Why an SRV, not a skimmer?

Armia

A
Yesterday I was trying to scan a data point in a heavily guarded surface installation.

The installation was located on a very low gravity (0.08G), icy planet with a lot of bumps on the surface so you could see how disastrous the steering must have been.

That is when I noticed how little effort those skimmers seem to put in flying around the place. Compared to that elegant maneuvering, suddenly I find my Scarab SRV hugely outdated and clumsy.

In fact, SRVs are in fact outdated. Aren't they direct descendants of moon buggies which are clever contraptions however are of 20th century origin?
SRVs are prone to rolling over, crashing into things, over/understeering, falling down, spinning out of control, and all the other 'mishaps' one can possibly imagine of.
While on the other hand, skimmers obviously use some sort of electromagnetic hover technology which allows for faster, safer and more reliable travel regardless of the condition of the surface and the magnitude of local gravity field.

If only we could pilot(drive?) a skimmer instead of SRVs, surface exploration could become much more comfortable.

So, was there a reason why we were confined to wheeled, old fashioned vehicles while the magical hovering technology is already widely available throughout the galaxy, which obviously is a far more advanced and sensible choice?

Yes, again, probably gameplay reasons, among hundreds of other odd limitations already in the game I reckon, but I imagine zipping through canyons in a hover skimmer at 120m/s would've been much more fun experience than struggling not to flip over and die in a SRV, moving at average rate of measly 5m/s.

Does anyone agree with above statements?
 
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Atebits

A
Because the generation that made this game idealized the moon-buggy and we idealize the Mass Effect Hammerhead.

I've always thought it is something to do with people treating Electro-Gravitics and Inertial Propulsion like Blimps. It was only cute in the 50s, but Science Fiction refuses to give up on that trope.
 

ROSS-128

ROSS-128
I actually don't know if an air-cushion hovercraft would work in vacuum... Well, obviously at a bare minimum it would need to bring its own air, but even then... I don't know if it would work.

Honestly, I want a tracked SRV variant that has a lower top speed, but way better traction and handling.
 

Vladimar Rubicon

V
The "moon Buggy" actually was a real thing that really worked. It did it's job without so much as the computing power of the digital readout on you coffee maker. It's a good thing to copy and improve upon. th Mass Effect Hammerhead is a cartoon machine.

I will agree that Phantom Menace ruined pretty much everything though, and just bringing up the memory lowers every readers IQ by 7 points.
 

Armia

A
Vladimar Rubicon said:
The "moon Buggy" actually was a real thing that really worked. It did it's job without so much as the computing power of the digital readout on you coffee maker. It's a good thing to copy and improve upon. th Mass Effect Hammerhead is a cartoon machine.

I will agree that Phantom Menace ruined pretty much everything though, and just bringing up the memory lowers every readers IQ by 7 points.
Click to expand...

Speaking of moon buggies...

While I would still prefer an option to opt for a Skimmer(especially in low g worlds), I agree that the Scarab SRV is a marvelous design work. It just never stops impressing me with all that details the devs and designers have put into.

For one, if I am riding it in lower g worlds, the upward pointing thrusters embedded in the wheels would light up while mid flight, to prevent it from being flung off to the orbit. In higher g worlds, they don't. This level of meticulousness is truly something what keeps me playing E: D after all these hundreds of hours.
 

Ouberos

Ouberos
Good point op.

Another thing that bugs me is why no NPC SRV? Even on busy planets with four or five bases I never see a live SRV unless it's another Cmdr. Seen a few dead uns so far though.
 

mikey_205

M
I hope we get a bigger range of land vehicles, namely a more heavily armored vehicle thats slower (like the Mako) and a lighter hover skimmer. The tank will be very heavy so will really cripple spaceship performance but will be great for surface assault mission missions. It will also struggle in high g though and useless at climbing hills. The hover craft will be fast but very delicate.
 

Armia

A
mikey_205 said:
I hope we get a bigger range of land vehicles, namely a more heavily armored vehicle thats slower (like the Mako) and a lighter hover skimmer. The tank will be very heavy so will really cripple spaceship performance but will be great for surface assault mission missions. It will also struggle in high g though and useless at climbing hills. The hover craft will be fast but very delicate.
Click to expand...

I believe FDev will add some more variety to our choice of surface vehicles later on, though it seems the task is not exactly placed in their top priority to-do list.

For the record, they did promise to add more models of SRVs when they initially launched Horizons, mentioning Scarab is the cheapest, most basic form of surface explorers.

I don't recall them stating SRVs will be limited to wheeled rovers only, so I'm going to do myself a favor and keep hoping that they also add Skimmers to the selection along the way.

Meanwhile, I guess I'll take a Taipan fighter and fly them instead for a similar effect.
 
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Aussiedroid

Aussiedroid
Vladimar Rubicon said:
...

I will agree that Phantom Menace ruined pretty much everything though, and just bringing up the memory lowers every readers IQ by 7 points.
Click to expand...

I dunno Phantom Menace is a masterpiece compared to Force Awakens! :)

but I digress .. SRV vs Skimmer .. I really wish for a hovercraft of some sort. I personally rarely travel via SRV as it simply isnt enjoyable for me. Too bumpy, touchy and makes me feel ill after a while. I actually wonder if Fighters might fill that niche at some point... either way hope for some better rides so I can enjoy the surface missions, land exploration and the like.
 

xondk

X
Armia said:
Yesterday I was trying to scan a data point in a heavily guarded surface installation.

The installation was located on a very low gravity (0.08G), icy planet with a lot of bumps on the surface so you could see how disastrous the steering must have been.

That is when I noticed how little effort those skimmers seem to put in flying around the place. Compared to that elegant maneuvering, suddenly I find my Scarab SRV hugely outdated and clumsy.

In fact, SRVs are in fact outdated. Aren't they direct descendants of moon buggies which are clever contraptions however are of 20th century origin?
SRVs are prone to rolling over, crashing into things, over/understeering, falling down, spinning out of control, and all the other 'mishaps' one can possibly imagine of.
While on the other hand, skimmers obviously use some sort of electromagnetic hover technology which allows for faster, safer and more reliable travel regardless of the condition of the surface and the magnitude of local gravity field.

If only we could pilot(drive?) a skimmer instead of SRVs, surface exploration could become much more comfortable.

So, was there a reason why we were confined to wheeled, old fashioned vehicles while the magical hovering technology is already widely available throughout the galaxy, which obviously is a far more advanced and sensible choice?

Yes, again, probably gameplay reasons, among hundreds of other odd limitations already in the game I reckon, but I imagine zipping through canyons in a hover skimmer at 120m/s would've been much more fun experience than struggling not to flip over and die in a SRV, moving at average rate of measly 5m/s.

Does anyone agree with above statements?
Click to expand...
Generally I would guess the same reason drones have a weight limit to where it begins to get impractical other then in specific situations, add weight of human? ton of cargo? just not as practical.
 

Bobbydylan

Bobbydylan
Indeed. I've thought of this before, and thought that the skimmers should hanlde like the vehicles in Battlezone:


[video=youtube;TYlIcoGObNo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYlIcoGObNo[/video]
 

Armia

A
xondk said:
Generally I would guess the same reason drones have a weight limit to where it begins to get impractical other then in specific situations, add weight of human? ton of cargo? just not as practical.
Click to expand...

If Skimmers can carry a machine gun and its ammo, I think they should also be able to carry a human pilot in exchange for said weaponry. Speaking of which, if FDev implements player piloted Skimmers to have no weapons and cargo space, it would strike a perfect balance out of the two surface vehicles, I think.

It will be a matter of choice for the cmdrs to choose between lighter, more maneuverable Skimmers that are solely for exploration, or heavier but more versatile traditional rovers which can do a little bit of everything.
 
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