automationgame.com

Yep, I have been making money once I learned go dirt cheap first, it sells.

I played Gear City open beta 1.18. The game lacks a certain excitement that was found in Automation. The point and click interface is boring compared to Automation's. The car designer seems limited. The whole process of waiting turns makes me feel like there is a lack of feedback, plus when you make decisions like committing factory lines it just closes the menu. No noises or text to give feedback that your selection was accepted. Overall the game just doesn't have that excitement you get from Automation. If Automation wasn't coming out I would probably play Gear City because I have been looking for a car company tycoon game for years. But knowing Automation exists and is playable, it's like using a ten year old operating system instead of a new one.

I have and play both Automation and Gear City. They both appeal for different reasons. Automation for the in depth characteristics for the engine designer and the intricacy of engine designing. Where as Gear City has many more options (flat heads, T heads, etc), various forced induction and engine types, and sizes. Each with its own advantage and disadvantage. I like automation because it shows the problems in designing engines, and the realism. Gear City appeals to me because I can choose what type of engine to build in what way regardless of the time period (flat head in the 90s, OHV in the teens, etc). Automation to me is more about the in depth car designing more focused on the cars in general. Where Gear City is about the broad use of designing cars and the larger impact of said designed car.

If Automation by the time its finished (completely) offers options like flathead, t head, 4 sp automatics in 1946 (like the Hydramatics used in GM), etc I will no longer need Gear City. Because Automation should be about choice as well. Even though the game is geared tward post war designs, previous designs should also be available as a cheap cost alternative. Its frustrating a slight bit that early in the game I wouldn't be able to recreate a realistic car due to the unlock of certain tech is later then was really available. A example a 1952 Oldsmobile Super 88 with a 4 speed hydramatic, 4 barrel. I know you can unlock items earlier, but suffer reliability issues (4 barrels were common years before 1955 in the US, since the 30s The 4 speed hydramatic was used in many brands other then GM (Lincoln, Rolls Royce, Nash, Hudson, Kaiser, Fraizer, Willys, and Bentlys). If I wanted to build a 4 speed automatic in the late 40s early 50s its would be very unreliable, but the hydramatic was always known as a very reliable transmission (I actually had one 1956 Pontiac StarChief Catalina, and they are comparable to modern automatics in how they feel and respond unlike the 2 speed slam o matics common at the time). Thats why so many other brands used it.

Im not complaining about Automation. I am merely showing the appeal and drawback IMHO to each game. Automation can easily make Gear City irrelevant if the people playing had more choices (which sounds like later DLC). Automation should also consider a DLC for prewar.

@JayZee88: Prewar stuff doesn't work in Automation that is something that comes up a lot. You can't have realistic calculations and have straight up inferior designs next to superior designs at the same cost, it doesn't make sense. In gearcity this is less of an issue because it doesn't simulate things as accurately, it can make an interesting choice out of this, we can't. Cheers!