Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 133: Design First or Engineering First - Which One is Best?

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 133: Design First or Engineering First - Which One is Best?

Having played Automation for several years now, I have seen countless builds, not just from myself but also other players, that demonstrate the fact that cars built in-game tend to fall into two categories depending on their development philosophies: design-led and engineering-led. Some of them even incorporate elements of both. However, regardless of how you develop a car, one thing is clear: you must get both the design and engineering right if you want to have any chance of winning a forum or Discord challenge. So without further ado, let me explain the two philosophies and how they differ.

In Automation, a design-led philosophy for developing a car requires focusing on the exterior (and if desired, interior) design above all else, to the point where it is generally the first aspect to be prioritized, after which other priorities (such as engineering) can be given attention. An engineering-led development philosophy, on the other hand, prioritizes focusing on the engineering side first, before working on the aesthetic aspect. But which of these is most suited for you? The answer depends on how heavily biased your Automation skill set is towards design or engineering - in other words, whether you are more of an artist than an engineer, or vice versa.

The Artist

Automationeers who fall into the Artist camp tend to develop the exterior design (and, in many cases, the interior design) of their builds first, before selecting and adjusting the trim options. While the end result is often aesthetically pleasing, it requires more time to get right, and will generally overshadow the engineering aspect of the build, no matter how well-executed it was. Thus, it is inadvisable to neglect engineering, which brings us to the opposite philosophy - the Engineer.

The Engineer

The Engineer philosophy, on the other hand, focuses on sorting out the engine and trim options first, before working on the exterior aesthetics (and in some cases, the interior as well). This is a reversal of order from the Artist philosophy shown above, and is a less time-consuming approach.. However, some builds developed in this way give relatively little thought to exterior design -  a trap best avoided.

The Third Option: Best of Both Worlds

Considering that Automation is a game that's as much about designing cars as engineering them, the best players learned many years ago that true mastery only comes from having sizable experience (and skill) in both design and engineering, effectively combining the best bits of the Artist and Engineer philosophies. This is the ideal balance that all Automationeers should strive for. It is worth noting that before its relaunch using Unreal Engine 4, Automation ran on the Kee engine, and these early builds provided less scope for developing your skills as a virtual car designer or engineer. Now, however, the latest UE4 version has much more content and many more features even when compared to previous UE4-based game builds, allowing for much more creative freedom than before, which brings with it more opportunities to improve your skills in both aspects.

In short, to be a truly great Automationeer, a comprehensive understanding of the design and engineering aspects is vital. The skills required to become an expert in either of them take months or years of learning just to approach mastery, especially due to the sheer number of updates that have fundamentally changed how the game works. My own experience in Automation reflects this: I started playing during the Kee Era, when the choice of bodies and fixtures was relatively limited, and I was generally more intrigued by the engineering aspect. Over time, this steered my Automation design skillset towards the Engineer philosophy; however, over the past three years, I began studying some of the more advanced exterior and interior design techniques the game had to offer, thanks to some useful  posts on the Discourse forums. As such, I have managed to improve my car design skills, although I am still better at engineering than designing.

So for anyone confused as to whether Automation is a game about engineering or designing cars, remember this: It's both at the same time. And if you want to learn more about either, you can rely not only on the in-game tool tips and tutorials, but also on assorted advice on the forums and Discord (as long as it's up-to-date, of course) - just don't forget to ask if you feel unsure about something.