Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 90: Executive Express

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 90: Executive Express

With the Automation world mostly on hold, not because of a global pandemic (which will only serve to allow Automationeers like us to devote more time to their hobby), but because of the imminent arrival of a new update for the stable release rendering every mod incompatible without significant reworking, I think it's time for me to share some more retrospectives from my second career as an Automationeer. Here is one of them.

Not so long ago, I discovered another challenge on the Automation forums: the Executive Sports Car Challenge. Set in 1985, it required entrants to build (and later submit) a four-door sports sedan with four or five seats to a strict, but realistic set of requirements. After some deliberation, I decided to submit something that would fit into the lore of my company, the Hampton Motor Group. The result was the 1985 Valiant Sprint - a high-performance version of the base model.

What made this contest unique was the fact that, in addition to the .car file for their entry, all entrants were also required to submit a text file about the design philosophy of their car and its manufacturer, including its country of origin. As a British manufacturer, the Hampton Motor Group's philosophy generally sacrificed some reliability for a quieter, more prestigious and dynamic car, and the '85 Valiant Sprint reflected that to a degree, with an alloy-head, dual-overhead camshaft version of the company's long-serving straight-six driving the rear wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox and a limited-slip differential.

It is worth noting that no mods were used in the exterior design of any of the Valiant trims shown here. Not only were mod bodies prohibited altogether, but links to each mod fixture used had to be provided with each submission. By not using any mods, I could simply skip this step and concentrate more on the engineering aspects of my entry.

The 1985 Hampton Valiant Sprint, as originally submitted in the 1985 Executive Sports Car Challenge.

As befitting its positioning as an executive car, it was given a full premium interior and sound system, with all-season tires and anti-lock brakes as standard, as stipulated by the regulations. Aesthetically, it was distinguished from lesser Valiants by black plastic grilles, a subtle aero kit, and larger alloy wheels. All in all, it was a stealthy yet rapid machine that could go from comfortably cruising down a freeway to thrilling its occupants when hustled along a twisty back road.

Two more variants of the '85 Hampton Valiant: the comfort-oriented Valiant 3.2 (left, in white) and the rare Valiant Sprint Evolution (right, in black).

In preparation of this car's incorporation into Hampton's company lore, I also created two other variants: the volume-selling Valiant 3.2, fitted with smaller wheels, a detuned engine and an automatic gearbox, and the higher-performance, limited-production Valiant Sprint Evolution, which was introduced in 1987 (two years after the other variants) came solely as a 2-door coupe and was distinguished by an even more highly tuned engine than in the original Sprint, as well as high-performance tires. However, neither of these trims would have been eligible for the challenge - I only made them after I had submitted the standard Valiant Sprint.

Update #1 (25th April 2020): The Executive Sports Car Challenge is still ongoing as of now - scrutineering and preliminary reviews for each submission (including mine) are pending. At a time when many other forum challenges are on hold, such an announcement is particularly welcome.

Update #2 (6th May 2020): The 1960 Automation Detroit Motor Show has just concluded; the next historic motor show on the Automation forums will be the 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show. As such, I have considered the 1985 Valiant range for display when the show begins.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 89: The Perils of Min-Maxing

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 89: The Perils of Min-Maxing

In many Automation forum competitions, it is not uncommon to see entries which have deliberately sacrificed stats in one area to maximize those in another. This phenomenon is called min-maxing, and while it seems like a good idea from a certain viewpoint, in reality, this practice is (almost) universally despised for how it negatively impacts a car's competitiveness relative to other entries.

One example can be found in engine design with regards to block and head materials. From around 2000 onwards, alloy-block engines (especially those with an aluminum/silicon mixture as the block material are generally reliable enough for a very wide variety of applications, even for turbocharged engines. However, I've seen plenty of competition entries from this era (and the one immediately after it) whose designers stubbornly refuse to use anything but cast iron for their engines' block and heads. It's immediately apparent that such an approach is generally outdated thinking in the 21st century, since it not only adds weight but also produces more emissions, all other things being equal. Moreover, in later years, the reliability and affordability benefits (in terms of production units, material costs and engineering time) of an all-iron engine compared to an aluminum/silicon one become too small to be worth obtaining.

An example of min-maxing in action. All other things being equal, a fully cast-iron engine (above) in the modern era is somewhat cheaper than one made entirely using alloys such as aluminum/silicon (top), but is heavier and produces more emissions, and is not much more reliable, if at all, thereby making it an inferior choice overall.

Min-maxing can also occur in trim design, as several examples from the dark days of the Kee era proved. True story: my CSR32 entry went all-out on sportiness, with a double-wishbone front end, a viscous limited-slip differential, and a multi-link rear suspension, plus a five-speed automatic transmission. But with too little room in the budget left for a fancier interior, I had to settle for a cheaper standard interior and safety suite. Unsurprisingly, the client was not impressed, and he swiftly ignored it for not being well-suited to his preference for comfort over sportiness.

Mind you, there was an even worse example from that contest: one of the cars submitted, which I shall not explicitly name for fear of embarrassment, sacrificed literally everything for the sake of getting a rock-bottom price, and had a ladder frame, a live axle at the rear, and was powered by, of all things, an archaic, underpowered overhead-valve three-cylinder engine driving the front wheels. Unsurprisingly, it, too, was immediately rejected - but this time, for feeling (though not actually being) too cheap for the client's tastes.

And what about the winning entry from that contest? It followed the KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) philosophy - being built on simple underpinnings (struts up front, and to simulate rear struts on a front-engined car, semi-trailing arm rear suspension) and powered by a transversely mounted four-cylinder engine, driving the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. The costs saved from the relative simplicity of its mechanicals were spent on better interior and safety features - exactly what the client wanted. It therefore came as no surprise that in the end, it won convincingly.

In short, while min-maxing may seem like a tempting way to improve certain stats while still meeting the requirements of the competition you're submitting your vehicle for, it's a much worse idea in practice than it seems on paper. So if you are tempted to min-max somewhere, by all means avoid it at all costs.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 88: The End of an Era

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 88: The End of an Era

With the imminent public release of a new update for Automation that makes it compatible with Unreal Engine 4.24, I had to change my approach to the exterior design of every car I made. Previously, I used mods liberally, but with many of them about to be rendered incompatible with the new game engine (except for those that will be remade, and even then it will take time), I have been forced to use as few of them as possible. In some cases, I decided to use none at all. Moreover, some of the cars I made could simply be revised with default fixtures replacing the mods I had originally used.

Two of my most recent CSR entrants: the MAD Corsair 7.0 (left) and GEC GS2 Turbo Coupe (right), both of which were made with less dependence on mod fixtures than most of my previous entries. On both cars, all of the mod-dependent styling components could either be easily replaced or omitted altogether without many problems after the next major game update is publicly released.

The MAD Corsair 7.0 which I had entered in CSR 120 is a good example of this. I deliberately used as many default fixtures as possible, knowing that a new build of Automation would be released, rendering many mods obsolete in the process - but since the Corsair's exterior design used very few mod fixtures, it would still look very much like it does now after the update comes out.

The GEC GS2 Turbo Coupe, on the other hand, is a different story, since its exterior design was more dependent on mods. However, I have decided to accept the fact that some of the styling features made possible by these mods can either be remade using the default fixtures, or omitted altogether. (Note: In the weeks since it was submitted for CSR 121, I revised its exterior design significantly, most noticeably at the rear, where different tail-light clusters were used.)

Another example of a car with a (mostly) mod-free exterior design: the Hampton Vanguard, originally submitted for the second round of Generations II. Again, whatever mods were used in this build could easily be substituted for similar-looking vanilla fixtures if required.

The Hampton Vanguard (which served as my full-size entry in the second round of Generations II) also makes minimal use of mods. The only place they can be found as of now are in the hood ornament, tail-lights and wheel rim; however, each of these styling features can be remade or replaced by using the default fixtures. When it was originally submitted, it also had additional mod fixtures in the form of auxiliary driving lights and the license plate bracket; however, I realized that I could afford to omit the former, and also replace the latter with a similar-looking default fixture.

The DMS Cuneo - an example of a car I (re)made without the use of mods.

Taking the idea further, the DMS Cuneo uses no mods at all in its exterior design. This was actually an explicit requirement for the developers' proposal for user-submitted cars to be shown in the new trailer for Automation. Although it was originally submitted with an exterior design incorporating a few mod fixtures in certain places, I replaced all of those with vanilla (default) fixtures for the sake of the proposal - a task made easier by the car's minimalist aesthetic and the fact that the vanilla fixtures I chose resembled their replacements closely enough to avoid losing the integrity of the original design.

In short, adapting to a (mostly) mod-free exterior design philosophy can be difficult, but not impossible - especially if you have some skill. So keep practicing the art of mod-free car exterior design, and over time, your skills will eventually improve beyond the point of acceptability, ultimately approaching or even reaching mastery.

Update (April 30th 2020): The latest build of Automation (LCV 4.0), based on Unreal Engine 4.24, is still in open beta at the time of writing, but will soon become the new stable release. On current evidence, it will promise vastly superior performance and audio/visual quality, to accompany the extra content and improved campaign functionality the developers have already given us.

The Infinite Space Challenge: Setting a Personal Best

The Infinite Space Challenge: Setting a Personal Best

Having already obtained every achievement that Sea of Stars had to offer, I gave myself one more challenge: to earn as many points as possible. There were two prerequisites for this incredibly difficult task: both the Enemy Strength and Nebular Mass had to be set to "high" to maximize the number of points gained from exploration, combat, trading and diplomacy. Even then, just to have a chance of setting a record, I had to not only complete the game without losing any ships, but also had to have the largest capital ships available in my fleet, and fully upgrade them with the best weaponry and equipment I could find for good measure. On top of that, I also had to destroy lots of hostile ships, explore every single star system on the map, establish alliances with as many factions as possible, and complete the quest successfully (whichever it was), all within the game's 25-year time limit. This was, to put it bluntly, a tall order.

"Captain Taylor of the Starship Swift, reporting for duty..."

Early on, I hired a crew of Zorg mercenaries - an incredibly wise decision that saved me a lot of time, thanks to their ship (a Zorg scout named Kuti) granting my fleet the unique ability to travel to a nearby star system in 21 days or fewer. I then discovered a Calatian destroyer under attack, and accepted its crew's offer of an alliance with them - thereby guaranteeing that the Calatians would be friendly for the rest of the game. Given that I'd already discovered another ally in the form of the Klakar by then, befriending the Calatians seemed like the logical next step.

"The only sensible course of action under these circumstances is to ally with the Calatians..."

Thus, in every subsequent encounter with them, the Calatians decided to trust me straight away and were quick to lend their support. Later on, I rescued a crew of Calatian castaways, returned them to their home world of Calatia, and was rewarded with a Calatian destroyer - the Thunderbucket - for my troubles.

"I knew they'd be formidable allies in combat when we need them the most!"

I then discovered the Moon Marauder, a Terran scout crewed by pirates-turned-mercenaries, and traded that ship in for a larger and better-equipped Terran corvette. By now I had sold three high-value artifacts (a Black Monolith, a Golden Gnat, and an Eye of Babulon) just to be able to afford a Plasma Coil Cloaker, and much more besides.

"Moon Marauder, meet your new ship - compared to the scout we'll be selling, it's more formidable and definitely improved in every way."

With the Kuti in tow, I then decided to visit the Zorg home world, Loryx. It came as no surprise that they greeted me enthusiastically the moment I turned up on their doorstep. Shortly after arriving at Loryx, I traded in the Zorg scout for a larger Zorg corvette, and made a mental note of what equipment the Zorg would sell over the course of the game. By sheer chance, one of the items they sold was an Anti-Graviton Shunt - and I remembered to buy it later on to allow myself to travel directly between or close to black holes without being destroyed by their intense gravitational pull.

"Welcome back, Kuti. We missed you after all those years lost in deep space."

"A Zorg corvette? Surely our fleet can provide extra firepower if we buy that one."

By now, the Kuti had also been upgraded with high-end equipment, as had the rest of my fleet. But I still managed to forge yet another alliance - and this would involve a very special delivery. In order to make friends with the silicon-based Tchorak, I had to encounter them while in possession of a Crystal Fish, and accept their offer to take it from me. I did just that - and was utterly relieved not to have to fight them at all for the rest of this game.

"The Tchorak must really like the Crystal Fish to form an alliance with us. No wonder they're pleased!"

As I continued to explore Sector Prime, I discovered Ripcord O'Reilly's stranded Terran fighter, and later on, a Garthan fighter piloted by a Garthan mercenary. Unsurprisingly, I decided to hire the latter to improve my chances of winning any and all subsequent battles - although in the end, I did not have to summon his ship at all during the game. Eventually, I survived long enough to be able to trade in both Terran corvettes for a pair of Terran destroyers - the largest ships in the entire Terran fleet - and did so as soon as I could. By now I'd bought a lot of Plasma Coil Cloakers from the Urluquai and sold them to Terran merchants on Glory, just to afford these huge behemoths along with all the weaponry and equipment required to turn them into the most formidable ships in all of Sector Prime.

"There it is! A Terran destroyer. We just bought one of those, but we still need another one to really frighten our adversaries."

And for good measure, I also traded in the Kuti for a Zorg frigate and the Thunderbucket for a Calatian super-dreadnought. As with the two destroyers, I made sure to fully upgrade them to bolster my field strength in preparation for the inevitable quest. Just to be sure, I even bought back the Eye of Babulon for the purpose of detecting cloaked Urluquai Deep Hunters.

"Our fleet won't be complete without a Zorg frigate..."

"...and a Calatian super-dreadnought would really boost our defensive capabilities!"

With a flotilla of big, bulky capital ships armed to the teeth in my possession, there was only one thing left for me to do to complete the game: trigger the quest. Much to my surprise, the quest that appeared in this game was the Ravian invasion. Completing it is a tall order if the difficulty setting is set to its highest level, since the Ravians will send more and better-equipped ships after your home system (Glory) - fortunately, I was prepared for the Ravians' arrival, having already purchased the largest capital ships available and upgraded them as much as I could have by the time the quest began, and as such I found this quest to be much easier to complete than it usually was.

"The Ravians have lost one fleet, but they're not finished with their invasion plans yet. We must finish them off as soon as we can!"

Not wanting to be complacent, I decided to convert both Terran destroyers to the Advanced specification, which added a second dorsal turret that faced backwards.

"The advanced spec for our destroyers is a worthwhile upgrade - who knows if we have to use that aft turret sooner or later?"

Finally it was time for me to finish off the Ravians once and for all. However, with so much firepower and shielding at my disposal, the final battle against the remnants of the Ravian invasion force was anticlimactic, to say the least.

"That's definitely the last of the Ravians - we won't have to worry about them again, for sure!"

From then on, to increase my score as much as possible, I continued my routine of trading, upgrading and fighting, until there was simply no time left to do anything at all that would yield extra points. I eventually ended up with two advanced destroyers, each armed with three Multi-Missile Launchers and two Proton Blasters, plus a Zorg frigate carrying two launchers and one blaster, in addition to a Calatian super-dreadnought fitted with five blasters and two Antichronon Pulse Blasters.

"Will you look at that! Our fleet is the most formidable one in Sector Prime - and possibly the whole galaxy!"

I also had a Terran fighter and a Garthan fighter in my fleet, although I ended up never using either of them in combat even once.

"With fighters as effective these, piloted by the galaxy's top aces, hostile forces will have a hard time penetrating our defenses - so watch out!"

By the end of the game, thanks to my incredibly clever strategy, some top-notch tactics, and a healthy dose of luck, I had amassed a staggering 293,292 points - definitely a new personal best. If the map had contained even more high-tech equipment, I may well have achieved a score of over 300,000 points; as it is, however, 293,292 points is still an outstanding achievement.

"Congratulations, Captain Taylor. You have not only neutralized the threat from various hostile alien species, but also formed alliances with the few alien races that wish to cooperate with us. Please accept your generous reward."

And so ended my most successful adventure among the Sea of Stars to date. Will there be another one even remotely like it? Probably not, given how difficult it is to obtain such a high score even with the perfect storm of circumstances I encountered back then, but we can always hope for the best.

The Origins of the Infinite Space Trilogy: From a Stillborn Project to a Successful Indie Franchise

The Origins of the Infinite Space Trilogy: From a Stillborn Project to a Successful Indie Franchise

The Infinite Space trilogy of roguelikes has been popular with fans of indie gamers ever since the launch of the very first game, nearly 20 years ago. What few players know, however, is that the scope of the very first game (and by extension, the whole franchise) was originally meant to be much larger, since its developers, Digital Eel, had intended for it to be a far more complex 4x (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) game. 

To that end, star systems in that game were meant to be more complex, and would not have been restricted to having one planet each; instead, they could have had more than one, as is the case with many real-life star systems (including our own Solar System). In addition, winning the game would have involved building up a fleet, colonizing several star systems, and waging war on other players with the ultimate aim of eliminating them, thereby winning the game. On top of that, you could play as any faction, not just the Terrans, and each one would have had its own pros and cons.

A screenshot of Infinite Space in its original form, before it was downsized and turned into the roguelike with which players are so familiar.

However, due to time constraints, this over-ambitious scheme was scrapped in favor of something much simpler: a roguelike with randomly generated maps and item placement, but set in the same fictional universe. Combat would no longer involve large-scale battles between whole fleets, but instead consisted of short skirmishes between a few ships. Moreover, you now started out with just one ship - a Terran Corvette with a basic loadout - and in true roguelike tradition, not only was saving strictly prohibited, but the game would now end if it (or your home star system) was destroyed for any reason. 

In addition to this, every star system would start off with just one planet, whose environment was dependent on the type of star it orbited. The developers added a few rare events and items, with greater potential to significantly affect the course of the game, but are very unlikely to occur. One of these was the sudden appearance of the Yellow Kawangi, a race of power-mad alien beings whose capital ship (which was originally called a Destroyer) destroys every star system it visits, and if left unchecked, will completely obliterate the Terran home system, Glory, thereby bringing your adventure to a premature and tragic end.

To make the game feel even faster, Digital Eel also added a short time limit of five years to explore as many star systems as possible on the map, with a score penalty for a late return. A role-playing system and the ability to buy items with in-game money were also removed, with all items having a hidden value. Speaking of which, many of them would be given brief descriptions that hinted at the game's lore. Statistics for ship equipment were also omitted, forcing players to try them out firsthand to determine their effectiveness.

A screenshot of Strange Adventures in Infinite Space, showing its simpler interface and map.

The end result was Strange Adventures in Infinite Space - a surprise smash hit that sold well enough to warrant a sequel, Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space. It added more content, better graphics, and the ability to choose from one of three different ships, each with their own pros and cons, as well as a different set of objectives. A decade or so later, Digital Eel released a third game, Sea of Stars, for which I made a guide on this blog. Given the positive fan reception to Sea of Stars, another sequel may be on the cards - and who knows what will be in store for the franchise in the future? One thing's for sure: the series has been mostly about simple, fast-paced, addictive fun - and long may that tradition continue for years to come.

For a more detailed explanation of how the Infinite Space trilogy came into being, you can visit this link:

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130705/making_a_case_for_short_games.php

The Game of Life on Steam, Part 6: A Quick Review

The Game of Life on Steam, Part 6: A Quick Review

It's taken a while for me to actually do it, but I'm about to do a brief review on the Steam release of The Game of Life. Not the newer one, based on the current version of the game, but the older one which serves as the subject of this guide I've made. So here it is, unbiased and to the point.

• Audio: 7/10 - There's only a pair of background music tracks and a limited set of sound effects, but they all suit the atmosphere of the game perfectly.
• Graphics: 9/10 - Bright, colorful visuals and detailed 3D models and textures give it as much eye candy as the source material - and it runs fast enough all the time on most machines.
• Gameplay: 8/10 - It's as faithful to the original board game as I'd hoped, with the unique feature of displaying a summary of important events every time you finish a game. My only gripe is the lack of online play in this version, although it supports local multiplayer for up to six players.
• Fun Factor: 8/10 - This game is easy to pick up and play, and it will keep you entertained for hours on end as you try searching for ways to beat the AI, even though you can't adjust their skill levels. It's even more fun if you're playing against up to five other human players, making it a family-friendly experience.
• Overall: 32/40 - When it first came out, it was the best video game adaptation of the Game of Life ever to hit the market, in terms of how faithful it was to its source material. That may not be the case now that a newer version is available, but it is still being offered for sale on Steam at the time this series was first posted - and at a low price to boot. In short, it's a must-buy for fans of board games (or video game adaptations thereof).

And so we have reached the conclusion of this guide to the official video game version of the Game of Life. However, my adventure in the wonderful world of the Game of Life is not yet over - so stay tuned for further posts about it.

The Game of Life on Steam, Part 5: AI Behavior and Counter-Strategies

The Game of Life on Steam, Part 5: AI Behavior and Counter-Strategies

The AI players in the Game of Life are a mixed bag. Sometimes, they can give you a run for your money, or even win the game outright. At other times, however, they will make highly egregious errors. Here are some of the observations I made while playing against the AI, along with a few strategies I used to counter them..

Career Choices and House Purchases

AI players should consider themselves lucky if they end up with the Entertainer or Athlete careers if they choose to start a career straight away - these cards are the only regular Career Cards without a maximum salary, and there is only a 33% chance of starting out with such a card if no other regular Career Cards have been taken. With any other regular career, they tend to struggle unless they get really lucky, such as from winning large amounts of money from Spin to Win.

However, if an AI player chooses to go to college at the start of the game, they will have a much better chance of winning, assuming they aren't sued too often or lose their job later on, since College Careers tend to have higher salaries than regular Careers, as we have seen earlier. As such, you should be especially wary of any AI player that ends up with a high-paying College Career, particularly if that career is a Lawyer or Doctor.

When the time inevitably comes for them to buy a Starter Home, they won't always buy a house with a $20,000 profit margin, if one is still available, even though we have already seen why it is beneficial to do so. However, they may buy a house that they can't afford without taking out any loans - a potentially self-defeating decision. It gets worse when they choose to incur large debts by trading up to a better House that's more expensive than the amount of cash on hand they currently have. However, this is a fairly rare occurrence, since selling off Starter Homes is optional, not mandatory - and most of the time, AI players won't even bother to do so.

Career Swapping

Sometimes, AI players will choose to return to school instead of continuing on the Path of Life. Usually, when they finish school, they will take a $20,000 pay raise, but they may change careers instead. In that particular case, if they end up with a higher-paying career than their previous one, you should be worried about the possibility of them catch up to you later on. However, they may make some bone-headed decisions when it comes to career choices, such as:

• Returning to school and replacing their current career with one that pays less in the long term, or:
• Having a lower-paying career and either not returning to school at all, or returning to school only to not change careers and take the lower-paying $20,000 pay raise option instead.

If any AI players choose such self-defeating options, you should feel relieved, since you won't have to worry about them as much as you would otherwise.

Lawsuits, Life Tiles and Share the Wealth Cards

Whenever an AI player lands on a Lawsuit space, it will always sue the wealthiest player in terms of net worth. Under most circumstances, this is a good idea, but occasionally, another opponent could turn out to be more of a threat in the long term and should be targeted for lawsuits instead. As such, exploiting the weaknesses of such a short-sighted strategy by suing the player with the highest-paying career (which may not always be the wealthiest one) may be preferable under those circumstances - a tactic I have used to great effect against even the toughest AI players. The AI also tends to follow a similar philosophy by targeting the wealthiest player when taking life tiles from other opponents after the draw pile has been fully depleted.

In general, AI players will use Share the Wealth Cards against opponents at the first opportunity. However, I have proven this strategy to be misguided more often than not: given that every Share the Wealth Card can only be used once, they would be better off saving them for when they need it the most. In particular, Exemption Cards should be reserved when you are about to be sued or stand to 

Spin to Win

The AI is not very good at making the most of a Spin to Win space. It is quite rare for them to win, and when they do, they don't earn very much from it (amounts from $50,000 to $150,000 are most common) due to not having wagered much money initially. This generally over-conservative strategy ultimately hinders them in most cases, although I have seen AI players earn $400,000 or more from Spin to Win. However, I always keep an eye out for the possibility of this happening, and when it does, I tend to counter it by suing that player repeatedly until it is no longer as much of a threat - potentially avoiding the problem of a particular AI player earning too much money as shown above.

In short, AI behavior in the Game of Life is wildly inconsistent, and can vary from self-defeating to potentially game-winning. However, if you are aware of what the AI tends to do, and how to counter it, you should still be able to win with ease. It's not a guarantee, though; sometimes, you could win or lose by the skin of your teeth. Such narrow margins are rare, but the game gets more exciting whenever it ends this way.

The Game of Life on Steam, Part 4: Trivia

The Game of Life on Steam, Part 4: Trivia

In many ways, the third generation of the Game of Life tabletop game (on which the PC adaptation was based) represented a transitional period in the game's history. On one hand, it marked the end of an era; on the other hand, it was also the beginning of another. Some of the trivia associated with this version of the game (referred to Generation III here) includes the following:

• Generation III of the Game of Life was the shortest-lived version, being in print from 2007 to 2013 - a six-year production run, one-fifth as long as that of Generation 1 (in print from 1960-1990, if its re-release during the 1970s is not treated as a separate generation).
• This was the last version of the Game of Life to support six players (and therefore six differently colored game pieces) or to feature stocks as a purchasable item (referred to as Long-Term Investments here, and costing $10,000 instead of $50,000 to purchase as in earlier versions), and also the only version since Generation I to feature Share The Wealth Cards. The absence of Long-Term Investments in Generation IV is explained by the fact that they have been replaced by Bonus Numbers, which are now tied to Career Cards.
• Spin To Win, first introduced in Generation I as Lucky Day, but omitted altogether from Generation II, was reintroduced in this version of the Game of Life and retained for Generation IV, albeit with significant format changes.
• Life Tiles, introduced in Generation II (in print from 1991 to 2006), were retained for Generation III, only to be replaced with Action Cards (which are always worth $100,000 each) in Generation IV (in print since 2013).
• This version introduced several new ideas for the game that were retained in Generation IV: wedding gifts, retirement gifts from children, separate branches dedicated for returning to school or attempting to raise a family (with the latter known as the Family Path), two separate Career Card decks (one for normal careers and another for college careers), and salaries tied to careers.
• Speaking of which, unlike in other versions, careers' salaries are not fixed, but can increase over time through accumulation of Pay Raises, up to a certain point (except for the Entertainer, Athlete, Lawyer and Doctor, which do not have a maximum salary).
• This is the only version to feature Lawsuit spaces, where any player who lands on it can sue an opponent for $100,000. It is also the only version where players must still spin on their turn after retirement for Long-Term Investments, and the only one to feature two House Card decks (one for the cheaper Starter Homes, and another for the more expensive Houses).
• More video game adaptations of Generation III of the Game of Life have been produced than for any other generation. The first one was released in 2008(!) for home computers and featured an optional "Enhanced Play" mode which featured various mini-games as well as a tweaked rule set. This was followed a few months later by a mobile phone game, which was more faithful to the original board game, except for the fact that it supported only four players instead of six, and featured an isometric view and animated character portraits. This version would later be remade with 3D graphics for more advanced handheld platforms (albeit without animated portraits), and was re-released again with support for six players, before ultimately being ported to PC via Steam and other digital distribution platforms. Finally, the entire game was featured as a mini-game (complete with its own unique mini-mini-games!) in Family Game Night 3, released in 2010 for seventh-generation home consoles.
• This is the only version to include a purple car token, and also the last one to have an orange car token; only four colors (red, yellow, green and blue) were retained for the car tokens in Generation IV.
• A special 50th Anniversary edition of the board game was released in 2010 to mark 50 years since its introduction in 1960. Apart from gold-colored buildings, landscape elements and regular spaces, as well as the addition of special tokens only obtainable from landing on certain spaces, it is mostly identical to the standard edition.
• This version of the Game of Life and its immediate predecessor are the only ones to have a Pension space immediately before the Retirement space. Anyone who lands on the Pension space must spin again to collect a money bonus multiplied by the number they spun ($20,000 times spin in Generation II, $10,000 in Generation III) before ending their turn.
• Unlike previous editions of the Game of Life, Generation III omitted insurance policies entirely - the first version of the game to do so.
• Generation III was the last version of the Game of Life to have at least one space on the board which would cause any player who landed on it to skip their next turn. In fact, there was only one, and it was located on the Start College branch near the very start of the Path of Life.
• Generation III was also the last version of the Game of Life to feature any spaces which were guaranteed to cause any players that landed on them to lose their current careers and take new ones in their place. There were four of these spaces on the board, but one of them could be bypassed altogether by taking the Return to School option part-way through the game.
• In the original board game release of Generation III, all players may choose whether or not to Spin to Win (and if they do, they must also specify an amount to wager in $5,000 increments), regardless of whose turn it is. However, in the 2008 video game adaptation, developed and published by PopCap Games and Electronic Arts (whose enhanced remake on Steam is the primary subject of this guide), respectively, only the player who lands on a Spin to Win space is able to Spin to Win.
• It is much more likely in Generation III for a player to retire with unpaid debts. This most commonly occurs if that player is sued enough times (beyond the point where it is becomes necessary to take out any loans to cover the payment caused by a lost lawsuit) and fails to make enough money during the game to compensate.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it still includes some of the more entertaining and unusual facts about this version of the Game of Life. I was hoping that this would be the final part in this relatively new series, but there will be at least one more - which will be posted soon, so stay tuned.

The Game of Life on Steam, Part 3: Advanced Tips, Tactics and Strategy

The Game of Life on Steam, Part 3: Advanced Tips, Tactics and Strategy

Having already discussed the basics of the Game of Life on Steam as well as providing a brief walkthrough, I will now show a few tips and tricks I learned during the countless hours I spent playing it that will improve your chances of winning. Here they are, starting with some early-game advice, and ending with late-game tips.

Starting Out and Early Investing
While it is possible to win without starting college, it's a lot harder due to the fact that the careers with the highest starting salaries all require a college degree. That said, the Entertainer and Athlete careers have the potential to out-earn every career other than the Lawyer and Doctor under certain circumstances. But no matter what career you start with, it's a good idea to buy a Long-Term Investment as soon as possible, to have more chances of earning returns (of $5,000 each) every time its number is spun.

Wedding Gifts
The more players there are, the more coveted wedding gifts will become, since you will receive money from more players if you spin a 5 or higher when spinning for wedding gifts. This is especially true if you spin an 8 or higher, which increases the value of gifts to $10,000 per player, and even more so if you receive $5,000 from a Long-Term Investment at the same time.

House Hunting
When the time comes for you to buy a Starter Home, always choose the most expensive one you can afford without incurring too much (or better still, any) debt. In particular, it's best to any of the four Starter Homes that yield a $20,000 profit upon resale - the Log Cabin, Ranch Style, Small Cape and Tudor Style. Similarly, if you wish to buy a House later in the game (thereby selling your Starter Home), I would also recommend picking the most expensive one available, as long as you don't end up having to borrow too much money to do so. Even though doing so provides no advantage due to the fact that Houses are always sold at the same price as they can be bought, the value of a House can be treated as an investment, since it is unaffected by payments.

Loan Management and Repayment
The only times you are absolutely guaranteed to take out a loan is when you choose to start by going to college, or make any payment (including lawsuits from other players) that exceeds your cash on hand. That said, try to avoid the latter as much as possible, since it only adds to your debt unnecessarily if it happens too often. For this reason, repaying as much of your debt as soon as possible is a good idea, since it avoids the problem of having to do so upon retirement.

Lawsuits and Share the Wealth Cards
If you get a chance to sue another player for $100,000, suing the wealthiest opponents (in terms of total net worth) is an effective tactic, since it will put some distance between you and them if you're ahead, and close the gap if you're falling behind. To this end, skillful use of Share the Wealth Cards also helps; using Pay and Collect Cards at the right time, against the right players, and saving Exemption Cards for when you really need them (such as when an opponent sues you) is a particularly helpful strategy. Spin To Win spaces are best exploited when you have a Spin to Win card of any kind, as we shall see later.

Returning to School
Although you must pay $50,000 to return to school, I consider this to be money well spent, since it will be useful even if you already have one of the six highest-paying careers (Entertainer, Athlete, Accountant, Veterinarian, Lawyer, and Doctor); in that case, you should hold on to your current career and take the $20,000 pay raise, whereas the Pay Day space on the Path of Life only awards one Pay Raise if landed on or passed over. However, if you don't, returning to school becomes an even more attractive option, since it gives you a chance to trade your existing career with the latter four of the six options described above. Another reason to return to school is the presence of a Lose Your Job space on the Path of Life; as we have seen, these are spaces to be avoided at all costs.

The Pros and Cons of Having a Family
In this version of the Game of Life, it's much more worthwhile to have children, since doing so allows you to collect $5,000 in baby gifts from every other player, in addition to receiving a Life Tile from the bank. Moreover, you will receive $10,000 per child upon retirement. Having children is a double-edged sword, however. Some Pay Spaces have values that are at least partially tied to the amount of children you have in your family, and are best avoided if possible if you have enough children. Moreover, three of the Baby Spaces on the board are found on the Family Path, which lacks a Pay Raise Space. Finally, the Open Daycare space (which is also on the Family Path) will cause anyone who lands on it to receive $5,000 per child from every other player, making it a space worth landing on if all your opponents combined have lots of children.

All In on Spin to Win
Given that a successful Spin to Win always rewards you with 10 times the amount you money you wagered, it is often a good idea to bet $50,000 whenever you get the chance. However, to improve your chances of success, Besides, any money lost from an unsuccessful attempt to Spin to Win can be easily recovered upon reaching the next Pay Day space. Finally, money earned from Spin to Win is totally unaffected by Share the Wealth Cards from other players.

Retirement Plans
Choosing whether to retire at Countryside Acres or Millionaire Estates depends mainly on your current net worth, not including Life Tiles. This is especially important; although the first three players to retire at Millionaire Estates will receive an additional Life Tile, anyone who retires there can have their Life Tiles stolen if the draw pile runs out, whereas players who retire at Countryside Acres cannot, nor will they receive any extra Life Tiles.

This concludes our rundown of the more advanced skills that can help you win The Game of Life. In the next part, I'll show some assorted trivia regarding this particular version of this long-running board game, and how it differs from other editions.