So I was thinking of silly vehicle ideas for BeamNG, and this came to my mind... Would there be any way to make a system that allows you to change node weight (and other beam properties) in real time with a script? I'm thinking of a hot air balloon, change the ballon's node weight to negative numbers to make it go up, or positive values to go down. It could also be used for dynamic suspension, with "comfort" and "sport" modes like most modern sports cars have. I think this could be a very interesting feature to add to the engine. Just imagine smashing a covet into a zepellin.
If I remember correctly really low node weights cause vehicles to explode and to change suspension type you would change beam values, not node values.
That would need a fix first... And it's actually an important issue so they'll probably fix it at some point. And I know you need to change beam values. "Would there be any way to make a system that allows you to change node weight (and other beam properties) in real time with a script?" <-- part of my post
I imagine that lighter-than-air aircraft could be more realistically simulated using buoyancy, but I don't know at all when or if that feature will be added.
Changing node mass in real time is already possible with obj:setNodeMass(nodeid, mass) Negative mass wouldn't work for lighter than air vehicles, it would be physically impossible. If we had buoyancy in air, changing the mass could be used to control lift. I already have an airship mesh in game, not jbeamed yet. I'll probably use applyForce to simulate lift for now. It works fairly well in water, lift in air should be easier.
Slow progress happened to it. It used to sink quickly when stopped, then I added some hacky buoyancy code. Now it has adjustable ballast so it floats or sinks slowly. Mesh needs some work to match the new jbeam shape, and it's still otherwise unfinished. Needs custom sounds too. Not sure when I'll get back to it.
Negative node weight would cause the physics to implode instantaneously. Faking buoyancy with Miura's method is your best option.
Exactly what I'm suggesting. The low node weight implosion problems should be fixed. Air buoyancy is also necessary, but using lighter-than-air nodes to simulate things such as a hot air balloon or a blimp is more realistic than faking it with a script.
