Is anyone still playing Automation?

"Bad Idea Hat" (taoistlumberjack) 10/11/2014 at 00:40 • Filed to: Automation

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For those of you who never saw this, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is a game where you can design a car from, basically, the ground up. It's still in beta at the moment, but they're quickly progressing towards full release. There's a demo available, which limits you to I-4 engines and one body type, with the full beta costing $25 and giving you a ton of options, including I-6 and V-8 engines.

If anyone's still playing, share your creations here.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > Bad Idea Hat 10/11/2014 at 00:44

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I occasionally fire it up to replicate some engines.

Rainbow > Bad Idea Hat 10/11/2014 at 00:45

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I have the demo, but I can't figure out how to make anything work.

ToyDeathbot > Bad Idea Hat 10/11/2014 at 00:50

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Here's all the engines I've been playing around with (excuse the low res, I don't play it full screen). I quite like the 1.8L V8 Twin-Turbo.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Bad Idea Hat 10/11/2014 at 00:58

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I bought it, but I play it full screen and haven't figured out how to get it off of it to snip a pic.

Greenmobile Supremo Commando, BRZ Extrordinare > Bad Idea Hat 10/11/2014 at 01:32

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Been playing it till it was first posted on the site! So much fun. Bought it within 2 minutes of playing the demo, and haven't looked back.

Kanaric > Bad Idea Hat 10/11/2014 at 01:36

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wow thank you for showing me this game.

Bad Idea Hat > Bad Idea Hat 10/11/2014 at 02:04

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I didn't post this in the original post to keep from overcrowding it, but here's basically the "prologue" to what I'm working on.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

The story everyone knows about AMC is that is was formed by the merger of Hudson and Nash-Kelvinator in 1954. I'm going for an alternate history of the company.

In 1952, Hudson, Nash, Packard, Studebaker, and Crosley all decided to work closer together in an alliance of car companies, one that would look outwardly like the General Motors family, but would instead provide each company a certain market segment to call their own. This is roughly the same approach that the VW Group would use years later.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Cincinnati, OH

Crosley is the subcompact/economy segment of AM, with their notable cars being the5-door Crosley Hotshot and the compact sports car Crosley Super Sport. Both are descended from the original Hotshot/Super Sport that was famous for winning the first race at Sebring. Crosley experienced some lean years in the 60's, at one point offering their sports car as their only model. However, the fuel crises in the 70's provided the opening Crosley needed, and they haven't looked back.

Notable car - The Hotshot and Super Sport were split from each other due to the need for a more fuel efficient car that could still seat 4. This became the Hotshot, which is still the niche it fills. However, for a few short years in the early 1980's, the Hotshot was offered in "RB" trim, standing for "Rally B." Crosley provided AM with their entrance to Group B, and even produced over a thousand of the homologation cars. This model is the 1984 Crosley Hotshot RB , the first of 4 years of the special rally model. In race trim, the car would end up producing well over 400 horsepower out of a turbocharged 1.4 liter engine.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Detroit, MI

Hudson is to AM what Chevrolet is to GM. They produce the mainline models and, as a consequence, tend to set the tone for the rest of the company, even providing engine families for other companies inside the AM group. Hudson has always been the best seller of AM, and their mid-sized Hudson Hornet the best selling car. However, they also tend to be the most bland out of the group. Hudson did find themselves in a difficult spot in the mid-70's, but were able to happily downsize by using advanced technology to overcome both fuel and emission conservation difficulties. Despite their general blandness, Hudson does have their marquee car; the Hudson Javelin

Notable car - 1971 would be the jubilation year for Hudson in Trans-Am. For the first time, they would finally have the perfect car, in the perfect setting, with the perfect team to win the series. The 1971 Hudson Javelin TA was that car. Special-built specifically to best all other comers in that series, with an engine only used specifically in that model and trim, and only that one year, it is one of the more rare AM cars in existence, with only around 100 built. Due to the Javelin's dominance that year, almost every other manufacturer ceased direct involvement in the series.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Detroit, MI

Similar to Cadillac, Packard is the luxury brand of AM. Their offerings have traditionally been fewer than the other companies, with between two and four models offered per year. However, these cover the wide spectrum of luxury vehicles, and the willingness of Packard to customize every car built means that few cars are exactly the same. The Packard Patrician is a $200k car, but provides equal luxury and power to any Rolls Royce or Bentley offering.

Notable car - As stated, Packard was more than happy to produce cars however their buyer wanted them. In 1991, a Hollywood actor wanted to have their Packard Mayfair given an engine larger than its then-current 3.4 liter inline-6. Packard borrowed an old Nash engine design, switched to an aluminum block and head, and added twin turbos. The resulting car was a 450 horsepower monster called the 1991 Packard Mayfair 4.0TT.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Kenosha, WI

Nash fits a niche that no other major American auto manufacturer fits; that of the specialty sports car manufacturer. While most of the other companies in AM have made or still make sports cars, Nash has had sports and GT cars as the center of their universe since AM was formed. Their 400 series is comparable to the Porsche 911, and is the latest in a line of cars stretching back to the late 50's.

Notable car - For 1962, it was decided that the World Sportscar Championship would be contested by GT cars only. While Nash had been running their 300 GT in previous years, the expectation was that the marques interested in overall wins with prototypes would now be setting their sights on the GT field. Nash therefore released and update, the 3.0 liter, inline-6 powered 1962 Nash 300 GT Mk. 2 . The street car version was capable of 150 mph, and unlike the "homologated" Ferrari 250 GTO, the 300 GT/2 was produced in good enough quantity to see it become a staple of both international and SCCA racing.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Indianapolis, IN

Duesenberg and Offenhauser are actually two separate groups, with different histories, and are only joined here as they are the high performance companies in AM. Offenhauser has been an AM property since the 70's, and produces engines for racing. In the 1980's, it provided powerplants for cars in the IMSA series, as well as in Group C2 in Europe. Additionally, they have been a steady engine provider for Indycar, and even had one semi-disastrous entrant into Formula One with a 1.5 liter turbo engine. Duesenberg has a smaller time span as a member of AM, having produced only a handful of cars. However, these cars are notable not for their numbers, but for their power and luxury. Duesenberg's first car was a supercar that was intended to be entered in Le Mans in 1994, with other models produced intermittently over the next decade.

Notable car - In 1999, another small-batch supercar again failed to make it to racing trim, and the decision was made to concentrate the next effort on a car that was to be desiged as a road car from the start. The result was the 2005 Duesenberg Offenhauser. This car is the first in a decade long family of lightweight, high powered supercars . True to their word, Duesenberg has since stuck to building insanely fast, but luxurious super and hypercars.

———-

Just a general history, to give an idea of where I'm headed.

I'm probably going to try and get, at the very least, all of the base models for 2015 done soon. No trucks or SUVs or MPVs, because they're not modeled in the game.

aberson Bresident of the FullyAssed Committe > Bad Idea Hat 10/11/2014 at 11:32

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i do

i'll post my stuff later

but some insight to it is that my company specializes in kitcars with older bodies and new internals

twinturbobmw > Bad Idea Hat 10/11/2014 at 15:02

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I loved playing this when it first came out. Only go the demo though. Still fun to mess around with every so often.