Space Engineers

Space Engineers

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IMDC M-72 Rhino
   
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Type: Blueprint
File Size
Posted
Updated
2.388 MB
1 Mar, 2022 @ 8:24pm
21 Apr @ 3:00am
48 Change Notes ( view )
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IMDC M-72 Rhino

In 1 collection by WardenWolf
IMDC Classic Refits
24 items
Description
Merry Christmas, all! Here's a major update! New beds, new windows, new wheels (short wheel suspensions), improved suspension tuning, better turning, and more! It now has working brake lights, and a pair of hydrogen thrusters at the rear to allow it to ascend slopes that are too steep for wheels alone. Now it can climb mountains! The front bumper has been redone (finally truly satisfied with how it looks). There's also a couple of little Easter eggs hidden in there. I also fixed the artillery turret being so twitchy, and changed its resting angle to 45 degrees which all but eliminates it hitting terrain while driving.

Based on the IMDC M-71 Rhino by JD Horx: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=835533549

The M-72 Rhino is the next generation of the Interstellar Mining & Defense Corporation's wheeled heavy siege / AA platform. The original M-71 Rhino, put into production over five years ago, was beginning to show its age. While the base chassis was sound, Rhino crews increasingly found themselves called on to support exploratory mining operations and provide extended on-site defense. While these roles were within the scope of its core capabilities, the vehicles lacked the facilities for long-term habitation and were also dependent on a constant supply of uranium fuel which could only be obtained from off-planet. This made Rhinos both uncomfortable and expensive to operate.

Further drawbacks were also noted from Rhinos deployed to airless worlds; crews would have to don space suits simply to access other interior sections of the vehicle, as these were not connected via internal passageways. This led to a marked decrease in efficiency, as it took a crewmember in shirtsleeves several minutes to prepare for an EVA. While there were a few one-off modifications and incremental upgrades made over the years that attempted to resolve these issues, it took five years before all the requested changes were finally integrated into one complete package.

The new M-72 Rhino, while built on the same chassis, now features a complete crew berthing and living area suitable for a crew of 5. Furthermore, all interior sections are connected, ensuring crew only need suit up for true outside work. In order to improve sustainability in the field, the uranium-hungry reactor of the M-71 was replaced by a pair of efficient hydrogen engines for which fuel is readily available planet-side.

Just as important, however, were improvements to its mission capabilities. Whereas the M-71 Rhino provided only a single Basic Refinery and Assembler, the M-72 has a pair of each in order to better assist mining and construction crews. Additionally, the craft is now equipped with an Ore Detector, both to aid mining crews and to assist its own crew in locating ice to keep the vehicle fueled.

The weapons package also received a suitable upgrade. The twin Rocket Turrets were replaced with brand new Assault Cannon turrets offering additional range and striking power, and the original fixed forward rocket launcher, of dubious use in combat, was replaced by a newly-developed Artillery cannon in a custom gimbal mount. While the range of movement available to the new turret is rather limited, it is nonetheless useful for bombarding enemy facilities or providing a rude surprise to any enemy that would attack from the front. In an unexpected twist, mining crews also appreciated the new weapon; they frequently call upon their accompanying Rhinos' artillery fire to blast away slabs of useless rock to expose the valuable ore below. Lastly, armor protection was increased over vital areas, providing at least a modest increase in survivability.

The new M-72 Rhinos began to trickle off the production line, slowly at first, then in increasing numbers. As they share the same base chassis, it is possible to upgrade older M-71's into M-72's, but this requires a fully-equipped repair depot as the entire hull is gutted down to the lowest deck. M-72 Rhinos are able to be transported to and from planets via Condor-class vessels, though only V-57a or newer iterations are recommended due to the increased mass of the M-72 upgrade.

Weapons:
2x Assault Cannons
2x Gatling Turrets
1x Artillery in a limited-angle gimbal turret.
1x gimbal-mounted camera to allow for easy targeting

Systems:
2x Hydrogen Engine
1x Prototech Battery
2x Warfare Battery
4x Small Hydrogen Tank
1x Oxygen Tank
4x O2/H2 Generators
9x Small Cargo Containers
1x Small Warfare Reactor (Turned off, for emergencies only; see below).
2x Small Hydrogen Thrusters

Scripts used:
Automatic LCDs 2 by MMaster
Whip's Auto Door & Airlock Script by Whiplash141
MART - Mouse Aimed Rotor Turret by Whiplash141
Isy's Solar Alignment Script by Isy (not used in the usual manner; used to power off the hydrogen engines and only run them to recharge the batteries)


Out-of-character: This was a nearly complete gut and rebuild of the original M-71 Rhino, making it livable inside for an extended period. As the game evolved and new features were added, it became pretty clear that the Rhino, as it was, would honestly just be miserable to be assigned to in reality. It just wasn't livable or practical. But it was a product of the game limitations of the time. So it was rebuilt, keeping the same outer appearance mostly, but updated to modern game and IMDC standards.

The Christmas 2024 update brings a major improvement to the original M-72 upload, with a much nicer interior and much greater mobility. The one major flaw of the Rhino was that it couldn't ascend very steep slopes; the wheel suspensions just weren't up to the task as Keen implemented them. After trying many ways to solve this problem, I finally decided that, since it's hydrogen-powered and has hydrogen tanks to begin with, it would make sense to have a couple of hydrogen thrusters. Think of it like an afterburner; you're using extra fuel for extra power for a limited time. Now it can actually climb mountains.

Happy driving, everyone.

Addendum: Regarding the reactor, this is in case you somehow forget and deplete both your entire battery and hydrogen / ice reserves. Since a fully depleted hydrogen-powered vehicle cannot start itself up, a reactor was installed with an easy-to-expose access port. The reactor is at the very rear of the vehicle, dead center behind the 2x1 sloped portion. Simply grind away this light armor block, put fuel into it, and turn it on. The reactor is excluded from the normal energy management script to ensure you don't accidentally use its fuel up; it has to manually be turned on. It should ONLY be used to drive to the nearest ice field to get more ice.
6 Comments
WardenWolf  [author] 24 Dec, 2024 @ 1:47pm 
Major update posted, along with screenshots. Merry Christmas, everyone!

There are a couple minor Easter eggs in this one. Nothing immersion-breaking, but, well, you'll see.
WardenWolf  [author] 18 Jan, 2023 @ 11:19pm 
I don't remember exactly why I did it. But force feeding by using a sorter has some advantages. Pulling the ammo out of the lower cargo containers preemptively ensures the guns can fire longer if the link is severed. Basically it keeps the max possible ammo is available right at the guns at all times.
eaglegundam 17 Jan, 2023 @ 1:47pm 
ok the sorters where set to the wrong ammo
but still why sorters?
eaglegundam 17 Jan, 2023 @ 1:41pm 
hmm for som reason the turrets aren pulling any ammo
WardenWolf  [author] 21 Dec, 2022 @ 10:28am 
JD Horx was impressed, actually. And he thought the Spider King joke on the TV monitor was hilarious. It's still basically a giant pickup truck but it's now upgraded to modern game standards. When planets were first introduced (and the original Rhino was created), they still had uranium on them, but that was quickly changed. Fortunately, the Rhino actually requires very little power to operate so the hydrogen engine conversion was very easy. It actually runs on battery most of the time, with the engines only kicking on to recharge them. That way it's not wasting ice just sitting around.
Sir Borks-a-Lot 4 Mar, 2022 @ 6:13pm 
And I thought your other refit was great... This one though is even better. I'm really curious what JD Horx has to say about it!