Vehicles/Anatomy-Land
Land-based vehicles are forced to move on ground and can not function in water.
- This page applies to vehicles on LAND!
- A Land-Vehicle...
- becomes 'unusable' or 'damaged' while in water.
- not capable of sustaining lift while air-born.
Classes
- KCar
- ONSHoverCraft
- ONSHoverBike? - The only land-based vehicle that can survive over water.
- ONSTreadCraft?
- ONSHoverTank?
- ONSWheeledCraft
Land-Vehicle Anatomy
Car Engines
Supplies the power needed for the car to function.
Others Engines to Add
Transmissions
Controls the amount of gearing used between the engine and wheels. Low gearing (say the engine turns 5 times for the wheels to turn once) gives high torque and climbing power but low speed. High Gearing (say the engine turns once and the wheels turn twice) gives low torque and slow accelaration but high top speeds.
Drive Train
Connects all components together by driveshafts and universal/CV joints (allowing the driveshaft to bend and move while still roatating. Used in suspension systems.)
- Differentials
- Transmits centripetal force to the wheels while allowing them to turn at separate speeds.
- Power is always distributed evenly between both centripetal outputs.
- Enables the wheels to take advantage of as much traction as possible.
- Wheels
- Enables a vehicle to 'more-easily' pull itself forward while on the ground.
- The power required to pull a vehicle with its wheels can be calculated: ( Power == F App * Speed )
- x-Wheel Drive: The configuration of powered wheels. This could also be considered the type of differential setup.
| Front Wheel Drive (FWD) | Forward wheels are powered, while the rear wheels are un-powered. |
| Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) | Rear wheels are powered, while the forward wheels are not. |
| 4 Wheel Drive (4WD) | The vehicle can drive on both front wheels, both back wheels, or both sets of wheels. In the 4wheel configuration, traction is distributed between both wheels in a set (front or back). Also, the front and rear wheel sets are locked, meaning the net spin for each set of wheels must be equal (making turns on surfaces, like concrete, somewhat difficult). |
| All Wheel / 4 Wheel (AWD/4WD) | A 4WD at all times. Here, a 3rd differential is located between the front and rear wheels, allowing each wheel to spin nearly independent from any other. This results in a 75% increase in traction distributed (between wheel sets) then a standard 4WD and easier turning on concrete surfaces. |
Accessories
- Convertibles
- Cars with retractable roofs.
- Hardtop roofs are currently rare, but not unheard of.
- Sink-ability - The open roof changes it's buoyancy dynamics from that of an average car. When sinking, it basically acts like a huge open hole!
UT2004
In Unreal, a car is basically a vehicle that travels on wheels. Similar vehicles could be derived from a car class, such as a van or truck.
Drive Train
x-Wheel Drive
Customized FWD, RWD, or anyware in between!
- KCar Version
| Value | x-WheelDrive |
| 0.0 | Full FWD |
| 0.5 | Standard 4WD |
| 1.0 | Full RWD |
var (KCar) float TorqueSplit; // front/rear drive torque split. 1 is fully RWD, 0 is fully FWD. 0.5 is standard 4WD.
- SVehicle Version - Answer Needed
Tips & Tricks
Opinions on creating Land-Based vehicles.
The Do's and Don'ts
User suggestions for what you should and shouldn't code.
Do:
Don't:
- Water-Based calculations (Buoyancy, Submerged, etc... ) unless absolutely necessary!
- It might be best to encapsulate these functions in a vehicle state, used only when the car touches a water volume (or equivalent) and deactivated when it exits. The goal: make the vehicle not even consider doing these calculations unless absolutely necessary.
