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<blockquote data-quote="Neonchameleon" data-source="post: 5420258" data-attributes="member: 87792">I was less than clear there.&nbsp; I was comparing GURPS Vehicles to CAD work.&nbsp; Not 3e which was just a step down that road.&nbsp; For the record, GURPS Vehicles contains rules for vehicle design - and I don't think it has more than one sample vehicle.In order to start to design a vehicle you work out its volume in cubic feet.&nbsp; And then use that to obtain the surface area in square feet (the square of the cube root of the volume if you're interested).&nbsp; The surface area then provides the base weight and cost for the internal structure and the armour (depending on the materials you use).&nbsp; Sloping the armour modifies this for each side you slope - as do more complex structures.&nbsp; If you have a multi-part vehicle (specific examples given include wings, turrets, and limbs) then you do this for each part of the vehicle.&nbsp; Step two (I think) is to say how many kilowatts you want your vehicle's power plant to produce (there's a conversion factor for horsepower).&nbsp; You aren't going to find how fast your vehicle can go until you've added the drivetrain (distinct from the engine and added much later in the process), worked out the total weight of this contraption, and run that through various formulae for the accelaration, the cruising speed, the top speed (you also get the fuel efficiency there if you want it) and a few other factors.&nbsp; Assuming the damn thing will handle something resembling safely at that speed.I wasn't kidding about the CAD package for GURPS Vehicles.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Neonchameleon, post: 5420258, member: 87792"] I was less than clear there. I was comparing [I]GURPS Vehicles[/I] to CAD work. Not 3e which was just a step down that road. For the record, GURPS Vehicles contains rules for vehicle design - and I don't think it has more than one sample vehicle. In order to start to design a vehicle you work out its volume in cubic feet. And then use that to obtain the surface area in square feet (the square of the cube root of the volume if you're interested). The surface area then provides the base weight and cost for the internal structure and the armour (depending on the materials you use). Sloping the armour modifies this for each side you slope - as do more complex structures. If you have a multi-part vehicle (specific examples given include wings, turrets, and limbs) then you do this for each part of the vehicle. Step two (I think) is to say how many kilowatts you want your vehicle's power plant to produce (there's a conversion factor for horsepower). You aren't going to find how fast your vehicle can go until you've added the drivetrain (distinct from the engine and added much later in the process), worked out the total weight of this contraption, and run that through various formulae for the accelaration, the cruising speed, the top speed (you also get the fuel efficiency there if you want it) and a few other factors. Assuming the damn thing will handle something resembling safely at that speed. I wasn't kidding about the CAD package for GURPS Vehicles. [/QUOTE]

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