Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game News

Two days into the release of the alpha, and we have our second big batch of fixes ready for you!
Again, a lot of important ones in here, please check them out.

[h2]LCV4.2.2 General Fixes & Changes[/h2]

• The game should now automatically fall back to DX11 when DX12 isn't supported
  
• Tweaked idle speeds for all engines
  
• Implemented turbo header selection scaling wastegate flow before boost creep
  
• Fixed issue where the family quality slider would not save/load correctly
  
• Fixed sandbox car & engine managers top bars being unusable
  
• Fixed not being able to place fixtures on soft-tops
  
• Fixed keybinds not being adjustable properly
  
• Fixed V8 flatplane forged and billet cranks having almost no strength
  
• Fixed editing fixture text resetting when clicking to add more text
  
• Fixed weird "anti-spool" behaviour with some VGT setups
  
• Fixed way too small, failing turbos causing massive torque curve jaggedness
  
• Fixed set intercooler power throughput not correctly applying to turbo sim
  
• Fixed turbo graphs not clearing when making an engine naturally aspirated
  
• Fixed the basic chassis mode not updating the chassis
  
• Fixed speed limiter being in km/h even though mph were selected as a unit
  
• Fixed dual exhaust being selectable when using a single turbo setup
  
• Fixed issue with boost graph going negative sometimes while being at 0
  
• Fixed mousing over pies in the market screen changing their size
  
• Fixed twin turbo crossover pipes coming out out the engine bay in export scene
  
• Fixed twin turbo piping issues when switching block type
  
• Fixed opposite side thread on tires
  
• Fixed the light and glass material thumbnails being completely white
  
• Fixed roughness slider on leather material having weird effects
  
• Fixed unusual shading on steel wheels and other metal materials
  
• Fixed the basic car design room having a corrupted light map
  
• Fixed 10s design room lighting which was over-saturated
  
• Fixed missing intakes for single barrel eco carbs
  
• Fixed missing texture on 60 degree V MPFI systems with twin throttle, mid intake
  
• Fixed old intake meshes spawning for inline DI throttle per cylinder
  
• Fixed 90 degree V SPFI compact intake missing
  
• Fixed accidental use of underbody material on variant of 60s_Muntu body
  
• Fixed engine manager list scroll bar having the wrong color
  
• Fixed Car_Roof material missing from modding SDK

With the Christmas and New Year break coming up, we're probably going to limit changes in tomorrow's patch to mostly minor tweaks and cosmetic fixes to not break what's working.

Please let us know about any issues you find and report them in this thread.
Cheers!

Our first day of fixes, fresh out of the oven! This should address many of the more pressing problems players have observed in the first alpha build.

[h2]LCV4.2.1 General Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed high-power turbo wiggle when using too small intercooler
  
• Fixed a crash going to compressor map on turbo that exploded (pressure)
  
• Fixed issue changing between Standard / VGT turbo wouldn't update
  
• Fixed issue where a crashed engine calculation would not be recoverable
  
• Fixed an issue with visual tire width vs. diameter
  
• Fixed issues with smoke props going in/out of photo mode
  
• Fixed texture issues in the Tundra photoscene's roads
  
• Fixed prop UI not being full length when no prop is selected
  
• Fixed Australian photoscene being stupid loud
  
• Fixed grille texture scaling being tiny in BeamNG exports
  
• Fixed rear engine body list filter not working
  
• Fixed car paint titles not working correctly
  
• Fixed black artifacting of gizmos in modern and nineties studio photoscenes
  
• Fixed list of props in photoscene not updating when removing a prop
  
• Fixed shift-cloning props not updating the spawned-props list
  
• Fixed there being no starter sound when manually starting an engine
  
• Fixed 00sminicar having its bone meshes visible in game
  
• Fixed a massive seam in car body 00sHatch02
  
• Fixed a few car bodies having the wrong maximum seating arrangements
  
• Added all photoscene props that were supposed to be in the release
  
• Added -DX11 flag to the launcher's safemode
  
• Fixed launcher not checking if UserData directory exists before clearing it
  
• Fixed unit settings not saving or loading properly
  
• Fixed an error / crash when large engines break before idle
  
• Fixed the gizmo showing while taking photos
  
• Fixed fixtures not fading out when the car body does
  
• Fixed engine starter in Beam exports, now engines can be restarted

There will likely be at least one more patch before we sign off for a Christmas / New Year break.

Please report any issues you find in this thread. Also let us know what you think of the many new features / content and how we can improve it!

Cheers!

Finally, it is here! The long-awaited LCV4.2 has overcome numerous hurdles, including delays and a dev-team restructuring, to deliver an almost fully revamped Automation experience. Well, in the form of an opt-in alpha version first in which you can try out most of the new features. Why an alpha and not a beta? Simply because there still are a few missing features that will make their way into the game starting early next year.

Due to the delays in parts of the development, we now have a new release on our hands which is massive in terms of content. Almost no gameplay stone was left unturned, and those that were, will be addressed on our way to the beta.

Massive amounts of new visual customization options have made it into the game… which conveniently also export to BeamNG!

Important to note is that this is an opt-in release. In order to play this latest version you will have to right-click the game in your Steam Library, click Properties, select Betas to the left and then choose the “openbeta - LCV4.2 Opt-In Alpha". Once you’ve done that, let the game update, no password or key required.

Due to basically everything changing, including the underlying game engine’s version, saves will not be compatible between 4.1 and 4.2. That likely will happen for the last time during Automation’s development. The good news is that you can freely switch between the 4.1 and 4.2 version as the save locations have been changed as well, which means there are no file conflicts apart from some config files. A “Clear Cache” in the launcher would take care of that. In other good news, when you import your 4.1 .car files into 4.2, their visual design will carry over - if the car body and the fixtures exist. So the most time intensive part of your prior awesome creations will not be null and void.

Note: Mods are not compatible between 4.1 and 4.2 due to the underlying game engine change!

A beefcake of a V16 quad turbo that looks dangerously ready to deliver way too much power.

Speaking about modding, the new updated SDK is being released along with this first alpha version and we hope the many improvements to it, as well as the updated documentation on our new modding wiki will make it easy enough for creators to bring back old mods and create new ones.




Looking at this changelog, we could probably sell this as Automation 3.0 or something… but of course won’t! So many great changes in there, and so much more to do as well.

[h3]Car Designer[/h3]

• 91 new car models with a total of 756 new body variants
  
• Replaced predefined body boxes with dynamically calculated ones for volume calculations.
  Body weight and drag now dynamically calculate instead of relying on unreliable manual inputs.
  Note: This means mods can be used without breaking game balance (as badly).
  
• Separated convertible car body types from the fundamental car body types (e.g. coupe, wagon...)
  
• Car bodies now have fractional seat row numbers, e.g. "maximum 2/+2" is now possible
  
• Revamped body type penalties so that body type choice can be more nuanced
  
• Added various convertible roof types from manual softtop to full auto hardtop
  
• Added weight distribution and weight optimization sliders. Ties into sound insulation as well.
  
• Revamped way of calculating fuel economy, eliminating various exploits and flaws
  
• Reworked brake setup to include front and rear brake force settings
  
• Implemented support for different wheel and rim diameters front / rear
  
• Revamped tire compounds, added all-terrain tire and split hard long life into hard and utility
  
• Revamp tire rolling resistance to make it dynamic with speed and more realistic overall
  
• Revamped undertray options and added new ones. Revamped drag / lift system tie-in.
  
• Reworked safety and entertainment pack selection system UI to allow selection of older systems
  
• Split up brake fade into front and rear to make for easier tuning
  
• Added car body filter options for wheelbase and seat rows number
  
• Revamped the effect of the aerodynamics quality slider on body Cd value depending on era
  
• Improved and fixed the seat selection UI

[h3]Engine Designer[/h3]

• [WIP] Full revamp of turbo calculations, simulation of compressor maps and thermodynamics.
  Note: available turbos in alpha: single-stage single, twin, and quad turbos, standard and VGT.
  
• [WIP] Added and fully revamped intake options with resonances and different flow characteristics
  
• Added family quality slider affecting reliability, weight, BE strength, head flow, costs, and cooling
  
• Added balance shafts and harmonic dampers
  
• Crankshaft harmonics tie in to balance shafts / harmonic dampers, affecting long crankshafts
  
• Tweaked cam profile progression to fit with new springs and lifters mechanic, larger range
  
• Reworked valve float calculations, including new springs & lifters slider
  
• Revised engine and future-proofed idle calculations
  
• Full revamp of mechanical engine friction, split into: piston, valvetrain, crank, and accessories
  
• VVL was moved from the engine family selections into the engine variant choices
  
• New fuel choice controls: leaded / unleaded, octane advertised, and tuned octane
  
• Implemented new fuel availability tooltip table for a quicker overview of what's available where
  
• Fixed engine torque twist not working on engine dyno
  
• Tweaked all fuel system reliability stats
  
• Revised piston and conrod weights

[h3]General Sandbox[/h3]

• Major redesign to shift player focus to car stats, getting rid of one-dimensional competitiveness
  
• Implemented direct way to compare your car to competitors in different demographics
  
• Revamped quality (and techpool) progressions, negative quality now is more viable
  
• [WIP] UI now shows running totals of cost, production units, and engineering time
  
• [WIP] Revamped markets tab for both sandbox and campaign
  
• Improved car and engine tagging system functionality

[h3]Visual Design[/h3]

• Added "Advanced Trim Aesthetics" settings menu to fixture UI, adding loads of customization
  
• Added sliders to change engine muffling per trim in Advanced Trim Settings, works with BeamNG
  
• Added several paint slots to cars: chassis, running gear, tyres, plastics, windows etc.
  Note: Allows exporting completely transparent cars when also using the Advanced Trim Aesthetics
  
• Added windows as a default material, meaning anything can be set to windows or transparent
  
• Windows can now be painted with non-window materials
  
• Added UI that lists currently spawned fixtures and makes them easily selectable
  
• Added option to force-load a minimalist chassis model to use with, e.g. open wheeler mods
  
• Added various car interiors thanks to the support of community modders
  
• All fixture materials are now accessible regardless of fixture material slot type
  
• To aid fixture placement, left-click-rotate has been disabled on the free-roam camera
  
• Added field-of-view controls to car, engine and freeroam cameras
  
• Dragging fixtures from the UI now spawns new ones, includes dragging fixture family
  
• Fixed chassis, suspension and drivetrain components flashing at certain angles
  
• Added button to delete all unused car paints from "On Car" paint list
  
• Improved the fixture highlight outline with additional customizable settings for radius and color
  
• Fixed and improved the car part visibility UI and its effects
  
• The color picker UI now has RGB, HSV, and sRGB hex codes with copy-paste functionality
  
• Engine sumps, various intakes and airfilters are now paintable

[h3]Photoscenes[/h3]

• A lot of photoscenes have been moved out of the base game, saving ~14GB of harddrive space.
  Note: those are now official mods on the steam workshop by "Camshaft Software Uploader Bot".
  
• New photoscenes have been added: Rural Australia, Wetlands, Suburban Highway, Neon Brut, Misty Mountains, Icy Road, Downtown Alley, Brooklyn Alley, Sky Mirror. Many older photoscenes have been improved and fixed.
  
• Photoscene props have been implemented and are open to modding
  
• Implemented individualized settings per photoscene that can be changed, stored within presets
  
• Implemented a photoscene thumbnail UI for choosing photoscenes with much improved overview
  
• Added teleport car to camera and teleport car to camera target to avoid having to drag cars
  
• Revamped photoscene UI, drop-down menus and tabs for easier navigation
  
• Camera settings vastly expanded, including colour grading, bloom, more LUTs, effects, RTX etc.

[h3]Modding[/h3]

• An improved and updated modding SDK is available for this new game version
  
• Implemented support for modded photoscenes with custom photoscene UI
  
• Photoscene modding capabilities have been vastly expanded
  
• Custom paints now have modding support, with full UI editing and export functionality
  
• Added a mod / standard filter to car body filters
  
• Migrated the automation wiki and updated it on our own hosted site!

[h3]Art & Graphics[/h3]

• This update makes DX12 the default DirectX version, with automatic fallback to DX11
  
• Ray-tracing has been added to the graphics settings, as well as the photoscene settings
  Note: vendor agnostic, both AMD and NVidia GPUs support ray-tracing in Automation
  
• Chunk files have been rearranged, giving improved load times switching between levels
  
• Completely reworked and improved engine blocks and heads
  
• Car tires have been revamped with depth, separate tread, and sidewall textures
  
• Added custom car paints that now have expanded settings and better looks
  
• More adjustable paint types have been added for cars and fixtures
  
• Fixture light materials have been optimized pass, and should perform between 2-10x better
  
• Tons of art fixes and tweaks!

With this being an alpha of course we expect there to be bugs. Even though hundreds of them were squashed the past week or two, you will run into issues. When that happens, we’d love to know where and how! Please post your findings and feedback in this thread.

For those of you who are looking for a little bit of guidance in terms of the very in-depth new turbo tuning and troubleshooting, we have prepared a little video for you:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Looking ahead, we still have a big list of things too numerous to mention on our 4.2 todo list. Those will be worked through and added to the game as we go towards the open beta phase. From there, it is all about bugfixing until the full merge with the default branch of the game and us moving forwards to LCV4.3 which will have superchargers and multiplayer!

One thing we are especially looking forward to seeing are what crazy builds you will come up with in this update!

Just your average vanilla-built Hot Rod, by Mikonp7.

The Automation team wishes you a Merry Christmas, happy car building, and a Happy New Year!
Cheers

We are getting a lot closer to wrapping up LCV4.2 and are now in the final testing phase before the release of a first opt-in alpha version of this new milestone update. Wait, what... an alpha? Yes, alpha means it is buggy and not feature complete, whereas a beta would “just” be buggy. Seeing that we wouldn’t be able to deliver all the features that are planned for 4.2 before Christmas, we turned our focus to the engine and car designer in these last few weeks to get as much of that finished as possible. The aim of this is to give you a first look at most of the new designer features over Christmas and New Year, even if the experience isn’t quite complete yet.

The GameMaker Studio 2 based prototype of the turbo calculations that are now being implemented into Automation.

What will be in this alpha? I think that is best answered by our just-released Little Dev Update video which walks you through a lot of it:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

In case you missed our previous updates talking about various new 4.2 features, here you are!
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Once the alpha is ready in the coming days, we’ll update you with another news post that goes more into detail of the practicalities of it! So hang in there while we’re fixing up any game-stopping issues in our currently ongoing testing before the alpha.

Keep your eyes peeled! :)
Cheers

Long time no update post, and not because nothing was going on. As many of you following our YouTube channel AutomationGame will have seen already, a few development hurdles had to be tackled in recent weeks and months. This has led to delays in our gameplay implementation pipeline and caused an overall delay to releasing LCV4.2. On the other hand this means LCV4.2 will be released with added content that was developed in the meantime.

So what happened? Our lead programmer, who is - among many other things - responsible for the implementation of new game mechanics, has suffered from deteriorating health for a while and in July could no longer work on the game. Since then, recovery has been pretty good and the role’s work has partially resumed. Kicked in the butt by this situation, we decided to restructure and bolster our team moving forward to become more resilient and productive in the long run.



This Little Dev Update video goes into much more depth on this issue. You should check it out, it does have a summary (in timestamps) for those who prefer that, too.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Important to note is that this has changed our development outlook and there will be a bit of a feature reshuffle beyond LCV4.2. There will be an LCV4.3 which pulls forward the superchargers from 5.0, while 5.0 will be made more campaign heavy in terms of features. This is shown in detail in the above-linked video.

That was about a month ago and since then not only have we made the first big steps towards the team upgrades and restructure, but development has picked up again too. So in this recent LDU we have some things to show you:

• Massive amounts of additional sandbox visual customization of cars which exports to Beam.
  
• The new markets tab which will be available in campaign as well as in sandbox
  
• A first look at the WIP turbo calculations with procedural compressor and turbine maps.

Warning, the latter is for proper nerds only. ;)

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Our new target for a release of LCV4.2 with heaps of new content now sits at December 2021, with an open beta likely to hit before then.

We’re sorry for the delays this has caused and hope the awesome content coming with LCV4.2 will be well worth the wait.
Cheers!