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Jargon

This is a glossary of un-intuitive terms used by members of RoR community.

Player terms

RoR.log

The RoR.log is a file which contains information from the last session from Rigs of Rods. It is very helpful to attach this file to any support issues or bugs for more information.

A mod

Downloadable game content. The word stands for 'modification', but may describe any content ranging from actually modified vehicles to original and self-contained ones. Maps and other downloads aren't usually referred to as 'mod' directly, but some terms, such as 'mod cache', include them.

A cache (a mod cache)

Local database of downloaded and installed content, generated by RoR on player's computer for faster browsing and loading. Managed automatically, but may occasionally break and require cleanup and re-generation, so called 'cache regen'.

A repo (repository)

A website with downloadable content.

RoRBot

Player-controlled human character, viewed from 3rd person camera by default. It can walk/run/swim and enter vehicles. The name is historical - in the past, RoRbot was represented by various 3d models, the first one being "robot.mesh" which comes with OGRE3D engine.

A truck

May refer to any kind of vehicle or machine in RoR. Historically, RoR only supported heavy trucks and the rig definition fileformat had extension .truck. Later, other vehicle types and other file extensions were added, but the notion of "truck" as any kind of vehicle had stuck.

Caelum

Atmospheric effects software.

FOV

Field of view, defines depth of perspective in 3D scene.

Infraction

A form of punishment on the forums. This is usually for misbehavior or breaking the rules.

OGRE, Ogre, Ogre3D

The 3D rendering engine used in Rigs of Rods.

Content creator terms

Stolen!

This means the mod in question contains elements, in most cases meshes (3d models) which aren't the author's original work. This includes meshes obtained from public repositories, most notably SketchUp warehouse.

More information: Terms of Service#STOLEN CONTENT

Unreleased

Meaning if it is a vehicle, it has no download link and only beta testers have it.

N/B

Node/Beam. This is the skeleton of any vehicle in RoR.

Node

Essentially zero-dimensional ball joints. They occupy no space, but they do have mass. By themselves they can do very little. They exist to provide beams with two points to connect. They also control collision.

A beam

Visible connections between nodes. Beams do not have any mass and do not interact with anything but the two nodes they are connected to. Beams can stretch, compress, and break based on the forces applied to them. The initial length of a beam is the space between two nodes. As a vehicle moves and flexes, the movement of these two nodes forms the force against the beams. Beam is also the physics engine used in Rigs of Rods.

AO, AO Bake

Ambient occlusion, a very significant light/shadow effect used in 3D modelling.

AO baking is the process of automated generation of AO textures.

A cinecam

An user-defined camera attached to vehicle chassis.

A command, a command beam

An user-controlled hydraulic in a vehicle, "command hydro".

Editorizer

Freeware program for making n/b structures.

Flares

Flares are lights in Rigs of Rods. The name refers to their visualization - a 2d flare image, the classic simple depiction of a light source in 3D games.

Props

Meshes that can be added to vehicles that do not have collision.

Flexbody

Flexbodies allow you to make mesh-based vehicles which actually deform with the node-and-beam chassis. This makes for incredible visual detail while still keeping the fantastic deformation physics present in Rigs of Rods.

Fusedrag

A vehicle feature which adjusts aerodynamic properties of the vehicle body/hull. Very important in RoR, greatly affects speed and acceleration.

Rotators

Rotators are alternate commands (Hydros) that allow you to do turntables, like in the base of a rotating crane.

Rollon

Enables collision between wheels and the contactable textured surfaces of a truck.

Ropables

Nodes that can be grabbed to.

SlopeBrake

Fixes the bug, where trucks slowly roll down a slope no matter how much brake-force is applied.