Vehicles!

[Keatonian]

This tutorial does need much work, but enjoy it anyway:

Gish Vehicles: Who, What, Where, When, and Why.

Contents:
-Intro to Vehicles
-Why should I make Vehicles?
-What is "anchored"
-Your First Vehicle
-Hydraulics (pistons)
-How to: Vehicle Designs
--Carts
--Trucks
--Trains
--Snow boards
--Zip-line Carriers


INTRO TO VEHICLES
Some of you may be asking, "what is a Gish Vehicle?" If you are, I should smack you, but I will answer it anyway in a detailed manner. A Gish Vehicle is an object Gish can ride on intended to help transport Gish from place to place that is not anchored to one spot on the map. This includes Carts, Trucks, Trains, Skateboards, other wheeled vehicles, Snow boards, Zip-line Carriers... These all: transport Gish, are not anchored (though probably restricted), and are often required to beat the level when included, especially a proper Zip-line. Keep in mind that Gish does restrict you, especially in size. You will often wish the editor's grid was half as large, and that's normal when making vehicles, but don't get discouraged. Just keep on going!

Why should I make Vehicles?
Because, maybe it's just me, but they're fun and cool! And Fun+Cool=Good. They add to a feeling of living in your levels, and they give such a rush! If your level feels dull and simple, add a vehicle. Be careful though, vehicles can frustrate someone, especially if their so fast you need to know what happens next or you die. Keep that in mind, and remember, if someone gets bored or annoyed, they will probably stop playing. And vehicles aren't the only solution to a boring level, a.k.a. Swings work too. (Swing: A swinging anchored object, like a wrecking ball)

What is "anchored"
I assume you know about the rope editor? (F4) If not, learn about it before you continue. The rope editor, of course, lets you create various connections: Land-Object, Object-Object, Object- Land, Land-Land, Land-Nothing, etc... In any case, those are vary useful, required in creating almost every type of vehicle. (Only the snow board doesn't require them) However, if you use them connect a vehicle to a fixed, non moving point, in a way where it is not intended to break, IT IS NOT A VEHICLE. It may be a lift, swing, or other moving transport, but it is not a "vehicle". A vehicle can never be anchored to a non-moving point. (Without intention of a break) Keep that in mind! (And being restricted by invincible walls, or an only Gish small tunnel doesn't count as anchoring)

Your First Vehicle
The most basic and common vehicle is the cart, and it is also very easy to make, so I will teach you how to make one. Go into the Object Editor. (F3) Now create a number two object. (basic cube) Now give it a texture. (hit "]") Now use the right arrow key to expand it's width to three grid spaces. This is your chassis. Now we need wheels. Choose the sixth object type. Now create one below the far left tile of the chassis, and one below the far right tile of the chassis. Now choose a fitting texture. ( hit "[" or "]") Now you have the three required parts, a chassis and two wheels. Now hit esc and then F1 to return to the game. It looks great doesn't it? Try jumping on it. It fell to pieces, didn't it? That's because you didn't connect the three parts yet. Hit F1 to return to the editor, and go to the Rope Editor. (F4) Now, to hold our vehicle together, we need strong sturdy unbreakable bars. To make bars, hold the "9" key down and click on one point, then another on a different object. To delete bars, right click. Now, create bars from all four corners of the cube to the center of the left wheel, and then do the same with the right. Now go back to the game. (you will need to hit F5 to restart the level) Jump on it. PERFECT! It didn't fall apart, and if you did it right it rolls fine! Remember, if you play with the mass and friction of the parts, you can improve your cart.

Hydraulics (pistons)
(assuming you read "Your First Vehicle") Don't you just love your little cart? But have you noticed that to roll it needs to be on a slope, and otherwise it's hard to move when on top of? To create a truck, or make an automatic vehicle, you need to learn to use pistons. With pistons, your vehicle will always have it's brakes on, until activated, and then it will roll by itself. A piston is in the rope editor. (F4) To make a vehicle move you will need half-pushed (number 6) and half- pulled (number pistons. You will also need a point to connect your pistons from. First, go to the object editor (F3) and create an object number 6 (sphere) ON THE SAME TILE AS the far left grid tile of your chassis. Now, go to the rope editor and create bars going from the center of this new sphere to every edge of the chassis and the center of the wheel it is above. Now that it is secure, create a half-pushed piston (number 6) from the center of that new sphere to the right edge point of the wheel it is above. Now create a half-pulled piston (number going to the left edge point of the wheel. Now perform all those steps with the other wheel. (And you will need another sphere above your other wheel) Now go into the object editor (F3) and make sure both your wheels have high mass and friction. Now run it. Your cart may not run right, so go to the object editor, and edit the RGB values of the spheres above your wheels. R=Length piston extends or contracts, 1 being 1 grid space. G= Seconds per full revolution. (One rotation, 60 divided by this equals your RPM.) Blue, you should always set to 0, because 0 is infinite, and Blue is total revolutions. Now run it again! Congrats!

How to: Vehicle Designs
Some of these may seem obvious, but they are good ideas.
Keep in mind any of these (except the snow board) may have lights.

   CART
Parts: Chassis, Wheels
Knowledge Required: Rope Editor, Object Editor
Shape Definition:
A small, non-automatic vehicle.

   TRUCK
Parts: Chassis, Wheels, Piston Points (to connect pistons from)
Knowledge Required: Rope Editor (Pistons), Object Editor
Shape Definition:
An automated vehicle similar to a cart.

   TRAIN
Parts: Multiple cars with a Chassis and Wheels
Knowledge Required: Rope Editor, Object Editor
Shape Definition:
A string of essentially carts all connected but not stiff, so the can rotate at the joints.

   SNOW BOARD
Parts: Board
Knowledge Required: Object Editor, Tile-set Editing
Shape Definition:
The snow board is a single simple cube, extended to 3 squares length. It has low mass but high friction. Now with high friction, you may wonder, how does it slide? You need to make snow, or just like a real snow board, it won't slide. Change the friction on the ground for the board to 0.1 or so, then try 1 mass and 6 friction on the board. You can easily do flips, or stand on the corner of your board, with practice of course. It does take a lot of room to be at all worthwhile though, so you may need the entire map to make a half-way decent slope.

   ZIP LINE CARRIER
Parts: Wheel, Chassis
Knowledge Required: Rope Editor, Object Editor
Shape Definition:
It's odd but interesting, spheres (object 6) cannot go through ropes and chains. You can use this to your advantage. Create a 1x3 cube and a wheel 3 spaces above the middle. Then connect the center of the wheel to the corners of the cube. Now create a chain between the two from one area to another with a downward slope. There you go!


So, what needs work?

[Pigbuster]

SKY CART
Parts: Long square attached to a small frictionless square above.
Knowledge: Rope editor, object editor
Defenition:
Put the slippery square in a long groove so the sky cart can move along.

ELEVATOR
Parts: Rectangle as long as you want, anchor
Knowledge: Pistons, objects
Defenition:
Attach pull pistons (5) from the anchor to the tops of the rectangle. Set RED to the height you want, GREEN to the time it will take, BLUE to 0. This aint a vehicle, but I put it in here anyways just in case. http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'>

[Jonathan_NL]

Has nobody made boats???

@Pigbuster: there is actually just one kind of piston. A pull piston in its start position is the same as a push piston in its end position.

[rammerizkool]

wow, this is really helpful!  ive always wanted to know how to make vehicles, now i can  http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>   yay!

[Keatonian]

An elevator is anchored, thus not a "vehicle", but a "lift".

Johnathan_NL, you might be surprised... (about your question)

[Jonathan_NL]

Jonathan, not Johnathan. http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

To make things clear, I already made quite fast boats.

[Pigbuster]

Yeah, elevators are anchored... forgot that...
Well, If you can make boats, why not say how? (Though I could probably figure it out. http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'> )

[Jonathan_NL]

Just think about how they work in reality. Then enter the right values into Gish. It should work pretty well, but not perfect because Gish only checks the corners.

[UltraGamer2004]

Yea, I could make real use of the zip line. I use it so that when you getto the top of a tower, you have to go down using the zip line before the tower you are on falls down(and trust me, if that happens, you WILL die cause' the mass of the blocks that make the tower are 99999 mass, and you will get crushed.) http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':laugh:'>

Has nobody made boats???

I have. It requires low mass and high water density though, they're not really that good.

Boat
Uses: water traveling
Knowledge: Tile editor, object editor, rope editor(bars)
How To Make: Simple. Make the water very high density and the
boat mass low. Then... add some bars to connect the boat together.


Hope it helps.

[SeventyThree]

Pictures would be useful perhaps detailed pictures for the construction of the first vehicle, and then just a picture of the finished vehicle, and maybe what it looks like in the object editor.

I've found that to make wheels turn nicely (without pinching in places), it's best to drive the wheels from as far away as possible. That way, the starting angles are similar for all four points on the wheel.

To make the driven cart out of less objects, you can make the chassis half a square longer in each direction, and drive the wheels from the corner directly above the wheel. Also, you can one wheel from the centre of the other wheel (though this looks messy in the editor).

One last thought: to get a fast vehicle to start properly without tipping, try putting fairly slippy (friction = 0.1) tiles under the back wheel. It starts slightly slower, but is less likely to tip.

[Connor]

I did everything mentioned to make a simple cart, but when I test-play the level it doesn't show up!
Why is this?
(It is really buggin' me http://pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':angry:'> )
PS: Is there a way to reset the object positions?

[Jonathan_NL]

It's not entirely clear to me what you mean, but let me try anyway. Did you reset the level after creating the vehicle (F5)? All dynamic things need a reset after you modify them.

[Sword King 22]

ATVnon-automatic
Parts: chassis, wheels, roof
Knowledge: Object editor, rope editor
Create chassis: approx. 4 squares, sligtly oversized wheels, then create a protective roof or "rollbar" over the chassis, attach with bars.

[BulletFingers]

Pictures would be useful perhaps detailed pictures for the construction of the first vehicle, and then just a picture of the finished vehicle, and maybe what it looks like in the object editor.

I thought so too, decided to upload a video to youtube if anyone wants to see a step-by-step on how to make a vehicle. The one I made is meant to be some sort of Monster Truck, but looks more like a grocery store big-rig.
I tried not to go over 10 minutes, so you definitely have to be somewhat familiar with the editor to follow along.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i14nf0mq-Q

[SimpleLizard]

that sounds cool