Make a ship or heavy vehicle steer in a real curve instead of spinning on the spot

Boats in a harbour or trade game that rotate where they float look like toys. A believable ship needs the turn to come from moving forward, and the curve to get wider with speed. This entry gives a simple steering step with a fixed turning circle and a path that closes up exactly.

Why this works

A hull that can only turn while it moves traces part of a circle, and the circle's size comes from the hull, not from the speed. Faster simply means the same curve is travelled sooner. That gives the player a footprint they can plan around.

When not to use it

Skip it for things that can turn on the spot, such as a tank with tracks, a soldier or a hovering craft. A forced curve would only annoy the player there. Give them a plain turning speed instead.

In the full entry

• What to build, step by step
• Starting values and the reason for each
• 3 common mistakes and the fix
• 29 lines of example code with 4 checks that pass
• How your AI shows you that it works

Say this to your AI

Use the Spielerando entry "Make a ship or heavy vehicle steer in a real curve instead of spinning on the spot" (read_entry ship-turns-in-a-circle-that-depends-on-its-speed) in my game. Build it step by step, and show me how you checked that it works.

Or skip this and connect the MCP: your AI then finds all of this by itself.Connect the MCP