Would there be any Mech Legs at all later on?

[Mays_McMuffin]

Just getting really tired of using wheels all the time, and if so could it be like a customizable system? just to have different kinds of legs that we can use and create rather than waiting for Pre-built ones to come out.

Because I wanna build like a huge AT-AT kind of walker to do both combat or harvesting while on the move.
I just felt that it could be cool and would allow for more great creations.

 

[HyperXNova20]

YES

 

[QuackDuck]

The devs plan to make robotic insect legs for a corporation called Legion, but they won't be coming anytime soon. I'm not sure whether they plan to add walker mech legs. A customizable system might be hard to code, especially if the modules move with the leg.

 

[The RealMark]

I'm for mecha legs

 

[Pink Kitty]

No New Corp before 1.0.

Maybe not even after.
They've said they'd LIKE to, but to my knowledge, have not committed to it.

 

[Potato]

The IK System (the system that makes Unity-based legs move) are kinda wonky - they either require plugins or a lot of coding time to correctly implement. Unless they have an animator to do walking animations and blend it with the IK system, it's going to take a while.

Short answer PROBABLY, but in the distant future.

 

[Boomik]

Sounds nice, but how would they walk? Would it just have mech legs animations and such, but in reality just float across the map, or will they actually walk with physics when it touches the ground and everything? If it actually interacts with the ground and such, it would tip over super easily and it would be extremely difficult to code.

 

[Sozin]

http://robocraftgame.com/
It can be done, theoretically. But, I'd like to point out I'm pretty sure FreeJam has more cash to throw at the problem (from being owners of a F2P game and milking those IAPs for much more than they're worth), and the game itself was out for a while before Mech legs were introduced- and even then they were buggy - still are the last I checked, unless they managed to "fix" them in the last year or so.

*But* - robotic insect legs have been around in that game for a long time, even back when it was still a somewhat decent game, so I'm going to assume they're not as hard to code.

 

[Mays_McMuffin]

http://robocraftgame.com/
It can be done, theoretically. But, I'd like to point out I'm pretty sure FreeJam has more cash to throw at the problem (from being owners of a F2P game and milking those IAPs for much more than they're worth), and the game itself was out for a while before Mech legs were introduced- and even then they were buggy - still are the last I checked, unless they managed to "fix" them in the last year or so.

*But* - robotic insect legs have been around in that game for a long time, even back when it was still a somewhat decent game, so I'm going to assume they're not as hard to code.

I already play that on steam too. But I just wanted to know if anyone else wants to have a system like what Robocraft has, but I didnt want to make it sound like I wanted a Robocraft2 or soemthing. Because Terratech is a great game when u dont have to get Spam'd and killed by Plasmas Launchers, Miniguns, and Lock-ons in every match. :/

 

[Zed]

Just getting really tired of using wheels all the time, and if so could it be like a customizable system? just to have different kinds of legs that we can use and create rather than waiting for Pre-built ones to come out.

Because I wanna build like a huge AT-AT kind of walker to do both combat or harvesting while on the move.
I just felt that it could be cool and would allow for more great creations.

While Iconic this style of walking unit (forward facing "knee" and "hip" gears along with a limited-slip ball joint for an "ankle" is probably one of the hardest types to design and code so that it can push off of a virtual surface and walk forward. (The animation is simple, applying the forces is the tricky part.

I'm for mecha legs

These tend to be far simpler to simulate in a digital environment as long as they have a rear-facing "knee" similar to many of the lighter mechs of FASA (Timberwolf style, not Summoner) / the Star Wars AT-ST

The IK System (the system that makes Unity-based legs move) are kinda wonky - they either require plugins or a lot of coding time to correctly implement. Unless they have an animator to do walking animations and blend it with the IK system, it's going to take a while.

Short answer PROBABLY, but in the distant future.

Given this Unity Limitation; probably the easiest type of walker which would be compatible with the underlying framework would be shorter legs such as those used by the NOD MCV in CnC3 which are more similar to those seen on spiders in order to ensure mobility over the various terrain types encountered in Terratech and would be probably not compatible with booster thrust systems which help accelerate wheeled techs.


All that said, If walking mech legs were to be included in Terratech at some point in the distant future they the smallest of them would probably be rather akin to the GSO Riser wheels with a medium / large version requiring the same overall space as a GSO bigboy wheel.

 

[Sozin]

I already play that on steam too. But I just wanted to know if anyone else wants to have a system like what Robocraft has, but I didnt want to make it sound like I wanted a Robocraft2 or soemthing. Because Terratech is a great game when u dont have to get Spam'd and killed by Plasmas Launchers, Miniguns, and Lock-ons in every match. :/

Robocraft as it is now is an absolutely terrible game.
I would rather play Civ with a mod that adds 500+ things to the game than play Robocraft.
Considering trying to load any such mod would probably crash my computer: that says something.
I just like the graphics and parts a bit better than I like some of Terratech's atm.

 

[Nightblade Greyswandir]

Only problem I can see as really difficult is legs syncing as they have to work as centipede, as I don not see that it will be possible to limit number of legs to three pairs like ants or four like spiders. Animation, forces and all other problems are solvable per leg, but syncing 15 legs per side in 4 rows under the tech... don't think that will work ever. To make it work TT should get serious limitations in build system.

 

[Zed]

Only problem I can see as really difficult is legs syncing as they have to work as centipede, as I don not see that it will be possible to limit number of legs to three pairs like ants or four like spiders

True; perhaps if the "walker block" were each a pair of legs so that the movement could be sync-ed left and right so that the tech could in fact "walk" as opposed to the left / right track pairings some of the tread / wing systems currently have.

After a quick google search I found this simplistic rendering; for the sake of using it as an example imagine the red arrow being the single attachment point of the "leg pair block" which is being discussed.

 

[Jamie]

Mech legs are hard. But we want them in. Just gotta weigh up the priorities against everything else that needs to go into the game.

 

[Black Wyvern]

I'd be for supporting this idea as well. Maybe take some exotic steps and make reverse joint legs.

So much more interesting than standard bipod legs.

Also yes. Robocraft is terrible. And this latest update just made it that much worse. Would be neat to get some multi-point parts and weapons that don't have contiguous connection points though. (Place armor plates under multi-point guns for example)

 

[Zed]

I'd be for supporting this idea as well. Maybe take some exotic steps and make reverse joint legs.

So much more interesting than standard bipod legs.

Nicer to use on smaller techs; for larger ones however multiple sets of insect leg pairs will most likely be needed for anything beyond walking on salt flats.