I bring you a new component I have made. I'd post a video or at least a good example bot, but I've done enough dinking around already.
This is a rocket jet / booster rocket / jet engine, whatever. It works just like you think it would- put it on in whatever way, and that part goes forward. Boost a bot forward, make them turn, fly up into the air, give a spinner some extra oomph, DO A BARREL ROLL!- any of it works. That means flying bots without hover engines are entirely possible now.
Download here --->
https://gametechmods.com/uploads/files/rocketjet.zipHowever, here's an example that uses hover engines just for simplicity's sake.
It can fly at insane speeds and move vertically in either direction at a whim with its rockets, unlike the old 'put stuff under the hover engine' flyers.
I'm entirely sure that it's possible to make a well controlled flying bot without hover engines, but due to the extreme difficulty of balance around the center of mass, I have not gotten around to making a very good one.
Here's a crude attempt.
It uses several small rockets on a gyro system in the middle for forward/reverse movement and turning, and one big rocket for lift.
The theory behind this bot is the 'parachute effect' the lift rocket gives. When fired in quick pulses, the thrust and recoil from a rocket high above the center of mass will keep the bot fairly upright as it flies. However, this bot in particular is a rather poor example of a parachute bot for some reason (I think it may be too heavy to be affected by the rocket's recoil. However, a simple balanced chassis with a baseplate anchor, long extender, and a medium rocket will parachute very nicely.
I know you're all thinking about airplanes. Sadly, there's a little catch. They'd be possible if it weren't for Havok glitching when you have too many rockets attached. So unless you controlled your pitch, roll, and yaw with spinner-momentum or some other wonky method, it won't work out.
I know a component like this seems like bogus, but in all reality it's just a servo piston that takes advantage of a flaw in the programming. I discovered the glitch whilst building HOJ2- that when the end position for a piston's prismatic is set to a negative number instead of the usual positive, the piston won't move and instead all the force is directed into the bot.
Thus to operate the rocket jet, you need some air tanks and need to wire them to 'extend'. (Sadly they can't go in reverse with 'Retract'; it does nothing.)
So go and have fun, I'm excited to see what people can build with these.
And modders, feel free to make new ones- I balanced their settings decently, but may not fit every need.
Plus if someone could figure out a way to further stabilize them against Havoking, that would be awesome. I currently have the piston's shaft bound down with a hinge for extra security (quite necessary, in fact), but any sort of unmoveable bond on the shaft, of which I haven't gotten any to work, would make the component perfect.
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