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FRHV11 HoverDriller

Mod/Scenario - None (Vanilla)


The eleventh in my "First Run Hover Vehicles" series, the HoverDriller is a two-seat, tier 2 CPU mining HV with 4 mechanical drills, a drill turret and an 8k SU Ore & Wood container.

This HoverDriller is lifted by a whole bunch of Large Hover Engines, with 4 on by default down the sides of the vehicle and 4 more nearer the centreline set to the "MiningMode" Signal Toggle (which also turns the default ones off), plus 4 Small Hovers turned on by the "MaxLift" Shortcut.
It also comes with: a detector; a 375 SU Ammo Container; 3 small cargo boxes; a Wi-Fi; a mini fridge. The power generation is provided by two normal generators, fed by five large fuel tanks. The HoverDriller is armed with two Gatling Turrets for drone and predator defence.

It is possible to replace the Mechanical Drills with Laser Drills and add an additional Power Generator - probably beneath the Drill Turret - and still be within or close to the Tier 2 CPU limit, but if you wish to also upgrade the thrusters and need to install T3 CPU Extenders, you can remove the T2 Extended plus the steel block above it along with the small Cargo Box and steel block in the mirroring location on the other side to make space for the T3 Extenders. If more power is then needed, removing the 2 Carbon Composite blocks beneath the Ammo Container Extensions will leave you with space for a sideways mounted large Generator.
- NOTE - any Mini Fridges on board come turned off by default.

- NOTE - since recording the tour video I have learned that you do not need to quadruple the vehicle's mass when calculating the lift capacity in 4G.
I can confirm that, in 4G with Max Lift ON, it will lift ~101.9 (metric) tons, and with a vehicle mass of 22.1t, the hover engines will lift a further ~79.8t.
Also, these figures DO NOT take the new (June 2025) lift thrusters into account - so if you're struggling to carry any weight in a high G environment, remember that you can drive around with "MiningMode" on for extra lift capacity.

- NOTE - since taking the screenshots above, the 2 LCD Projection HUD screens for the driver have been combined into a single HUD, and some lift thrusters have been added to the underside of the rear.





Body = Steel.
Deck Plating/Floor = Carbon Composite.
Armour = None.
Turning the 'Power Save' custom signal on turns the following devices off:
Wi-Fi; Right Generator; Holoprojection "Device & Signal Toggles" Info Screens.
The hazard beacons atop the HoverDriller come on automatically when using the "Drills" Custom Shortcut.
Video - How To Turn Off Wimp's Blinking Lights


Originally part of the "Open-Cockpit Utility Hover Vehicles" series, prior to the full release of Empyrion. Finally updated Dec 2022 Aug 2023 (see Tour video XD).

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