Hi Cliffski, Hi All,
I just finished watching the last 3 videos. Wouhaou, that evolution for the last 2 weeks. As you request, I take the time to give you my opinion and make you a return on the game until v1.60, i’m stop to playing for writing this thread.
This subject is very long but I can’t summarize more 300 hours of gameplay in one sentence. If only the game is excellent. It’s MY game of the year. I spend a lot of time on it, too much time. It’s time consuming it’s crazy. I don’t have time to do anything next to it.
The game is very interesting for those who want to manage or discover the stages of making a car. It gets complicated as the research progresses. The graphics and animations are simple but explain very well what’s going on. The new car paints are good. I like the style.
However, there are in my opinion some adaptations to review not requiring much development (minor corrections):
In no particular order here are the 4 points that immediately come to my mind:
1 - Blend in the slots improvements.
With the translations, there is a mix in the slots improvements. New technologies and improvements in production are in disarray. We go from foldable mirrors to robots to return to heated mirrors to finish on the management of the stock. (I think it’s a matter of alphabetical ordering.) I think there should be an extra column to separate the evolutions. On one side everything related to technologies for cars and on the other side everything that improves the performance of the slot.
2 - Engine assembly
In the Tech Tree: The manufacture of valves and engine blocks should be possible after the discovery of the engine assembly slot. Currently, everything is at the same level. It seems more logical to take each element and assemble them in the "superior" slot to make the engine. And then choose the type of motorization wanted with the assembly, in addition to the engine control unit.
3 - French translation.
The French translation leaves something to be desired !
I spent hours reworking everything. Which includes adding missing translations (smart junction), correcting misinterpretations between different words (engines and motors), while using simpler sentences without distorting the game (I think, at least), and finally adding forgotten variables (mirrors, smart junction).
For example, here is a misinterpretation in the translation : “the super high perf motor” is translated to “moteur électrique super rapide”. We, french speakers interpret “rapide” as “quick” while I think it’s more about the number of cycles by minute, which refers to a super powerful engine running at a very high speed. (I can send you the translation if you want it).
4 - Modding.
Ini files in the game appear to have priority over mods’ ini files. Which may explain why there are only few mods available on Steam.
The ini files’ system makes that we can’t rewrite a data contained in a variable with a mod, if the variable has already been initialized. The mods’ ability to modify datas could be added in the code to prevent the problem.
As a result, the game keeps in memory the variables with it’s first content once it has been launched. Mods, seeing that their variables and content are already initialized, can’t interact properly with the program.
In order for the mods to work, we must enter a different variable name, causing duplicate displays. This could be avoided if the mods were played first when loading the game. In this way, the variables and their content would be read correctly and would block the original variables’ content, while the program obviously continues reading the variables from the original files and initializing what is missing.
The following part could be put in the suggestions forum, but this is also part of my experience on the game. If you feel that this topic has not been put in the right forum,. then you can of course move it accordingly.
I don’t know anything about cars and even less about their construction. But I love computers (it’s my job) and management games. Especially those who are very very good. I can spend hours playing them and I would not be at more than 300 hours played on this game, if it was not a very good game.
I’m waiting for more … but could it be possible ?
While playing and watching your videos, I thought about some interesting ideas that would deserve to be developed. They need a great deal of reflection (development: is it achievable ? Will it not distort the concept of the game ? More profound management without too much micro management ? Etc …), but they could attract even more people to play the game.
The specialization, technology and car design parts are well organized. On the other hand, when it comes to improving production with faster conveyors, additional robots, administration, marketing, research center, etc., I find that they are not really in their place. So I thought about how to organize this part of the research.
And more details (I did not adjust the different areas with the view from above to keep the search list. It"s many work with paint.net).
There might be something interesting to do about it, and after checking on the net, I found what connects the production line to the research offices. This is the "office of methods".
From Wikipedia:
The office of methods is, in a company, the interface between the production line and the design office. He is responsible for the industrialization of products, that is to say to design and provide the necessary tools for production. It also needs to improve the overall productivity of production, improve working conditions and provide the analytical tools needed for standard cost studies.
Then I had a flash. Why not add this office? Do specialized researchs and (which is already the case but only in the search tree): Technologies, Specialization, Manufacturing, Design and Methods. At this point, why not add accounting too. And then the purchasing department. And communication, marketing, commerce, CEO’s office with its executive committee, human resources, etc.
• That would mean that we should have to manage the employees on the production line ? Producing more new cars by adding more robots is fine, but isn’t automation against the use of men in the industry ? Couldn’t they lose their job with the installation of an additional robot ? And when do the workers rest in this game? The factory runs 24/7/365. Wouldn’t there be the a risk of a social movement (that would) slowing down production with such working conditions?
• Research allows us to get administration, but we can’t even place our own CEO office to get manage angry employees or to receive the executive committee to make decisions! Yet every factory executive has his own office and runs numerous meetings there (But where are the offices asks the CEO to his assistant !). What about other services?
I saw in your previous video that you put 6 or 7 offices to speed up the search. I said to myself, why isn’t there only one office? It would be enough just to have a cursor and say that we need 6 or 7 offices. The total of the search points being calculated with the offices number’s wished. (You multiply the search points of a single office by 6 or 7). Which theoretically returns to the same (well I think). In addition it will free up space to make a zone of “Bureaucrats”.
It’s well known to the workers, : “those of the offices do not do much”. Let’s talk about it !
Under penalty of heading towards the competitor, customers still waiting for more novelty, put the marketing service in turmoil. Which in turn puts pressure on the research department to design a new model.
Import orders that follow are delayed and may cause slowdowns in production. They are then passed quickly without worrying about the quality of imported resources, resulting in manufacturing defects. In order for cars to not decline in quality, suppliers producing quality resources must be sought before signing contracts.
While waiting to find these suppliers and to sell the stocks due to manufacturing defects, the sales department makes big discounts on car sales leading to lower revenues. In order to avoid selling at a loss and continue to make profit, the company uses its communications department, which is launching a series of surveys and advertising campaigns.
This additional workload for all services has the effect of increasing the "waste of administrative flow" by additional paperwork, misclassified or deleted e-mails, files placed "under the pile", etc … The production is then directly impacted by the efficiency of the offices because the information does not circulate correctly between the numerous and different offices and services
Seeing the significant financial losses and slowing sales, the accounting, helped by the scorecard analysis department, measures the seriousness of the situation.
Before investing in a new manufacturing unit (the previous one has not yet been depreciated), and trying to stem the financial losses, at the risk of being badly perceived by all employees, the executive committee meets and asks at his methods office to find new way of working in offices.
Nevertheless, the administrative department knows how to do this by telling it’s staff that they will henceforth have the choice to work as a day team or a night team. It’s a way to keep up with the competition and to satisfy the demands of customers.
This will ultimately reassure the bank and shareholders.
For the game, the methods office could be the link between the diffents offices and the production. In this ways (or not) with adapted trainings, processing time, hierarchical organization, location of premises, posts ergonomics, office’s tasks priority, inter-service communication you play with the production’s efficacity.
Some examples In the Tech Tree :
These are some thoughts that did me think of the concept of the game by add the additional management of a factory or a brand, in its entirety (Production and Bureaucracy). Or at least that’s what I’m waiting for.
Ouf … it’s finished. It’s not to evident to explain this concept with the language barrier, it’s the first time for me that i writting such a long text in english, but i can developp this with more screens or explanations.
Thanks for readen me and to Dore for his help.
Krys29.
P.S: and to Dore for his help.
