Vehicles

Vehicles, as their name suggests, provide a mean for the survivor to move around much faster than on foot and if equipped with a trunk or box; allow the survivor to store his or her belongings in them.

Unfortunately due to the loud noises their engines make, they can quickly turn into a death-trap should you cruise through a town because of the huge amount of zombies their loudness attracts. Because of acid rains and perhaps the neglect of their previous owners, most of the vehicles found in the streets are either damaged or broken, and this fact can quickly lead to the demise to the unlucky-enough driver of the car should his or her car break down in the middle of a horde.

Common Locations

Automobiles and other kinds of vehicles can be found in many places, such as car lots, garages, and some other places. It will be much more likely for a vehicle to spawn in a car lot than a garage, though, and it is necessary to note that the chances of finding a broken vehicle are higher than a working one.

The first thing you want to check when finding a new vehicle is the amount of gasoline or batteries left (unless it's a bicycle) and if it has enough wheels to move around. That information is displayed when examining the vehicle. With enough fuel and wheels you can start driving that vehicle as soon as you find it, so you can move it to a safer place to be able to enhance it, repair it, refill it, etc without the threat of zombies and other beasts.

Default Vehicles

This is a list of vehicles that you can find in the aforementioned locations:

• Car
• Beetle
• Motorcycle
• Scooter
• Bicycle
• Quad Bike
• Semi Truck
• Truck Trailer
• Flatbed Truck
• School bus
• Wagon
• Bubble Car
• Golf Cart
• Military Cargo Truck

You can also find incomplete versions of some of those vehicles inside garages. In that case they'll be displayed as "<name of vehicle> Chassis".

Driving vehicles

Any character can drive a vehicle independently of his/her driving skill, although the lower the skill is the higher the chance of losing control of the vehicle while driving it.

To control a vehicle you can use either the cursor keys or the numeric pad. Using the numeric pad has the advantage of allowing your vehicle to move forward without any other interaction than pressing 5 once your vehicle is in motion. Otherwise you'll need to either turn or increase/decrease your speed to update the current vehicle position.

To the left of the speed indicator is the skidding display. If the display shows .0., then the wheels are facing the same direction in which the vehicle is moving. If the display shows L.. or ..R, then the vehicle moves to the left or right of the direction it is facing. Try to turn to restore control.

All vehicles have a built-in cruise control device (accessed via $) which allows you to set the desired speed. That will make your vehicle to automatically adjust its speed to match the one you set. When this device is deactivated the vehicle will progressively lose speed unless you increase it manually.

The $ menu also allows you to turn on and off your vehicle's head lights, if they are installed and still functional, and activate and deactivate any installed turret.

Getting out of a moving vehicle (with a speed other than 0) will damage you. The damage is proportional to the current speed of the vehicle.

Press s to use the handbrake. The handbrake is intended to bring the vehicle to a standstill, but if the vehicle is unstable (if it turned recently, for example), it can cause a skid.

Press e to exit the vehicle. Boarding and unboarding a vehicle costs 200 movement points

While the vehicle is moving, you cannot perform some actions (sleeping, reading, construction). To perform these actions, the vehicle must be stopped and the character must disembark. Note that seats are almost as comfortable as beds when it comes to sleeping in a vehicle, making the typical vehicle a good place to spend the night. One-handed firearms can be used while driving a vehicle, although a penalty to accuracy (in the form of a constant addition to recoil) is suffered, with its severity depending on the speed of the vehicle. This penalty is reduced with a higher Driving skill. Non-obstructive parts of the vehicle, such as wheels, can only be hit by bullets if deliberately aimed at.

Light and, particularly, two wheeled vehicles are better suited to road types of terrain. In other types you have a chance of crashing against bushes and other natural obstacles if your speed is too low. This will stop your vehicle dead and, in some cases, throw you into the air (and take damage once you collide). You can also risk getting your vehicle stuck between obstacles, making its recovery extremely tricky.

Vehicle Construction

While it is certainly possible to build your own vehicle, a great amount of materials are needed as well as the following tools:

• A powered welder or integrated toolset
• A wrench or integrated toolset
• A hacksaw (if removing parts)

In order to create a vehicle, in addition to the above tools, a steel frame is required for starting the process. (Access the construction menu * and select 'Start Vehicle Construction'.)

A functioning vehicle requires a minimum of:

• Two wheels
• One seat
• Controls
• Any Engine

Note, that removing initial steel frame is impossible until you remove all other parts.

Many different vehicle designs can be created and optional accessories such as turrets and headlights can also be added.

Vehicles consist of parts, which can be damaged and, eventually, broken. Parts can be external, or internal (which are mounted inside the former). External parts are enclosed in [square brackets], internal parts in -dashes-.

Internal parts which are tagged as 'over' are a special case. They will be enclosed in (round brackets), override the color of the external part, and will function as armor — protecting other parts in this tile from damage (although not infallibly).

Vehicle tiles can be tagged as inside (marked as In) or outside (Out). Inside tiles protect from weather effects, while outside ones don't. To become an inside tile the tile must have a roof, and the adjacent tiles must have either roof or some impenetrable obstacle (like a closed door or windshield).

The mass, top and safe speed, acceleration, fuel consumption, noise and mobility of a vehicle is based on its composition. For example, safe speed is the speed at which engine can pull the mass easily.

You can also install multiple engines in a single vehicle, but you need pretty high mechanics skill to install more than one.

Modifying a vehicle

You can modify your vehicle as long as you have the required components, mechanics skill and tools (loaded welder, wrench and, sometimes, a hack saw).

Characters will refuse to modify a vehicle if their morale is lower than -50.

Removing parts

Select the part you want to remove (by using the cursor keys) and remove it. You'll need a wrench and hack saw (or just integrated toolset) in your inventory or nearby to do this. The removed components will be dropped on the ground, in a tile close to the area the part was removed from.

Successfully removing a part grants 30 skill points to the mechanics skill. If a trunk with items inside is removed, the items will be placed under the player.

Installing parts

Select the area where you want to install something by using the cursor keys and then install it. A list of possible accessories will be displayed in the lower right area. Navigate the list until you find the one you want and press RETURN. Those greyed out are possible installations where you lack the required components.

New parts can be added only to passable non-diagonal adjacent squares. A successful installation grants [part difficulty] * 5 + 20 practice points to the mechanics skill.

Available parts

"Par":

• power for engines (top speed) and solar panel (% of 1 fuel per turn, can be > 100)
• size for wheels, fuel tanks, and trunks
• bonus for seatbelt (str) and muffler (%)

Steel frame, plating, as well as spiked and hard platings can be crafted with welder from lumps and chunks of steel.

Turrets fire automatically at enemies as long as they have ammo. They can shoot at your own car.

		Name	Dm	Du	Par	FT	Item	S	Flags	Note
#	*	seat	60	300	0	0	seat	1	over seat no_reinforce
┘┐┌└^ ┼│─=H	#	frame	100	400	0	0	steel frame	1	external mount_point mount_inner
^	#	handle	100	300	0	0	steel frame	1	external mount_point mount_inner	It's just a decorative and weak frame variant.
┘┐┌ └│─	#	board	100	1000	0	0	steel plating	1	external mount_point mount_inner opaque obstacle
#	#	roof	100	1000	0	0	steel plating	1	internal roof	Only provides protection from rain -acid and normal- when surrounded by other roofs, doors, boards or windshields
+	&	door	80	200	0	0	steel frame	2	external obstacle openable
"	0	windshield	70	50	0	0	sheet of glass	1	over obstacle no_reinforce
-	x	blade	250	100	0	0	itm_blade_comp	2	external unmount_on_damage sharp no_reinforce
|	x	blade	350	100	0	0	itm_blade_comp	2	external unmount_on_damage sharp no_reinforce
.	x	spike	300	100	0	0	itm_knife_combat	2	external unmount_on_damage sharp no_reinforce
0	x	large wheel	50	300	30	0	itm_big_wheel	3	external mount_over wheel mount_point
o	x	wheel	50	200	10	0	wheel	2	external mount_over wheel mount_point
*	#	1L combustion engine	80	200	120	gasoline	1-cylinder engine	2	internal engine
*	#	2.5L combustion engine	80	300	300	gasoline	V-twin engine	3	internal engine
*	#	6L combustion engine	80	400	800	gasoline	Inline-4 engine	4	internal engine
*	#	electric motor	80	200	70	batteries	electric motor	3	internal engine
*	#	large electric motor	80	400	350	batteries	large electric motor	4	internal engine
*	#	plasma engine	80	250	400	hydrogen	plasma engine	6	internal engine
O	#	gasoline tank	80	150	3000	gasoline	metal tank	1	internal fuel_tank
O	#	storage battery	80	300	1000	batteries	storage battery	2	internal fuel_tank
O	#	minireactor	80	700	10000	plutonium	minireactor	7	internal fuel_tank
O	#	hydrogene tank	80	150	3000	hydrogen	metal tank	1	internal fuel_tank
H	#	trunk	80	300	400	0	steel frame	1	over cargo
o	#	box	60	100	400	0	steel frame	1	over cargo
$	$	controls	10	250	0	0	vehicle controls	3	internal controls
/	/	muffler	10	150	40	0	muffler	2	internal muffler	Additional mufflers do nothing.
,	,	seatbelt	10	200	25	0	rope - 6 ft	1	internal seatbelt
#	x	solar panel	10	20	30	0	solar panel	6	over solar_panel	Only charges during sunny skies
t	#	mounted M249	80	400	0	.223	M249	6	over turret cargo
t	#	mounted flamethrower	80	400	0	gasoline	flamethrower	7	over turret
t	#	mounted plasma gun	80	400	0	hydrogen	Boeing XM-P Plasma Rifle	7	over turret
)	)	steel plating	100	1000	0	0	steel plating	3	internal armor
)	)	superalloy plating	100	900	0	0	superalloy plating	4	internal armor
)	)	spiked plating	150	900	0	0	spiked plating	3	internal armor sharp
)	)	hard plating	100	2300	0	0	hard plating	4	internal armor

Flags:

external — can be mounted as external part internal — can be mounted inside other part over — can be mounted over other part mount_point — allows mounting other parts to it mount_inner — allows mounting internal parts inside or over it mount_over — allows mounting parts like cargo trunk over it opaque — blocks sight-line obstacle — unpassable openable — can be opened/closed no_reinforce — cannot be reinforced with armor plates sharp — deals cutting damage instead of bashing unmount_on_damage — when damaged, part is unmounted, rather than broken

roof — covers from weather wheel — this part touches ground (trigger traps) seat — is seat engine — is engine fuel_tank — is fuel tank cargo — is cargo controls — is controls muffler — is muffler seatbelt — is seatbelt solar_panel — is solar panel turret — is turret armor — is armor plating

Vehicle Damage

Vehicles are damaged by colliding against obstacles, by environmental damage (such as acid rain and fire), by the type of terrain you're driving over or just by simple use.

As in real life, the damage suffered by your vehicle is locational. For example, by crashing the front right part of your vehicle against a building you would damage only the front right wheel, front right frame, and any accessories located in that area.

If the current speed exceeds the indicated safe speed (which you can check by examining your vehicle), the chance to damage the engine grows. You'll know if you're exceeding it if the current speed display turns yellow.

Note that you can still drive a vehicle with more than two wheels (such as a car) even if some of them are broken or missing. You can check its mobility status by examining it.

The damage of each part is displayed using a color code, from undamaged to broken:

• Dark green
• Green
• Light green
• Yellow
• Pink
• Red
• Grey

A part will keep being functional until it's grey, which indicates that it's broken and needs a replacement.

Vehicle Repairs

To repair a vehicle you need a loaded welder and a wrench (either in your inventory or nearby), then examine the vehicle and select the part you want to repair by pressing the cursor keys. Once the part is selected you'll be able to repair it if your mechanics skill is equal or higher than the one required.

If a part is colored grey it means that it's broken and you'll need the specified spare part (in your inventory or nearby) in order to repair it.

Finishing a repair grants [part difficulty + 2] * 5 + 20 practice points to mechanics skill

Refilling a vehicle

All vehicles except bicycles need some sort of combustible or power source in order to move. You can check how filled its gasoline tank or batteries are by looking at the fuel indicator. It's displayed as "E../F", where the slash indicates how Empty or Full the gas tank or batteries are (close to E, empty, close to F, full). While mounted you can check it on the lower right corner of the screen. While dismounted you have to examine the vehicle to check it.

Gasoline engines

Gasoline can be found in gas stations and some mines and can be used to fill the gas tank of your vehicle in two ways:

A) examine a gas pump. When prompted say Yes to start pumping and then No when asked if you want to pour it on the ground, then choose any empty container in your possession that is able to hold liquids. You can use anything for this purpose, from a plastic bottle (that only holds 400 units) to a plastic jerrycan (which can hold up to 8000 units of gasoline).

Once you have a recipient filled with gasoline examine your vehicle and search for its gasoline tank. You can find the tank by moving around the vehicle parts by using the cursor keys. Finally Refill it.

B) Move your vehicle next to the gas pump and examine it. When asked if you want to fill your vehicle say Yes, and then press the direction where your vehicle is. Now you can either say Yes to automatically refill the vehicle until its gas tank is full or say No and only fill it a bit. Whatever you decide depends on the situation, as filling a tank from empty to full can take a long time.

Electric engines

Require batteries and/or solar panels installed. Much more silent. Sound not affected by muffler.

Using Vehicle Storage

Stand next to the tile with Vehicle Storage and Drop items into it. This has to be done before you can examine the tile to see or use what's there.

You can store items in any seat, bed, box or trunk present in the vehicle. From all those, trunks are the ones with higher storage capacity. While you can use the driver's seat for storage you won't be able to sit properly to drive your vehicle if it's too packed.

Once the part used for storage has reached its maximum capacity any further items you place there will be dropped on the ground (you'll be warned about it). To recover those objects you have to examine the storage area and say No when prompted. Remember that if you don't pick those objects up again they'll be left lying there once you drive away.