The aim of this paper is analyzing existence, multiplicity, and regularity issues for the positive solutions of the quasilinear Neumann problem ⠂ ⠄ -⠃u'/ 1 + (u')2 ⠅' = & lambda;a (x)f (u), 0 < x < 1, u'(0) = u'(1) = 0. ⠄Here, ⠃u'/ 1 + (u')2 ⠅' is the one-dimensional curvature operator, & lambda; & epsilon; R is a parameter, which is generally taken positive, the weight a(x) changes sign, and, in most occasions, the function f (u) has a sublinear potential F(u) at oo. Our discussion displays the manifold patterns occurring for these solutions, depending on the behavior of the potential F(u) at u = 0, and, possibly, at infinity, and of the weight function a(x) at its nodal points.& COPY; 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons .org /licenses /by -nc -nd /4 .0/). MSC: primary 35J93, 34B18; secondary 35J15, 35B09, 35B32, 35A15, 35A16