Remote Control
| Remote Control | |
|---|---|
| |
| Function: | Remote controls allow ships to be controlled from a distance when c... |
| DLC? | Vanilla |
| Fits small grid | |
| Mass: | 38.2 kg |
| Hitpoints: | 101 |
| Power: | -0.01 MW |
| PCU: | 25 |
| Size: | 1x1x1 |
| Time to Build: | 14 sec |
| Fits large grid | |
| Mass: | 137.0 kg |
| Hitpoints: | 505 |
| Power: | -0.01 MW |
| PCU: | 25 |
| Size: | 1x1x1 |
| Time to Build: | 30 sec |
| Data Controls: | [purge] (?)) |
The Remote Control (short: RC) block lets you control a drone or shuttle from a distance. You either steer the ship manually using Remote Access or make it use the Autopilot.
Usage
A remote-controlled ship without cockpit and oxygen supply is called a drone.
- Advantages of drones are that they can be cheap, light-weight, and compact. A drone's destruction does not affect the player's health.
- Downsides of drones are their power-dependent antenna range and their limited (fixed first-person) camera view. Also, asteroids load only when players are in viewing distance, drones alone don't see them.
A drone can be either on autopilot or manually remote-controlled by a player.
In general, you can use the remote control to control any owned ship, rover, or station in range, even one that has a cockpit, as long as its main cockpit is currently not in use.
How to remote-control manually
A drone is either stand-alone or docked to your base on e.g. a Connector. The following procedure expects you to be seated in a station with an antenna.
To control a stand-alone drone:
- Press K key to open the station's Control Panel.
- Click Remote Access.
- Identify the drone in the grid list and click Control.
For details, see Remote Access Screen.
To control a docked drone:
- Press K key to open the Control Panel.
- Identify the drone's RC in the block list and click Control.
Warning: When you undock the drone, it becomes a stand-alone grid. You will lose control and need to switch quickly to the Remote Access method. This reset always happens when the drone is smaller than the main grid. As a workaround, introduce a smaller subgrid (e.g. a locked Hinge) between the Connector and the station.
While in control, the player pilots the drone with the same controls as if sitting in the grid's cockpit. The only difference is that you can’t switch to third-person view.
To break the control link and regain control of your engineer, press F key.
If either antenna stops working, or either vehicle moves out of broadcast range, or runs out of power, the link breaks.
How to see where you’re going
If you use the engineers’s suit antenna to remote-control a grid, your view immediately switches to the grid's default camera. But that's a rare exception. Typically you are seated in a grid because you need oxygen, power, and a higher antenna range. In this case, the Control action of the RC block does not change your view automatically.
To see where the drone is going:
- Build a forward-facing camera on the drone.
- Assign the camera to the RC block as default camera.
- Add the camera's View action to the toolbar to be able to switch to the drone's point of view.
Tip: You won’t be able to press V key to switch into third-person perspective, as you can in a cockpit or as the player. The only way to look left and right in a drone is to pitch/yaw the whole drone.
To exit the camera view, press F key. Then press F key once more to close the remote control connection.
How to use autopilot
The remote control block also has an autopilot function that you can activate on any ship you own and whose cockpit is not in use.
You use autopilot to make shuttles, trams, or patrolling defense drones travel back and forth on a track predetermined by waypoints. Autopilot waypoints are also useful to tell a drone to autonomously return to its dock at the station.
For details, see Autopilot.
How RC can replace a missing cockpit
You can always "remote" control the ship you are seated in without building an antenna or camera. This means a passenger seat plus a remote control block can stand in for a (missing or broken) cockpit in a pinch! A common usecase is flying the cockpit-less Drop Pod at the start of the game. Adding a gyroscope is strongly recommended.
Control Panel Screen
General Control options:
- Show on HUD -- Toggle whether the block’s location is broadcast as a HUD signal through an onboard antenna, so you can find it, e.g. to repair it.
- Control thrusters -- Allows or disables thruster control.
- Control wheels -- Allows or disables wheel control. Not available for Autopilot.
- Control gyros -- Allows or disables gyroscope control.
- Handbrake -- Allows or disables handbrake by holding SPACEBAR key.
- Park -- Whether pressing P key puts this Remote Control block in park mode.
- Inertia Dampeners -- Allows or disables the use of Inertial Dampers. Usually you keep it enabled.
- Show Horizon and Altitude -- Toggles whether you can see the artificial horizon while using the remote control camera view.
- Set up Action -- Set up the actions that are triggered when an enemy weapon initiates (or loses) Target Locking on this remote controlled grid.
- Main Remote Control -- Toggles whether this is the primary or a secondary remote control.
- Controlbutton -- Click to initiate a control link for manual remote steering.
- Assigned Camera -- Select a default camera on the same grid. When you remote control the grid via the engineer’s suit antenna, your view switches to that camera.
Optionally, enable Autopilot and configure this drone to automatically travel to selected Waypoints.
For details of the following settings, see Autopilot:
- Autopilot
- Collision Avoidance
- Precision Mode
- Flight Mode
- Forward Direction
- Speed Limit
- Waypoints
- Set up Actions
- GPS Locations
If you are not using the Autopilot, leave these settings as is.
Gallery
Construction
You can build RC blocks on small grid and large grid. It is affordable even in early game. It is 1x1x1 blocks in size and has mount points on all sides.
For this block to work, build it with the correct orientation! The "eye" must be in front and the gap on top. If the controlled grid flies sideways, grind down the RC block and rebuild it the right way round. If rebuilding is not an option, select a different Forward Direction from the menu on the RC block's Control Panel Screen.
Additional Requirements for manual RC
To be manually remote-controlled, the controlling grid and the controlled grid must fulfil the following requirements:
- Both sides must have a powered Antenna owned by or shared with the controlling player.
- The controlled grid must have a Remote Control block that is owned by or shared with the controlling player.
- The controlled grid must have (at least) a front-facing camera.
In a pinch, a player's suit antenna also works on the controlling side, but its range and power are too low to sustain the connection; for real usecases, the controlling player must be seated in a grid. The Autopilot function however does not rely on an Antenna.
Recipe
 Remote Control | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Component | Large Ship/Station Required | Large Ship/Station Optional | Small Ship Required | Small Ship Optional |
 Motor | 1 | — | 1 | — |
 Interior Plate | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
 Construction Comp. | 10 | — | 1 | — |
 Computer | 15 | — | 1 | — |
