Free Starter Dirt Bike Quick Start and Upgrade Path

The public free starter path for Vehicle MC should stay intentionally narrow.

For the free version, build around one vehicle family first: a dirt bike. That is enough to teach new server owners how Vehicle MC feels without forcing them to solve four-wheel rigs, helicopters, tanks, or the combat bridge on day one.

The rest of this wiki still documents the broader Vehicle MC stack. Those advanced pages are here as a reference and upgrade lane, not as a promise that every reference vehicle ships in the base free pack.

What belongs in the free starter pack

Keep the free starter pack focused on:

• one dirt bike family
• one public variant
• one catalog entry
• one readable HUD or bossbar setup
• one clean pickup or storage loop
• optional fuel if your server actually wants it

Leave these for the broader reference lane:

• four-wheel native rigs
• hybrid ModelEngine body rigs
• tanks and heavy platforms
• helicopters and planes
• Duck Shot bridge and armed-vehicle systems

The dirt bike family to learn first

The current source example that teaches this lane best is dirtbike_steering_parts_v2.

Start by understanding the movement layer:

dirtbike_steering_parts_v2:
  controller: GROUND
  physics:
    landAirborne:
      massKg: 220.0
      lipBoost: 1.25
      safeLandingVy: 1.60
    ground:
      accel: 0.035
      brakeDecel: 0.03
      coastDecel: 0.006
      maxSpeedForward: 1.5
      maxSpeedReverse: 0.35
      bankTilt:
        enabled: true
        maxRollDeg: 27.0
        smoothing: 0.30
      terrainTiltMaxPitchDeg: 24.0
      terrainTiltSmoothing: 0.50
      terrainTiltProbeFactor: 1.75

How to read that:

• lipBoost is part of the jump or ramp feel
• safeLandingVy decides how hard a landing can be before it starts feeling punishing
• bankTilt gives the bike a visible lean when cornering
• terrainTilt* helps the bike read hills, dips, and jump faces instead of staying visually flat

That one block already gives new server owners a feel for why Vehicle MC can do more than a simple mount plugin.

The free dirt bike rig pattern

The same dirt bike example also teaches the basic native rig flow:

rig:
  parts:
    - id: handlebars
      modelItem: minecraft:rabbit_hide{CustomModelData:504}
      offset: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      rotation: [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]
      steeringYaw:
        enabled: true
        maxDeg: 19.0
        smoothing: 0.35
        invert: true
        pivot: SELF
 
  wheels:
    - partId: front_wheel
      offset: [0.0, 0.05, -0.25]
      pivotOffset: [0.048125, -2.1140625, 2.329196]
      radius: 0.32
      spinEnabled: true
      spinAxis: X
      steer:
        enabled: true
        invert: true
        maxDeg: 19.0
        smoothing: 0.35
        pivot: ROOT
        pivotOffset: [0.0, 0.2, 2.41]
 
    - partId: rear_wheel
      offset: [0.0, 0.05, -0.35]
      pivotOffset: [0.048125, -2.1140625, -1.945804]
      radius: 0.32
      spinEnabled: true
      spinAxis: X
      steer:
        enabled: false

This is the clean beginner pattern:

• the handlebars are a normal rig part that visually yaw with steering input
• the front wheel both spins and steers
• pivot: ROOT on the front wheel makes the wheel move with the steering column instead of only turning in place
• the rear wheel only needs spin, not steering

That is why the dirt bike is the right free-version teacher. It already shows input-driven parts, wheel spin, steering, jump feel, and terrain response without forcing new admins into a much heavier four-wheel setup.

What a good free starter release should feel like

Before expanding beyond the dirt bike, make sure these are true:

1. The bike spawns cleanly from one catalog entry.
2. Entry and exit feel obvious.
3. HP, fuel, and pickup or storage rules make sense.
4. The front assembly looks connected when you turn.
5. Jumps and landings feel intentional instead of chaotic.

If the dirt bike still feels confusing, adding helicopters or tanks will only make the confusion worse.

Upgrade path after the free dirt bike

Once the dirt bike feels finished, the next lanes are:

• advanced Rig Examples: Dirt Bikes, Jeeps, Tanks, Helicopters, and Input-Driven Parts
• rig Backends, Display Parts, Wheels, and ModelEngine
• native Wheels, Suspension, Axles, and Hybrid ModelEngine Rigs
• rig Debug Commands, Pivot Tools, and Live Diagnostics

Those pages cover the broader reference stack:

• four-wheel vehicles
• hybrid ModelEngine bodies
• heavy or tank-like bodies
• helicopters
• premium or server-specific expansion content

Related pages

• install and First Boot
• core Config, Runtime, and Rig Backends
• vehicle YAML Authoring Order, File Splitting, and Starter Fleet Planning
• vehicle Bases, Controllers, Stats, Seats, and Hitboxes