Tanks were supposed to be easy

Tracked Vehicles

When I started building vehicles for Drone Sector, I assumed tanks would be easier to implement compared to wheeled vehicles. Mainly because their AI doesn’t need to worry about turning radius. Tanks can rotate in place.

In practice, both approaches have their own tradeoffs.

Wheeled vehicles are easier to reason about. Their physics is more straightforward and largely handled by Unity. Visuals are way simpler too. Most of the complexity ends up in AI behavior. Cars can’t turn on the spot, so they need to reverse and adjust, especially in tight spaces.

Tracked vehicles remove that AI problem, but introduce more complex physics. Tank steering is essentially one side pushing against the other. That created most of the issues.

When I tried driving one side forward and the other backward, the tank often wouldn’t move at all. Increasing force eventually made it spin, but uncontrollably. Reducing friction helped movement, but caused excessive sideways sliding.

The current solution involves some controlled “cheating”. I dynamically adjust friction and slip on the tracks based on input. When steering, the tracks lose grip. When moving straight, they regain it.

It’s not perfect. Tanks can still over-rotate at higher speeds, especially if they enter turns sideways. But the system is now predictable and easy to tweak. Less reliance on Unity behaving just right, more direct control.

New Maps

After the previous industry-focused map, I started exploring more rural environments. Both maps are still in progress, but the overall terrain flow is shaping up well.

The first map is mountainous. It features steep cliffs and narrow winding paths. There are many chokepoints that can be blocked or defended. Crossing hills is possible, but slower, especially for vehicles. Infantry can take advantage of elevation and fire down onto roads.

The second map is a flatter valley. Fewer buildings, but more subtle terrain features. I’ve added ditches along roads and around farms. These provide infantry cover while limiting vehicle movement.

I’ve also made some visual improvements:

• Subtle atmospheric fog. Adds a slight blue tint, especially at higher altitudes.

• Updated ground textures. Earlier ones leaned heavily into a low-poly look. Now shifting toward a less stylized approach.

• Custom vegetation shader. Gives better control over tree color and fixes noticeable pop-in darkening at distance.

This isn’t a major art direction change. The shift has been gradual. Vehicles, the gunship, and the base already lean this way. The goal is to move away from a cartoony low-poly feel toward a more grounded, less stylized look.

What’s Next

Next focus is continuing work on these maps and adding a few more.

What kind of biome or terrain would you like to see next?

Ingmar Trump

Solo Developer