Vehicle Show and Tell

Thanks guys! :slight_smile: I’m already working on the layout for an even bigger, gargantuan mobile base, with separate cabins for four NPCs. It’s still very much on the drawing board, but looks like with will require a footprint of 11x30 tiles :astonished:

I’ve tried to design the layout with the following goals:

  • Crafting should be divided into zones (cooking, chemical/medical and fabrication)
  • Relevant materials should be “gettable” from the crafting position
  • Relevant recipe books should be “readable” from the crafting position
  • First aid and vehicle controls should be available close to entrances
  • Storage units should be optimised for advanced inventory management (3x3)
  • No external equipment should protrude beyond the framework
  • Entrances should be heavily defended
  • Crafting positions should be close to windows
  • The outline should be more “interesting” than a simple rectangle

It will take an enormous effort to gather the materials for this monster. Can’t wait to get started :smiley:

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Nice Lomax! Good to see the old topic in use again! :slight_smile:

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Got the outline frame completed after about two weeks of game time - and this time I remembered to fit the wheels before adding too much weight :slight_smile: I hope 14 wheels will be enough because there will be no easy way to add more later!

The rest of the framework will be filled in with extra light frames, but I need to find more electric vehicles to scavenge them from. So far I’ve dragged 4 electric cars, one tour bus(!), two APCs and five Humvees to my base, and I am slowly breaking them up for parts. This will take some time…

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somethin i’ve been working on as i go from town to town… upgrading it as i find new vehicles to tear apart.

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Looks tough! What’s JP8 fuel?

It’s a kerosene-diesel substitute used by the US military to fuel jets and ground vehicles so that the Army only needs to ship one flammable liquid around.

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yeah its ‘basically diesel’

… i havent actually figured out if the engine will swap over to the diesel i DO have, instead of only using JP8, so if it doesnt i’ll have to go engine hunting, but i also have spare large electric engines, so i’ll probably still be able to move around regardless.

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When did they add JP8 in the game? I’ve dealt with that stuff IRL. :stuck_out_tongue:

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i do have on ‘blaze industries’ mod, which adds a lot of vehicle related stuff, so its probably that.

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No, JP8 is vanilla. I can’t say for sure but I think it was in some 0.E experimental.

Diesel engines can use diesel, JP8, biodiesel and some other thing I don’t remember now. Some oil, I think. You can select which one to use by “control multiple engines” vehicle command - it’ll show multiple lines per diesel engine with same engine and different fuels.

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IIRC it’s lamp oil, at a reduced efficiency. Which is interesting, it’s much easier to create than biodiesel, but less effective.

Oh wow. That’s incredible! I’m looking forward to seeing it progress! Seeing your custom modded parts makes me want to make some, too. A custom engine that can use all the fuel types would be interesting… I’ve just never modded CDDA before…

It was pretty easy; I simply copied the relevant bits of JSON in /data/json/vehicleparts/vehicle_parts.json and edited as needed:

{
"type": "vehicle_part",
"id": "cargo_space",
"name": { "str": "cargo space" },
"symbol": "=",
"looks_like": "box",
"color": "light_gray",
"broken_symbol": "#",
"broken_color": "dark_gray",
"durability": 250,
"size": 1000,
"item": "cargo_rack",
"location": "center",
"requirements": {
  "install": { "skills": [ [ "mechanics", 1 ] ], "time": "60 m", "using": [ [ "welding_standard", 5 ] ] },
  "removal": { "skills": [ [ "mechanics", 2 ] ], "time": "30 m", "using": [ [ "vehicle_weld_removal", 1 ] ] },
  "repair": { "skills": [ [ "mechanics", 2 ] ], "time": "60 m", "using": [ [ "welding_standard", 5 ] ] }
},
"flags": [ "BOARDABLE", "CARGO", "COVERED" ],
"breaks_into": [
  { "item": "steel_lump", "count": [ 6, 8 ] },
  { "item": "steel_chunk", "count": [ 6, 8 ] },
  { "item": "scrap", "count": [ 6, 8 ] }
],
"damage_reduction": { "all": 28 }
},

Copy/paste the entire block above and change these two lines:

"id": "cargo_space_weapon",
"name": { "str": "gun storage" },

Save the JSON file and hey presto, you now have a new part you can install in vehicles. Just be careful to keep commas and curly brackets in the right places - I’d recommend making a backup copy of vehicle_parts.json before making changes. To get a custom sprite you’ll need to open the spritesheet (/gfx/RetroDays+Tileset/tiles.png in my case) in a photo editor (I use GIMP) and add a new sprite to the end (10 x 10 pixels). Then open tile_config.json in the same folder and add an entry for your new item, e.g.

    {
      "id": "vp_cargo_space_weapon",
      "fg": 3097,
      "rotates": false,
      "multitile": true,
      "additional_tiles": [ { "id": "broken", "fg": 155 } ]
    },

“fg” is the number of the sprite you want the item to use, starting from top left of spritesheet (yeah, there really are more than three thousand sprites in there). Note that you need to prefix the item id with “vp_” (for vehicle part) in order for the game to find it (this had me stumped at first). Happy modding!

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Re. your universal fuel engine idea: that sounds a lot like a steam engine, which you should be able to run on anything that burns… :slight_smile:

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We do have steam engines in the game but IIRC it only works on (char)coal.
There IS a class of engines which can burn both gasoline and all the things diesel can burn, too: the gas turbines. It guzzles fuel very fast but you can achieve really crazy speed using it.

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An update on the Ursa III progress. I finished the framework, using extra light frames, and also added another two armored wheels, for a total of 16. The bare framework plus wheels came in at a whopping 15 tonnes!

Ursa III frame completed

Another 40-50 days later and I now have heavy duty boards all around the framework, and a heavy duty roof covering the whole vehicle - and some of the interior structure is starting to come in place. During that time I’ve had to fight off several zombie hordes, and go on extended scavenging trips for food & materials. I’ve also developed a serious vitamin A deficiency which is affecting my eyes, and a lack of calcium which has weakened my bones - despite eating two disgusting bone meal tablets a day. I am also overweight… I definitely need to do something about my diet, but at least the Ursa III is coming along nicely!

Ursa III interior half done

Making and fitting the roof alone took two weeks! She now weighs an insane 21.5 tonnes - e pur si muove! And that’s just with two large electric motors - I haven’t been able to find an electric sports car yet, so have no “enhanced” electric motors.

Ursa III stats

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Wow. It’s absolutely massive, even more than I thought it would be! What are those two indentations on the back? What’s with all the extra seats, that aren’t in the “bedrooms”? What are you going to power it with? Just solar? A minireactor, as well?

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The indentations are storage racks for two single tile trolleys, one with a boom crane and one with a vehicle welding rig. But I might change these to be two tiles deep; two-tile workshop trollies are way more useful. Re. the seats: I’ve never had any NPC followers - in fact the main thing with building the Ursa III was to get room for some. The idea is each NPC gets his/her own cabin, and are assigned the seat in their respective room. I have no idea if/how this will work! The four seats in the “communal area” are just for flavour - and to get the morale boost from “eating at a table” :slight_smile: Power will just be solar (I’ve never even seen a minireactor!) and two enhanced electric motors (for silent running), and when I get to mechanics 12 (as if!) I might install a gas turbine as well, just for laughs :slight_smile: It’s not like I’ll be moving this monster around very much!

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best bet is using a V8 diesel engine to move it around (or mabye two?) if your mechanics and electronics are high enough then you can line the top with solar panels, stuff in a bunch of large storage batteries, and have it run off large electric engines… that way you wont have to worry about fuel.

as far as moving goes, as long as you have enough wheels and the engine doesn’t say 0mph, it’ll move.

… oh yeah, and dont forget to install outward facing cameras in all the fun spots, and line the main corridor with camera controls! as long as you’re within the 9 square radius of the camera control you’ll be able to see outside… in the case of say, some rude boys bangin on your walls.

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She’s a beauty amirite? Just load her up with tools and you’re all set for building things, except no forging (yet).

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