Vehicle Building Guide (Basics)

This guide is overview how vehicles are generally made. This is not detailed article per type, there is links to articles how to build specific vehicles listed below. This is for the basic rundown.

## Overview

Navycraft allows for players to construct modern vehicles, However due to it's origins the vehicle tend to mimic vehicles build during and just after World War II.
So there are only five major types of vehicles created for Navycraft. However, its possible to mimic such vehicles using other methods.

So this guide will go over basic things you need to make your vehicle of choice.

## How To Build Per Type of Vehicle

* How to Build: Ships - Vehicle that can operate on top the water.
* How to Build: Submarines - Ship that can operate Underwater
* How to Build: Aircraft - Conventional Flying Minecraft Vehicle
* How to Build: Helicopters - Vertical Launching Flying Minecraft Vehicle
* How to Build: Tanks - Ground-based Minecraft Vehicles

## Basics

* All minecraft vehicles requires three basic things to function. Vehicle Control Sign, Engine Signs, and blocks to build it with.

* Blocks found on navycraft server are assigned a weight. Using measurement of tons to measure weight.

* A vehicle control sign is always placed with the back of the sign facing direction the vehicle will travel.

* All vehicles can't use a list of Illegal Blocks on them, which causes Navycraft to break when you go to use it in some manner. Typically these are blocks made out dirt, sand (all types), stone, water, lava, powder, gravel, Air blocks, Piston blocks, and so forth. These are basically natural base blocks. non-solid blocks, or in some cases blocks not encoded into Navycraft. Look at the Illegal blocks link for further details.

* This is the overview of all weapons used on navycraft servers. Guide to: Vehicle Weapons

Below is information regarding specific blocks that are essential and items needed to make a specific vehicle function. Also certain things needed done to make it operate as intended.

### Ships

* Water Proofing
The main water-based vehicle, Ships operate on the water. To function bottom half of ship needs to be water proof, so no holes below the bottom the ship.

* Ships need Air Pockets to Float
Depending on size of the vehicle, there needs to be air pockets at the bottom of this vehicle to float.Buoyancy (Sign) will show the user what true weight of the vehicle is, and if it's too heavy.

* Vehicle Sign needs face right way
A vehicle control sign is always placed with the back of the sign facing direction the ship will travel.

* Engine vs Weight : Engine Signs need to have enough power to move the total weight of the vehicle. This also allows for the vehicle reach the maximum speed of the vehicle itself.

### Submarines

Submarines can operate on the water and below it, for this to work you need in additional things besides the Vehicle Control for the Submarine.

* Switching from Surface to Underwater
You need a Subdrive sign, this acts as a switch so submarine may be readied to dive underwater.

* Correct Engines for Underwater Use
Only Certain Engines work underwater, while on top the water any engine may be used. However, only Motor 1, all Diesel Engines, and Nuclear will work while submarine being driven underwater. Any other engine intended for ships, not listed for submarines will be shut off while submarine's "Subdrive" sign is switch to Electric.

* Virtual Water Tanks : Like real submarines, Minecraft Submarines use End Stone (not brick) to act as a water tank to allow a submarine to drive underwater. These will not switch on automatically, a "Ballasttanks (Sign) must be added to the submarine so it will gain weight in endstone blocks for submarines go underwater properly. All vehicle blocks have weight, however, if the not enough endstone on the submarine or the Battasttanks sign is not set to "flood' the submarine will not gain enough weight to dive and stay underwater.

* Can't See Where I'm going! : While not essential, you need a Periscope. Periscope is combination of Sign and blocks placed together. This will allow a player driving vehicle to temporary pop up above the vehicle while it's underwater, if the top of the periscope is above the water. Periscopes are always the tallest structure on the ship unless its used for other things.

* Engine Signs need to have enough power to move the total weight of the vehicle. Check the weight the submarine with Buoyancy Sign.

### Aircraft

Aircraft are the fasted vehicles found on the server. However they have special requirements to work. They have a fixed total amount of blocks they can have before being able to use.

* Restricted Blocks
While depending on what your server is used for. Solid blocks such as Iron, Obby, and other strong blocks are not allowed on Airvehicles. This is due to making impossible to destroy this vehicle. Private servers will find navycraft is programmed not allow certain blocks to work on it. See the "Restricted Blocks" in the Illegal Block link.

* Regular allowable blocks
Slab stones (except for sandstone types), stain clay, Terracotta, wood, glass, wool, etc work on vehicles.

* Special Engines for Aircraft : Only Airplane 1 through 8 engines will work on air vehicles.

### Helicopters

Helicopters are air vehicles that allow in any direction except for underwater or directly on the ground. They do NOT need engine signs, but they are very slow. While they do not need any different blocks than the Aircraft vehicle. Engines attached to them, will only move vehicle slightly faster than a vehicle in gear 1.

### Tanks

Ground base vehicle, no special blocks are needed.

* Special Engines
Like Aircraft, Tanks use special Engines. Tank 1 and Tank 2. Which have different costs.
No turrets
Due to size of Tanks, usually Tank1, Full turrets do not work on tanks. These break the vehicles's weapons should it have a Cannons or Missiles.