RFC:Boats
This RFC is a work in progress and is not finalized. Use the Discussion tab to discuss it with other users. [Help?]
Summary
Add boats to Valkyrien Skies. Boats should be like aircraft, but they float and move in water. Boats will use the same physics engine, but will of course not fly.
Motivation
A lot of people look to this mod as a replacement for other, similar mods. One feature that Valkyrien Skies is missing is boats. Players can create aircraft and lock them into the water, but this is a a workaround and not as fun as it could be. Overall, adding boats would serve to benefit a lot of players of the mod.
Detailed Design
Valkyrien Skies Core
Interface
The basic Physics Infuser can have a toggle able option in the interface "Enable floating" which will forcefully allow a physics-infused structure to float. This toggle can be only allowed to players with an OP level 3 permission, to prevent abuse.
Material Requirements
Other methods of getting a ship to float might be to build it out of lighter materials, and we can have the mod automatically allow these materials to move up to the surface of water, to make for a more realistic experience, and perhaps even float with different oscillation velocities depending on the weight of the block in comparison to the weight of the water and the water displaced, in a sense incorporating Archimedean physics system
Management of Liquid
Currently, water does not flow in and out of ships because the water is technically thousands of blocks away. However, to implement submarines and such, it might be beneficial to have ship-world interaction of liquids like water and lava, for example, having water flow off land and into the ship and vice versa. Technical considerations are important for this. Water should not exist surrounded by air in a ship's subspace - instead, any water flowing off the ship should be immediately transported into the world around it.
Valkyrien Skies Control
A "Boat Motor" item can be added, which acts as an engine, propelling the physics object forward, but only working while inside of water. Propellers could be added on top of the motors in order to prove more realistic, and possibly even incorporate a power system from other mods to provide energy to run the motor. Rudders will also serve the same purpose to affect the yaw of the boat.
An added addition would be that of ballast tanks and a sinking mechanism to control dives and submersible vehicles. This would act similarly to how submarines function in real life given that there is already a weight system of blocks in the mod.
Drawbacks
This adds extra bloat to the mod, which means:
- More confusing options for new players
- Larger file sizes
- More difficult maintenance of the mod
- More difficult maintenance of the documentation
Alternatives
None right now.
Unresolved Questions
None right now.