The BIG Automation Stuffs (UNOFFICIAL) - Updated 5/5/14

[ronnie4444]

This is an idea I had. Not sure where to put this, and if it's against the Automation Commandments then just let me know and do whatevah you have to do.

EDIT: This was a really tiny post because I don't have very much time. I'll fix it

Anyways...
So. Automation is going to be a FANTASTIC game with MANY stuffs. From this come the usual question, like perhaps a particular motor layout that rests in a Nissan GTR... You know what I'm talking about. So, I felt like it'd be a good idea to make a MASSIVE thread containing all the goodies I've found over the forums, videos, facebook, etc.
I WILL be sure to update this often as things change and we're going to need it.

REMEMBER: THIS WILL CHANGE! I AM NOT A DEVELOPER IN ANY WAY AND I'M TYPING FROM OFFICIAL AUTOMATION SOURCES!

Number one!
Release Roadmap

I said this already but...
REMEMBER: THIS WILL CHANGE! I AM NOT A DEVELOPER IN ANY WAY AND I'M TYPING FROM OFFICIAL AUTOMATION SOURCES!

Okay. The development timelime, I believe, has come up A LOT. Here's the general outline based off of the last Q/A (April 6th, 2014):
1. Reliability, Costs, stuffs like that
2. Polishing, fixing bugs and refining
3. Car Tycoon Demo thingy
4. Milestones and stuff for the car tycoon
5. Fixing Forced Induction and adding more forced induction stuff
NOTE: The order in which the engines will come out IS NOT confirmed, but I personally figure that after the game's features are in that we'll get more info on content.
6. Inline 3
7. V12
8. V6
9. Inline 5
10. V10
11. Boxer 4
12. Boxer 6
13. V16
14. Balancing stuff and adding more stuff
15. Release!

Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4S6L-k ... YK1hDGOm2A at 12:44

Number two!
Campaign and Tycoon
The Campaign will feature many goodies. Things such as keeping micromanagement to a minimum and hiring different engineers giving different bonuses.

There will be benefits from revising an already-existent vehicle instead of building a new one altogether, and different personnel give different bonuses, such as 15% less platform development time or 2 extra tech pool on the fuel system.

The campaign will span from 1946 to 2020, and will feature a 'history' of the car industry, such as the oil crisis. The campaign, as of the completion of it, will feature many candy bars and goodie bags. Management of your company includes factories, dealerships, imports and exports, and more. As no one likes micromanagement, the game will allow you to choose the obvious options (Employee salary or Research budget). The game simulates lots of different groups of buyers, such as men in their middle age crisis who have no family or 70 year old grandmas who can't afford life insurance. Each group of people will prioritize some aspects of a car the most, and completely ignore others (Sportiness, service costs, or perhaps how much leather is squeezed into the 7 tonne boat).

Sources:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4068
The Screen before the main menu in the game (Not sure what it is called, )
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=137

Number three!
Content Goodies
Now, this one is a biggie. A lot of people have asked "WILL I GET MY HYBRID FOR ECO AND STUFFZ??!!!!11!!!!", and I'm sure it gets quite annoying (No correction needed, I'm assuming? ). I have used the "Game at launch, What is in? What is Out?" topic just for this.

Essentially, here's what we're looking at.

Color codes:
red = Not sure
green = Already done/functional
white = Not started yet
orange = Working on it
yellow = I (ronnie4444) don't know about this yet, I need sources!

Engine Design
Sophisticated design allowing you to choose almost everything that goes into your engine

Inline - 3 4 5 6
V - 6 8 10 12 16
Boxer - 4 6

Aspiration - Naturally Aspirated / Single Turbos for Inlines / Twin Turbos for Inlines / Single Turbos for Vs / Twin Turbos for Vs / Superchargers NOTE: Forced induction, as stated by Killrob, is nowhere near the standards for Automation!

Platform Design
The ability to pick from different options and materials for the chassis and suspension of your platform

Engine Placement - Front Transverse / Front Longitudinal / Mid Transverse / Mid Longitudinal / Rear Transverse / Rear Longitudinal
A wide variety of fixtures NOTE: More will be added!
A wide variety of car bodies ranging from the 40s to modern today NOTE: More will be added!

Model Design
Loads of options for you to pick from on your models NOTE: More will be added!
Calculated Statistics such as top speed, sportiness, prestige, and more
Service costs, Man hours, Utility Rating, and other calculated statistics

Drivetrain layout - FWD / AWD / RWD
Gearboxes - 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 Speed Transmissions
Gearbox types - Automatic / Manual / Sequential Manual

Gameplay and other stuff NOTE: The campaign and running companies won't happen for a long time, until the designers are feature-complete and have minimal bugs (As far as I know)!

The ability to create a car company and run it from 1946 to 2020
Company management - Factories and Production / Finances / Company Relations and Misc

Multiplayer - Multiplayer Engine Scenarios / Multiplayer Campaign


Number four!
Notes and Other Stuff

Under Construction! This will be improved!

Here lies things that I couldn't find a category for. Let me know if anything under this category should perhaps be in another already-existent category, or perhaps a new one!

Specific Features
Automation has loads of cool features right now, and loads more are on their way! Of course, many of these features are smaller and much more 'specific', meaning that they can't be described with "The ability to ______ and ____________!". This is the section for those features! NOTE: Most of these aren't in our version yet!



This will be updated more as I get time! Feel free to correct me on anything I may have gotten wrong!

[Daffyflyer]

That all looks pretty much correct, although the order in which we do the engines isn't 100% confirmed yet

[ronnie4444]

I added some more stuff, whaddaya think?

[NormanVauxhall]

Replace the blue with something more readable *eyesbleed*

[Killrob]

I would say: keep the colors down in general it becomes very difficult to read and maintain with all the stuff going on in that post. Less is more in this case

[ronnie4444]

There, I fixed the eyekiller colors

[WizzyThaMan]

KillRob said Turbo's need to be completely recalculated. Maybe good if you put that in?

[Jakgoe]

Ronnie said that in a note after the line about forced induction. He could have edited it, but he hasn't been on since 8 hrs before your message.

[WizzyThaMan]

Oh sorry, I was expecting it at the Content Goodies area where he spoke about GREEN Turbo stuff... thats why I thought he missed out that bit.

[ronnie4444]

Heya guys, sorry about being inactive and stuff. Internet's pretty spotty for some reason, and my computer's hard drive is grinding itself to pieces. Anyways, working on another section!

[Jakgoe]

You should highlight "Automatic" and "Sequential" Gearboxes in orange, as they are in progress, as shown by the last dev update video.

[JayZee88]

One more thing you can add ronnie is what types of body styles will be available. I have a post made about this if you want to copy and paste. I am not sure how far along (or how many of the body styles will be offered with the first release. I did forget the van in the list). You forgot the Inline 8 and flathead inline and v8s to (not sure if they plan on offering them with the first release though).

[nialloftara]

Josh according to the whats in thread http://automationgame.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=137 the straight 8 is dlc, as for flatheads I'm not even sure if sidevalves will be made as it becomes outdated so quickly after the game's start date. I've seen it shot down a few times in various threads.

[JayZee88]

That is a shame. Some companies used flatties into the late 50s and early 60s like Rambler and Plymouth on their L6. I think the 2 disadvantages of flatties are the low compression and bad flow characteristics, But if you aren't focused on high rpm or high compression then they would be a optional choice! At least we will have straight 8s! The torque those motors put out puts a V8 to shame!