[PROPOSAL]Thrusters Should Be Able to Generate Rotational Torque Without Gyroscopes
Thrusters Should Be Able to Generate Rotational Torque Without Gyroscopes
Currently, ship rotation appears to depend entirely on gyroscopes. While this works from a gameplay perspective, it ignores a valid method of rotational control that should be possible within the game's physics system.
If a ship has thrusters placed away from its center of mass, opposing thrusters should be able to generate torque and rotate the ship even when no gyroscope is installed.
For example, if one thruster pushes forward on one side of the ship while another pushes backward on the opposite side, the linear forces cancel each other out, but a rotational force (torque) is created. This should allow the ship to perform pitch, yaw, or roll maneuvers.
I would also suggest allowing gyroscopes and thrusters to work together. When a rotation command is given, the control system could use both available gyroscopic torque and differential thrust torque to achieve the desired rotation.
Benefits:
- More realistic spacecraft physics.
- Possibility to build RCS-style control systems.
- Emergency backup steering when gyroscopes are damaged or unavailable.
- Greater engineering depth and creativity in ship design.
- More meaningful thruster placement choices.
The attached image illustrates how opposing thrusters can create rotational torque around the ship's center of mass without requiring a gyroscope.
I like this feedback 
The spaceship shown in the images does not contain any gyroscopes. However, it should still be able to generate rotational torque about all three axes by vectoring its thrusters.
In the images, I demonstrated examples of which thrusters should fire to produce the required torque for each rotational axis. When no gyroscope is installed, these thrusters should provide full attitude control of the spaceship on every axis. If a gyroscope is present, the thrusters should supplement its torque rather than remain inactive.
Additionally, the torque generated by each thruster should depend on both its distance from the spaceship's center of mass (lever arm) and its available thrust. This would result in a more physically accurate and realistic torque model.
Pitch Backward:
Pitch Forward:
Clockwise:
Counterclockwise:
The spaceship shown in the images does not contain any gyroscopes. However, it should still be able to generate rotational torque about all three axes by vectoring its thrusters.
In the images, I demonstrated examples of which thrusters should fire to produce the required torque for each rotational axis. When no gyroscope is installed, these thrusters should provide full attitude control of the spaceship on every axis. If a gyroscope is present, the thrusters should supplement its torque rather than remain inactive.
Additionally, the torque generated by each thruster should depend on both its distance from the spaceship's center of mass (lever arm) and its available thrust. This would result in a more physically accurate and realistic torque model.
Pitch Backward:
Pitch Forward:
Clockwise:
Counterclockwise:
While this non-center of mass thrust application would be more realistic, it would make most ships unmanageable, and few players will have the skill needed to make balanced ships to accommodate this suggestion.
While this non-center of mass thrust application would be more realistic, it would make most ships unmanageable, and few players will have the skill needed to make balanced ships to accommodate this suggestion.
i hear this, and yes.
buuuuut... it might take a re-design of the gyro block. which isnt a bad thing at all, just a consideration. the physics currently dont apply the math to individual thruster locations on a grid.... if they did, we would already have a semblance of this.
so what we would NEED is either the math added in with the grid CoM info and thruster orientation. OR gyro controller switch that allows us to use thrusters in this way. Not just "rotate from CoM"
i hear this, and yes.
buuuuut... it might take a re-design of the gyro block. which isnt a bad thing at all, just a consideration. the physics currently dont apply the math to individual thruster locations on a grid.... if they did, we would already have a semblance of this.
so what we would NEED is either the math added in with the grid CoM info and thruster orientation. OR gyro controller switch that allows us to use thrusters in this way. Not just "rotate from CoM"
The image below shows the spacecraft statistics screen from Empyrion: Galactic Survival.
The highlighted points are as follows:
1- The spacecraft does not have any RCS (gyroscope) blocks installed.
2- Despite this, the ship's Pitch, Roll, and Yaw torque values are still calculated and displayed on the statistics screen.
3- In addition, the Pitch, Roll, and Yaw control sensitivities can be adjusted independently by the player using slider bars.
The image below shows the spacecraft statistics screen from Empyrion: Galactic Survival.
The highlighted points are as follows:
1- The spacecraft does not have any RCS (gyroscope) blocks installed.
2- Despite this, the ship's Pitch, Roll, and Yaw torque values are still calculated and displayed on the statistics screen.
3- In addition, the Pitch, Roll, and Yaw control sensitivities can be adjusted independently by the player using slider bars.
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