Does anyone actually use/like rovers?

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

Every time I've tried to make a wheeled vehicle it;s always been a futile and frustrating failure.

Oh you didn't balance the weight? You went faster than 10m/s? Enjoy a smoking crater where your rover used to be.

With aircraft you slap a few thrusters on a vehicle and you're good to go! No fiddling with a dozen sliders for each wheel. Sure rovers are power efficient but you know what isn't efficient? Blowing up because you hit a 1 degree slope going 11m/s

Rovers are just such a convoluted mess, why is strapping rockets to something simpler than wheels???

[This PC]

the funny in this post is great :D
I agree with the sentiment tho, rovers are reeeeally touchy hehe, not like energy is hard to generate in this game. :D

I don't think I've ever made a serious rover, feels like they are very feathery/lightweight, and you don't really gain anything from them. Even keen can't deal with them and isn't giving us movement AI for rovers. ;p

[herrschaftg35]

I use rovers as mobile bases for mining. The game provides the "center of mass" tool and it is not that hard to build accordingly.

[Cthulhu]

the real problem whit rovers imho is the planet you are in, i never understood why the game "suggests" in some way new players to start at earth-like or why new players think they should start at earth-like, that is with the alien planet the hardest place to start and run rovers, why? if im a space engineers im in space and went to planets, when they were released, i played some earth or alien start but is another game, too hard and boring to make some great industrial and logistic evolution.
Why my endgame should be in the easier environment when starting in the hardest?
It is a personal playstyle or strategy but for me the game progression is to start easy and become more complex whit time when i will try to do more complex things because im an a hardest environment and want to do thing i did easy in space there in the planet, and not to start super slow and boring to reach the point to go in the space where i can do everything whit 1/100 of the starting difficulty?

[Cthulhu]

Again: it's a personal view but for me the game is Space Engineers, not planet engineers went to space! it is the exact opposite! lol keen!

[Fives5555]

Pro tip, do not have the wheels set to max settings unless on straight land. Lower your speed limit, lower power, lower strength, and lessen traction a bit. It sucks to go slow,but slow=lowered chance of destruction.

[Katitoff]

I made multiple, because I like them and challenge of building one.

[Dan2D3D]

HI, it took me a lot of Engineer testing to find the best setup and I can tell it's not the same for all cars.

I recommend to try a large block Rover first because it's easier for beginners, well large block Rovers are the "No problem ones" compared to smalll block.

The important :

1 - Hight Offset for not breaking any blocks under the car when riding and jumping.

2 - Power = will need more on heavier cars to be able to move, and keep it default on light cars.

3 - Friction = Better do cool drifting than flipping over, adding more friction is a bit like adding nails on the wheel so the more you add it will "glue" onto the soil for example.
(keep low friction to do cool drifting)

4 - Speed limit = that one we must lower on tiny/light cars to avoid flipping over in curves.

5 - >> Strength << is very important to be able to jump and land without any damages done.

6 - Better keep "Steering" enabled on all wheels to avoid problems where the car will turn on one side going in a straight line.


A small block car need more work on wheel settings to do circles without flipping over :
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2946934513
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2946934567

[Dan2D3D]

Here is the "No problem" size so the Large block compared to small block :
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2946294639
Large block = Easier

[Dan2D3D]

Oh! Another important

-> I lower the Max Speed at a point where the car will not flip over when turning and I add Forward/Backward thrusters that I turn ON to go over that limit.
(thrusters are OFF most of the time)

BUT
-> Must go in a straight line because any cars will flip over when turning at 100m/s (360Km/h).

[Dan2D3D]

My coolest Race Car is made with Heavy armor and Low Profile, it is very slow so I've added thrusters to be able to ride at 100m/s in straight line.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2966961528
Here is a video of my Race car :
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1598949117

[Dan2D3D]

Sorry for the Multipost but I want to offer more help
-> just share your save here so all players can load to help you find the best Engineer solution for your car concept.

How to share a world save on the Workshop :

1 - Select your save (with character saved in front of the bug).

2 - Click the "Publish" button on the left.

3 - Choose a proper Tag, check Steam upload and click the OK button.

4 - Your world will be uploaded to Steam Workshop.

5 - Paste the Workshop item link here.

[Capt Fuzzy]

When it comes to rover design, I've learned, through trial and error, that you want something that has a wide wheel base with a low profile.
The wide wheel base makes tipping over more difficult and in conjunction with a low profile, i.e., low center of gravity, it can make your rover even more 'tip-proof'.
You don't want to go too low though, as you can drag on the ground in rough terrain, and sometimes that's just as bad as plowing headlong into a hillside.

Nothing is more useful than common sense, even in a game like this.
If you know you are going to be crossing some very rugged terrain, then logic dictates that you slow down and take your time. If you don't, you end up with a very expensive crater and a pile of scrap metal that used to be your rover... lol

Another key thing to remember is what is the rover's primary purpose?
What are you going to use it for?

These questions will have a lot to do with how you design and build it.
Will it be for exploring?
Will it act as a mobile base or outpost?
Will it be used for mining/transporting ore?

I've built varying sizes of rovers, depending on their intended use.
Some perform well on 'flat ground' and at higher speeds, while others are designed specifically for crossing rough and rugged terrain. These rovers are made intentionally slow for just that reason. They rarely exceed about 30 m/s and some will not exceed even 15 m/s. Any faster, and I won't have a rover for long... lol

I get it, in the age of 'immediate gratification' it can be very taxing to have to slow down and take sometimes twice the time that you feel that it should take to get somewhere, but the rewards far outweigh the tedium when you finally reach your destination in one piece.

EDIT: I will point out one more key factor here.
PLAN YOUR ROUTE.

Fly up and survey the land around where you are before you take off.
I've found that there is usually a couple of 'easier' routes to get down from mountains and plateaus if you just look around a bit.
You do not have to simply 'drive off a cliff' to get down.
The shortest route is seldom the 'easiest' route...

[Anvil_Phoenix]

I like building them, but i don't like using them.
Unless the terrain has been specificially handcrafted to be rover-friendly, they're just annoying to use in naturally generated terrain.

[Dan2D3D]

Keep in mind large block Rover will avoid terrain problems, well the terrain does not matter for a Large block Rover like this one :
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2965884628

EDIT
For example -> We don't use a "Go Kart" to go Offroad.

[Dan2D3D]

Here is something more challenging once you have found a good working solution for your car.

-> Add a Trailer to your car.

The following will avoid doing the needed engineer testing on one working stable concept :

2 rotor setup / 2 Axis concepts are the best :
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2402831452
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2402952965

Applied that concept with hinges for car trailer and it works very well :
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2724430223
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2421996417