the same, and you'd still need to expend fuel to keep the gravity from pulling you in, if it's implemented. In that regard, ground vehicles can be designed to simply be more efficient in what they do.

Another issue of implementing them would be the exact method. So far, I think all reasonable methods have been mentioned: Vehicles with wheels, tracks and hover 'engines'. From what little I know about how game engines work, the steady contact between a construct and voxel mass such as a moon is relatively challenging performance-wise. The hover engines seem to be the most reasonable option when it comes to an economic solution. And if they actually were the solution, ground vehicles may even be enabled to strave sidewards, which would again need a less efficient method to implement in a regular ship, adding the the mobility advantage of ground vehicles.


Lastly, the issue remains why you would consider implementing them at all, going those lengths to design, program and model out the necessary content for them. If you ask me, the simple fact that combined arms combat is awesome as hell and incredibly fun is already enough.

 

[Vis]

Nope, unless you make something like this:
View attachment 762
Now instead of a wheel, there is a square with jets attached to it

LOL! A panjandrum was not a vehicle. XD But with moon bases being a thing you would think ground vehicles should be a thing.

 

[AlexiyOne]

LOL! A panjandrum was not a vehicle. XD But with moon bases being a thing you would think ground vehicles should be a thing.

I was implying the panjandrum being the wheel since there is no wheel axles that could turn wheels in Starbase

 

[ZURIKU]

I think that i'd be a great addition to the package of getting a actual planet we can land on. Especially if somehow we can keep the less practical ship building with ground vehicle building as well.

Edit: Could you imagine if we got to make vehicles like this haha.

 

[Vis]

I was implying the panjandrum being the wheel since there is no wheel axles that could turn wheels in Starbase

Yes, I know. But for some of those that have never seen or heard of one, they might think it was a vehicle. XD

 

[MAXD]

Magnet wheels may work .Just like our endoskeleton.XD