Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 37: Unreal Problems... Fixed

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 37: Unreal Problems... Fixed

Having had the UE4 version of Automation for almost a year, I can now safely tell you that, after months of coping with random crashes, annoying bugs and many other inconsistencies, it is now running as smoothly as I want it to be. For starters, saving a car or engine no longer causes the game to suddenly crash, eliminating a major point of annoyance for users. Moreover, creating new cars and engines no longer leads to a blank screen, at least for the majority of users (including myself). Finally, some of the previously glitched car bodies and exterior fixtures are now working properly, while many new bodies and fixtures have also been added (either by modders or by developers) in response to complaints that there is still less content overall compared to the original Kee engine version. Even better still, the introduction of hitherto unavailable material, chassis and suspension choices, in addition to changes in the years in which certain items are unlocked, has allowed for many new possibilities when creating new cars.

Thanks to the welcome contributions of modders and developers alike, there are now more bodies to choose from than ever before in the latest UE4 build, although some omissions remain.

Equally significant is that the competitiveness values for a given demographic are more representative of a car's stats than they once were. Many demographics now penalize cars for not having the right body and/or amount of seats. For example, buyers from the supercar and hypercar demographics strongly prefer cars with just two seats and lots of sportiness (as is the case with , while delivery vehicles are more competitive if they use a van body style, and convertibles get a competitive boost for any demographic with the word "convertible" in it. Other changes include premium demographics putting a stronger focus on comfort, and the introduction of a Passenger Fleet demographic, which has a strong preference for large, reliable and practical vehicles in taxi or company car roles.

As shown from the competitiveness chart above, cargo vans make great delivery and utility vehicles, but are not very good at anything else.

On top of that, two additional regions have been added recently. The first one, Hetvesia, is a relatively small region with mountainous terrain and a general preference for comfortable, prestigious cars, with relatively little consideration given towards sportiness. The second one, Dalluha, is an even smaller, oil-rich former province of Archana that doesn't even exist in-game until relatively modern times; its people are so wealthy that they have little interest in cheaper cars and tend to focus on the expensive stuff, especially supercars and hypercars. Both regions are also present in the light campaign, and as such this provides more possibilities when building and selling your company's cars.

Why are the cam covers always red now? They used to be yellow before...

Some problems remain, however. First and foremost, many of the car bodies already present in the Kee engine version (either by default, or as downloadable mods) have yet to be converted to UE4, although this will surely be rectified over time. Moreover, cloning a trim or variant still requires one to exit the designer and click on the corresponding button, which is more time-consuming than the Kee-era method of clicking on the clone button in a drop-down list, although to be fair, this is a minor inconvenience compared with the litany of bugs that plagued earlier UE4 builds. Last but not least, building a turbocharged engine without an intercooler, or any kind of supercharged engine, is still not yet possible, as is changing the color of the cylinder head covers. Considering that all of them (with the exception of supercharging) are possible in Kee, this is a glaring omission.

Even so, the UE4 version of Automation has been improved overall to such an extent that I consider it a more than worthy successor to the Kee engine version that it replaces. And, in the coming months, it is expected that further improvements (such as additional content and balance changes for certain aspects of the game) will enhance the experience even more for us Automationeers. Until then, enjoy the extra variety, and use it to your advantage.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 36: Untouchable

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 36: Untouchable

CSR70 is likely to be one of those competitions I will remember for a very long time, and for the right reasons. For starters, its rule set, despite a somewhat eccentric backstory, was very open to interpretation. Moreover, the entry list contained an incredibly diverse array of cars, including several wildcard entries. Finally, when I was developing my submission for this round, I found the build to be more enjoyable than it was in the last few rounds in which I participated.

As for the premise, it was quite simple and to the point, but there was much more leeway than the rules suggested. A shady getaway driver, known only as "S", wanted a car that could easily blend in with traffic and still have decent performance, while also having enough space to carry his friends and all of their gear. It also had to be popular enough in Fruinia; S didn't want a product whose manufacturer had a poor reputation. And he had just $18,000 (not including markups) to spend on his next car, which didn't seem like a lot.

After double-checking the rule set, I set about building my entry. It did not take me very long to realize that offering the client a big, bulky van, though possible and even desirable, would not actually be necessary. So I chose to build a small, light yet efficient wagon, and thus the DiMarino Cuneo Turbo was born.

Need a dose of performance and handling to go with your practical daily driver? Then the Cuneo Turbo is for you.

I deliberately tuned the Cuneo Turbo to be very sporty on the handling front, given that the getaway car had to be as nimble as it was fast. The fact that I chose a body with nearly 50/50 weight distribution helped massively, although I had to use staggered tire fitments to avoid excessive oversteer. Another factor was my choice of engine: an undersquare turbocharged inline-four developing just over 200 horsepower - enough to give it the straight-line thrust necessary for a clean getaway from a standing start. And with so little weight over its nose, it was little wonder the Cuneo Turbo could turn on a dime.

Time went by and as other entrants submitted their vehicles for judging, I began to question whether or not my strategy of prioritizing maneuverability and light weight over sheer speed and size was the right one. Sure enough, many of the entries in this round were indeed big, bulky vans or SUVs, designed with practicality in mind. There were also a few wildcard entries as well, but I remained confident as the deadline approached.

Eventually the first round of judging began, and I was delighted to see my entry make the cut with ease. As for the ones that didn't, either they could not keep up with the opposition, weren't safe enough, or both. Just ten entries were left by the time the next round of judging began, and partway through it was whittled down to five. Ultimately, the Cuneo Turbo finished fourth - it was fast, but not fast enough - but I held my held high knowing that I had beaten quite a lot of faster, safer and/or more practical entries.

The top two candidates for a getaway car - the Excelsior Pulmino Veloce (top) and the Evgenis Valkyrie 2.0T XLine (bottom)

The final decision was a close one indeed. The Evgenis Valkyrie 2.0T XLine made a strong case for itself with solid performance, excellent economy and was highly competitive in the Fruinian market, with decent off-road capability to boot. Only its lack of cargo space and capacity held it back. In the end, the winning entry was the Excelsior Pulmino Veloce. This blue minivan was incredibly fast and agile, yet surprisingly economical for something of its type. Combine that with its very high level of competitiveness in Fruinia, and you've got a winner.

And so yet another enthralling round of CSR comes to an end. Stay tuned for my next post.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 35: Blurred Visions

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 35: Blurred Visions

In addition to CSR, I have also entered another major challenge since the widespread adoption of UE4: The Hunt For A Star Car. This is actually the second challenge with this name, the first one having been announced, held and completed using the earlier Kee engine build. However, the more recent iteration was subtitled Blurred Vision to distinguish it from its predecessor. Also, since it required the use of the latest UE4 build, there were fewer car bodies and exterior fixtures to choose from compared to Kee, although the greater audio/visual quality tended to make the resulting cars more attractive.

This challenge was set in 1985, and its premise was that a film crew was looking for a fleet of cars to use in their upcoming action film, Blurred Vision. Each of the main characters in that film would use one car tailored to their needs. The primary antagonist, Adam Caine, would need a classy, attractive and powerful car to suit his style, while his henchmen required something loud, brash and intimidating. Meanwhile, Sasha Rouge, the lead protagonist, wanted a car which was as fast and sporty as it was beautiful, and her sidekick, Michael Mason, was looking for something butch and muscular enough to strike fear into Caine and his gang.

As for Angelina Griffith, the team's navigator, she requested a small, light, fast and agile car which could outperform anything the police (or Caine's henchmen, for that matter) had on their hands, and Jared Sekai expected his car to be filled with all sorts of advanced technologies, in keeping with his role as the man who had to carry out the team's planning before their next mission. Inevitably, as an ally of Sasha and her buddies, the police chief (and his fellow officers) would require a fast, rugged and imposing four-door car to counter Caine and his minions. Last but not least, the car featured in the film's heist scene would either be a very fast concept car or supercar, with an enormous price tag to match its immense performance.

Initially there was some confusion about the requirements, but after the current UE4 build commenced open beta testing, they were finally made definitive. Specifically, each user could submit up to two cars, one for each of the two characters they see fit to provide a car for. Each of the entrants' submissions also had to have two trims: a normal trim and a stunt trim.

The rules for the latter were quite strict: the engine used in that trim had to run on 91 RON regular unleaded, and no racing parts (semi-slick tires, race intake or headers) could be installed either. Speaking of which, the production unit and engineering time values could not exceed 135 and 85 respectively; originally, these limits were much lower, but both were raised after it became clear that would-be entrants were finding them to be too restrictive. To make it easier to reach these values, the stunt trim also had to have as few seats as possible, with a basic interior (0 quality points), no in-car entertainment, fixed-ratio hydraulic power steering (but no anti-lock brakes) and advanced 80s safety (again, with 0 quality points), effectively simulating the conversion kits used by film crews to prepare cars for use in stunts. Finally, the trim's pre-markup price had to be no more than $15,000.

Having thoroughly read and understood the rules and requirements which had been laid out, I began pondering which categories I wanted to submit a vehicle for. After giving little thought to the challenge for a month or two after it was launched, I went back to it and eventuallydecided to submit a car for Angelina Griffith to use. It did not take me long to come up with an entry: the Genra GST-24. This sleek turbocharged sports coupe was affordable enough from the get-go to require minimal modifications other than the ones required for the stunt trim, and fittingly, it was very agile and quick off the mark.

Swift, stylish and svelte - that's the GST-24 in a nutshell.

The mechanicals of the stunt trim were almost identical to the base model, except for a slightly detuned engine for the sake of reliability. Small wonder, then, that it would be immediately considered one of the favorites among the many cars which were entered. In hindsight, I could have offered this one to Sasha Rouge instead, given that her personality would be an ideal companion with the car's sporty demeanor, but I was unsure of whether or not it would be distinctive enough for this more important role. Still, I was satisfied with what I had made, and after submitting my entry, all I had to do was wait for the reviews to be released.

What do you expect from something named Leviathan?

When they finally came, I was bursting with anticipation. Here at last was the moment where the winning cars for each category would be announced. First up was the car which would be used for the heist scene. By virtue of not having any other entrants in its class, the Leviathan Nessus won this category by default; the fact that it was already a very good car only sweetened the deal.

Another police car worthy of its name.

The police force, meanwhile, would be given a fleet of RCM Laurier Interceptors, whose combination of affordability and performance put it well ahead of its rivals.

It's a coupe, and it's got turbos. That is all.

Caine's henchmen, meanwhile, received a batch of Deer and Hunt SuperCoupe Turbos - a fitting choice overall, considering that it had just the right blend of cost, performance and visual aggression for such a role.

A four-wheeled vision of the future.

As for Jared Sekai, he got an Ausud XRC1 Concept, since it was the only car with radical styling to match its advanced technology, whereas its rivals were lacking in either department (or both).

Looks like a brick, doesn't drive like one.

Four category winners had been announced, with four more still to be determined, and obviously the tension was greater than ever. The next category to be announced was for the role of Angelina Griffith, in which I entered the GST-24 - my only submission for this challenge. It made a good case for itself with its performance, but ultimately it narrowly lost out to the Contendiente Enemigo S, which was considerably cheaper and just as fast.

If it looks like a Hydra and drives like a Hydra then it is a Hydra.

Michael Mason wound up with a Mosport Hydra; it was far better to drive and better balanced than any of the other cars submitted for this role, easily justifying its higher price. The fact that it looked aggressive and imposing enough for a character such as him made it even more appealing.

"Rouge" is French for red, so it's fitting that the Reaver is the color of blood.

Next up was the category for Sasha Rouge, one of the two lead characters of Blurred Visions. Her car would be the Isami Reaver S50 Concept - another sports coupe similar to the GST-24, but slightly more powerful. With a near-perfect blend of performance and style offsetting its relatively high price, choosing it for this role was a no-brainer.

Classy and menacing are words you'd use to describe the Sesta.

Last but not least was the final category, for Rouge's nemesis Adam Caine. He received a Mitsushita Sesta G-Lusso - a stylish and fast fastback coupe befitting of his role as an unassuming yet malevolent madman.

The film's poster, showing a Reaver being chased by two SuperCoupe Turbos and a pair of Laurier Interceptors in pursuit of a Sesta G-Lusso.

And so one of the most diverse and entertaining challenges an Automationeer could ever have hoped to enter finally came to an end. After competing in this challenge, I learned - not for the first time - that it takes more than raw stats to win a challenge like this. Affordability and sensibility are also important considerations. I hope that a similar challenge to this one occurs in the future, but until then, I'll see you in the next post.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 34: A Car For A Hero

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 34: A Car For A Hero

CSR66 was one of the most enjoyable rounds of CSR that I participated in. The backstory, design process and reviews all made it very compelling indeed, but the sheer depth of the competition (a very large field with a wide variety of submissions) gave me extra motivation to enter the challenge. Even though the final results took longer than anticipated to be released, it was well worth the wait. So without further ado, let's begin with a brief rundown of the basic premise of this contest.

The story for CSR66 is as follows: Back in 1975, a TV producer in southwestern England is looking for a fast, sporty and affordable car model to be used in their new action series, Fuzz Boys. The production crew want something stylish, agile yet still reasonably easy to drive, reliable and easy on the wallet. More specifically, their new car should cost no more than $10000 (without markups) to buy, with a recommended maximum of $1000 in service costs.

The crew had other requirements too. The trim year had to be set to 1975, and the body used for the submission could not be unlocked before 1960. Also, the car had to be street-legal, with a maximum loudness value of 60, and the engine had to run on super leaded petrol. Finally, the producers wanted something with a good reputation, and to that end, it had to have a minimum competitiveness score of at least 80 across three different markets in Fruinia.

After reading the rules, I finally went ahead and started work on my submission. My first idea was a two-door sports coupe with a straight-six up front, but when I found out that it would be too expensive, I decided on a smaller coupe with four seats and a straight-four under its bonnet. The resulting car, the Morton M20 Twin Cam, was given a two-tone red and white paint scheme to complement its sporty look.

The Morton M20 Twin Cam - light, agile, lively and quick.

It was what lay underneath that really made the opposition stand up and take notice. With fully independent double A-arm suspension at each wheel, and dual overhead cams operating four valves per cylinder, the M20 was one of the most exotic small coupes entered in the competition. Yet despite its modest 120-odd horsepower, its weight - or rather, the lack of it - made it one of the best-performing cars of the bunch, since it weighed less than one metric ton. With careful suspension tuning, I was able to make the M20's handling entertaining without being too tail-happy.

As time went by, other users sent in their submissions, which left me concerned due to the fact that mine was clearly lagging behind in terms of power, at least when compared to a few entries. Many of the other vehicles in the contest looked the part, but not all of them had the performance and/or handling to match, as my Morton did. A few were even aesthetically challenged, which defeated the point of considering them. None of this, however, would be made certain until the first few stages of judging commenced.

Speaking of which, when the shortlist of cars to be tested was finally announced, my little coupe easily qualified on account of its strong performance. Many others made it to the next round for the exact same reason. But if it didn't look right, felt too slow, cost too much, and/or was not likely to sell well, then it was out on the spot. Anything that wasn't sensible enough also ended up in the discard pile. Naturally, this led to the elimination of quite a few promising contenders, but there were still many entries left to evaluate in the second round. And as expected, things would only get tougher from there.

In the second round, each of the remaining cars would be test-driven. Again, it was up to the host to decide if a particular made the cut, and once again, anything that looked good on paper only to fall short in one way or another would be rejected. Not surprisingly, many of the cars which made the first cut fell by the wayside for this reason, although much to my relief, my Morton was still being considered. Then again, I expected it to be a finalist, given that it was a great all-round performer.

Fantastic fastbacks: BAM Paginza 622 and Armada Talon 4S

The last part of the reviews was a fitting climax to what had been an enthralling round, for this was when the finishing order of the last few cars (six, to be exact), would be posted. When they finally came up, I was filled with a sense of pride; even though the little Morton only finished fifth in a field filled with more powerful and/or cheaper cars, it acquitted itself very well during the test drive. As for the top three, they proved harder to separate. In third place was the BAM Paginza 622 - attractive in isolation, but not quite as fast as its key rival, the Armada Talon 4S. The Talon was even more of a looker, with performance to match; only its relatively high price held it back.

Cheap, but not nasty: a Z217 Sport pointing down the road at night

And so the win went to the cheap, yet cheerful Znopresk Z217 Sport. This sports sedan had much simpler underpinnings than its rivals (front-wheel-drive, live rear axle) but undercut them considerably on price and matched them in terms of outright performance. Small wonder, then, that it barely managed to beat some serious opposition by earning the producer's favor; he procured several of them for use in Fuzz Boys. With that, one of my favorite CSR rounds finally came to an end. But the CSR train never really stops, and more rounds would be held in short order. In the meantime, I'll switch my focus to a similar contest on these forums - but with many more possibilities for submission.