In this guide i will try to explain how to build a fun to master T3 hybrid vehicle, that doubles up as a rapid thruster sled on the ground, and as an unusual single wing plane in the air: the katana.


just imagine the aerofoil also being an energy sword with melee damage.... make it a near reality and equip a nanotech disruptor! though it still doesnt make your wing glow :(

some neat things:
- no flip module required; flip with your aerofoil and thrusters
- easy drifting and high speed on (rough) ground
- redundancy; still sorta works as long as you have the wing, and 2 forward thrusters
- no helium, VTOL, and unusual air acrobatics; fly like a hot knife through butter, hit harras run.
- this frame is great for support (and defense); is a plane, is a tank.
- your shadow will look awesome when you spawn

some lesser things:
- (air) controls can become very confusing at high speeds
- inverted AD steering because of vertical building style, and the aerofoil
- relatively squishy; using the katana is all about the art of not getting hit (too much).
- limited module options; this design is sensitive to balance changes.


Some people say the katana is one of bob's new prototypes that got intercepted by the NSA, as rumors go that he has seeked asylum in japan, and is secretly setting up social network propaganda in preparation of a bloody rebellion, against robocraft standards (and against the rarely seen small vehicle purists), with allies from around the world.

a picture supposedly confirming the rumors; bob siding with local rebels in japan and aiming his SMG at a police helicopter, though authenticity of the image still has to be verified

The exact facts are unclear and shrouded in mystery, what about the prototype? is it even built for terrorism? did bob steal the prototype from someone else? who are those so called allies? did someone play with bob's memories of the traumatic youtube days, to manipulate him into recuitment? is there still a secret ascii tank devision? well..... only bob knows... only bob.

This "tank" is built using the vertical technique, use any cubes/vertical-compatible turret you like for the frame but i recommend to use the exact components for all the other things, because these hybrid sleds seem to have huge balancing issues.

total block budget:
9x cube - any tier you like, will become the core frame
1x vertical compatible turret - I prefer the t6 SMG/nanotech disruptor on this frame
6x T3 thrusters - interchangeable with T4 thrusters, results in small balance change
3x T2 thrusters
1x aerofoil T5
1x pilot seat


start by building a simplified "Y" from 8 cubes like in the picture


add the T5 aerofoil on the underside of the Y like in the picture, handling will become unpractical if you don't make the grey band face backwards.
On the ground the aerofoil will stabilize your movement, In the air it will make you fly (but i guess you already figured that :P).



add 4 T3 thrusters, and 2 T2 thrusters like in the picture.



add a cube on the junction of the Y frame, and add 2 T3 thrusters on the sides of the new cube, and a final T2 thruster above the aerofoil like in the picture, to finish the total propulsion and control section.
the small thrusters will control pitch, the forward thrusters main thrust, and the thrusters above the pilot seat low speed steering.


how you add the turret might not seem very important, but i discovered it is in the case of this specific type of vehicle, you need to mount your turret pointing sideways like in the picture, this frame will become unsteerable for some reason if you place a turret pointing upwards or downwards.


finally, add the pilot seat on the cubes connected to the turret and it's done.

Vertical building, and addition of the aerofoil results in an alternated control scheme
Thruster sleds come with 6 usable thruster groups: W,S,A,D,LSHIFT and SPACE, in this vehicle LSHIFT will be main thrust, WS pitch and AD roll/yaw/steering depending on air or ground use.
I haven't used space as there's no reverse thruster group in this vehicle (space becomes reverse because of vertical building).

Although this design is mostly a thruster sled, the added aerofoil required the AD thrusters to be inverted, so A will be right and D will be left.

ground handling:
Use your WS thrusters to land with your turret up after the spawn timer is over/if you need to flip, AD is steering, LSHIFT is main thrust.
The AD thusters will do most of the steering at low speeds, the aerofoil takes over at high speeds and kind of "locks" you around your direction vector; enabling you to do long and stable drifts.

drifting
Gain straight line speed, and then tap A or D to vector main thrust in bursts, regular thruster sleds have a very twitchy response and require detailed taps, but on this hybrid frame the aerofoil will keep you stable when you don't touch A or D.

race mode? i'm ready for it!
Drifting also helps when you want to heal allies in battle with the nanotech disruptor, it makes you harder to hit and a good distraction in crossfire

locked drifts at top speeds (on flat ground)
Keep holding LSHIFT to reach max straight line speed, and tap A or D to vector main thrust, if you keep on tapping gently in one direction you'll drift in a large circle and go a bit faster, if you then hold that thruster and the main thrust, you'll lock in a fast and long drift.
Modify the drift by letting go of the AD thrusters or using the opposing AD thruster, end the drift by tapping W to give the front wing a bit of air, directly followed by A or D.

a locked drift on perfectly flat ground, note how i briefly activated the W thruster to angle the wing up so i could turn freely again, and end the drift.
Also use this technique if you still lock in slow corners, it'll make life a bit more easy on the ground when you need to dodge fire, or make a sharp turn.

air handling:
Point the wing up with W, hold LSHIFT for main thrust to take off in any angle you like, AD will now do roll or yaw, depending on the pitch angle of your vehicle during flight.
Steep angles will make you go high but slow, low angles will give you great forward speed and AD control, but make you rush to the ground if sustained for too long (use this for dive/surprise attacks).

flying in awkward directions works best to avoid a lot of long range fire, and diving really becomes useful with the nanotech disruptor equipped.

during "jumps", or quick (ground>)air>ground transitions
Practise to always land with your turret up, this way the "air" will rush along the wing in the right direction so your AD controls stay like they are, that'll make it more easy to descend with insane speed/control at your unsuspecting enemy.
It's not too bad if you land upside down, but then remember to act quick and use thrusters to flip yourself.

You know you've lost control when the katana drives you! when it does, decrease speed to shift control from the wing back to all the thrusters, and if you still end up on your turret... flip with the help of your smaller thrusters, like I did in this video

- the katana really seems to like the mars maps, where there's a lot of flat and slightly bumpy surface, and space for longer drifts, switch to air play if the terrain seems to bog you on specific maps.

- never give up in a fight as long as at least two forward thrusters, your turret and the wing are intact, they can still make you function as a steerable thruster sled on the ground, if you go fast enough.

- these hybrid sleds appear to be tricky when it comes to adding modules, they are sensitive to balance changes, so i prefer to fly/drive without modules to maximize the focus weight and balance on the seat and thrusters, but you can just make it work with a jammer module on the underside.
Channel your inner samurai when you go into honourable module-less battle.... become one with the sword... make it flow you through the sky like rp in T10!

- the katana makes up in (air) speed and agility where it lacks in modules, fancy acrobatics make being spotted in the air and having no radar almost no issue, you can literally tank sattelites after some practise, and on rare occasions even do 1v1's against bigger targets, or hit & run dive attacks behind enemy lines with the nanotech disruptor... as long as you keep on moving.

- even though this vehicle relies completely on air components, you should watch out when you try to pull high speed drifts on ice, main thrust will work but high speed handling will have issues, and you'll more likely stall in drifts, wich makes a you fast but predictable target on the ground.

- the katana can take off and fly straight up, though if it hits the map's ceiling it won't stick there like other thruster based vehicles, and you'll have to balance the wing like a very long stick on your hand if you (really) want to stay there in one place.

- if you want to experiment and take this concept to higher tiers, feel free to modify this for more turrets and modules, but so far i've found only a few specific configurations to make this type of vehicle work in a stable way, and this one of them.


here is a sneak peak of an improved hybrid sled i'm currently testing on, it's smaller, it can hover in the air like a sattelite, fly like the katana, house extra modules and high tier thrusters, but is still very unpredictable on the ground (it likes backflips).
building details will be included here when i've come to something reasonably stable

well, another guide done... GL HF!

no.. you shall play the song of my people![soundcloud.com]