Getting started #

Type Getting Started in your Project's search box and open any of the scenes in the results. You should have Vehicle Physics Pro set up already (See Setting Up VPP).

Getting Started Scenes

If you haven't setup the Unity project yet, you can still download and play the demos

The vehicles in all these scenes typically start with the engine off. For starting the engine:

  1. Press K once for moving the ignition key from "Off" to "Acc-On".
  2. Press and hold K for moving the ignition key to "Start" and actually start the engine.

    ctrl-K moves the ignition key back to the "Off" switching off the engine.

Car controls:

Key(s) Function Notes
K Ignition key - Press once to move from "Off" to "Acc-On".
- Press and Hold for "Start".
- ctrl+K moves the key back to "Off".
LeftRight Steering
Up Throttle
Down Brakes
Shift Clutch These vehicles typically use a Torque Converter, which doesn't require active clutch. Still, the clutch key can be used to completely disengage the engine from the transmission.
Space Handbrake
ctrl+Space Toogle all brakes Handbrake and Brakes are toggled on/off. Useful to leave the completely stopped without pressing Brakes.
R Reverse gear If auto-shift is enabled R requires the vehicle to stop.
N Neutral gear Auto-shift will engage first gear when throttle is applied.
Tab Gear Up Auto-shift might discard the change.
Caps Lock Gear Down Auto-shift might discard the change.
1-5 Engage gear Auto-shift might discard the change and choose a more convenient gear.
Page upPage down Gear mode Select the different gear modes if the vehicle has Automatic transmission (M P R N D). The actual modes may be engaged or not depending on specific conditions (i.e. Reverse requires the vehicle to stop).
B Toggle telemetry data
C Change camera
F1-F4 Select different camera modes
Escape Reset scene
T Toggle slow motion mode

Vehicle setup #

The main component that implements the vehicle simulation is VP Vehicle Controller. The object VPP Pickup in the pickup test scene contains this component with all its settings to play with:

VP Vehicle Controller

The mass of the vehicle is configured at the Rigidbody component.

Wheel properties (radius, mass) and suspension settings (spring, damper) are handled per-wheel at the VP Wheel Collider components:

VP Wheel Collider

Other components #

The other components in the Vehicle GameObject provide different add-on functionalities and features:

VP Vehicle add-on components

VP Standard Input

Reads the user input from the standard Unity Input class, then converts it into input for the vehicle: steering, throttle, brake, etc.

VP Audio

Plays various audio effects based on the state of the vehicle and the wheels.

VP Tire Effects

Triggers the tire-related effects such as marks, trails, smoke, and dust based on the state of each wheel and the underlying Ground Material.

VP Visual Effects

Plays various visual effects such as the steering wheel rotation, brake and reverse lights, and dashboard gauges.

VP Telemetry

Displays a overlay window with detailed numeric data on the wheels and the vehicle. Toggle with the B key.

VP Camera Target Setup

Configures the parameters for this vehicle to be properly looked at with the Camera Controller component, such as minimum distance, view height, and more.

Ground Materials #

The component VP Ground Material Manager manages the ground materials present at the scene.

VP Ground Materials

Each Ground Material defines the material properties such as grip, drag, and the objects used for playing the tire effects (marks, smoke...) on that material.

The ground materials are identified by the Physics Materials assigned to the colliders in the scene. Colliders without Physic Material assigned can also have their Ground Material (Physic Material = none, as shown in the above pic). Note that the friction properties in the Physic Materials don't affect the tire friction.

Camera Controller #

The component VP Camera Controller controls the camera movement based on the target vehicle and several camera modes available.

VP Camera Controller

Now that you know how vehicles work in Vehicle Physics Pro, you can now create and configure a vehicle youself.