Before I Begin...
I had a tough time deciding between putting this blog post on "John's Blog Space" and "John's Race Space." There is no actual racing or driving you do in this game, so I put this into "John's Blog Space."Automation: The Car Company Tycoon Game
"Automation: The Car Company Tycoon Game" was first released in 2015 on Steam. Its history, however, dates back to about 2012, when it won the award for Best Technical Innovation - Freeplay. It is a game developed and published by Camshaft Software, a New Zealand developer. This game gives gamers the opportunity to create automobiles to whatever specifications they so desire. The graphical experience was previously powered by the Kee Engine. However, later builds of Automation has this game running on the amazing Unreal Engine 4 for impressive graphical quality. What begins with a dream and a vision can turn into a true-to-life representation through a lot of hard work and a lot of tuning of specifications. Don't think of Automation much like a 3D modeling studio for making your own cars. Instead, think of it as being able to build your own hamburger or deli sandwich from two pieces of bread to any number of fixings to make your own dream meal. I hope you weren't hungry before reading that last sentence, but you get the idea. Automation is an automotive studio where you go from concept to completion using a handful of automobile bodies and configuring things ranging from engine, drivetrain, and more. The attention to detail actually makes you think about the automobiles you are building.
You can jump right into the Sandbox and build any vehicle of your dreams, or you can challenge yourself in a number of scenarios. The game even has some campaigns you can take part in, but I haven't been able to do any available campaigns as of the date of this initial blog post (December 11, 2018). When you're building your car, you can get a lot of information on how to construct your automobile. You even can get some pointers on car design by seeing the suggestions offered. Anything featured in yellow or (especially) red must be addressed immediately. Good luck building your vehicles!
By the way... you can download certain mods to allow for more tuning options. For example, there is a mod where you can build cars that have massive W16 engines (like the Bugatti Veyron).
Taking Your Creations Further.
Announced on July 13, 2018; "Automation" gamers can export their creations from Automation to the popular driving and crashing simulator "BeamNG Drive." This unique collaboration will allow gamers to drive (and even wreck) their Automation creations.A look at "BeamNG Drive" will be provided in a future blog post on "John's Race Space," so stay tuned for more on this front.
Is This Game Similar in Some Respects?
To me, Automation reminds me a lot of the Carrozzeria mode in "SEGA GT," only MUCH more detailed.A Car Builder Story.
The United States never got the Nissan Silvia S15. Back in the late 1990s or early 2000s, I dreamed that I brought the S15 Silvia to the United States under my own company, "Marine Motors." I had my own visions of being my own automaker. So a game like this kind of reminds me of being that vivid dreamer I am.Further details now on Automation. Next section coming up...
Automation: The Car Company Tycoon Game - Details
I've talked a good bit about enhanced detail in Automation. HOW detailed, though? Here is a brief look at what you will be encountering when building your own automobiles. Most of this based on what I can immediately think of without having to load up the game. So it is very likely I will skip a lot of things. But of course... these are for you to find out on your own! Anyhow, let's do this!
Bodies.
Automation begins with you selecting a body to help you begin to create your own vehicle. You have many different basic bodies to choose from as well a handful of body types to choose from. So you can make any kind of car ranging from an economical city car to the most exclusive of exotic cars. Don't like cars? No problem- build yourself a pickup truck, a sport utility vehicle (SUV), or even (don't laugh) a mini van. You could even make a commercial vehicle. Your choices can be whittled down to specific decades of automobile. So if you don't want a fancy-looking postmodern vehicle from the 2010s, you can make curve-happy 1990s car or go old school cool with a 1970s car. The options can even be subdivided into vehicles that can separated by what kind of engine layout you fancy for your automobile. You can choose to restrict your choices to front-engine bodies or try some cars not suited for front-engine placement.Chassis.
Once you have come up with the base for your automobile, the next step is to build the chassis. This is where you begin to build the car from its chassis to the different performance bits. Think about the structure of your car as well as the different materials used to build your automobile. After thinking about the vehicle's body composition, you will then think about suspension setup among other things.More importantly, this menu includes the various fixtures you can apply to your car. Don't like the body style you chose? You can morph certain parts of the car as close to be as close to the body style you dreamed of for your automobile. You can even paint up your car with any number of colors ranging from base colors to more interesting car paint styles. You may elect (for example) to have your car paint with lots of flakes. You can choose even some kind of color-shifting paint as well. You obviously want to add things like lights, door handles, grills, mufflers, and more. Everything is up to you to customize. Oh, and in case you're wondering- certain components to your car's design actually affect its performance (such as aerodynamic bits like spoilers and wings). So think carefully with each part you install onto your vehicle.
Engine.
Are you a talented engine builder? If you answered "no," then this section can challenge your thinking in terms of building a solid engine to power your automobile. Think about things such as engine construction, materials, engine type, performance builds, compression, ignition timing, engine aspiration, and more. Adjust a handful of options to better engineer your engine. Only you can build up your engine to the specifications you choose.Once you complete your engine, you have the opportunity to test your engine to properly engineer it for your automobile. You may notice your engine may knock early on. No worries- you can always go back and adjust options to make your engine properly work.
Performance and Testing.
When you complete your vehicle in Automation, you can test it in a number of situations. The biggest test you can give your automobile is to take it to the Automation Test Track. Even though you can not see your vehicle in the flesh on a 3D track, the game simulates your vehicle around a track. Use this as an opportunity to further refine your automobile.Marketing and Segments.
You have some decisions to make here. Is your car economical enough to meet the needs of the greater public-at-large? Do you prefer making automobiles only a select few can own and have performance characteristics no normal car can equal or better? Know your audience and build to your heart's content. Or just don't give a crap about your audience and just make something as bonkers as bonkers can get.These sections give you a basic idea of what to expect in "Automation: The Car Tycoon Game." Now let me give you some thoughts of mine on this game from playing it.
Automation: The Car Company Tycoon Game - My Impressions
Let me tell you right now- this game will make you think! This game is not going to punish you for not being any kind of master automotive engineer. If anything, it can actually educate you in making a proper automobile. You will begin to appreciate designing proper automobiles by simply playing this game. The video tutorials can even assist you in making sure you are making the right choices in building your automobile from start to finish. Never before have I actually tried to envision designing a vehicle while also making sure it is practical and realistic. Then again, never before have there been a game where I could actually envision a potentially bonkers machine and actually make it work. Even your wildest fantasy automobiles can be built to if they were even remotely practical. This game has helped me to better appreciate the aspects of actually making an automobile and designing it all to be as practical (or maybe impractical) as possible. It gives you a different appreciation of automobiles if you previously have not had such appreciation.
I toned down a lot of the graphics options in "Automation: The Car Tycoon Game" just to make sure it plays well on my PC. The game does tend to crash a lot. Remember that Automation is an Early Access game as of the time of this initial blog post. These hopefully will be ironed out so that the game is more efficient.
The fact that a unique collaboration between "Automation: The Car Tycoon Game" and "BeamNG Drive" offers one of the most satisfying experiences of bringing your automotive creations to life. Having both programs can produce one of the greatest racing/driving experiences in all of gaming. The ability to export cars into "BeamNG.Drive" even allows you to race a proper 3D representation of the Automation Test Track rather than the simulated version in Automation! Even if you never actually become an automaker or even an automotive engineer, "Automation: The Car Tycoon Game" will allow you to live out some of your wildest automotive engineering fantasies. So go build that dream automobile of yours in Automation!
Video Preview.
Let the video below give you an idea of what all "Automation: The Car Tycoon Game" has to offer:^ Automation Car & Engine Design Trailer
...and let this video get you excited about exporting your creations to "BeamNG Drive" to be driven (and crashed):
^ Automation + BeamNG: Exporter Update Release
For More Information...
If you would like to learn more about "Automation: The Car Company Tycoon Game," please visit www.automationgame.com.I hope I helped sway your interest some regarding this game. When my blog post on "BeamNG.Drive" is complete, find it on my "John's Race Space" blog. I may or may not update this blog post to include a link to my BeamNG.drive post on JRS.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Feel free to add this game to your game collection if you enjoyed this look at the game. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
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