Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 189: Filling Gaps in a Legacy

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 189: Filling Gaps in a Legacy

With the current open alpha still too unstable for my needs, I have chosen to continue using the most recent stable release for my first Discourse challenge entry of 2025. My entry into the first stage of A Legendary Legacy was the 1962 AMS Antares V8 5.0 - a small front-engined sports car with a big heart and a lavishly pointed interior.

Above, from top: The 1962 AMS Antares 5.0 squeezes a big, powerful engine into a small package, but doesn't skimp on creature comforts.

Powered by a 250-horsepower pushrod V8 sending its grunt to the rear wheels via a 4-speed manual gearbox and clutched LSD, the Antares 5.0 is as fast through the corners as it is down the straights (159 mph top speed, 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds) thanks to 4-wheel dual-wishbone independent suspension and 4-wheel disc brakes, on a steel monocoque with a galvanized chassis. To fulfill its role as a pocket grand tourer, a full high-quality luxury interior and AM/FM radio came as standard.

Above: The rare SuperSport option package added a second carburetor to its more highly tuned engine, along with wider tires, quad exhaust tips, and a 5-speed manual gearbox, for a more performance-oriented package.

Between 1969 and 1971, the SuperSport option package was offered - it added an extra forward gear and widened tires (225mm front/rear, compared to 205mm previously) to exploit the power increase (to 300 bhp) from its twin-carburetor setup. After it was dropped, some of its enhancements (specifically, the new gearbox and tires) were inherited by the base model. However, in 1974, it would be replaced by a larger, more angular second generation - right at the start of the oil crisis.

(Note: The challenge I entered didn't have a round themed around the 1970s, so I created this successor to my entry below in my spare time - this one was based on a newer body set, but retained some signature design touches such as a prominent hood bulge flanked by a set of functional vents, and an additional vent somewhere on the front fender. Also, to distinguish it further from the original, I gave it $50 million worth of combined techpool points instead of $45m.)

Above, from top: The second-generation Antares retained its predecessor's engine, but detuned it in keeping with new EPA legislation.

In a first for the line, the second generation of Antares came with a catalytic converter (specifically, a 2-way unit) as standard in North American specification - a change made possible by the use of unleaded fuel. However, these changes, combined with the switch to a milder camshaft, reduced its power output to just 200 horsepower (60 fewer than those sold elsewhere, which kept the dual-carb setup as opposed to the single-carb one shown here), although with over 250 lb-ft of torque, it was still surprisingly quick. But 6.6 seconds was a full second slower than what the 1962 original could manage - mainly due to the extra weight brought on by Federalization (including more advanced safety and interior tech, plus standard-fit power steering for the first time ever). The resulting car, still having the same chassis and suspension as its predecessor, had therefore lost some of its edge - but not all of it, with the brakes now upgraded to vented discs, resulting in a huge reduction in brake fade. And with functional front and rear spoilers, it was also far more stable at higher speeds.

Even so, there SuperSport package would not return for this generation, and it would not be until the debut of the next generation that the Antares recovered more of its mojo. That, however, is a story for another day.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 188: Another Set of New Year's Resolutions for 2025

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 188: Another Set of New Year's Resolutions for 2025

Happy New Year 2025 to all my fellow Automationeers! This time, I'll discuss my most important New Year's resolution as an Automationeer: to explore the Al-Rilma update for Automation, which finally introduces superchargers (along with other forced induction setups) to the game. In addition, nearly every aspect of the game (especially engine outputs, reliability, and efficiency) will be tweaked accordingly, and there will be even more new body sets for us to work with. There is, however, one caveat: it is still currently in its open alpha stage, and as such it still has quite a lot of annoying bugs. In the meantime, I will continue to use the most recent stable release - but I will opt into the update as soon as its stability has sufficiently improved for my needs.

Along with this, my other major New Year's resolution is to improve my hosting skills on the forums (and Discord). The best way I can do this is to be more conscious of how much time will be required for long-form challenges lasting more than one week; as such, I must adjust my daily workload accordingly if I am to have even the slightest chance of finishing them on time. In addition, I should also apply this approach whenever I host any challenge that doesn't follow these longer formats, just to be sure. 

Finally, I pledge to stir up less controversy and use the correct scoring system every time I host any Discourse forum or Discord challenge. In particular, when hosting Cool Wall 7, I concocted a proprietary rankings system on the fly recently, and made some unnecessarily disparaging remarks on some of the entries - only to retract them and adopt the standard Cool Wall scoring method after massive backlash from entrants. It came at a time when I had completed several rounds of scoring, so I had to adjust the entries' rankings accordingly. The experience left me burned out for a while, until I realized how long it was taking to finish the challenge, so I picked up the pace near the end and got the whole thing done before New Year's Eve.

Those are my Automation New Year's Resolutions for 2025 - I hope you've defined yours, and pledged to keep all of them, as I plan to do for this year.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 187: The Fourth of Four, and More Ups and Downs

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 187: The Fourth of Four, and More Ups and Downs

After finally finishing the entire mid-engined LVC range for 1995, I realized there was a gap in their lineup for a front-engined grand tourer - the LS55. This was another two-seater, but with a larger front-mounted V12, displacing 5.0 liters (as opposed to the LS60's 4.0 liters) and developing 475 horsepower, sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox and a helical limited-slip differential. Weighing just 1.4 metric tons, thanks to its use of a glued aluminum monocoque chassis and aluminum body panels, it was still the heaviest car in their lineup at the time, being the only car in the range to have a full luxury interior and sound system (a high-end CD/cassette tape stereo, in keeping with contemporary trends).

Above, from top: The LVC LS55 adapts the company's contemporary design language (characterized mainly by a pair of vertically stacked headlights on each side and an elliptical main grille at the front, plus two circular taillight lenses per side at the rear) for use on a front-engined platform, making it look like a predatory animal from any angle (especially in side profile).

Initially, I felt doubtful about the idea of having a front-engined car in the 1995 LVC sports car range, but had a change of heart after realizing that they also would've had to appeal to a more grown-up section of their customer (and fan) base, one that valued practicality as much as performance - and this combo was something even the mid-range LS35 could not offer. So I finally got around to finishing this build, having left it in limbo for months. As my last fully detailed build of 2024, I am quite proud of how it turned out.

Above: The interior of the LS55 is even more luxurious than those found in its mid-engined siblings - a boon considering its greater focus on comfort and usability.

Regarding the '95 LVC sports car/supercar lineup, if their entry-level six-cylinder sports car, the LS25, focuses on skill, being the smallest, cheapest, lightest, and least powerful of the four, then the V8-powered LS35 supercar strikes a balance between pace, usability, and cornering, while the LS55 leverages its gimmick of torque and practicality, being a front-mid-engined grand tourer (due to the engine placement slider set to its rearmost setting) rather than mid-rear-engined as its stablemates are. Finally, the LS60, a limited-run flagship hypercar, has more power than lesser LVCs, and exploits this to the fullest with its full carbon-fiber construction and race-tuned pushrod-actuated suspension.

Above, from top: The 1995 LVC 2-seater lineup at a glance - consisting of the six-cylinder LS25 (yellow), V8-powered LS35 (red), front-engined LS55 (green), and all-carbon fiber LS60 (blue) - covers all bases by appealing to four different types of buyers within their clientele. The latter two are both V12-powered, but are aimed at very different types of buyer.

To finish things off, I'd like to discuss some of my highs and lows of the year. For me, the highest point was being able to finalize the design and engineering aspects of all four cars in the LVC sports car lineup, as well as finally completing a forum challenge that I'd hosted after several months. The lowest point, on the other hand, was the fact that I got the scoring wrong in that particular challenge - which may explain why it took so long to finish in the first place. However, I did eventually own up to, apologize for, and fix that particular mistake, and as such, I won't be put off hosting any other forum challenges for a very long time. You'll find out more about the challenge that gave me so much trouble in a future blog post, but in the meantime, enjoy the group shots I made showing the '95 LVC range. I'll see you all in the New Year.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 186: Holiday Triple Threat

 Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 186: Holiday Triple Threat

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to my fellow Automationeers! As a gift to all my followers, I'm sharing a full model line of three trims of one car as a gift: the 1996 EMR EL3.

Above: The 1996 EMR EL3 comes in three trim levels: the base model, the 2.5 ES (left), the upscale 3.0 LS (center), and the sporty 3.5 SS (right).

The model range is as follows:

• 2.5 ES (white) 2.5L 160bhp 24v DOHC I6, 5spd manual or (as shown) 5sp auto, standard interior/CD player w/standard safety, and 15" alloy wheels on 185mm hard eco tires (f/r); open diff only. MSRP starting from $20k AMU.
• 3.0 LS (green): 3.0L 220bhp 24v DOHC I6, 5spd manual or (as shown) 5spd auto, premium interior/CD player w/advanced safety, and 16" alloy wheels on 205mm medium tires (f/r); viscous LSD optional. MSRP starting from $27.5k AMU.
• 3.5 SS (red): 3.5L 300bhp 24v DOHC I6, 6sp manual only, sport interior/CD player w/advanced safety, and 17" alloy wheels on 225mm sports tires (f/r); geared LSD standard. MSRP starting from $32.5k AMU.

Above, from top: It's amazing how a single model line can be so versatile - one trim level each focusing on value, comfort, and performance.

All trim levels are built on an AHS steel chassis with treated steel bodywork, and 4-wheel independent suspension (strut front/multilink rear).

Above, from top: Interior comparison of all three trim levels - 2.5 ES, 3.0 LS, and 3.5 SS.

This was a satisfying project for me to complete, and one of the last fully detailed builds I'll complete this year. I'll see you in 2025.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 185: An Early Holiday Gift

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 185: An Early Holiday Gift

In preparation for the holiday season, I have decided to continue experimenting with various ideas in Automation. One of these was to determine the viability of the '92 Evade body set (in 2-door notchback coupe configuration, with a 2.89m wheelbase) as the basis for a personal luxury coupe. The resulting build was called the SVM Sandtiger - and I had a lot of fun doing it.

Above, from top: The '92 SVM Sandtiger was the result of an experiment to determine whether or not any of the '92 Evade body sets could be used as the basis of a personal luxury coupe. As it turned out, the idea was indeed viable, although I must admit that using the same morphing settings on any size smaller than the largest one (with its 2.89m wheelbase) would distort the proportions too much.

A full-width rear reflector helped emphasize its width, while the flush-fitting headlights and egg-crate lower grille were very much in keeping with the style of the times. There were subtle (but non-functional) front and rear spoilers (simulated using body molding fixtures) As befitting a large, luxurious flagship, a powerful engine (a 300-horsepower 5.7-liter all-alloy overhead-valve V8) came as standard, as did a fully independent suspension (dual wishbones up front and a multilink rear) with air springs and adjustable adaptive dampers. On the LTC trim level (shown above), a 4-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission came as standard, as was a full luxury interior (complete with genuine wood and leather trim, available in multiple with a high-end CD/cassette tape stereo system.

Above, from top: The Sandtiger's interior was very luxurious for its time - despite only being a four-seater, it had rear-seat air vents (something that has become more commonplace in lower-end cars today) as part of its standard equipment list.

The LTC (Luxury Touring Coupe) trim level comprised the bulk of Sandtiger sales, but it wasn't the only one on offer. Alongside it sat the more performance-oriented STC (Sports Touring Coupe), which was aimed at younger buyers. It had the same amount of standard equipment inside and out as the LTC, but had wider, high-performance tires and larger alloy wheels, as well as a slightly stiffer suspension and, crucially, a 6-speed manual transmission as standard (although the LTC's automatic option was available at no extra cost). Apart from different badging and the use of plastic or color-coded (rather than chrome) exterior trim (except on the wing mirrors, which could be finished in chrome as on the LTC), however, there was little else to differentiate the STC from the LTC externally.

Above, from top: The Sandtiger STC (shown here in a rare 6-speed manual spec) was geared towards enthusiasts, but relatively few of them were sold throughout the car's lifespan.

With so little visual differentiation between the two trims, the STC sold relatively poorly during the Sandtiger's production run. However, that rarity has resulted in greater collectability today, especially for examples fitted with the manual gearbox.

In short, the Sandtiger (especially in STC guise) may not have been as much of a commercial success as its maker intended, but it still managed to act as a halo car for the brand, which would learn lessons from its development and production and apply them to the rest of its range. As for any future plans with the Sandtiger, I don't yet have any of those - except for a convertible variant of both trims (which would be heavier and less rigid, but potentially even more attractive), and a facelifted version coming within five or six years of the initial launch.

Comparing Mass Drivers in Infinite Space and BattleTech: Similarities and Differences

Comparing Mass Drivers in Infinite Space and BattleTech: Similarities and Differences

In the Infinite Space trilogy, a Mass Driver is a capital ship-mounted weapon that functions like a hybrid of a Micro-Meteorite Gun and Gauss Cannon. The resulting weapon spits out a cluster of molten metal fragments in a spread pattern over moderate ranges. However, the Tan Ru Dominator, is the only capital ship that carries at least one of this weapon in their default loadout, and even then, it faces backwards, to deter pursuers. There's a good reason for this, though: the Mass Driver's wide spread pattern makes it highly inaccurate beyond point-blank range (especially against unshielded ship hulls), which limits its usefulness. As such, it is best combined with other weapons (preferably longer-ranged ones) if you want to get the most out of it. Within its short effective range, however, it can be very devastating, especially when used in conjunction with a targeting computer of some sort.

Above, from top: Mass Drivers in Sea of Stars are not very accurate at longer ranges, but are very effective up close.

The range profile of the Mass Driver makes it well suited to sneak attacks using cloaking devices: stick it on a cloaked capital ship (preferably a fast one), get it close enough to a target, then have it decloak and attack - it will chew up its victim in seconds.

Mass Drivers in BattleTech, however, are nothing like the ones in Sea of Stars; they are instead massively scaled-up versions of Gauss Rifles that have not only been used by civilian mining and manufacturing companies, but also as capital ship and space station-mounted military weapons. Due to their extreme mass, size, cost, inaccuracy, and destructive potential, however, their use is highly restricted, even in the most desperate circumstances imaginable. Instead, the Clan Hyper-Assault Gauss Rifle (and its Inner Sphere equivalent, the Silver Bullet Gauss Rifle) serve as the BattleMech-sized equivalents of Sea of Stars' Mass Driver. Both weapons fire a cluster of small-caliber slugs instead of a single larger-caliber shell, thus increasing the damage done and, in the case of HAGs, the amount of heat generated.

An example of a Clan Stone Rhino/Behemoth armed with an Hyper-Assault Gauss Rifle 40 in each arm (above) and a King Crab carrying a pair of arm-mounted Silver Bullet Gauss Rifles (below) in MechDB, a tool for creating custom loadouts for MechWarrior Online.

The Hyper-Assault Gauss Rifle and Silver Bullet Gauss Rifle are recent additions to the growing arsenal of weapons in MWO - both were only introduced in the past few years - but they are among the most powerful ballistic weapons available. Clan HAGs come in three sizes (20, 30, and 40), allowing you to choose a type depending on the amount of unused mass and critical slots available. Inner Sphere SBGs, on the other hand, are not yet counted towards the heat scale limit in the same way that regular Gauss Rifles and PPCs are, while requiring the same amount of mass and critical slots as a standard Gauss Rifle or Clan HAG does. Regardless, the tight spread of HAGs and SBGs makes them quite accurate at long range, although both of them are just as effective at closer ranges.

In short, the Mass Driver in Sea of Stars is very different from its BattleTech counterpart, but once you learn how, when, and where to use it, it can be just as effective as most other weapons in its price range.

Hotshot Tales, Part 11: Hell on the Heated Highway

Hotshot Tales, Part 11: Hell on the Heated Highway

Of the 20 map variants in Hotshot Racing, none give the AI more trouble in Drive or Explode than Heated Highway (the third variant of the Coast map set). Much of this stems from the AI's behavior shortly the start: they tend to take the second turn (a left-hand hairpin) too tightly, and end up slowing to a crawl as they hit the inner wall. This causes them to lose a lot of speed (enough to drop them below the minimum threshold), and if they don't recover in time, they will end up being eliminated, sometimes due to contact with another car (which may be your own). This makes the first sector of a Drive or Explode race on Heated Highway the best opportunity in the game to score a melee kill (whether by direct contact or indirect means). In fact, the tight, technical nature of this track configuration will cause a lot of early eliminations among AI players (and even unsuspecting human players), even on Expert difficulty. To prove a point, I'll show you a recent extreme example, in which I ended up being the sole survivor after just two laps of a seven-lap race.

Above, from top: A Drive or Explode race on Heated Highway is generally attritional, but this is one took it up to eleven - all of my opponents were eliminated within two laps.

At the start, I sideswiped Viktor's Blade to soften it up, and when he took the hairpin abnormally slowly (as the AI often does), he was eliminated seconds later. However, by that time, I'd already taken out Toshiro's Wild Line by bumping into it just before completing the second sector. Unbelievably, Xing and Mike had made the same mistake as Viktor, and bit the dust shortly afterwards. I then put paid to Alexa's hopes of victory by slamming into her Stallion from behind - she'd lost a lot of speed, time and health just by taking the last left-hander before the tunnel leading to the start/finish line incorrectly, which made her a sitting duck. On the next lap, I squeezed Aston's Shadow against the outer wall near the bottleneck before the second checkpoint; he dropped out of contention almost immediately. Finally, I pushed Keiko off the track at the second turn of the last sector, and from then on, all I had to do was survive for five more laps - which I somehow managed to pull off.

Above, from top: How my opponents met their end in this seven-lap massacre at Heated Highway after just two laps - some of the eliminations were self-inflicted, but for the others, I had to literally push them over the edge to their doom, leaving me all alone on the track until the end.

So if you want a real grade-A challenge, try an 8-player, 7-lap, multi-player Drive to Explode race on Heated Highway, with the difficulty set to Expert (to allow players to reach the highest possible speeds), to see who can truly master the art of survival. Expect the players to fight to the death for the top spot - with the tricky layout of this track, the eliminations will come thick and fast, more so than any other track, and you'll most likely find yourself down to just one player within three to five laps; even if that player doesn't make it to the end, he/she will just win by default.

In short, Heated Highway is the most difficult track for a Drive or Explode race, but also the most fun if you know how to survive long enough to be the last player standing.