Articulated engines: How to make thruster vectoring and VTOLs possible

[Mariux]

Why not a new logic blocks that makes movement to do that articulated engine?

How would the game "know" that it's an articulated engine?

 

[Proxima_Centauri]

I hope directional thrusters are added soon (if at all) so that we can get every last ship-breaking update out of the way

*Edit*
I don't think they should be added at all. Real starships don't have them (see Apollo, Orion, Soyuz...)

Everyone will disagree with me, but adding direction oriented thrusters would only add unneeded complication and make starmade seem more like a SE knockoff

Plus the last thruster fiasco still hasn't been sorted out

 

[Mariux]

I hope directional thrusters are added soon (if at all) so that we can get every last ship-breaking update out of the way

Me too.

 

[Equilibrium21]

Well, at least they will be custom so they won't fuck up your ship's exterior like in SE.

 

[Zeno9141]

I hope directional thrusters are added soon (if at all) so that we can get every last ship-breaking update out of the way

Agreed. If there is one thing I hate more than anything it's refitting ships.

 

[Mariux]

I hope directional thrusters are added soon (if at all) so that we can get every last ship-breaking update out of the way

*Edit*
I don't think they should be added at all. Real starships don't have them (see Apollo, Orion, Soyuz...)

Everyone will disagree with me, but adding direction oriented thrusters would only add unneeded complication and make starmade seem more like a SE knockoff

Plus the last thruster fiasco still hasn't been sorted out

Ships would be able to turn strafe and go backwards without them, but not as quickly.

 

[Megacrafter127]

Real starships don't have them (see Apollo, Orion, Soyuz...)

That is because currently spaceships just need to go in one major direction: up-east.

 

[Proxima_Centauri]

No. Real spaceships use small thrusters to change their orientation so their one big engine can be used in every orientation

Having 6 engines each facing a different direction adds unneeded redundancy and increases the chances of a malfunction

But then again, this is starmade not the real world.

 

[Mariux]

No. Real spaceships use small thrusters to change their orientation so their one big engine can be used in every orientation

Having 6 engines each facing a different direction adds unneeded redundancy and increases the chances of a malfunction

But then again, this is starmade not the real world.

I think we should get back on track with the topic.

 

[whooplaah]

One thing I would worry about is the placement of these mounted engines. Turrets clip through the ship they are attached to when they rotate, so would these engine mounts have the same problem? If I place these engines inside my ship completely, but still facing downward, would I be able to hover without exposing the weak points?

Don't get me wrong, though. I do like the idea.

Here's a different way to implement it. Take the turret mounts that already exist and add a boolean to their code. LOCKED or UNLOCKED. If they are locked, then they act as we are all accustomed. When UNLOCKED, they pivot and turn as their mother ship moves, always facing the opposite of the direction of movement.

In this way, you could make the mounted turret in the shape of an engine, and the fires would always be facing away from the direction in which the mother ship travels. Then it would be a bit more coding to have the mother-ship's thrust increased because of the docked unit, and a way to make the SHIFT button's emergency breaks work when a ship is unmanned.

 

[FunnyBunny14]

I think that they are only supposed to turn 360 degrees, but not also up or down like a turret.

 

[jayman38]

Having the articulated engines swing around when braking would be neat.

You might also have a vertical lock boolean, so that the engine doesn't swing out to the side, but instead pivots around the mount point in a plane, just like FunnyBunny suggests. (I'm thinking just reuse the existing turret blocks. I can also use turrets that don't swing vertically, but just spin, just not as a main battle turret. I'm actually thinking about utility turrets inside a docking bay that only need to spin, and not even a full 360 degrees.)

 

[Mariux]

Having the articulated engines swing around when braking would be neat.

You might also have a vertical lock boolean, so that the engine doesn't swing out to the side, but instead pivots around the mount point in a plane, just like FunnyBunny suggests. (I'm thinking just reuse the existing turret blocks. I can also use turrets that don't swing vertically, but just spin, just not as a main battle turret. I'm actually thinking about utility turrets inside a docking bay that only need to spin, and not even a full 360 degrees.)

And they would if they turned to the direction thrust is applied and not in the direction of travel.

 

[NeonSturm]

I guess real space ships don't have turn-able thrusters because every turn cause an opposite turn on the mother ship.

Real space ships are built for reliability.
If computers shut down due to sun activity (they have huge problems above the south pole), tasks were too complex for humans to control the complex movement caused by these turn-able thrusters - it could cause calculation errors and waste of fuel.

This game however has unlimited fuel. The ships are not made for efficiency with fuel / complexity of calculations, but for efficiency in thrust per time unit.

 

[Mariux]

I guess real space ships don't have turn-able thrusters because every turn cause an opposite turn on the mother ship.

Real space ships are built for reliability.
If computers shut down due to sun activity (they have huge problems above the south pole), tasks were too complex for humans to control the complex movement caused by these turn-able thrusters - it could cause calculation errors and waste of fuel.

This game however has unlimited fuel. The ships are not made for efficiency with fuel / complexity of calculations, but for efficiency in thrust per time unit.

It would, but since thrusters' mass would ussually be far smaller then the mothership's (sure, there would be all sorts of wacky designs) the mothership's rotation would only be fractional.

 

[FunnyBunny14]

Plus this is starmade, why would it have to be the same? I think every ship no matter it size should have these rotating thrusters.

 

[Lecic]

I prefer the planned system of putting percentages in different directions. 50% forward, 10% in every other direction, for example, or whatever set up you want for your ship.

 

[whooplaah]

Current shuttles have their engines on the back, and vents on the sides. When they need to turn or make small adjustments, these vents expel gases to turn the ship. Effectively, a ship with big thrusters on the back, and small thrusters on the sides to aid movement. Like what @Lecic suggested.