Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game News

We just ran into a problem that Automation cannot export cars with engine sounds to BeamNG. This is not due to any patch (neither on the Automation, nor on the BeamNG side) that broke it or black magic (ok, well a little of that), but rather a certificate that has expired.

Last week we tried to get it renewed but something went wrong in the process and it took a little longer.
Today we got it sorted and this build is fresh out of the oven with the new certificate built in.

Sorry for the messy situation! Here are the changes for this quick Sunday fix:

[h2]LCV4.1.18 Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed BeamNG Exporter not being able to export sounds due to expired certificate
  
• Fixed bug where having loaded the same car twice in photoscene, then back out to edit the car, then back to photoscene, the car would still be the unedited old one.

Cheers!

Since the initial release of the big LCV4.1 update into openbeta in November '20, we have been steadily polishing and fixing this milestone with a total of 17 patches. As such, we have just merged the last few patches with the default branch of the game. This means everyone is on the same version of the game again and if you wish, you can opt-out of the openbeta branch at no additional download.

Lots of effort and skill giving fantastic looking interiors, here shown by Billy Joe Red.

At this point we're ready to move on to the next big update that has been looming on the horizon for long: the much anticipated Turbo Revamp.

This update not only will include a much needed redesign and expansion of the turbo systems and their calculations, but also very deep going game-mechanics improvements in the engine and car designers, with their effects running deep and affecting campaign play, too.

In this video we're taking a look at what the next big milestone update of Automation will contain. There is a bit for everyone in this one guaranteed, have a look for yourself.

https://youtu.be/orTXb-QM2Ko
Delving into the development of LCV4.2 means we're once again embarking on a longer dev cycle during which there will be no patches to the game unless absolutely necessary. The development of each such new milestone is a big task, as you could see from the long wishlist of features for this version shown in the video. We're aiming to have the first openbeta version be available in around 4 months time.

However, that doesn't mean we'll be silent until then. Little Dev Updates will keep you up to speed with where we're at and how the new features and changes are being implemented.

If you are wondering what the general development timeline is, here is our development timeline overview video:

https://youtu.be/43QkxYvcBX8
Exciting changes lie ahead with LCV4.2, looking forward to it!
Cheers

Another little roundup patch to address some of the remaining and new issues that players had with the latest update. This is a release candidate build for LCV4.1.

[h2]LCV4.1.17 Additions & Fixes[/h2]

• Added a lot more 3D interior fixtures, both general and specific
  > General: many parts that can be used in many different situations in any car
  > Specific: new experimental (modder "template") interior fitting 80xAmerican_boxy_coupe
  
• Updated spaceframe chassis model
  
• Fixed new 1956 "Swinger" body
  
• Fixed double wishbone suspension sticking out way too much
  
• Fixed BeamNG Exports all sounding like rich-running tuner engines even when super eco
  
• "Fixed" issue with the BeamNG Exporter setting too low speed limiters, by switching it off

Let us know if you find anything that really needs fixing before fully moving on to developing the massive LCV4.2 update! :)

Cheers

With this patch we attempt to wrap up the big LCV4.1 milestone release. With these fixes we think we're in a pretty good state to move on to the longer dev cycle of LCV4.2.

Note: This patch is first released to the openbeta branch, then in the coming days merged with the public default branch if no bigger issues emerge.

[h2]LCV4.1.16 Fixes & Improvements[/h2]

• Rebuilt all fixture, body, and rim thumbnails for more consistent look
  
• Added improved fixture glass materials, smooth red and amber transparent glass
  
• Added new ambient colour setting to studio photoscenes (experimental, don't save to presets yet)
  
• Streamlined debug log outputs in thumbnail generation for fixtures and bodies (help modders)
  
• Tweaked age fall-off curve for AI body selection when generating cars
  
• Fixed cars not being sold fully, having 1 or a few cars remaining in stock
  
• Fixed (potentially) some fixtures looking brighter than others, despite being the same color
  
• Fixed crash where the UI had cached a destroyed demographics object
  
• Fixed chassis glitches for light-truck and semi-spaceframe chassis (using placeholders)
  
• Fixed a missing material on one of the background buildings in the overpass photoscene
  
• Fixed some mirrored fixtures' issues with transparent materials or post-processing effects
  
• Fixed photoscene effects breaking fixture highlighting coming back into the editor
  
• Fixed photoscene hoist stopping trim editing when coming back into the car editor
  
• Fixed a bunch of issues around engine placement caused by new chassis

[h2]LCV4.1.16 BeamNG Exporter Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed exports having unexpected holes
  
• Fixed black paint with full shine looking like chrome
  
• Fixed being able to export unfinished cars, crashing BeamNG when loading them
  
• Fixed not picking up custom user paths set by the BeamNG Launcher

Please let us know if there are any big issues still present that we may have missed (apart from there not being any deisels [sic]). Any launch issues you might have are not fixable from our end, but in 99.9% of cases easily solved as something fundamental is missing or wrong for the game to run. Please make a thread in the technical support section of the forums if the Troubleshooting FAQ doesn't give you the solution.

In the coming week we'll update you on what is coming next with LCV4.2, which will be a massive update to the game mechanics in the car and engine designers and of course turbos.

Cheers!

Getting close to wrapping it all up for LCV4.1, here is another patch with various fixes and significant improvements to stability, the exporter, and usability.

Note: This update is posted to the openbeta branch first and merged with default once it is confirmed not causing any new bigger issues.

[h2]LCV4.1.15 Improvements & Fixes[/h2]

• Major overhaul of BeamNG tires (thanks to Corey from BeamNG)! Cars now more stable, better steering feedback, easier to drive at limit of grip, and more accurate to what you built in Automation.
  
• Added a new photoscene, Sky Mirror
  
• Implemented FFB steering weight of BeamNG cars adjusts with power steering choices.
  
• Improved competitor car AI to be more varied, adding reasonable randomization
  
• Added 3 buttons to allow separate loading of camera, car, and world settings in photoscenes
  
• Slightly changed chunks/pak files in attempt to fix a skeletal mesh startup crash
  
• Fixed a common crash reported on BugSplat, potentially connected to Alt-Tabbing
  
• Fixed AI generated cars to exclude convertibles for non-convertible demographics
  
• Fixed lights resetting their status to be lit in the car designer when reloading the car
  
• Fixed competitor price information in market screen's competitiveness mode tooltips
  
• Fixed "Engine Factory Designer" tooltip showing up everywhere in the engine factory setup
  
• Fixed fixture snapping angle being stuck at 15 degrees
  
• Fixed a crash in demographics calculations
  
• Fixed a memory leak that eventually could lead to a crash

Cheers!