The SRV - Why is it so bad?

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

Frontier have said many times they have chosen gameplay over any rational realism.

The best example is how the 150m+ player ships have turn rates that are only slight multiples of fighter craft.

Unless the vertical thrusters are super magic amazing interdimensional technology even though they look exactly the same as smaller craft....

 

[Agony_Aunt]

Get a steering wheel. Really transforms the driving.

Other than that OP, its just practice.

Also, people don't seem to understand exactly how fast they are going, over rough and slippy terrain. At fully speed (ie: 30-ish) you are going over 100 kph. That's ok on a normal road in good conditions. Its not ok when you are driving over rocks.

 

[Jacques d'Orleans]

but at ~20metres per second, it handles like a wet noodle. which is weird because around 16-18 metres per second, the SRV handles completly fine. but the moment you get to 20, the slightest turn means an insta 180.

At a speed of 20 meters per second (45 mph or 72kph) on a low grav rock, I expect the SRV to handle like a wet noodle, tbh it should always handle like a wet noodle with speeds above 3 meter per second.

 

[Yosharian]

The SRV is fine, the problem is we don't have any other land vehicles...

 

[Bzek]

The SRV is fine, the problem is we don't have any other land vehicles...

I am still holding my breath for a heavy SRV, indeed. Slower and more grippy hopefully.

 

[LazyCalf]

The SRV has 8 wheels.

Arguably you have a point about the shields, but really you are talking about driving a Dakar truck off-road at 100mph. It's not easy

you'd be surprised.... i drive an off-roader myself... and driving up 50 degree inclines is like driving up a road - the vehicle does 99% of the work, all i have to do is throttle it.
off-roading really isnt that hard.
and to say my discovery is better than a sci-fi planetary multi wheel 1000 years into the future is preposterous... but it's true.
the SRV isn't a space recon vehcile- its a joke.
"it aint easy"
well, it's supposed to be.
the SRV was supposed to be built for this job specifically.
and it's terrible at it.
so your excuse, isnt one. because my car is a better offroader on 1g planets than the SRV is.
and that's inexcusible because it's supposed to be 1000 years into the future.
so no,
and 20 metres per second is 40 mph- not 100
what i am talking about is driving a dakar truck off road at 40mph-
and that is pretty easy when you consider the surfaces i'm driving on are basically flat.

imagine driving a dakar truck on the road at 40 mph at all it did was 180 degree turns instantly whenever you touch the wheel.
yes.
that's the srv.
it's a problem with the core game mechanics. don't kid yourself.
because a 4 wheel drive off roader made in 1989 is better than a multi wheel "off roader" in the year 3000. it's ridiculous.
and "its not easy"
isn't a valid enough excuse.

 

[lokvette]

It's not too bad, but I say that after finding the Xbox controller I bought for another game, makes driving it soooo much better. It's not great and hit the smallest rock and your doing a 180 but I dont use it that much and when I do it's not for that long. I do wish FD would add to the SRV line up though.

 

[Loskene]

The SRV is actually great, you're just supposed to drive it with an xbox controller. Never play a driving sim without analogue inputs.

 

[[VR] Enexemander]

I really don't have any complaints with the SRV since 3.0 (they improved the handling at speed considerably). Those "tiny rocks" are huge. Next time you're on a planet drive next to one and use the camera to compare the size of the rocks to yourself. They are not rocks; they are boulders.

Don't try to steer with a floored throttle. Notch it down to 75% (and wait for it to actually get there) and then you can steer just fine if you have a calm and steady hand. Floor it when you've got a straightway. On low G planets, fly the thing.

That said, I would like an armored tank or something along those lines.

 

[Iskariot]

i'm sure there's been many discussions about it, and i dont know what it is about the SRV thats so bad,
does anyone know?
because i've been testing it, trying to wrap my head around it.
i tested all sorts of planets with different g's, and it doesnt really make a difference, the only practical difference in terms of the SRV is how long it stays in the air before landing back at the surface, and doesnt affect the SRV in terms of handling.

but at ~20metres per second, it handles like a wet noodle. which is weird because around 16-18 metres per second, the SRV handles completly fine. but the moment you get to 20, the slightest turn means an insta 180.

i know there will be people saying "oh but you have to learn how to use it" and be in complete denial that there is actually something wrong with the game mechanics.
because there is.
this SRV has 12 wheels for god's sake.
if anyone hasnt noticed, the reason why the SRV has a dual wheel setup is for increased stability, and weight distribution, so these things don't happen.

well they don't bloody work do they?
and don't say that's because of low gravity in some cases. i know that is physically impossible. no amount of gravitational pull would affect the fact that i'm sliding across the ground, doing donuts at any turn, when i'm only going a few metres per second faster than before and then i had complete control, and now, like i said, wet noodle comes to mind.

thoughts?

oh, and why doesn't the bloody shield take impacts from the surface after i've been boosting in the air for a few seconds? it happens so on ships, but not on SRV's?
because i feel cheated when i'm going only 10 metres per second 5 metres above the ground and lose 20% of my SRV hull for barely moving, and landing almost perfectly.

what annoys me the most is that i actually like roaming around on the surfaces of planets, mindlessly collecting resources for my next mod. it's quite peaceful, except for when it's frustrating because i can't maintain control of my SRV for longer than 10 seconds. i'm honestly scared to put full pips into engines if 20 metres per seconds is the breaking point for this vehicle.

Unless the mechanics have been drastically changed recently, I do not think there is anything terribly wrong with the handling of the SRV.
Just adapt your speed to the surface you are on.

I would however like to be able to improve the SRV's grip on icy surfaces, or modify it to become a bit sturdier.

In general I think the vehicle is fine as it is.
I hope FDev will eventually add a more combat capable SRV type with better armour and at least two weapon slots.

A few other SRV types could be: A skimmer-like fast recon vehicle, and a mining SRV so we can finally do some real planetary mining.

 

[Maro-Val]

The srv physics mess.. OMG. I imagine the entire srv concept was coded and implemented in the game in a few hours lol. It is so wrong in so many ways that it hurts.
First of all it doesnt feel like you are on wheels..

 

[[VR] Enexemander]

The srv physics mess.. OMG. I imagine the entire srv concept was coded and implemented in the game in a few hours lol. It is so wrong in so many ways that it hurts.
First of all it doesnt feel like you are on wheels..

Most planets you can land are small and have low gravity. They are almost all rocky and uneven surfaces (some even icy). You are comparing the experience of driving on a 1 G planet on roads to a .1 G planet on rocks.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

SRV if great. I love driving it and have no issues with it. It's great in VR.

 

[Quester91]

Driving the SRV feels great and it's pretty fun to use with 1+ g, below 1 g it handles like garbage. Not that it matters since with that kind of gravity you can basically fly.

 

[Threadkill]

For a space flight simulator with a high learning-cliff, a ground-based vehicle that's easy to drive would be boring AF; implementation is spot on.

Echoing what others have written: Drive Assist off with 4 pips to engines, control your throttle, and fly more than drive. Use pitch/roll to land parallel to the surface (or recover from a bad bounce), modulate thrusters to land exactly where you want/need to land. Alternately, work the bounce; that is, if you need to get airborne again quickly, land slightly nose down and pump thruster on contact; up you go again. You'll be skipping off the tops of mounds in no time.

Maintaining/gaining speed while airborne equals nose down to translate up thrust to forward thrust, rocking thruster angle from above to just below horizon, while looking through roof slats. You'll be amazed at just how much rough terrain you can just hop over, or land on a down slope to then launch off the next up slope. The sound like blowing through a straw means you are about to run out of capacitor; be close to ground.

In the best of cases, you are going to spin a 180. Just go full reverse throttle with wheels straight, turn hard, and spin back to forward throttle. It does seem that the low-G planets that kick up lots of dust or fluffies have more loose surface covering (wet noodle analogy is a good one). Also seems that shiny-surface metal-rich worlds (Dhakhan has good ones) are a bit more slippery.

You might have read to drive it like you stole it. Do this as if the guy you stole it from said something bad about your sister. I watch hull health go down and then simply synth back to 100%.

Last night, I was having a bit of trouble driving well, only to realize that I'd inadvertantly turned on drive assist after a somewhat interesting landing. On the SRV, I think DA is the devil.

<fan-boie-plug> Having played hard through a very snowy winter to earn megabucks and several combat ships, all of which use multiple PAs or rails, and given the fact that I really like the idea of synth'ng my own ammo, I spend tons of time in the SRV. My own little mini-game has evolved into combat in HAZ until supplies get low, and then prospect on a few select planets to fill needed raws back to max, and then more combat. Keeps either activity from getting too stale.

Being a flight simulator, rudder pedals for yaw (steering), and joystick for roll/pitch (attitude control while airborne) strikes me as the intended/best control method. In most environments, I can leave the throttle pegged and just hop; use thruster to land exactly where I want for the next launch. </fan-boie-plug>

 

[verminstar]

Turn drive assist off and 4 pips to engines to fly baby fly...Ive never had any issues with the SRV handling, it being one my favourite little mini games in the bigger game. Gotta remember yer driving where gravity has an effect on the handling as well as potential flight time...on high G planets its more about hopping than flying, while on low G, its about gliding long distance and avoiding the 180 spins and 360 donuts. Yep we all have the same issues, but its how ye recover that makes the difference here.

I never have drive assist on...never. If the function was removed entirely, I wouldnt even notice because I never use it as it causes more issues than it solves. Pip management is even more important on the srv than it is on the ship as the srv is made of paper and terra firma has its own ideas of where yer going.

I get why some have issues with it but I personally dont...not after 450k km of driving on planets of all shapes and sizes and all levels of gravity. Ive mined polonium in 6.7G...ye wont believe how fast yer HP goes down on high G planets like that when even hopping over boulders causes more damage than just hitting them ^

 

[Deleted member 38366]

It's a super weird design IMHO.

It comes with so many odd quirks that you'd think you're driving a 1960's british Supercar demonstrator/prototype that hasn't undergone any handling- and detail-evaluation.

Luckily it can fly to cover considerable distances if Gravity permits it. It handles the best when its wheels are off the Ground.

PS.
Did you know that the SRV is affected by Gravity far different than other Objects (i.e. Elements)? The joy having everything Scripted and not run via a Sandbox.
- shoot a rock on a low-G Planet and measure the time they take to fall down
- lift the SRV to the same height and witness it returning to the ground much quicker

(works the same for debris fields or suitable USS near landable Planets btw. There, you'll see Materials be subject to a different Gravity than the debris - both of which will be different than an FA OFF or Thrusters-Disabled Ship, creating 3 different entities that accelerate with different speeds )

 

[VR andysonofbob]

I enjoy the SRV

I would like an option to decouple the rear axel from the steering column though! That would make it far more rally!

 

[verminstar]

It's a super weird design IMHO.

It comes with so many odd quirks that you'd think you're driving a 1960's british Supercar demonstrator/prototype that hasn't undergone any handling- and detail-evaluation.

Luckily it can fly to cover considerable distances if Gravity permits it. It handles the best when its wheels are off the Ground.

PS.
Did you know that the SRV is affected by Gravity far different than other Objects (i.e. Elements)? The joy having everything Scripted and not run via a Sandbox.
- shoot a rock on a low-G Planet and measure the time they take to fall down
- lift the SRV to the same height and witness it returning to the ground much quicker

(works the same for debris fields or suitable USS near landable Planets btw. There, you'll see Materials be subject to a different Gravity than the debris - both of which will be different than an FA OFF or Thrusters-Disabled Ship, creating 3 different entities that accelerate with different speeds )

Theres a reason why the srv falls faster...the passive thrusters in the wheel hubs are constantly pushing the srv down, otherwise it could potentially fly into orbit. At least thats the excuse that I could come up with..dunno if its accurate but it sounds at least halfways possible. Anything to preserve some immersion ^

 

[Riverside]

It's a super weird design IMHO.

It comes with so many odd quirks that you'd think you're driving a 1960's british Supercar demonstrator/prototype that hasn't undergone any handling- and detail-evaluation.

Luckily it can fly to cover considerable distances if Gravity permits it. It handles the best when its wheels are off the Ground.

PS.
Did you know that the SRV is affected by Gravity far different than other Objects (i.e. Elements)? The joy having everything Scripted and not run via a Sandbox.
- shoot a rock on a low-G Planet and measure the time they take to fall down
- lift the SRV to the same height and witness it returning to the ground much quicker

(works the same for debris fields or suitable USS near landable Planets btw. There, you'll see Materials be subject to a different Gravity than the debris - both of which will be different than an FA OFF or Thrusters-Disabled Ship, creating 3 different entities that accelerate with different speeds )

Regarding 'hang time' the SRV has thrusters in the wheel hubs to compensate for local gravity - in low G you are effectively pulled down to the ground when you are not up-thrusting.

The only part of USSs no affected by local gravity at altitude is the weird immovable asset (a dead ship or whatever) seemingly nailed to the fabric of spacetime

I'm sure there are quirks for the sake of gameplay discoverable in unusual circumstances, but the general experience planetside is believable imo.