Discussion on Ground Units

[Master_Artificer]

(Prototype units i'm working on, obligatory screenshot for the shipyard thread. :p I'll paint them soon I swear)

In this space game, what do you guys look for in ground units?

It seems like they should definitely be smaller than the spaceships in the game, both so they can be on the small planets and so they don't cause the heat death of the universe server when roaming around.

Also a car should not have enough thrusters to launch into space when it is supposed to be a basic ground unit.

Should they be cheap and replaceable or use advanced armor and defensive effects?
Should they be balanced to the pistol (which is like a 10 block cannon fyi) or not?
What are the box dimensions most people try to build in? (your dropship can only be so big lol)
Post pictures of your ground units on planets! :D

I wish there was a way to turn left and right without that annoying tilt that you keep needing to reset as well.

 

[jayman38]

In a space game, when I look for ground units, I look for craters. :D

There really doesn't seem to be a lot of options for ground-pounders. Similar to Futurama, the Starmade universe has not yet invented the wheel.

I think they should be cheap and replaceable. A spaceship by comparison should be a much more substantial vehicle and investment.
Semi-Real World Example: A very nice truck is $50k. A Saturn V rocket is $110,000k.

Armor blocks should be substantial enough to be matched up to the pistol.

Back when we had the boxdim docking, I kept to pretty small dimensions (13x13x11). With modern rails, I would still keep the per-vehicle size down to Isanth-size or less. (35x35x15)

 

[Captain Tankman]

In this space game, what do you guys look for in ground units?

Planets which have space to move the vehicles more than a few meters back and forth

 

[Master_Artificer]

35x35x15

Thats like the size of some of the smaller planet PLATES! :O

I always feel bad when I make a ground unit big and feel like I need to shrink the design some or start over. pretty much any dimension that passes 10-11 I consider game over lol
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Planets which have space to move the vehicles more than a few meters back and forth

wow thats HUGE! would take an airstike to kill that sucker!

 

[Dr. Whammy]

Finally... A chance to encounter the ground forces of another faction... What the hell kept you guys!?

Ok. My checklist for ground units...

1) Size: Most of my units are designed to fit in a dropship or small transport, board a ship/station, then walk/drive/fly around inside station docking bays and corridors. I long for the day when I meet players who are willing to participate in ground assault missions instead of racing toward their next capital ship build. Oh, and the fauna... I can't wait for that.


2) Utility: My guys need to fill some role other than decorative cute things... As such, nearly all my ground units have anti personnel capability and at least one of the following; medical gear, salvager, repair beam, storage, deploy-able shields, breaching charges, etc. Many also have a "security detail" variant for station interior defense.



3)Firepower and defense: I try to cram the maximum amount of shields, power grid, and armament per square inch into my ground units.
...just in case I run into hoard of mutant spider crabs, a squad of ninja commando astronauts armed with rocket launchers, a miniature Gundam or I need to survive a direct hit with a small missile... I often stroll around my base in power armor to avoid being killed by visitors who walk around with a gun drawn or forget turn their ship's turrets off. Ironically, that's saved me from dying more than once.



4) Aesthetics: Yeah, I know what I said, but I want them to look cool/cute too. Function vs form... I ask; "Why not both?"

 

[Nickizzy]

I love the idea to use ingot blocks for "cargo". I now wanna make a thread so thats a legit option.

 

[Master_Artificer]

ingots were best cargo before the actual cargo blocks themselves. Can you still place those btw?

Also Dr. Whammy I see your dropship and raise you my own!

Still need to paint it though...

 

[Madman198237]

Here, have a poor picture of a nice dropship and some decent ground units. No tanks, I'm afraid. But then again, it does seem fairly useless to have tanks in a world with Fallout-esque suits of armor, or even Mjolnir-style suits of indestructible insanity.

 

[Master_Artificer]

Here, have a poor picture of a nice dropship and some decent ground units. No tanks, I'm afraid. But then again, it does seem fairly useless to have tanks in a world with Fallout-esque suits of armor, or even Mjolnir-style suits of indestructible insanity.
View attachment 31687

Thats so awesome dude
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2) Utility: My guys need to fill some role other than decorative cute things... As such, nearly all my ground units have anti personnel capability and at least one of the following; medical gear, salvager, repair beam, storage, deploy-able shields, breaching charges, etc. Many also have a "security detail" variant for station interior defense.
View attachment 31670

That Mech on treads instead of feet is my favorite of yours

 

[Dr. Whammy]

Thats so awesome dude
[doublepost=1473385298,1473385007][/doublepost]
That Mech on treads instead of feet is my favorite of yours

Thanks. I've been using this design since the mid 90s. It's sort of a high mobility hover-tank/mech. Heavily inspired by the prometheus mech from the Konami game "Metal Warriors" on the old SNES. I've refined the design with bits of Armored Core and real world battle tanks. This is a rough rendition of my most recent non-StarMade incarnation of it.

 

[Master_Artificer]

Thanks. I've been using this design since the mid 90s. It's sort of a high mobility hover-tank/mech. Heavily inspired by the prometheus mech from the Konami game "Metal Warriors" on the old SNES. I've refined the design with bits of Armored Core and real world battle tanks. This is a rough rendition of my most recent non-StarMade incarnation of it.
View attachment 31688

yeah I remember making something like that out of lego bionicles :D

 

[jayman38]

Thats like the size of some of the smaller planet PLATES! :O

I always feel bad when I make a ground unit big and feel like I need to shrink the design some or start over. pretty much any dimension that passes 10-11 I consider game over lol

And these points are some of the reasons why I wish we still had the option of generating much larger (single-plate) cookie planets if we wanted.

 

[Master_Artificer]

Aaahhhg, you guys have got me building bigger!

Is bigger better? Not necessarily, it means it is harder to move around and engage, but thats why it is a command tank, it is defensive in nature and will have a bigger gun, so if people are being pushed back it can help turn the tide and prevent a retreat.

Spoiler: 3 pictures

Kinda makes me wish for an AT-TE

 

[Captain Tankman]

I love those Mechsuits you have there Dr. Whammy

I have two other vehicles, based on the tank chassis, an AA-tank and an APC and there's also a missile truck

All with fitting interiors, proper head- and rear lights and all sorts of detail :D

 

[Dr. Whammy]

Looks good. Outstanding use of slabs. I guess that's why you're "Captain" Tankman.

 

[The_Owl]

Im building leman russes right now, so here's 3 diffrent kinds on a planet

 

[Scypio]

Now i want to do some ground units too.

 

[Dr. Whammy]

I love the idea to use ingot blocks for "cargo". I now wanna make a thread so thats a legit option.

Ingots = the original cargo block.
The funny thing is I used to 'fill" and "deplete" my "cargo" just like the current cargo space blocks back when ingots were more widely used for crafting armor.

 

[Captain Tankman]

Not really ground units, but I guess that's still a good place to post that

 

[StarWars1981]

Not really ground units, but I guess that's still a good place to post that

Hey that's one awesome dropship design. Now you need to rig an open-bottomed version of the bay, and a hovertank that can fit up inside it, hanging beneath the bay as well. So, like put the turret up into the bay, and the rest of it hangs beneath. Requires human command of the vehicle to return turret to centerline for docking. But hey, nice rover too.