Yeah thanks, me also quite excited about this one, thanks for the Chariot idea though, I was dealing with Trucks and Wreckingballs , I am also experimenting with the new networked physics, a little bit also journey into the under the hood of physics in unreal for me.
For now there is not too much source but there is a tutorial , some documents and forum thread going on, its still in development for sure gonna take for a while but its around networked physics.
However in terms of single player and working principles at very very base its the same. There is some modular vehicle examples in engine and already integrated modules, like suspension, aerofoil. In my example I integrated couple of custom modules just to experiment and learn. So far made custom
UVehicleSimArm : This is for heavy machinary it works like hydraulics
UVehicleSimArmFollower: Follower arm component to simultaneously control connected geometry collections relative to parent with different rotations and locations.
UVehicleSimRotator: Basically a rudder, injects/overrides rotations.
UVehicleSimSpring : This works like a spring, can be fake animation only or both, simulates a weight on rigid body uneffected from original rigid bodies actual mass. Has its own stiffness, damping, limits etc responds to angular velocities.
These were just to understand and try to make a pod racer in single vehicle but feels like 2 vehicles. I am eager to connect 2 vehicles and see what happens aswell, would be a stabilization challange for sure can be done though, its matter of force, mass balancing however not sure how its going to act in network.
Interms of making a spring a custom one would be easy. You can just make 4 raycasts (let’s say its 4 wheels) and apply forces on connected physics body at local point in Z direction until it balances in delta (some error margin). Modular vehicle fundamentally the same even I think mover works like that. I used that before in some other engine to make a galleon which is quite nice.
I would recommend making atleast 4 rigid bodies for Chariot since a single collision would be hard to control unless its a ice sledge Chariot which would be ok that time. For the vehicle follower think physics constraint should work.
My overall setup atm
