Add Tank Tracks To Space Engineers
i might have the solution to how tank tracks can be made in space engineers. creating at least 3 new blocks and these these being (images in order of bullet points)
- the sprocket - the drive wheel that pulls the track in the loop and in this case potentially have a high grip to the track only
- the rollers - the wheels that stick to the track but dont provide any power to move it. this could have a suspension combined varient
- the custom suspension part - this could function similar to a piston in the regard you can toggle it to extend/retract and that it would be a block that has a sub-grid at the end of it but would not be capable of extending further than a piston nor could it have conveyors
- the track segment - this would be a block that can only connect to other track blocks and i suppose it could function similar to the auto locking that connectors, landing gear and merge blocks work. i think it should travel slower than the top speed/acceleration of the normal wheels for balancing it but that it can grip the terrain a lot more than wheels can. this way you could have a station with zero gravity and still be able drive on surfaces with a land based vehicle
there could also be i would think dlc versions? i remember seeing some sci-fi future type of neon tracks which could be painted by the way the neon tubes are. just have a sparks of the future neon looking tank track kit. there could be something done for the wasteland dlc but i havent seen anything like that. same goes for the heavy industry update
and even if that might be a little complex for players to build there could simply be a design for a prefabricated track block (similar to how robocraft has done) though it should have an obvious front and back for the prefabricated design
we all want tank tracks, and i remember hearing that KSH want to add them. i have built many creations with tank tracks but of course they end up being massive vehicles simply because the tracks are huge. it would be amazing to see at least some form of tank track components in the game, i dont care if my idea isnt the one. i just want to have more tank track veriety instead of the large Player-Built-Tracks
I like this feedback 
for a prefabricated set of tank tacks it could look something like this. but at the end of the day if this post gets accepted its completely down to KHS on how they want it to look and function
(though i still think that the tank tracks overall should be slower, be able to grip any surface in zero gravity and have much higher grip in gravity compared to wheels to keep them different, it would incentivise the decision of which to use as those two options are not the same)
for a prefabricated set of tank tacks it could look something like this. but at the end of the day if this post gets accepted its completely down to KHS on how they want it to look and function
(though i still think that the tank tracks overall should be slower, be able to grip any surface in zero gravity and have much higher grip in gravity compared to wheels to keep them different, it would incentivise the decision of which to use as those two options are not the same)
I used to think tank tracks with SE's simplified physics would only serve an aesthetic function, but i've found there are practical reasons to want them too:
Tracks transmit power to the wheels optimally, on "as needed" basis. Current suspensions come with individual power, and that means you have to keep each one with optimal contact/pressure/friction with the ground to utilize it all. Even though it seems like total power is obscenely high on flat (even if steep) ground, with slightly curved, or bumpy terrain, most wheels will be losing traction. Most solutions to that problem (increasing friction, decreasing suspension strength, using fewer but larger suspensions) have serious drawbacks (rolling when turning, scraping the ground, increasing the size of vehicle and bumpy rides
Tracks have better friction on soft surfaces. Again friction in SE seems absurdly high (you can climb 60 degree inclines of stone for example), but it varies with the voxel material. Sand or ice are one of the slipperier ones, and although they are not normally shaped steeply enough, it can still matter if you're reshaping them.
Last but not least would be differential steering, although that could be an option implemented for current wheels as well.
I used to think tank tracks with SE's simplified physics would only serve an aesthetic function, but i've found there are practical reasons to want them too:
Tracks transmit power to the wheels optimally, on "as needed" basis. Current suspensions come with individual power, and that means you have to keep each one with optimal contact/pressure/friction with the ground to utilize it all. Even though it seems like total power is obscenely high on flat (even if steep) ground, with slightly curved, or bumpy terrain, most wheels will be losing traction. Most solutions to that problem (increasing friction, decreasing suspension strength, using fewer but larger suspensions) have serious drawbacks (rolling when turning, scraping the ground, increasing the size of vehicle and bumpy rides
Tracks have better friction on soft surfaces. Again friction in SE seems absurdly high (you can climb 60 degree inclines of stone for example), but it varies with the voxel material. Sand or ice are one of the slipperier ones, and although they are not normally shaped steeply enough, it can still matter if you're reshaping them.
Last but not least would be differential steering, although that could be an option implemented for current wheels as well.
Minor detail: The sprocket could have lower maximum speed but more torque. Think different gear ratio. The maximum speed for wheels can be set ridiculously high (offhand I think it is 360 km/h), 1/3 of that would do nicely.
Minor detail: The sprocket could have lower maximum speed but more torque. Think different gear ratio. The maximum speed for wheels can be set ridiculously high (offhand I think it is 360 km/h), 1/3 of that would do nicely.
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