Another nice car tycoon game

[bauto601]

I will first say this:
I don't want to remove potential customers for automation to this game but i think that this game is worth mentioning. It's a completely diffrent game from automation, i'm also not a developer of them or connected to them in any way. It's just a nice suggestion

The game i want to talk about is motor tycoon:
http://www.motortycoon.co.uk/

Currently it is in closed beta but i was the first one who signed up for it from the general public so i was a bit astonished that nobody else has tried it yet. The developer replies pretty quick to your request for an closed beta account.

That was it, i just had to post it

[Pleb]

I applied, and got a response in about 20 minutes, and now I have a beta account. I'm gonna head into the game and see what's what.

[Lothoren]

I too have applied for access, Just replying back to get access.

[Killrob]

Interesting! Please share some of your experiences with the game here

[Slim Jim]

The basic concept is cool, but the sales model is a little weird. No matter what car I've sold, sales start out with a bang, then decline precipitously (eventually reaching zero) in less than a year. That, and the relative lack of choice in building what you want at the early stages of the game are probably my biggest gripes. Still, it's a fun game and I find myself logging in after every turn* to see how well (or badly) I've done. One neat feature is the ability to save colors for your car (you are limited to 3 per model) with the possibility of "copyrighting" a certain color so that no one else can use that specific combination. I love the idea of saving colors, but since I can't actually name the color, it's not perfect. You're limited to hexadecimal triplets.

The process of building a car is pretty straightforward. You build an engine by selecting various options from dropdown lists. Fuel type, number of valves, and redline are just a few of the options to choose from. Building a platform and then a model follow the same procedure with various aspects of both to choose from. As stated before, the options are very limited when you're just starting out. Finally, you choose where you want your factory, your colors (no names ), set your price** and you're all set.

That's pretty much all there is to it. It's a nice game, but I'd like to see:
1. a revised, more realistic sales model
2. more available options in the earlier stages of the game
3. the ability to name custom colors
4. the elimination of price restrictions**

* = It's turn-based where every 12 hours real-time, is one month in game.
** = You can only set a price within a certain percentage greater than the total cost.

[Pleb]

I found it really confusing to navigate the menus, and the way it displays messages is annoying, because it does it by creating a pop-up dialog in Chrome. Personally I did terribly with my first car; so bad that I am now over £600,000 in the hole, so I pretty much gave up with it.

Good concept though, just badly executed in my opinion.

[WizzyThaMan]

Good concept though

Of course, thats the reason you are sticking around this forum, arent you ?

[Slim Jim]

That's a good point! When I said "a cool concept", I meant more in terms of it being an internet-based game, rather than an installable game.

edit:

I found it really confusing to navigate the menus, and the way it displays messages is annoying, because it does it by creating a pop-up dialog in Chrome. Personally I did terribly with my first car; so bad that I am now over £600,000 in the hole, so I pretty much gave up with it.

Good concept though, just badly executed in my opinion.

I got as low as -£200,000, then clawed my way up to a £30,000 profit... then promptly threw away that profit to build another model which will *hopefully* sell enough to put me back into the black. I didn't really have a problem with the menus, but I can attest to your frustration. The sales model I think is the real issue. It's impossible to tell what will sell, what won't, and why. Your kinda flying blind in that respect, unless you check the leaderboard and try to model your car after the best-selling model for a particular period.

[Slim Jim]

OK, so it's been a week and there are a few things I'd like to report.

Firstly, many of the concerns I had were addressed in an e-mail directly from the developer not long after I made the last post. That was a pleasant surprise to say the least! To paraphrase some of what was said, the sales model is designed to give a small sales bonus to brand new cars and steadily declining sales (without intervention) thereafter. By intervention, I mean periodic updates such as facelifts or revised engines to keep things "fresh" - just as real manufacturers do.

Secondly, by locking up some of the available options early on in the game, it encourages players to keep playing rather than building something wild, become bored, and then leave. If I'm honest that's one of the reasons why I continue to play - not just because it's fun to see how well I've been doing (more on that later), but also I look forward to the day when I have enough cash to be able to build supercars that will actually sell!

On the topic of custom colors - they considered giving players the ability to name colors, but decided against it feeling that few, if any, would use it. I still think that decision should be rethought. Especially on the basis that you can copyright a custom color in the game that only your company can use. If I'm going to pay the extra money for the privilege, I'd also like the freedom to be able to show off my wit and creativity by giving my colors a unique name! (oh that means you too, automation!) I doubt this will be implemented unless other players voice similar opinions - they should create a poll, see what others think! I don't think I'm the only one who would enjoy naming colors (at least I hope I'm not ).

Lastly, price restrictions are the result of early testers not having a rough idea as to what a competitive price would be and charging exorbitant prices for otherwise mundane cars. While I can see where they're coming from on that point, I suggested the restrictions (if they absolutely have to be there) should vary based on the type of car being built. A 50% maximum markup above cost for a micro car might be OK, but that seems overly restrictive on a supercar when you're paying a lot more money for R&D, material and production costs.

_________________

In the week since I last posted, I managed to turn my company's losses into massive profits! At one point, I believe I was either #3 or #4 for the most cash on hand! I've since spent some of the money upgrading facilities and opening up new tech, but it remains to be seen whether or not it will pay off - or if I upgraded prematurely. One of the best features of the game, I think, are the reviews in the "Motor Tycoon Weekly Times". Unlike other games which use boilerplate (or automated scripts) and then merge your company name, these reviews are actually hand-written by MT staff! They watch the progress of certain companies and write about their fortunes (or misfortunes, haha) and do reviews and comparisons of recently released cars. It really adds a personal touch that makes you feel more included in the game/community. The reviews are unbiased, well-written*, and fun-to-read - especially when you're an honorable mention.

* I did spot a couple typos here and there. Nothing major though. The quality of the writing overall far exceeds the odd spelling error.

[Pleb]

I am contemplating going back to the game soon, but I doubt I'd be able to come back from a £600,000 defecit..

[SirTiberius48]

There is also another car tycoon game Called Gear City if any one has heard of it, you start in the 1900's and build up your car company.

[Slim Jim]

Uh oh, don't get autofrank started.

[Killrob]

Or any other victims of its UI design xD