The Spectacular Engineering of the Hellpod | Helldivers 2

[@1stColonialRegiment]

DISCLAIMER: I made an error during the production of this video. Video editing and essays are still a skin I'm growing into. I stated the average height of a human to be 176 cm, and 5'7". That is not true. Well I was playing with human height indexes, I must have mistaken 5'7" for 5'9" and converted to metric accordingly. Well this difference is near insignificant, it is an error nonetheless. Going forward, mentally note that any mention of 5'7", is actually 5'9". I do intend to update this video with the appropriate information in time. Please do not contact your Democracy Officers and report that we have been spreading misinformation. That means you digested misinformation, which the Ministry of Truth would not look fondly upon.

[@realamericanman]

@@1stColonialRegiment 5’7” seems pretty average to me right? I’m not short, am I?

[@Skullguy-w7b]

😃😃😃

[@VenetinOfficial]

I shall add a point of reference that may or may not actually change your entire perspective. Helldivers are, in fact, NOT an average human and this stands true for both the Brawny and Slim body types in-game. When commencing the "Emergency Evacuation" type missions, you are greeted with a chance to compare the height of a standard Helldiver unit with that of the SEAF engineers. It's documented that both Helldiver body types are, in fact, about half a head taller or more on average, even when compared to the male engineers. If we relegate the average male height to the engineer instead (making the male engineer 5'9"), the standard Helldiver unit would likely rest at bare minimum 6'0". I would like to assume that, with the cryogenic delivery system for each Helldiver unit, we are likely genetically enhanced, even if in a minor way, to provide the needed stamina and strength to be dropping into battle with an aggressive entrance, but that is entirely speculative. Still, something about Helldivers or the Hellpods is reducing the fatal impact down to a simple shock. Another plausible, and more likely to be implemented solution is a impact-activated stimshot. We see clearly that the Helldiver stimshots are able to near instantly mend outright broken limbs and internal hemorrhaging with one application, so it stands to suppose that the Hellpod administers medication at the point of impact to counteract the effects of aggressive entry onto the battlefield, and they'd only need to use this for the Helldiver, which can let them save costs when they'd inevitably recycle to dropped Hellpod.

[@GorillaShower]

@@VenetinOfficial And another thing to note is one tooltip references the Ministry of Humanity which is responsible for a number of fields governing quality of life such as education and, notably, "Gene management." I wouldn't put it past the Ministry manipulating the gene pool for couples to produce viable helldiver patriots.

[@tigrex_gamer]

Well according general brash from the tutorial of the game, Helldivers might actually all be about 7 feet tall. Towards the end of the tutorial he states: “You remind me of a younger me, fearless, invulnerable , and 7ft tall.”

[@rahu5467]

general brash is in that 3 foot gap personally protecting every diver from fatal injuries while hellpodding

[@TTSP907]

I imagine it might be called something closer to “Hell Jumping”

[@arcticalt4709]

Guys... Come on... It's called HELLDIVING

[@armorhide406]

Virgin propaganda 7' tall General Brasch: You remind me of me! Gigachad manlet 3' tall General Brasch: LIBERTY PROTECTS!

[@PaRaDOX-de8bk]

@@armorhide406 their both chads, their just identical twins, except one got all the height

[@beanie.weanie]

General brasch one time took out 3 walkers, he was then unfrozen and ready to drop

[@DaMedicWhoSezNi]

I bet it slows you down just enough so you don't instantly die, then stims you to fix all the broken bones and bleeding. That would also explain any short invunuribilty experienced after exiting.

[@chrisca]

That makes sense

[@ovencake523]

thats hilarious, they should change your HP to reflect this in game maybe give you a temporary immortality vs just a normal stim tho

[@omicrondelta7327]

nah we just jump last second before hitting the ground

[@ConnaKazie.]

Did someone say Super Stim 😮

[@soundcloudpandapandawa2997]

There's an upgrade for the Eagle where they use a gas which helps reduce inertia. Hence why the Eagles are able to go from sub orbital to atmospheric flight back to Sub Orbital at such insane speeds and in short time. The gas makes it possible for Helldivers to be literally shot out by their Super Destroyer's, the Hell pod is launched breaks through the planets atmosphere and then proceeds to engage rear thrusters/ Air breaks, pod lands and the hatch opens and bam Helldiver on the battlefield.

[@LtCWest]

Id like to think that the use-case of Hellpods are determined based on their level of wear and tear. Fresh-out-of-the-factory pods are exclusively provided to the Helldivers themselves. Once a certain threshold of microfissures and battle damage is reached, those Hellpods are relegated to deploying electro-mechanical devices, such as sentrys of varying types, shield generators, extraction beacons, thumpers and mining sample drills. After that would be simple equipment drops, such as strategem weapons and backpacks with ammo drops being the final role before they are either salvaged for scrap or deployed with Hellbombs. At least Im fairly certain that a Hellbomb detonation would be enough to completely melt the pod that it came in on.

[@1stColonialRegiment]

@LtCWest that's such an accurate perspective of how the life of a Hellpod goes. I suppose I never quite considered that a well worn pod would be useful for the delivery of Hellbombs. Keep on theorizing brother. This is the sort of stuff we need to think about more often!

[@lysandercroix]

This needs more likes. That’s such a realistic theory.

[@jerrypotterman6765]

That’s why there’s a bunch of malfunctioned hellbombs signed by civilians

[@asakayosapro]

@@jerrypotterman6765 'Pesticide' 'From Super Earth with love' 'Fragile' 'Handle with care'

[@omegaprime223]

@@jerrypotterman6765 Probably not civilians, soldiers have long adorned bombs and artillery shells with simple artwork and quips. It's a kind of premature trench art, which itself is a coping mechanism to the horrors of war.

[@Gaelic-Spirit]

An upgrade for the Eagle adds a force absorbing liquid to the cockpit that allows Eagle one to resupply faster because the pilot can survive higher G forces and so can fly with more intense manoeuvres. I imagine hellpods use the same liquid to help divers survive. This module is called Liquid-Ventilated Cockpit

[@ultimor1183]

You’re right! It’s called “Hydrogel” and it’s described in one of the upgrades as a “Shock-absorbing liquid”

[@zssdfounder4607]

While you have a point I sincerely doubt that they use this liquid in the Hellpod, based on the fact the cockpit is flooded with the stuff so that it can assist the pilot of Eagle 1 that means that it is designed to function via occupying the space the operator or passenger is in. When the hellpod lifsts the diver up we see no liquid being pushed out or even small puddles on its surface to indicate a liquid was in the pod also ev3n if you argued that the liquid was drained from the occupants chamber into the pods lower section it would have to be significantly compressed and this would also create a negative pressure in the pod that is then rapidly recompensed by the plants atmosphere violently rushing in on the diver that is emerging from said pod crushing him down. Ever try lifting a absolutely packed trash bag out of its can and feeling the obscured resistance? That's not just friction that's our atmosphere pressing down on the bag due to a negative atmosphere being made under the bag as you try to force it out...

[@asakayosapro]

@@zssdfounder4607 Newtonian fluid, stiff with hard sharp fast forces, but flows easily otherwise. Cushion under the Helldiver inside the pod might be slightly different and have a lot of deceleration travel to absorb impact shock. It can also be possible that they are seated inside in some awkward position as to fit, but also to maximize impact cushioning, and the dive suit and Newtonian fluid combined accomplish this. Upon impact, the Newtonian fluid is drained into the hellpod, freeing the diver to pop up and do business. There is enough space inside the pod to fit all the fluids for this process, though it may involve a pressure pump to fill, and subsequently quench the superheated-from-reentry pod, both the bottom and up its sidewalls or shell. Since the area where the fluid goes is sealed, there is no smoke nor steam. Hellpod space optimization is probably some structural adjustments made to allow divers to have space for more throwables and more magazines for their weapons on their person. The real question is how this is implemented on the fly as a booster across the entire squad... eh, well, best not to think about it too much. Wonders of nanotechnology, and all that.

[@0V3RLO0K]

It most likely contains the shock-absorbing tubes mentioned in Helldivers 1 encyclopedia description "Helldivers drop into battle using the iconic Hellpods, shock-absorbing tubes that break the atmosphere at extreme velocities only to crack the ground when they open to reveal their heroic cargo." or atleast a form of it.

[@glasses2926]

The issue is that getting in/out of this liquid is a very lengthy process. It requires filling the lungs with this liquid and constantly circulating the gases within it or the liquid itself to get in, and entirely draining the liquid and inserting air in its place before getting out. If your diver used this on the way down, they'd spawn with a lung full of liquid that is now disconnected from the liquid ventilation system and choke to death pretty quickly.

[@Planterobeets]

I am still baffled at how we can go right through a Bile Titan’s spine without breaking it in half.

[@robertgl9079]

Besides the game being buggy and we just no clip through the Bile titans body my headcannon and explanation is that the curve shape on the armor of the titan deflects the hellpod, like a ricocheting bullet also since the Helldiver doesn't die on the sudden stop and their internal organs doesn't collapse, it slows down before impact enough for titans and factory striders to resist it

[@silvergamer7250]

Game ballence

[@SBcard]

The more moving parts, the more something will likely go wrong. You add too many segments to a model, and it'll behave terribly with a physics system. Not that it's impossible, but i can imagine it's pretty difficult, especially given the size of the titans.

[@Planterobeets]

@@SBcard You can land on Factory Striders with a Hellpod; Factory Striders parts are more complex than Bile Titans. No one likes phasing through a Bile Titan’s body like it is made of clouds

[@SBcard]

@Planterobeets Factory striders are rigid. Their body isn't meant to "act" biological when it comes to physics. Factory Striders are not more complex. The entire torso stays rigid, with the only moving parts being the legs, feet, and head. A bile titan might have 12 separate segments on its torso alone meant to "experience" physics or behave more like a biological tissue. A lot of game design is making things work because our technological limitations don't always allow for even near perfect physics simulation. Once again, it's probably not impossible, but I can guarantee you that even without digging through the models, files, hit boxes, or physics engine, it's significantly more difficult.

[@frogova_xyz]

plot twist: theres a seat inside the hellpod, the stepping in and and coming out standing is just part of the illusion of being a helldiver

[@faessle4067]

rule of cool

[@heyyou9472]

further on: headcanon is that the seat you're talking about is just the foot clamps folding/rearranging to fit the diver like an overengineered folding chair

[@ranimdude]

Im pretty sure theres a hellpod exit animation, like where the helldiver is being brought up, where they go from crouching to standing up. Its just subtle tho

[@burgest6351]

It’s actually a built in toilet for the ‘soiling yourself’ part of landing he was talking about in the video.

[@armorhide406]

@@burgest6351 I shit for democracy!

[@nathans8938]

Swapping out the penetration cap could be the exact mechanism that the fire hellpod booster uses

[@Vergil9O]

To say nothing of the *miracle* that is a 100% deployment success rate. The pods *never* malfunction. Militaries would weep with joy.

[@mylowthemute]

Imagine having a failed launch and you're just dead immediately or can't extract because you're stuck

[@boofe7206]

​@@mylowthemute all that gets pushed up by the little elevator is a puddle of raspberry jam

[@fate3071]

I've died while the hellpod was deploying before. Got caught by something happening around the drop zone and never got to leave the pod

[@boris32231]

Around some planets there are malfunctioning pods, I've personally seen one on an automaton planet, so probably not a 100% success rate, but the perfentage is overwhelmingly high

[@empty5013]

you only see the perspective of soldiers who's pod hits the ground

[@Laikafan02]

0:25 in HD1, Helldivers had to climb out of the pod itself

[@jacksentertainmentsystem3190]

Proof that our designs have improved since the first galactic war

[@JayvanX1]

Quite literally the only technological enchantment since then

[@shirokatatsu5886]

​@@JayvanX1yeah we still have to reload our orbital by.....insert the orbital into the front of barrel until you upgrade it.....

[@ExValeFor]

@@JayvanX1 hell no. you had to literally radio in your stratagems in HD1. your character would carry around a massive brick radio, antenna and all, and then throw the orb. we have since then upgraded to touch pads

[@fernando47180]

​​@@jacksentertainmentsystem3190 You say that, yet it's sad to see that the human element of the force isn't what it once was. Back in the day, during the first galactic war, we had no "deployment budget". If there was a reinforce beacon down, you could rest assured that a full set of replacement Helldivers would drop without a minute's notice, even including your own replacement, if you dialed the call-in moments before your demise. It wasn't a rare sight for a single retaliation mission (or "eliminate/eradicate" missions, as they are called today) to cost several dozens of divers, or even hundreds, if the divers were swift enough to dial their reinforcement call-ins; and this abundance of willing recruits was often a crucial factor to the success of many operations. It is true that the new generation armament has fancier stratagem beacons, and Hellpods that can be manually steered, which is a nice detail; but I'd rather have one thousand Helldivers with their pods primed and ready, instead of twenty fancy hi-tech pods. If you can't climb out of your pod, and dial another reinforcement beacon in two seconds (which was approximately the amount of time you had before a Cyborg butcher would, quite literally, saw you in half), you wouldn't have made it far in the high-risk operations of the First Galactic War. (Note: any hint of elitism is only there for comedic and flavor purposes. I welcome all Helldivers, no matter the skill level)

[@thepersonyeah9680]

2:38 that’s when the diver becomes shorter and grows a beard with the sudden urge to drink lots of beer, and then they send another supply pod with a pickax The scanner just lit up like a… it’s dwarves… now please we don’t want a repeat of the 4v4 incident. I’m gonna have a chat with management about the double booking policy

[@alessandrotullio-perez1674]

DID I HEAR A ROCK AND STONE!?

[@zssdfounder4607]

Stone and rock, no wait...

[@thomasrinear8629]

ROCK AND ROLL AND STONE!!!

[@Glaz042]

ROCK AND STONE!

[@UncleB0ris]

FOR KARL!

[@devist8er117]

My theory is that once a diver is lowered into the pod, it has a set of automatic harnesses that attach themselves to the legs, waistline, uper body, and arms to keep the diver in pace to removing pressure from the divers legs. This would even allowing them to go limp and still remain standing in place. After that, the extra space in the diver setup of the Hellpod is allocated to advanced suspension technology. This would alow the plate that the diver is standing on to move downwards upon impact. Thia further softening the fast declaration.

[@zssdfounder4607]

I like this theory but 8 don't see based on the size of the platform inside the pod that rises/lowers how there would be enough room for that equipment.

[@devist8er117]

@@zssdfounder4607 Well I also don't think it needs to be anything major. I'm talking literally just like some heavy duty bungee straps or something that automatically disconnect themselves after hitting the ground. If you're talking about the suspension system though then possibly but again it doesn't need to be much more than maybe some shock absorbent material with some piston suspension.

[@0V3RLO0K]

In the Helldivers 1 encyclopedia it is said it contains the description "Helldivers drop into battle using the iconic Hellpods, shock-absorbing tubes that break the atmosphere at extreme velocities only to crack the ground when they open to reveal their heroic cargo."

[@elkpants1280]

That doesn’t fix your guts and blood vessels ripping open due to the massive amount of G’s. Harnesses would protect bones and that’s it

[@0V3RLO0K]

5:44 Maybe it contains the shock-absorbing tubes mentioned in Helldivers 1 encyclopedia description "Helldivers drop into battle using the iconic Hellpods, shock-absorbing tubes that break the atmosphere at extreme velocities only to crack the ground when they open to reveal their heroic cargo."

[@nayhem]

The Hellpod *is* the shock absorbing tube.

[@SapientSheep]

Could be some sort of antigravity system, since clearly Super Earth has been in possession of that technology since before the first war.

[@johninenglish8236]

So everyone should read their stragems upgrades because I'm pretty sure one of the shock absorbing layers is packing peanuts.

[@inventor121]

Actually assuming 3 things it might be possible to do this solely with modern engineering and materials. 1. The penetration cap isn't exactly a perfect penetrator but also an impact absorber. 2. The hellpod bleeds off sufficient speed on reentry that it ends up with a relatively low terminal velocity (around 150km/h) 3. The hellpod has internal support mechanisms to cushion the diver on impact. Without parachutes the Soyuz capsule descends at a speed of roughly 140km/h (40m/s). Assuming the hellpod has a similar flight profile to a space capsule a VERY rough calculation gives us a zero gravity deceleration of 13.4m/s^2 or about 1.36 G, or 2.36 G for a 1G planet, in 3 seconds required to entirely cancel out the velocity of a hellpod and have it gently land on the ground. This is actually VERY achievable with current rocket tech and it's actually not too bad. When jumping down from a 2m ledge onto a 1m deep impact zone, like a trampoline, your knees typically experience 4G of impact force. The total travel you get in a hellpod is around 3m (2m of ground penetration and 1m of shock absorber). This is equivalent to the deceleration lengths of some bungee cords and will likely allow for impact at higher speeds. So long as the retrorockets can bring the speed of the hellpod down to around 12m/s upon impact there's actually enough travel distance that not only can human knees handle it, they wouldn't hurt too much after. The only structural part of this problem is whatever kind of adamantium the impact cap is made from, seriously most crush pads would go flat.

[@tunakann7629]

Helldivers roll when they land, in their pod.

[@cv1ra]

You have completely disregarded an absolutely crucial factor in your analysis. Which is the power of democracy.

[@submachinegun5737]

When it allows you to survive a point blank miniature nuclear detonation, yeah probably important to consider it

[@simula152]

Oh yeah. We're eating good tonight.

[@HiyuMarten]

I highly recommend the "Working Helldivers Rocket Drop-Pod" video by T-Zero systems. He's an engineer and is 1 of 6 people who worked on the prototype of Sierra Space's REAL orbital drop-pod system. One of very few drop-pod engineers in the world, talking about Helldivers! To me, the nosecone is coated in a different material because it is what receives peak heating during entry (see the reinforced carbon-carbon nose & leading edges of the Space Shuttle). It probably shouldn't contain a crush-core/honeycomb, as it needs to stay rigid to penetrate the ground. The 'Drag Kites' are usually called grid fins. On the hellpod, as on the Soyuz crew vehicle fairing, they're used for passive stabilisation when the center of lift isn't far enough from the center of mass during a stage of flight (for Soyuz, during a mid-air abort scenario) The 'afterburners' aren't afterburners per se, but are rocket engines used for retro-propulsion. In this case they are very similar to, or even based on, the Crew Dragon's SuperDraco abort engines, which can ignite very quickly as they use hypergolic propellants (which ignite on contact with each other), though such propellants are almost always toxic to breathe (Super Earth solution: they don't care). They're in twins for redundancy, and by default they run at 50% thrust, with one going up to 100% if the other fails. Super Earth appears to have access to some form of artificial gravity tech, though it's probably not cheap to use. Sentries don't use it (hence the need for packing peanuts), but the Super Destroyers do (considering helldivers don't go flying when doing orbital maneuvres), so it's likely used for helldivers' pods. That 1-metre distance could not possibly contain anything mechanical that could adequately soften the impact.

[@glukhar_agapov9990]

As someone stated in another comment, they might use the absorption gel that gets fitted into E-1’s cockpit so she can pull harder G’s to increase rearm time.

[@ENCHANTMEN_]

holy shit peter gridfin

[@sypeiterra7613]

@@glukhar_agapov9990 The gel would come spilling out with each landing though, and someone in another comment mentioned the suits definitely aren't sealed well due to being able to drown (and I myself remember seeing a helldiver spitting blood in a video once so the suits are 100% not sealed)

[@rambling_reiver]

Well, our spaceships have some variety of artificial gravity in their floor decking... ... Perhaps the pod uses a gravity system, carefully calibrated and functioning in the reverse direction, for a single, sub-second counter-acceleration against the impact forces. This could even tie into the special layer between the Penetrator cap and the rest of the Hellpod: What if it's a spacer allowing the first few inches of that initial, near-instant moments of impact to be measured to adjust the discharge of the (possibly capacitor-fed) counter-gravity, so the same pod saves your knees whether it lands in rock or swamp alike? This would also explain not only why we don't understand how it works - it's well above our pay grades - but also why recovering the pods, and their costly components, is so valued.

[@josephm6734]

I agree, that is the only way a Helldiver could survive such an impact. No matter how advanced a shock absorber is it can only absorb force in its range of motion. Necessitating an counter acting acceleration.

[@0V3RLO0K]

@@josephm6734 It contains the shock-absorbing tubes mentioned in Helldivers 1 encyclopedia description "Helldivers drop into battle using the iconic Hellpods, shock-absorbing tubes that break the atmosphere at extreme velocities only to crack the ground when they open to reveal their heroic cargo."

[@josephm6734]

@@0V3RLO0K ​ You are right but throws tubes alone are not enough to make such an impact survivable. Let's say an average Helldiver hits the ground at 118.6 mph, using the formula d = v^2/(2a) it would require 52ft to "safely" decelerate the Helldiver at 9g, using the mathematically perfect shock absorber.

[@fernando47180]

I'm not the best when it comes to physics, but I don't think "Ani gravity" would be the answer here. We can't ignore the fact that a Helldivers' body is plummeting towards the planet at several meters per second, and in a fraction of a second, that speed needs to be zero. One way or another, their body is going to be subject to a great amount of G-forces. If you're trying to use a gravity field to negate the G-forces from impact, how is the Helldiver going to slow down?

[@rambling_reiver]

The thing is, the plummeting is itself a velocity and acceleration. When you hit the ground, it's simply a form of acceleration - albeit a rather hard and sharp one - that's at work. If we take the above ~120mph as the starting plummet speed, and assuming the pod gives you about 13ft of deceleration distance (from top to bottom of the whole thing) your Helldiver experiences roughly 40g of acceleration on impact. So, what you'd need is have the ani-gravity fire at approximately 40g *upwards* (the actual number being carefully calibrated to whatever the terrain/incoming velocity meant was the *actual* decelerations required) for a fraction of a second. Think a capacitor dumping charge at the critical moment, compared to the space ships normal 'idling generator' levels of steady gravity over a larger area and consistent timeframe. The kinetic energy of the Helldiver's fall is countered by the kinetic energy of the ani-gravity, and presumably a lengthy cooling off cycle before reuse. Get it wrong and you still scrape the poor bastard off the bottom of the pod. Fire it too soon and you scrape the poor bastard off the *roof* of the pod instead. Get the math correct enough and the poor sod might only feel a momentary jolt. One must assume they're pretty confident in their math for that last one... or they just don't tell us about the loss rates. 😉

[@georgewashingtondrivingach8789]

I think you forgot about the ship upgrades that change the hellpods. Also great video keep it up!

[@1stColonialRegiment]

Ah you're totally right! Thank you

[@lugatina]

@@1stColonialRegiment Yeah, I was gonna comment about the fire hellpod upgrade not being mentioned

[@marcguerao2]

Thought the voice was real till the AI glitches. Crazy how it has advanced

[@ArmouredVikrim]

Is it really AI? There are a couple times where his voice warbles and I was like "Damn, what's wrong with his mic?" lol

[@koalabro6118]

No way..... He's AI???

[@periwinkle2486]

yep. very noticeable at 6:25

[@lolnaw3411]

wow, that instantly killed my interest in the channel. i just thought it was a bad mic but on a second listen yeah...

[@sharkhaos_probably]

Automaton propaganda

[@valcanix]

rocket turret gud :3 (BRO LOOK WE'RE ON TV)

[@beavvy2657]

Nice

[@holy_crusaderoftheholyland4713]

Came here from super earth salute you guys are doing super earth work!

[@ntrophe]

I’m always stoked to see a new vid from you. Absolutely stunned by the level of work and commitment you put into these. Love the Fallout 4 ambient music too.

[@MrNikArt]

4:00 So basically everytime you enter combat, you have your pants soiled. Nice.

[@mcsleuthburgur1034]

It's also possible that, partly due to the scope of Helldiver operations and therefore ubiquity of Hellpods, the removable penetration cap also has several models of varying hardness for different planets. Like the Mako from the ancient, pre-spacefaring days' game of Mass Effect, it's nearly impossible* to make a vehicle that works well in multiple environments, and much easier to make one that runs good enough in every environment. The Hellpod is a prime example of good enough for every environment, as the design seems pretty much universal, and the cap can be made harder to penetrate stronger planet crusts or softer to help cushion the impact on planets that would allow it, reducing stress on the rest of the Hellpod *Important caveat, through Managed Democracy, all things are possible

[@PastorFran8]

Man this channel needs more subs

[@ryanrebelo9653]

Very informative and well edited video. I’d love to see more videos diving into more Helldiver related material 👏🏽

[@nameisnameok2986]

Great job

[@A.I.rchist]

The Super Recycling team: "This is a Spear pod. I wonder how many powerful beasts were slain by the weapon dropped by this pod. My work is fulfilling because I ensure more of these pods can be dropped" The mission: misses 1 shot, with 3 others hitting a bile titan in a bad spot, only to get swarmed by bugs, and gas striking myself to kill some of the swarm in a bush in the not too far distance.

[@macebobkasson1629]

Absolutely love this series!! Thanks bread! I have a correction. The terminal velocity is not what damages helldivers. It would be g forces. Terminal velocity in the maximum speed an object has falling through an atmosphere. How fast the pod travels does not affect what is inside, but rather how fast this speed changes. Acceleration is the killer.

[@Boxcordy]

they also have shock absorbing springs it talks about it in one of the turret upgrades

[@thehatebringer8005]

if you look at the back of every helmet there is a little circle like "The Matrix." I beleave that when they enter the hell pod it attaches something to the helmet that pumps stims into them. This allows them to survive the impact. Just like how the stim can instantly repair broken bones. Well the infustion of stims as it impacts alows the heldiver to survive the impact because its repairing all the damage they would recive.

[@NoNo-xh7ru]

I can see that working. Assuming the hellpod can hold their pieces in a roughly human shape that is.

[@thehatebringer8005]

@@NoNo-xh7ru lol right no kidding

[@Kaleidoscope007]

Keep the content coming

[@bismuth8387]

A very interesting approach to how a helldiver can survive the landing: gravity field technology. We already know that super earth is capable of this, since we can walk like normal on the super destroyers in orbit. Clearly, super earth has harnessed the power of gravity. Perhaps a very small gravity generator is inside of the hellpod which is used to manipulate the G forces the helldiver experiences at the moment of impact. If done correctly and precisely enough, the helldiver would hardly even feel the impact, kind of like riding an elevator.

[@Simplefng]

I think its an E 710 reservoir. And a E710 bends gravity. Its creates a ton of excess plasma from the reaction. So you get a kick in the pants with some sort of anti gravity cushion.

[@alefmagnum207]

Oh, so that's how those ants got that Gloom going.......

[@0V3RLO0K]

In the first Helldivers game it contains shock-absorbing tubes mentioned in Helldivers 1 encyclopedia description "Helldivers drop into battle using the iconic Hellpods, shock-absorbing tubes that break the atmosphere at extreme velocities only to crack the ground when they open to reveal their heroic cargo."

[@realamericanman]

Thank you for the entertainment 1st colonial regiment! I am currently watching this in my hellpod steaming toward lesath!

[@The100thonly]

have you looked into the microbiological "flies" of the terminid menace, or the fungal mycelium that seems to accompany their nests? i feel these were skipped over in your video on the spores, despite being the most obvious signifiers of a late or mid stage infestation.

[@1stColonialRegiment]

I have observed and looked into the ecosystems that form around a Terminid infestation. Well I find it fascinating and should have included them in the spore video, they warrant a whole video of their own. I want to cover the entirety of the terminids in time. I have every intention to do it well! They remind me so much of the flood from Halo and I really want to capture that.

[@wavywatson4469]

I have One idea I though up a bit ago as to how a Helldiver survives the impact of their drop: perhaps the moment at or before the pod makes immediate contact with the ground below it, the plate that the helldiver’s feet rest on moves down relieving stress on said diver, by moving with the force instead of remaining stagnant. I doubt this would be enough alone to allow a helldiver to survive, but it may be a piece to this puzzle. Edit: I just thought of a few other things that could help the diver survive the drop. They could be stimmed right before impact, restoring most of their now broken bones and tissue. A lot of other people think, and I agree, that there is a hidden harness that the diver straps into within the pod that retracts immediately after impact.

[@acezero8132]

I doubt they use this, but they could also use similar liquids that Eagle-1 uses in their cockpit, as it *"Fills cockpits with breathable liquid perfluorocarbons, which absorb g-forces and thereby enable pilots to conduct tighter turns without losing consciousness."* , which should work for Hellpods too imo; however, there's no signs of such a liquid in the pod when the Helldiver rises since they're completely dry, so I doubt they use any sort of liquid in the pod... unless they have some dampening liquids right under the plate they stand on, which could move as you theorized.

[@0V3RLO0K]

@@acezero8132 It canonically uses it contains shock-absorbing tubes mentioned in Helldivers 1 encyclopedia description "Helldivers drop into battle using the iconic Hellpods, shock-absorbing tubes that break the atmosphere at extreme velocities only to crack the ground when they open to reveal their heroic cargo." It most likely uses this instead of the liquid used by Eagle-1 or atleast some form of this

[@acezero8132]

@@0V3RLO0K Interesting, I wish there were concept art books of the inner workings of these pods and other Super Earth tech, I'd buy one for sure.

[@0V3RLO0K]

@@acezero8132 The Helldivers 1 encyclopedia is so far the closest to canonical lore. Unfortunately, it doesn't have in-depth pictures though. I recommend you play Helldivers 1 to see and read the lore yourself.

[@brookg8353]

I feel as if the hellpod ejection mech, is also part of the brace to slowdown and or to protect occupent. For example if you had a gas in it, and a pistion like thing, the landing with diver/strat would compress the gas then that pressure could potentially push back up while assisted with other mech to complete the total rise of diver/strat to level.

[@kaydenwar7384]

I legit saw the thumbnail and screamed "Portal 2!"

[@vin7490]

Basically repurposed entry vehicle of nuclear warhead

[@o-manthehuman7867]

there are two ways I can think of making the hell pods safe. One is liquid suspension, which would add a lot of g tolerance; however, the significantly more fun option is that the helldiver sinks much deeper into the earth, then is brought all the way back up, with the cap opening up to allow their descent.

[@NefariousElasticity]

In line with the lore, I like to assume that the Hellpod was initially designed exclusively for equipment, but once the Helldiver corps was founded on the backs of an infinite army of frozen clones of volunteers, they started yeeting down Helldivers like any other piece of equipment and made minor adjustments until at least one and at most four Helldivers could survive a single Hellpod insertion wave. So the Hellpods may be just engineered enough to guarantee one to four Helldivers out of some other value - maybe 10 optimistically, probably closer to a hundred or a thousand realistically - would survive impact.

[@topbadgun]

Become the TF2 engineer 😂 i never thought someday, someone cover about "turret style". Satisfaction.

[@chalkeater641]

id love to see more gameplay around the Hell pods. I think the best way to do that is to add missions that involve space missions and you shooting into enemy space riggs to skuttle them. I also think it would be a wise decision for them to add more cinematics. Halo thrived off of its cool cinematics especially after the remaster they had. I'm asking a lot and i of course don't EXPECT them to do these things. i just simply am adding my opinion and ideas to the internet hoping they'll get more traction. I love space battle in games focused on ground attack. it makes the game seem bigger. I can envision Super Destroyers sort of orbiting automaton ships and shooting hellpods by the dozen into them. also bigger missions with a higher player count for "more important missions" would be dope as hell.

[@followerofthemantle3489]

2:38 ODST call this, 'digging your own grave.'

[@matchesburn]

One thing that could be done to cushion the landing is to have the Helldiver suspended off the floor of the hellpod in some sort of "harness" (not like a harness that you'd put on, but metal bars inside the hellpod that are connected to the hull and retract/fold out), just something to keep the Helldiver in place and restrained and not being thrown around in the pod. The harness could also be dampened with springs or pneumatics. And as soon as you land, the harness could retract and fold back into the hull of the pod. Meaning that it wouldn't obstruct or delay you getting out and would cushion g-force loads on your body somewhat.

[@jdbb3gotskills]

Arrowhead didn’t have to go so hard on the little details like the little warning stickers on hellpods and countless other details in this game. But I love them all the more for it. Silly and unnecessary but greatly appreciated 😃

[@ExternalDialogue]

I assume that between the top cap being put on and it being opened when the pod lands, there is some kind of airbag that is active holding the helldiver in place distributing the force of impact across their entire body instead of just the knees. The whole airbag chamber may also be loaded on a shock absorber, if we assume the cap is hollow to some degree, this shock absorber could have a generous amount of travel and would substantially improve the odds of not bone liquefaction. Another alternative that doesnt seem all too likely but could be interesting is if the helldiver is cryogenically frozen then reheated. This would greatly increase the G force tolerance of a human body as long as it is being fully surrounded by something that evenly distributes the force across as much surface area as possible, as if it is too concentrated in one place the whole body could shatter. Main issues with this theory however is that we dont see the defrosting effect we see when exiting a cryopod, its a little too fast for this to make sense and its unknown how the helldiver would steer the pod while being in stasis.

[@Wastelander-ei8pv]

Fallout 4 institute ambiance music playing in the background, couldn't help but notice it the second I heard it

[@FlatlandsSurvivor]

One possible way to get a bit more cushioning space is to take advantage of human physiology, where the legs bend at the knee and shock absorbers slow down the knees horizontally. This gives another 3 feet or so of deceleration space for the torso. It is also possible that the armor interfaces with the pod to allow for mechanical systems to support the weight of the helldiver, spreading the forces more evenly across the body.

[@axtondragunov1784]

I think the Reclamation/Recycling process would be as follows. Used Hellpods that are still in operational condition when retrieved are repaired and re fitted with probably new drag kites and penetrator cap where as hellpods damaged beyond repair are salvaged for parts and the metal melted back down and recycled into new hellpods ready for use although the military would probably do thier best to repair them back to operational capacity.

[@THEKILLER-rn6dm]

Another magnificent video, keep up the good work!!

[@Ze_N00B]

HMG triples as defense, offense and support. As an automatoc weapon, it applues suppression, reducing enemy accuracy and its high caliber allows it to larger ones on impact. The extreme range and accuracy make it excellent for covering teammates as they perform other actions or when they are too outnumbered to retaliate. Its high caliber, fire rate and accuracy allows it to take on even the most powerful enemies in seconds.

[@Phyde4ux]

Within the 91cm is the lift mechanism that brings the Helldiver or placement up to the surface.

[@vladimirpain3942]

There is clue in the ship module section. It is mentioned that hellpods use spring system (that can be upgraded to shock absorbing gel to save space), so this is probably what we can see between cap and rest of the pod.

[@hahayesbilly]

the hellpod is quite literally the younger brother of the drop pod from titanfall 2. also, (in theory) the drop pod has 3 variants. 1- evacuation drop pod 2- grunt drop pod 3- robotic infantry drop pod main differences 1- the drop pod has front doors that blast off with explosives (or rockets) 2- the drop pod (visually but otherwise unknown) has a higher landing velocity 3- due to it's high landing velocity, it is equipped with medication which causes some hefty side effects, however it may just be on the evac drop pod 4- the drop pod, while has 3 thrusters, but 6 drag panels 5- the titanfall 1 drop pod is very similar to the hellpod. coincidence? i think so. 6- the drop pod is shown to be unstable, however it may not be true, since there is only one incident in game where a drop pod goes unstable and off course. 7- the drop pod has a white and orange colour scheme instead of black and grey. 8- the drop pod has an upright seat with handlebars 9- the interior of the drop pod has much more screens and electronics, and an AI voice that (in one instance) tells you the side affects of the medication given after landing, and the side affects. 10- i think the speed of the drop pod is survivable (especially for pilots) due to drugs that are given to troops, making them incredibly strong compared to an average human.

[@riceflavoredgum8947]

The Star Citizen music gave me good vibes.

[@Crab1346]

ANOTHER WIN FOR THE DIVERS

[@TyRock-g8v]

I like how they fire my body from the ship to the ground during evac just so I can step out of the hellpod into the shuttle and return to the ship.

[@Danger_N00dle]

I always assumed the fall would include the loading scene, so the total time from space to the ground might be a few minutes, it's just skipped after the loading is finished for the sake of convenience

[@ryanartward]

It reminds me of a concept design from Ron Cobb. It was a drop pod much like this, but when it got closer to the ground, it deployed a propeller that doubled as a drag kite.

[@ltpunkrocket522]

My new favorite plot hole patch has been "G-Force manipulation" since Armored Core 6.

[@catur_a.C]

Remember that hellpods also have a complex damping system at first consisting of springs and when upgrades it becomes cushion gel capable of impact absorption

[@warlordish]

Important note: the turrets retract back into the hell pod, keeping it safe untill it's excavated. Pretty smart!

[@jerrycashew651]

Hellpods being recovered and recycled is an insane notion.

[@Johndoutry4545]

the fact that they have gravity on the ship makes me think it shouldn't be to hard to keep them alive inside the pod

[@bogosthebinted3815]

I like the idea that it does break your bones but then Stims you so you don't die

[@hugoandre96]

My best guess is that the 3 foot gap is a sping or hydrolic for dampening the impact to the user. There is already an elevator installed. So, might as well put some springs or use the hydrolic lifting system to dampen impact

[@premaldevi5477]

I believe the hell diver is incased in shock absorbent gel and the rest space in the hellpod is there to produce that gel. That’s also a reason for the helmet obligation. Edit: Like the acceleration capsules from the book ‚the forever war‘

[@TorraChe]

nice Star Citizen music in the Background :)

[@cassandratic9770]

The rate at which the pod seems to be travelling moments before deceleration feels much slower than terminal velocity for it. I think that between the atmospheric entry loading screen and gameplay there is unseen slowdown.

[@RoyalSoulCrafter]

I believe that a reasonable assumption due to physics would be that the impact energy is reused partially to lift the cargo up, lessening the impact forces on the helldiver

[@ramen6236]

The fucking star citizen loading screen music gave me flashbacks

[@sneakyfishiix8014]

The 77th Super Earth Armored Division have yet to receive our tanks.

[@Limestone_Wolf]

Im up diving in my pod rn i got lotion on my pod

[@justingould2020]

The other possibility is that we have some kind of sci-fi inertial dampening system similar to what's on the ship. We have FTL travel and can orbit a planet in moments without any acceleration noticeable on the shipboard occupants.

[@VortexStolenName]

Star Citizen music caught me off guard

[@gumdev]

the loading information sticker at 6:00 referencing tire sizes is actually a sticker put on the inside of every drivers door in american cars! it references the recommended tire pressure depending on the tire size options selected when manufactured. interesting they reprised it for the pods

[@RiderofGary]

I like to think that when you get dragged into the hellpod theres a part of the inside you can pull on and a small panel opens that you can use as a seat, then when you feel the impact of the landing, you just stand up and the lifting mechanic pushes the panel back into place

[@TheRyderShotgunn]

i have a bit of speculation about that 3 foot gap. there is something mentioned somewhere in the ship module upgrades that "impact absorbing gel" is used in hellpods. i speculate that this gel fills this 3 foot gap, and upon impact, its actually ejected out the side so as the hellpod penetrates into the ground, so the gel ends up filling the space between the hellpod and the ground.

[@nayhem]

Some batches of this gel are combustible.

[@Laikafan02]

Also my general speculation on how Helldivers survive dropping in is Yknow that weird hole on the back of EVERY helmet? Yknow the one that looks like it could hook up to something? Well it’s likely that it’s a port for a tube connected to an oxygen tank, so Hellpods (the ones used to deploy and reinforce) could feasibly be full of water or a similar fluid to dampen the impact onto the ground, and it’s likely flushed out into the ground as soon as the Hellpod (with the Diver in it) as soon as it detects that it’s hit the ground.

[@redtsar]

I like to think that the Hellpods that the Helldivers use are factory new, the supplies that come down are the recycled ones so that there is less chance of a faulty error due to using a recycled Hellpod to transport a Helldiver. As we've seen faulty Hellpods get jammed before, those are the ones on their last legs. That's my fan theory/logic

[@WimsicleStranger]

If I had to guess, I would wager that the 3ft cone acts similarly to how tungsten penetrators act when they're fired at armor, i.e., their "self sharpening" properties that cause the tip to deform and ablate/shear off to the sides of the penetrating rod and allowing it to penetrate deeper into armor. Pretending it would actually be possible (and from a lore standpoint), the Super Earth scientists working at Super DARPA probably figured out the optimal amount of material needed for the drop pod to penetrate "only" a couple meters into the ground- just 3 feet of material.

[@RoulicisThe]

The ministry of science has developped a semi-liquid compound called "Hydrogel". It's a liquid that changes density when under pressure, causing it to absorb shocks, impacts and sudden G-increase, as demonstrated in the game's lore since you can unlock an upgrade for the Eagle that makes uses of this compound to protect the pilot from the strain of excessive G-force acceleration. And since it's stated in the game as well : that compound is used in the sentry turrets as well, so my guess is that the "free" spaces of the hellpods are filled with this shock-absorbant to absorb the impact of making landfall.

[@SpectrePilot301]

the thought that some engineer corp members have to investigate the pod to see if there is a corpse inside or a machine in most instances.

[@Kazuhira2249]

the cabal from destiny 2: "yeah these guys get it"

[@WJT.]

I will be writting an X on my next hellpod interior, let me know if someone find it

[@afrousjojo9982]

well seeing the cap made me think of a penetrative explosive. like an hollow charge of some sort, that would 1: create a less dense ground for the hellpod to sink in 2: counter the effect of the force when landing. seeing that the hellpod can have an upgrade with fire, this would mean that thee cap would be switched from AP to a kind of HEIAP thingy

[@radium6962]

There could be some substance like a liquid that might be in play on hellpods for helldivers that lets them take the high g's and impact? Maybe some off-screen harness, or perhaps they just use a stim inside to keep the Helldiver alive... or maybe the actual time it takes for the pod to land is a lot longer than in game, which is made faster for gameplay, but in actuality is a slower descent due to the fins and the afterburners.

[@bY7zx]

One of the devs had mentioned in an interview that they wanted to have a first person perspective for the hellpods when players were dropping in at the start of the mission. This got scrapped, but I think about it often.

[@chkn_boy]

I think if you calculate for impulse of the velocity at impact and the distance the diver travels after initial contact with soil then you can find the maximum g force experienced, I will do this math later lol. But in order to obtain any data whatsoever, I will need the velocity of the hellpod at the absolute slowest (right before impact)

[@Fat_Ninjah]

I like to imagine helldivers are cushioned with inflatable supports that form fit the occupant in order to distribute the impact all over the body or armour instead of concentrating it all in the legs

[@tedarcher9120]

It's cushion gel

[@TheReaper-gv6wh]

This video has been aproved by the ministry of truth

[@spikethrowaway]

A field note i wanna throw out there. If your hellpod flies into a bughole, the drag kites will not save you from being too far in the ground to escape. You will however destroy the bughole. So if you have a christ complex and one bughole left, heres your new strategy

[@Slu5h3]

I like to thrink theres some kind of low power suspension field for helldivers. Knowing this is super earth, its probably only just enough of a suspension field to keep the hell diver alive and physically capable, they probably still feel some of the impact

[@Hadfield15]

Interesting video. I too have always wondered how a Hellpod structured and how it doesn’t decimate the Helldiver within upon impact. Maybe there’s a seat for the Helldiver that retracts once planetfall is made? From your calculations, there looks like there’s plenty of room for such. I don’t know, I’m just throwing stuff out there.

[@plzletmebefrank]

Idk, when you step onto the platform before dropping, it locks your boots in and just drops you down into the pod. It doesn't seem like there would be a seat. I wonder about the timing and how much speed is shed during the time we don't see. (Between being launched and the few seconds we have control of it while landing.) If we knew the size of the Super Destroyers, we could estimate how high up they are during the mission, then use the time from when you throw out a reinforcement strategem to ground contact to have a time and distance so you can find the average speed. Also, I think using the ping system to better estimate sizes of objects to use as a reference (most likely the player character) would probably be better than assuming 5'7". There might be height requirements for Helldivers, Super Earth might have bigger and stronger people on average than we do, maybe some sort of biological or genetic enhancements are in play, who knows.

[@Hadfield15]

@@plzletmebefrankif I recall correctly, Super Destroyers are about 170 meters long and 80 meters wide. As for how high they are during missions, that’s tricky. We know they hang out in low orbit until the timer runs out, so that’s somewhere within the range of 160km to 2000km (using Super Earth as a reference). But, we don’t know how much bigger or smaller planets are compared to SE, so let’s assume that low orbit is somewhere within the range of 300-400km at the minimum

[@Kioley123]

"The pod is designed with declaration systems to reduce the terminal velocity to a tolerable level" The rockets reduce the velocity, terminal velocity is when you can't fall any faster due to drag, a parachute would reduce terminal velocity while the rockets just reduce velocity.

[@MrVelociraptor75]

I've always loved this terminology. Technically, when you deploy a parachute, you're still travelling AT terminal velocity hahaha (it's just obviously a lower velocity... hopefully)

[@fmg337]

i might say that between the cap and the pod COULD have hydrolic spring as to reduce the impact as much as possible and maybe that kinetic energy can be use to "lift" the cargo. as for the helldivers knees.... maybe the are strapped when they are falling and the strap is removed automatically ? also to calculate the force needed to reduce a (lets say that the pod is 2x4m, so it would have 16.76 m3 in vol, mostly steel and 60% empty for cargo and electronics so 6.704 m3 of steel) would weigh about 52.63 METRIC TONS