Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game News

Another little big patch that is further polishing up the open beta version. Getting close now to the main release!

[h3]Gameplay[/h3]

• Cornering steering behavior analysis now switched sportiness and drivability points
  
• Fixed active wings doubling downforce instead of drag when in brake mode
  
• Increased effect of brake quality on brake fade
  
• Implemented gearbox torque strength factor for longitudinal vs. transverse
  
• Tweaked drivability, sportiness, and offroad grip test stats
  
• Fixed current downforce not factoring into rolling over check
  
• Reworked of drivability and sportiness cornering evaluation, switched D & S targets
  
• Tweaked strength of terminal oversteer drivability penalty
  
• Changed Offroad power-to-weight progression
  
• Tweaked balance of Offroad base stats
  
• Tweaked Offroad grip test divider
  
• Tweaked Utility base value strength
  
• Tweaked Drivability base value strength
  
• Tweaked Safety positive quality impact / progression

[h3]UI Fixes & Improvements[/h3]

• Fixed missing country techpool data in markets tab UI
  
• Fixed 4-way graph mode on dyno not updating flow and stress bench
  
• Fixed issue with brake warnings appearing when they shouldn't
  
• Fixed sales data breakdown not pulling car data anymore
  
• Improved sandbox company management UI to better show techpool
  
• Tire profile is now rounded normally instead of always being rounded up
  
• Fixed doubled up reliability note in demographic tooltip

[h3]Campaign & AI[/h3]

• Added news item to appear with a list of trims that don't pass emissions
  
• Car engineering screen shows wrong background color for reliability
  
• Fixed issue with desirability calcs in connection with region unlocks
  
• Fixed engineering panel in campaign showing driver assists as 0 ET
  
• Further improvements to AI car generation
  
• Increased AI company demographics markups
  
• Fixed AI being able to select invalid trim bodies for the current engine setup
  
• Changed naming convention of AI cars to make it easier to identify them

[h3]BeamNG Exporter[/h3]

• Fixed carbon fiber material exporting with a broken diffuse texture
  
• Fixed rotated exhaust tips colliders being backwards on one side in beam
  
• Fixed single exhaust cars are making 2 smoke streams in beam
  
• Fixed exhaust tips needing ExhaustExit socket to direct smoke/fire in the correct direction
  
• Fixed incorrect placement of brake calipers
  
• Separated brake discs from rim meshes
  
• Fixed crash on mesh duplication
  
• Improved JBeam formatting
  
• Further overhaul of tyre parameter exports for better driving feel

Let us know of any issues you run into! We'll address those asap.
Cheers!

We've been busy completing and polishing up the Ellisbury Update for its merger with the public branch. With this massive patch (102 changelog entries!) we have revised and fixed many of the important new systems.

A very wedgey supercar from days gone by, courtesy of Juice

Here are some of the patch highlights:

• Much improved AI competitors
  
• Added sandbox-only racing tire choices
  
• Reworked traction / diff tests
  
• Improved gearbox torque limits, its messaging, and gearing setup
  
• Lots of tweaks to emissions and added exhaust reactor converter
  
• Rebalanced many stat dependencies with better progressions
  
• Full rework of tires for BeamNG exports

And for those of you curious what else there is, here you go!

[h2]Ellisbury Update Open Beta Patch 5 Changelog[/h2]

[h3]Car Generation AI[/h3]

• Car AI competitors now use as much quality as they have tech pool
  
• Implemented a lot of changes to car AI lookup table
  
• Implemented car generation AI for the new gearing setup
  
• Improved AI to now deal with reliability penalties of gearing setups

[h3]Art & Bodies[/h3]

• Fixed 08_jpn_mpv and coupe exporting their lowering bounds boxes to beam
  
• Fixed UV tearing which was related to bounds box issues
  
• Fixed Sunflower bodies (11_jp_ute_3door_M_cpp) all being 3 row, 3/3/3
  
• Fixed opaque grills exporting as transparent
  
• Fixed all families of jpn_fatale bodies missing cameras for Beam export
  
• Possibly fixed 10s_CoupeSmall exporting bounds boxes to Beam
  
• Created LODs for 2-, 4-barrel carb, and alternator models to improve performance in Beam
  
• Fixed 4 barrel carb intakes sitting too low

A funky, modern crossover in a series of wild colours, courtesy of Westono.

[h3]Various Bugfixes[/h3]

• Fixed CVTs calculations asking for way too much power in test cycles
  
• Fixed drive type weights always thinking it was AWD
  
• Fixed RWD grip calcs not working correctly
  
• Fixed that gearboxes were not accounting for their power transmission loss
  
• Fixed advance gearing allowing ratios set to zero which broke car calculation
  
• Fixed Lua error changing gearboxes back and forth
  
• Fixed rear brake pads costing 1/100th of what they should
  
• Fixed issue where cars don't respect RPM limit on test track
  
• Fixed launch procedure for cars on test track
  
• Fixed issue where a car doesn't want to upshift even though there should be sufficient power
  
• Fixed turbine sizes not being clamped on load, making some cars/engines to not calculate
  
• Fixed an instance where engine testing would crash from an infinite loop
  
• Fixed issue with factory refresh costs being weird (negative or nonsensical)

[h3]Gameplay Tweaks & Additions[/h3]

• Added sandbox-only racing tire choices
  
• Improved year-dependent tire grip multiplier progression
  
• Tweaked range of allowed profiles for crossply tires
  
• Tweaked various tire type and compound stats
  
• Reworked traction / diff tests to make them more stable and fit for purpose
  
• Improved traction calculations
  
• CVTs now scale torque limit with their ratio range
  
• Implemented CVT efficiency dependency on speed ratio range
  
• Changed progression of gearing spread slider
  
• Changed progression of top gear ratio with its slider
  
• Reworked drivability / sportiness factor calculations for gearing
  
• Implemented gearbox weight scaling depending on torque limit used
  
• Updated gearbox torque limit progression and values
  
• Tweaked CVT scaling torque limit
  
• Rebalanced differentials and hooked up more stat dependencies
  
• Implemented boost dependence in prestige to stop fake turbos giving prestige
  
• Implemented utility grip factor dependence
  
• Remove grip reserves stat from drivability calcs and detailed stats UI
  
• Tweaked prestige progression for top speed, power, and forced induction
  
• Tweaked drive height dependence in drivability and sportiness
  
• Rebalanced stats for springs, dampers, and swaybars
  
• Tweaked the sportiness car agility stat, punishing larger cars less
  
• Improved offroad tire base stat score calculation
  
• Catalytic converters have new reliability multiplier
  
• Increased effect of tire profile on comfort
  
• Added new +3 front seat row option and tweaked seating stats
  
• Fixed issue with single VVT not having correct effect on emissions
  
• Tweaked carburetor AFR precision (slight nerf) affecting emissions
  
• Tweaked balance of catalytic converters
  
• Added exhaust reactor converter
  
• Added dependency for HC emissions with boost
  
• Added emission dependencies for compression and engine load
  
• Added emission dependency for engine block / head design year and quality
  
• Fixed a bug where dynamic logos on engine parts would disappear if the camera collided with them

A total revamp of how gearboxes and their torque limits affect reliability, and thus the desirability of your cars. This gearbox works well!

This gearbox, however, does not...

[h3]UI Fixed & Improvements[/h3]

• Added engineering time & material cost breakdowns to detailed stats panel
  
• Increased allowed setting range of first gear speeds to higher speeds
  
• Fixed item list tooltips using model year instead of relevant year to part
  
• Rename "Light Truck Monocoque" to "Partial Monocoque"
  
• Fixed an issue with engine size widget behavior
  
• Fixed fixture button issue with flip-to-opposite-side being inconsistent
  
• Fixed sandbox company manager being available in campaign UI
  
• Fixed sandbox car / engine manger not remembering the selected company
  
• Fixed side panel display of material costs being broken for $100k+ costs
  
• Fixed inconsistency in detailed stats emissions panel display of WES standard introduction
  
• Fixed inconsistent coloring in emissions UI
  
• Fixed errors in the display of tire grip in the tire tooltip
  
• Fixed End key taking players to start menu when used in a text box
  
• Fixed fuel efficiency not being unit converted on car summary screen
  
• Fixed double clicking "All Fixture" or "Fixture" materials not backing out to fixture display
  
• Fixed unit conversion issue in gearing setup with inputs not being interpreted correctly
  
• Added gearbox torque limit info in power torque graph and in gearing graph
  
• Improved y-scale for power vs. traction graph for high grip cars
  
• Fixed cornering graph cutting off data as the car rolls over without warning
  
• Added display of 0-100 time in power vs traction graph
  
• Fixed power density limitation icon moving off the top of the power torque graph
  
• Created red warning for if the car rolls over during tests, cutting the cornering graph short
  
• Improved layout of graphs and their selection buttons
  
• Fixed issue with emissions graphs not getting data
  
• Added weight distribution over time to the power vs. traction graph
  
• Fixed engine project sign-off screen not correctly updating after adjusting engineering sliders
  
• Fixed retooling a car factory's minor tooling not saving defaults correctly when facelifting a car

With the tire rework and over a decade of being asked for them, we've finally added slick tires to Automation!

[h3]BeamNG Exporter[/h3]

• Massive rework of tires, wheels, and hubs for exported cars for greatly improved driving feel
  
• Fixed using both fixture cameras resulting in 1 not working
  
• Implemented On-Demand AWD sensitivity progression by year and quality
  
• Added lockup in off-road drive mode for modern On-Demand AWD
  
• Fixed bounding box issues with tiny meshes
  
• Fixed issues with invisible car bodies
  
• Added scaling to experimental props
  
• Fixed torque curve extrapolation runaway when engine doesn't hit peak torque before limiter
  
• Moved advanced car tuning sliders to separate parts
  
• Fixed a crash caused by the engine sound thread when the export fails
  
• Tweaked lowShiftDownRPM
  
• Made the wheel hub stiffness slider affect beamDamp
  
• Tweaked FFB strengths for different steering and tyre setups
  
• Added a max FFB weight for power steering
  
• Added dependencies to tyre grip and front wheel load to FFB
  
• Fixed multiple bugs causing inconsistent weight and stiffness of wheels, tyres and suspension
  
• Adjusted default tyre pressures (mostly higher, lower for off road, higher still for utility)
  
• Lots of performance improvements from level of detail adjustments
  
• Note: Drag tires are still WIP and currently replaced with race soft on export!

In the coming days we will address any issues that pop up with quick patches, gearing up for the main release of this big update so that we can move on to the next big update cycle before the end of the year.

Cheers!

Header image credit: ChilPollins1982 (Reddit)

A small patch with quick fixes for some brokenness in the previous version! We have plenty more on our ToDo list, but think it is best to get this out before the weekend.

[h3]Patch 4 Changelog[/h3]

• Fixed country tech pool jumping between levels instead of interpolating
  
• Fixed advanced gearing UI only using km/h as input
  
• Fixed campaign not opening player-selected design rooms
  
• Fixed advance gearing final drive not causing gear speeds to update
  
• Fixed wrong country tech progressions, mixed up countries
  
• Fixed turbo pressure graph being empty in turbo grid
  
• Fixed engine reducing stroke making engine shift position instead of getting smaller
  
• Fixed effective tech year not initializing correctly
  
• Fixed twin exhausts spawning one of the mufflers the wrong way
  
• Fixed issue with a material that shouldn't exist but is exporting
  
• Added gearbox ratio range reliability penalty to warnings

That is all for now, patch 5 won't be long!
Cheers!

Patch 3 took a whole lot longer than anticipated, mostly due to larger underlying structural problems found and resolved in the process of fixing seemingly minor problems.

For example, competitor car generation having some issues with data handling, which led to large sections of the car designer game code being translated from Lua to C++. That is something we wanted to do anyway, but certainly not right now!

As you can see in the big patch changelog below, in the last month we were able to get a lot done though, despite a lot of work being hidden under the hood.

A brilliant modern supercar, by iIvanSmith.



[h3]General[/h3]

• Converted a big chunk of car designer calculations from Lua to C++
  
• Fixed various issues with competitor car generation
  
• Fixed lua error when swapping fuel to nitromethane
  
• Fixed lua error when importing pre-4.2 cars and improved prompt to show body name & UID
  
• Fixed hard lock while using 4 grid mode and rapidly changing turbo settings
  
• Fixed Lua error with convertible options in campaign
  
• Fixed a performance issue with global colors
  
• Fixed AI using emissions tuning when it doesn't use a cat
  
• Fixed timing belts stop spinning when changing block material
  
• Fixed semi-slick tire textures being backwards
  
• Added lower-res map layers to the test tracks to use when fully zoomed out

[h3]Gameplay[/h3]

• Implemented gearing range reliability penalty and opened up allowed gearing range
  
• Improved torque converter, CVT, and general shifting logic and test cycle behavior
  
• Fixed inconsistencies in acceleration calculations and clutch logic
  
• Applied all changes to shift logic and acceleration test improvements to test track calculations
  
• Added in engine family stroke length effect on engine fitting
  
• Added efficiency vs. cruise speed graph
  
• Added traction tests sheet as a selectable graph
  
• Fixed issues with downforce and lift calculations
  
• Hooked up toe effect to tire wear / tire service costs
  
• Implemented CVT hard torque limit (size-independent) and fixed limits not scaling correctly
  
• Fixed reliability of CVTs being unexpectedly high
  
• Fixed 4x4 / manual locker not having expected effects
  
• Fixed issue in calculation of interior space vs seat rows used for coupes
  
• Implemented drivability & sportiness gearing dependency (WIP)
  
• Updated gearbox "grades" for drivability, sportiness, comfort, reliability, and engineering

The new power-traction graphs, which breaks down your car's performance on different surfaces, and with different traction levels at each wheel.
[h3]Campaign[/h3]

• Changed behavior of country tech pool to be a true offset you don't pay for
  
• Fixed yearly autosaves in campaign zeroing various market data, including preorders
  
• Fixed leaded fuel cars selling to other countries despite their leaded fuel ban
  
• Fixed taking a loan for standalone factories starting payback immediately
  
• Fixed market tab not updating when open and time is ticking in campaign

[h3]UI Changes[/h3]

• Fixed removing cat not resetting emissions optimization back to zero before locking it
  
• Added piston / block icon at power density line depending on which item limits it
  
• Added all-fixture scale controls to advance trim settings to resize of fully 3D fixture cars
  
• Fixed some fixture slots not accepting light type changes
  
• Fixed missing units in power / torque graph
  
• Finished implementation of new detailed stats UI for Test Cycles & Emissions
  
• Fixed previous decade safety button not working until a safety package is selected
  
• Fixed inconsistencies in the display of fuel availability
  
• Fixed mod wheels with incorrectly set up wheel families not displaying in wheel selection
  
• Added car trim engine sound controls to engine testing UI
  
• Added "open custom images folder" button to HDRI level widget
  
• Added tooltip for steering and traction aids PU values
  
• Fixed issues with drag graph formatting and labeling
  
• Fixed gear selector for emissions UI not updating on gear change
  
• Fixed gearbox warnings appearing before a gearbox is selected
  
• Added various missing icons

The new detailed stats page, for emissions and test cycles.
[h3]Balance [/h3]

• Significantly increased importance of reliability stat, proportional to demographic desires
  
• Tweaked R&D branch cost multipliers
  
• Tweaked costs of undertrays
  
• Tweaked costs and PU of interiors and entertainment
  
• Tweaked costs of steering options
  
• Tweaked costs of traction aids
  
• Tweaked costs and PU of springs

[h3]Car Body Fixes[/h3]

• 78_TaS_Comp_SWB changed to Truck
  
• 78Comp/78Plus - Wagon changed to 5 door, Con and Coupe changed to coupe, cargo and ZMPV_Cargo changed to van
  
• 80s_OR_LWB Wagon changed to SUV
  
• Kei_Truck/LWB_Truck/MWB_Truck: removed convertible tag
  
• JD1974_E3 vans adjusted to 3 doors
  
• BodyEditor_70sFamilyvan and BodyEditor_70sPanelvan changed to 5 door
  
• CS_Moore: All vans bulk edited to ensure 3 doors
  
• 65_XMB_Wagon_2Dr_Alt adjusted to 3 doors
  
• BodyEditor_60sCoupe Targas given hardtop flag
  
• All eras of GPV 2 doors are now flagged as 3 door, and 4 doors are flagged as 5 doors
  
• BodyEditor_60sSedan02 wagon variant adjusted to 5 doors
  
• JD1974_60s_112A van and MPV adjusted to 3 doors
  
• 60s_Mid_LM longer wheelbase van adjusted to 3 doors

[h3]Exporter Fixes & Improvements[/h3]

• Fixed exported cars sometimes having huge bounding boxes with certain fixtures
  
• Implemented new sectional body JBeam generation among other minor body generation changes
  
• Tweaked gearbox shifting logic
  
• Added "Expand Body Bounds" parameter, controlling if unbreakable fixtures resize bounding box
  
• Increased tire sliding friction
  
• Lowered taillight flare intensity
  
• Added an upper limit to engine braking torque of 60 Nm
  
• Added a lower limit for speed limiters of 10 km/h
  
• Fixed CVTs displaying a gear count in the name
  
• Updated light triggers
  
• Adjusted force feedback effects of various power steering choices
  
• Reworked the Zip-Pack mode to modify the archive instead of entirely overwriting it
  
• Added experimental prop support
  
• Various optimizations

Retro-futurism at its finest, by Skyline.





We are currently working on a series of new test tracks for Automation, and we want your feedback on the art style! Simply go to the Google Form by clicking on this link, and vote for the three finalists in the survey; it will only take a minute!

With all that out of the way, we've come a lot closer to a public, main-branch release of the Ellisbury Update. Of course there are more issues to address and likely even a few new ones introduced. We will continue to improve the update within the open beta until we believe it to be ready for general adoption.

Cheers!

Banner image credit: Oochya (Automation Discord)

Just one more fix... this took a lot longer than we wanted as more and more things were deemed important to be included in this second patch. But here it is, and rather chunky once again!

Here is the full changelog for Patch 2!

[h3]General Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed engine graphs missing before car is finished
  
• Fixed lua errors changing to boxer configurations
  
• Fixed crash to desktop reverting a held engine in engine dyno
  
• Fixed power density thresholds being half of what they should be
  
• Fixed (potentially) car export of legacy car fails with lua error
  
• Fixed competitor companies failing to use their latest line-up facelifts
  
• Fixed Fuel Economy calculation seems to give wrong value
  
• Fixed manual locker diffs being OP for drivability grip tests
  
• Fixed a crash related to fuel economy calculations
  
• Fixed dyno testing tab not updating the power torque graph scale
  
• Fixed engine start/stop controls color for colorblind mode
  
• Fixed 2-way cat efficiency always being zero in the dyno UI
  
• Fixed issue with wheel size and MacPherson availability on 76_eu body variants
  
• Fixed leaf spring suspension models not displaying in car designer
  
• Fixed thumbnails of doorcars showing backface

[h3]Other Improvements[/h3]

• Implemented [WIP] new emissions UI for detailed stats page
  
• Implemented [WIP] gearing range limits for gearboxes (affected by quality)
  
• Implement throttle response, TC, and ESC dependencies in drivability grip tests
  
• Added tech pool cost estimation to sandbox and company manager tech pool UI
  
• Tweaked factory addon times for earlier part unlocks
  
• Update grip test choices for Drivability, Sportiness, and Offroad diff tests
  
• Optimized cornering sim for car calcs and track calcs

[h3]BeamNG Exporter Fixes[/h3]

• Mirrors, license plates, antennas, lights, interior pieces, and tow bars now don't contribute car body bounding box expansion anymore
  
• Fixed default transmission missing in configuration files
  
• Fixed CVTs having too small of adjustment ranges, causing wrong ratios being used
  
• Disabled AWD and Differential DSE controllers
  
• Lowered wheel stiffness
  
• Lowered body stiffness
  
• Fixed broken AMT and DCT transmission modes
  
• Nerfed on-demand AWD
  
• Implemented new Advanced AWD
  
• Changed names of differentials to match Automation ones
  
• Optimized mesh cleanup
  
• Interior sound muffling now depends on interior choice, quality and weight optimization
  
• Added internal recalculation of mesh bounding boxes

We're working on the next patch already and there is plenty more fixes and improvements to come.
Cheers!