Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 2

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 2: What I Would Have Done Differently in CSR26

After hosting CSR26, I asked myself a few "what if"? questions. Specifically, I began wondering what would have happened if the round had been hosted by another knowledgeable user who had established the exact same rule set, while I was an entrant. More significantly, though, I could not help wondering how well the Ventnor Bambino (which had won the round overall, but just barely) would have fared if it had a carbon-fiber chassis instead of a steel tube frame. Finally, this post will also explore the possibility of a "benchmark" vehicle for this round, had I used it as a yardstick against which every entrant would be measured.

While CSR26 was in progress, I created a pair of vehicles that served as an example of how I would build an entry that would satisfy the requirements for that round. One of them was mid-engined and had full carbon-fiber construction, but was powered by a relatively humble turbocharged straight-six. The other had alloy panels and an all-alloy chassis, but had a front-mounted, overhead-valve, normally-aspirated V8 with more than twice the displacement. Having discussed the basics, I will now explore both entries in further detail.

One of the entries I designed while hosting CSR26, designed to answer the simple question: "What would I have built?"

In keeping with the rule set for CSR26, the first example entry I made had its body, chassis and fixtures finished to a very high standard. It may have come in generic gloss white, but the fixture placement and size really complemented the car's well-proportioned, cab-forward shape. So far so good, but the engine could have been a disappointment for the round host, had prestige been more important to him (or her). The 3.0-liter turbo straight-six nestled in this vehicle's engine bay cranked out more than 460 horsepower, revved to well over 8000 rpm, and delivered a generous amount of torque early in the rev range. It was also reliable, and surprisingly economical to boot, but the low cylinder count might have made this engine more suitable for a sports sedan than a supercar. That said, it was placed in a body so light and aerodynamic that it endowed the test car with a top speed of over 200 mph and a 0-60 time of 3.1 seconds.

Glancing at the mechanical specifications for this example entry, it's clear that it would have followed a similar design and engineering philosophy to the Ventnor Bambino, but at a higher post-markup price. Yet it was still very much under budget, very economical (for a supercar) and more than comfortable enough to be a daily driver. It would not have been out of place on the test track either, taking just 2 minutes and 6 seconds to complete a full lap from a standing start. I am quite sure that this vehicle would have been a finalist at the very least, or possibly even the outright winner, by virtue of being just fast enough and exceeding all other requirements by a wide margin.

Another car I built while hosting CSR26 as a hypothetical entry. Notice that this front-engined grand tourer is much heavier and less economical, but more prestigious, than the other entry.

The other example entry I made was much more decadent, with a huge 7-liter overhead-valve V8 up front. Again, the build quality was quite good, but this vehicle was constructed entirely out of aluminum, which was heavier. It was, however, cheaper even with markups included. Unlike the previous example car, the normally-aspirated V8 used here was more fitting for a high-end supercar, and was more reliable to boot; its redline was not as high, but the torque delivery was more predictable, and the extra power would have made it less likely to be dismissed early on by the round master. The more aggressive styling of this front-engined beast also gave it a sinister air when viewed from any angle.

With its extra power, this vehicle has a slightly higher top speed, although the extra weight means that it isn't as accelerative, while also being far thirstier. However, the use of a conventional manual transmission could also be to blame, although it clearly enhances the sense of driver involvement. On the other hand, considering that most of the front-engined cars I'd reviewed this round were not as well-executed as I hoped (and in fact only one of them made the top five), it's quite likely that this car could have been a finalist. Even so, it would actually have been less likely to win the round outright, since it's not quite as sporty or comfortable. On the other hand, its superior drivability and prestige would have ensured that it would not have been overlooked.

And to all the users who have viewed this blog over the holiday period, I wish you all a (belated) merry Chrstmas and a Happy New Year.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 1

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 1: The Process of Choosing a Winner for CSR26

This is my first post about a game in my current Steam library other than Infinite Space III: Sea of Stars, and also the first one about Automation: The Car Company Tycoon Game, which is a game in which you build cars and their engines, as the title suggests. Recently, its developers have added a new mode in which you can manage a whole company until 2020, although 1940 is the earliest year in which the company can be established. I have been an active forum member for the game since June, and despite occasional over-enthusiasm, I am still enjoying my time on the forums. As part of my series of posts regarding this game, I will discuss some of my experiences, beginning with a round of a competition I recently hosted, called The Car Shopping Round, in which the host sets criteria for other users to follow when submitting their cars, before reviewing the entries after the deadline has passed, eventually declaring a winner, whose creator (or the runner-up, if the winner declines hosting duties) hosts the next round.

To be honest, though, ever since I first entered the contest in the 15th round (I didn't have enough confidence before then) my record in that contest has been mixed, with poor results on some rounds and good results in others. But in the 25th round, the scenario I had been hoping for finally occurred when, despite finishing second, I was given an offer to host the next round after the winner of CSR25 declined the offer. In CSR25, the users were asked to build affordable track cars, but for CSR26 I decided to go to the opposite end of the price spectrum and challenge other users to build a supercar or hypercar. There was now a huge question on my mind: could I really cut the mustard as a first-time challenge host?

To prove that theory, I set about reviewing the users' entries as soon as I reviewed them. It seemed easier said than done, especially since I received 29 entries before the deadline, but I managed to complete this daunting task with time to spare. However, I could only make room for five finalists, and ultimately rejected the other 24 due to an infotainment/interior quality mismatch, having the wrong engine (in particular, too little reliability, too much power, and/or too few cylinders), being aesthetically challenged, or inadequate dynamics. Eventually, I was left with the Solo Lightning SM V8, Gryphon Gear Jormungandr, Pragata Prima 1, Smooth Keelen GT and Ventnor Bambino on my shortlist.

The finalists of CSR26, from top to bottom: Solo Lightning SM V8, Ventnor Bambino, Gryphon Gear Jormungandr, Smooth Keelen GT, Pragata Prima 1

The next step was to determine a finishing order out of the top five. At first, this seemed much easier than writing and editing the individual reviews; the two fastest cars, the Lightning and Jormungandr, were the first ones to be rejected, much to my dismay and surprise. They were, in fact, too fast and uncompromising to be used daily, but the other three were still in contention for outright honors. So how would I determine the podium positions?

At first glance, the Smooth Keelen GT made a strong case for itself, until I realized that it was too uncompromising given my requirements for a hypercar that can be used daily - which is oxymoronic unless you are a highly skilled car builder. If that didn't prevent it from winning the round, its reliability issues certainly did; extending the redline far enough on an undersquare engine (where the stroke is larger than the bore) will push the bottom end parts to the limit sooner than on an oversquare engine (in which the bore is greater than the stroke), and it certainly was the case here. As such, the only front-engined car in the top five could manage no better than third place. And now it was time to crown a winner...

...but surprisingly, it wasn't the Prima 1, even though it had well over 1000 horsepower, as did quite a few of the entries I received that round. The big blue wedge looked like a clear favorite after some of the more promising entries fell by the wayside, especially since its cleverly tuned AWD system and active suspension made its immense thrust exploitable in all conditions. It also had surprisingly good ride quality. So why didn't it win?

As it turned out, although it had a premium infotainment system, it was merely of average quality, as was the lightweight interior. Now, given that increased quality on interior components leads to increased weight, such cost-cutting is understandable, but ruins the idea of driving a hypercar daily in the long term, since the prestige, safety and reliability values will all be reduced as a result. The Ventnor Bambino, on the other hand, did not have this problem; its luxury interior and high-end infotainment suite were commensurate with my expectations of a highly usable supercar. That turned out to be more than enough to give it the win, much to everyone's surprise.

What else, then, ensured victory for the Bambino? Considering that its chassis was a steel tube frame, which is cheaper than a carbon-fiber monocoque but much heavier, and its engine was a relatively humble 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 that didn't even make at least 500 horsepower, the Bambino was quite easy to drive, very comfortable (thanks to its high-quality interior), more economical than most of its opposition, and somehow, just fast enough; the excellent dynamics were merely icing on the cake. Not even the slight reliability issues were enough to deny it the top spot. And so, finally, someone had proven that you don't need a lot of cylinders to build a great hypercar.

The specifications for the winning entry of CSR26, the Ventnor Bambino, in its original form

Overall, I enjoyed this round, and not just because my wishes of hosting the contest for a while finally came true. This was a highly unpredictable round, with a more liberal rule set than usual. Also, the user who submitted the winning entry also had a long drought before he hosted a round himself, which came right after CSR26. And somehow, it was only fitting that the runner-up in that round won CSR27 (as the Automation community calls it), ensuring that he would host the next round. There was just one question left to answer, though: what would I have done differently with the Bambino? The answer lies in the next post.

The Future of Infinite Space

The Future of Infinite Space: What I'd Like To See in Updates, Expansion Packs and Sequels to Sea of Stars

After a long layoff, I am back here blogging about my small but exciting collection of Steam games, and will conclude my discussion of Sea of Stars by explaining the features that aren't included. Many of you should watch this space, because the subsequent inclusion of such features in Sea of Stars, though unlikely, is certainly something I am anticipating, if it ever occurs. And even if it doesn't happen to Sea of Stars, its sequel could still include these features. With this in mind, let me explain them, and why they are important to the franchise.

First and foremost, the size of Sector Prime (the map used in Sea of Stars) could be adjusted in Weird Worlds (the immediate predecessor to Sea of Stars), with the player's allotment of time changing accordingly. Implementing this feature in Infinite Space III would force the inclusion of separate high score tables for each possible map size, but it would make the game more likely to be worth revisiting. However, unlike in Weird Worlds, I would prefer this feature not to affect the strength of alien flotillas, although the larger maps should feature more factions to attack and/or negotiate with. Given that Weird Worlds often threw you into unforgiving (if not outright impossible) battles early on when playing in larger maps, especially before your flotilla has been upgraded and/or expanded, this might be seen as a welcome change.

I would also prefer to toggle quest-triggering events on or off, or even change the probability of them occurring, as was the case in pre-release builds. Now don't get me wrong - quests certainly add an element of surprise and danger to the game, and provide a worthwhile challenge for anyone aiming for the highest possible scores, but for a casual gamer, they may make the game more difficult, especially for inexperienced players. To balance this out, whenever a quest occurs, the player should be awarded 5000 credits for successfully completing it; currently, this does not apply to the Swamp Pirate Rebellion or the Ravian Invasion quests, which makes them all the more frustrating. As such, guaranteeing that the player will receive the reward after completing any quest should provide an extra incentive to complete the game fully.

Moreover, some of the items and events which were present in Weird Worlds but omitted from Sea Of Stars should be reintroduced; the Clingon, Six-finned Bloater and Wind Bag are among them, and should fetch a decent sum on Loryx, the Zorg home world. I could also make a case for bringing back the Mantle of Babulon - most alien races you encounter will negotiate with you automatically if you are carrying one - but I also fully understand why it was removed from Sea of Stars: it was so overpowered in Weird Worlds that the developers decided not to carry it over for the sake of balance. Likewise, the Aethric Mirror (which could infamously be combined with the Anti-Graviton Shunt to dispose of every alien flotilla on the map) was omitted altogether for the same reason, while the Chromium Gong now had a chance of shattering on each of its first three uses (and would always disintegrate if used thrice), among other changes. Undoing these would make the game easier, but would disrupt the sense of balance found in the final product, and since I prefer the game to be more rewarding even without the former two artifacts, I would rather have them left out, for now at least.

Another intriguing possibility is the introduction of online turn-based multiplayer. Given that the sector map can accommodate 8 factions at most, online multiplayer will be limited to 8 players, but it should be enough for a normal game; any unused player slots will be taken over by AI-controlled factions. As for the Combat Simulator, it currently supports no more than four flotillas (1 player-controlled, 3 AI-controlled), and as such the multiplayer functionality for that mode should also be limited to four players for balancing purposes. While I'm at it, I'd propose upper and lower cost limits, options for whether or not to allow the use of certain items, and let players decide if certain ship classes are eligible - again, in the name of balance. Finally, online rankings and leagues would help enhance the competitive element of these modes.

Yet another idea would be a spin-off in the form of a spaceflight simulator similar to Elite Dangerous and Star Citizen. Those games combine trading, combat and exploration in such a way that the player feels like a real interstellar adventurer. It is these elements that this proposed spin-off game must get right from the outset. In addition, the player should be able to start the game with a choice of factions, not just the Terrans, and on top of that, have the option of owning multiple ships at once. Other elements, including a relationship meter (which tracks how friendly or hostile the player is to other factions) will also need to be utilized, but I reckon that Digital Eel (the developers of the Infinite Space trilogy) can make it work if they somehow got the chance.

Although no updates have been announced for Infinite Space III since the first quarter of this year, the future for this game looks bright. In addition to the achievements, players like me have been discovering ways to truly master the game. Moreover, the presence of mod support allows for the possibility of making the game more challenging and/or diverse. That's all I have to say about Sea of Stars on this blog (for now at least) - in the next post, I will come back down to Earth (not literally, though!) and discuss a four-wheeled conundrum I had not so long ago.

MacGregor Mayhem, Part 2

MacGregor Mayhem, Part 2: The Competitive Side of Leisure in Queensland's Capital

In the previous post I discussed the various leisure venues on or near Kessels Road in MacGregor, a suburb of Brisbane. This time, however, I will explore the possibilities of them being used as part of a reality TV competition. Such an idea has practical purposes; it could entice more people (especially younger ones) to visit them. More ambitiously, having celebrities undertake such an intense set of challenges there would raise the profile of the sites considerably. But can such a format really work? In the next few paragraphs I will discuss the who, what, where, when, why, and how of such an endeavor.

Unfortunately, I was unable to publish this post for a few months due to work commitments (more on which later), but will hopefully be back on track shortly.

Where: Sky Zone, AMF Bowling, Q9 Billiards, Brisbane Boxing, and Crank Indoor Climbing will host the events in this competition. However, it is possible that the State Netball Centre on Klumpp Road could be used for reasons underlined below. All other venues are on Kessels Road and are just a short walk west from Westfield Garden City.

What: This competition will consist of one visit to each venue. Specifically, Sky Zone will host the dodgeball competition, AMF will host Laserforce, arcade and bowling events, Crank Indoor Climbing will host a climbing challenge, and pool games will be held at Q9 Billiards. In addition, the chessboxing event will take place at Brisbane Boxing, while the State Netball Centre will host - you guessed it - netball (for women) and basketball (for men).

Who: It might seem tempting for a celebrity edition of this hypothetical contest to be held, but for relevance's sake, it would be much better to open it up to ordinary people instead. And besides, most celebrities have more important things to do anyway.

When: Some facilities, such as Sky Zone, do not even have fully air-conditioned interiors, and as such visiting them in the warmer months (especially the southern hemisphere summer, which starts in December and ends in February the next year) can be a more physically taxing experience than a winter visit. However, given that occasional cold spells can also cause discomfort, a spring or autumn date is most preferable.

Why: Remember the game show boom Nickelodeon went through in the 90s? Well, in the wake of a recent resurgence in shows such as this, not just America but also elsewhere (especially the British drone piloting contest, Airmageddon), it's quite possible that a similar phenomenon could occur in Australia and/or New Zealand. Considering that Sky Zone already has a local wall-running competition, a national-level dodgeball league (similar to the one which operates in the United States) would be a logical extension to their repertoire.

How: The competition would be spread out over the span of several days, with a few weeks of filming required. It is recommended that the chessboxing and basketball/netball events would be the last ones to take place, since they are the most physically demanding (they are actual sports, after all). The faster pace of the dodgeball, bowling and laser tag events would ensure that these should be the first ones to be held, given that viewers of this hypothetical program tend to have short attention spans.

Sounds like fun, don't you think? Unfortunately, Australian free-to-air TV networks are currently not interested in the idea of such a game show, and nor are the pay TV networks. However, you could extrapolate this idea to an action-packed, fun-filled travel plan for MacGregor: go to Sky Zone first, book 1-2 hours there (with a game of laser tag or two if you wish), then head across the street to AMF Bowling, and bowl for another hour, followed by a few more laser tag games and some arcade game action (although I am less interested in bowling than I once was, and would rather forgo it if I had little spare time left). You could even reverse the order in which the two facilities are visited. And that's not all; there are many similar sites in the city which you can visit if you are keen on such exciting activities as the ones discussed here. In the next post I will revisit the Sea of Stars for what should be hopefully be the last time, before moving on to other things.