Compound Suggestion: Tracks and Terrain

Tracks

As of now, the only form of terrestrial locomotion is the wheel. It serves its purpose well for the game as it is right now, but, if the terrain mechanics changes in the future, they may need to be fitted with tracks. Tracks would be very expensive and heavy, but they have a far greater traction than any wheel one could ever hope to create. As with the wheel, the tracks have several styles and parameters which may be altered, all of which alter traction, weight, and price. Tracks can come in several styles:
- Default. These tracks are a good all rounder; they are relatively cheap, have decent traction, and are only moderately weighty. They can be driven to a decent rotational speed. This would be similar to a Caterpillar utility such as an excavator.
- Heavy. These are the best for traction, capable of clinging onto sheer drop-offs, but they are far more expensive, heavy, and are incapable of high speeds. Imagine a Mark IV landship.
- Light. They’re fast, cheap, and light, but they do this at the expense of traction, being only marginally better than the grippiest road wheels. Good luck trying to climb anything more than a hill with these. It’s basically like a ??-7.
- Belt. This is basically just a tire that wraps around multiple wheels. It’s as grippy as road wheels and cannot work with sprockets. It’s cheap and lighter than the Light Tracks, but quite susceptible to breakage. Think a belt drive being used as an oblong wheel.
Obviously, parameters should have enough range to allow all four types to overlap a little bit for better customisability. Speaking of which:
- Thickness. Controls how thick each segment is or how thick the belt is. Improves strength at the cost of mass and price.
- Segment Length. This controls how long each segment is. This is mostly an aesthetics thing. Unavailable for belts.
- Width. Controls the width of the tracks or belt. Lowers load pressure on the terrain at the cost of mass and price.
In order to place tracks, however, specialised wheels need to be placed. These are as follows:
- Drive wheel. Does exactly what you’d expect. It would need to be a sprocket if chained tracks are used.
- Idler wheel. This is basically a giant roller that marks the front of the tracks.
- Roller. These guide the track across large gaps. If these aren’t added, then the possibility of tracks slipping or breaking is greater.
- Road wheels. Basically rollers, except these are on the ground and what receive suspension.
Placing tracks is as simple as selecting the wheels it is to be fitted around and adjusting its tension with a slider. A tighter track is harder to throw, but easier to break.

Terrain Tinkering

This is the feature around which tracks revolve. In a sense, different types of terrain can be emulated in different biomes and sub-biomes with these adjustable parameters:
- Yield strength. This parameter dictates how much pressure can act on the ground before wheels or tracks get stuck. Sand and mud is much worse than rocks and dirt for wheels, for instance, and this is where tracks come in to distribute load.
- Base traction. This is essentially just a multiplier applied to the traction values given to tracks and tires.
Both were included as one is somewhat pointless without the other.