Nice update. The new setup has much more realistic behavior.
the new update makes it way easier to drive now… i can drive around the whole map withough puttint my brakes on at all and keeping the gas all the way up
…but i dont know if this is a good thing or a bad thing
this will turn out to be pretty fun if you keep working on it 
Having fun driving the buggy around with some mods to it, so figured I’d post it.
Enlarged level 2 map added some new bumps and smoothed it out a bit for speed.
Bumped up horsepower, changed some geometry, and reduced the friction to the wheels (if you want to change it, change the friction slider under the “wheels” material.)
Try “drifting” the level 2 buggy all the way around the map 
Tap the brakes to straighten it out. X is a bigger kick too.
As for the level one rockcrawler vehicle, it is a lot easier, so I’ll have to reduce friction a bit, and maybe add a bit more weight. The rock crawler will be the primary focus of the game. I think I’ll have occasional levels with the buggy as a diversion. I think the independent front suspension and possibly the 4 wheel steering will make it’s debut in the next update.
Good night all, thanks again for playing/testing!
Updated .blend is available from the parent post (same file name.)
-Sphere
this sounds cool,
VrrrrrRRRRrrrrrRRRRoom!
:")
I bookmark this thread
cant get the latest blenderfile!!
You could try limiting the speed by getting it’s velocity with python script. Owner has function .getVelocity() which could be used for this.
It should check velocity continually and if velocity would become too high, it would apply brakes. This way you could use massive torque, but still go slow. Of course you need much friction to transfer that torque.
Just posted an update. Lots of eye candy, but pardon the texturing/meshes, this is my first vehicle body. Nothing is scale, just threw it together to test how texturing and adding poly’s would affect the framerate.
I’m getting low 100’s with a P4 3.2 Ghz and an ATI Radeon 9500/9700 with 128 Mb’s onboard.
Added a constraint back from the wheels to the knuckles to stiffen the joint up. Added a constraint to the steering arm to give it some self centering. Ghosted the steering knuckles to cut down on the “floppiness” of the steering (still not perfect, but behaves somewhat now.)
Removed level 2 for now. I had a bunch of problems linking objects from scene to scene and had to nuke it. Don’t worry, new one is almost done…:
P.S. Lost power for several days at a time during the last two snow storms so I haven’t had much time to work on it.
Added textures to the wheels (rims, tread, rubber color…) Added tail lights, glovebox, and a mesh for the speedo.
Anyone know how to light tail lights? I’ve been testing various ideas with no luck…
Updated blend is available in the parent post or here.
wont open blend file.
error loading (file is incomplete)
?
Nice, the screenie looks good! I will download in a bit.
~~Stoofer
Hessiess: What version of blender are you using? I created/packed the .blend with 2.43…
Anyone else have issues? This is the first version I’ve uploaded that had textures.
P.S. Thanks Stu.
I get that sometimes. It usually means the file didn’t download properly. Try downloading it again.
Updated .blend is here.
Added a transmission and transfer case. Removed the other levels/vehicles for now. Please test and let me know framerate and what you think of the steering/suspension. When you hit “P” to start, you will be in NEUTRAL, LOW RANGE. Hit 1 and H to go to 1st gear High Range, 2 for second gear High Range, 1 and L for 1st Low etc…
Reverse isn’t treated as a gear and is always available with the down arrow (but is affected by high/low range selection.)
Steering is speed sensitive, so get off of the gas for a second to turn sharper.
Controls:
Arrows for forward, reverse, left and right.
space for brakes.
Pad+ for 4 wheel drive
Pad- for 2 wheel drive
Pad1 for 1st gear
Pad2 for 2nd gear
Pad3 for 3rd gear
H for High range
L for Low range
P.S. turn your speakers down. I forgot to remove the sucky engine sounds before I uploaded. Sound is controlled from the left rear wheel. Eventually the engine sounds will go on an “engine”, and the transmission functions will go on a “transmission”. I have to dive into some python to get the correct sounding speed sensitive sounds…
Very nice Runs smoothly @ 160 fps (P4 3 GHz, Radeon X800XL). Steering is quite slow on flat terrain, but it doesn’t matter much because the terrain is so bumpy.
I keep getting blend file incomplete. Could you please upload it again?
Great work Sphere.
jessegp next time that happens just keep the foot on the accelerator and turn the steering from left to right continuously. Like a turtle on its back the car eventually flips over its cool.
Awesome, and thanks. Glad you guys are having fun with it. Once I finally get the steering settled, I’ll harden up the roll cage and body. I had some issues with the wheels hitting the body.
Great work Sphere! Thanks for the contribution!
I have a constraint question for you… is there some way to constrain an object to move/rotate only on local axis? I’m making a tank using the same method you’re using on your jeep, and the tracks fly off sideways when they get going fast enough. I can send you the .blend file if you want to look at it. I don’t want to release it until it’s running a little better though.
I really love what you’re doing here, it’s fantastic! Keep up the good work!