automationgame.com

just a thought

Add in ignition systems as a feature in the engine builder.

to keep this simple ill just name a few ideas

* on earlier distributor engine eg early nissan pintara 2.4l they ran 8 plugs on te I4 which was to help combustion power/emission wise
* coil per cylinder options
* the use of wasted spark ( throws a spark on exhaust stroke to burn any unburnt fuel therefore reducing emissions )
* high energy coils

just a few thoughts

Yeah, at the moment we're having ignition systems automatically change with fuel system (once you go MPFI you also go coil packs, anything before then is distributor) and I think to be honest that's the best way to go about it, as usually you'll be running newer ignition tech with newer fuel systems, and the diference between each ignition system is small enough that its OK for it to be rolled into the difference between fuel systems

Well in all honesty. i am a engine builder and tuner and all the pistons and cams in the world is not going to make any power, with out a ignition system that is properly tuned. i think you should have a knock system and maybe something along the lines of the fuel system plugin that adds more timing or less timing. It would be nice to see adjustments of ign and fuel thru each rpm range. more or less fuel with out any real numbers for easy tuning. Also a wideband gauge plugin. possibly have two ways to run the game expert and starter mode. port and polish heads people could learn about turbulence port design. if this things are not options people will just go bigger is better and learn no real skill is necessary to play the game. well this are my thought but someone ones sed if you are going to do something do it right!

I am also a mechanic mate, over 10 years in the trade at a performance shop in sydney.
As i actually wrote that original post i kinda tried to lay off the in depth stuff. Ignition systems are a massive factor in motors performance and standard stuff, but where do you draw the line in a game. I was just trying to add a few features like waste spark which would come in handy in some scenarios to keep emmisions down, to have to basically map a ecu would become quite annoying after a few motors ( i do this at work ). so in the sense that it is a game and games are for fun its probably better to play it down a bit.
plus i dont need this to fuel more forum mechanics that try to work on thier own cars at home and f##k it all up then tow it to my work for me to fix thier rubbish and direct me on what to do cause thats's what the guru's on the forums said.

Also to add to the tuning side of it, the motor gets a quick power run. To tune it affectively you would have to have control over the dyno and play around with load/rpm ranges and complicate the game further by being able to use a dyno and have enough knowledge to tune a motor.

(But personally i'd love to have a go)

We're not going to go fully indepth with tuning although we are going to make it a little bit more interesting than currently. (basically it'll have Power and Cruise mixture sliders)

You seem to want it made as complex and detailed as possible, which from both a game design point of view and the point of view of getting the thing done, is not really going to happen. I have also tuned ECUs before and it really isn't something that you can make fun and easy enough to learn. Also don't forget that this game has all the car design aspects, as well as the business aspects. if we over complicate every aspect you'll never finish a game as you'll be too busy trying to get your first engine to run right..

I would like to see a fully customizable system like Megasquirt. However it will be a really bad idea for the developers since its extremely advanced to adjust it to make the car run smooth and some of the people who play this game to learn basics of engines will have their minds blown. I think what Daffy said is great, make it basic but you can still get power from it without having to go in-depth.