More modular slots

Production Line Suggestions
1

The game currently has some L or T shaped slots, but gives the player no way to control the orientation of those slots. So while you might use a shaped slot at the end of a hallway to turn the line left, you cannot use that slot to turn the line to the right. You would need a mirrored version for that.

Ultimately you end up treating everything a 3x2 or 3x1 and ignoring the little 1x1 or 2x1 gaps that develop because there just isn’t anything useful you can do with them.

Rather than pollute the UI with mirrored variants of these I would suggest a modular approach. Allow the player to build their workstations from components, and then depending on what tools I put in that workspace more or less could be done.

So a normal 3x1 would be a 1x1 storage connected to a slot of the line, and a 1x1 tool area also connected to that slot. And it could accomplish various functions currently accomplished by all the 3x1s.

If I need more storage than that I attach another 1x1 storage to the existing storage and now it is 4x1. If I need it to perform a particular job that used to be done by a T or an L, I attach some special equipment to the tool area.

So the initial 3x5ish starting body area, is now a work space with 4 storage and a couple of specialty tools in addition to the basic tool box.

In addition to giving the player more flexibility in layout (line 1 mirrors line two and resources travel up the middle between them), it would provide an alternate way to do upgrades. So a convertible softtop requires a special equipment attached to the tool area that isn’t required of other slots. Making the decision more strategic than just “do I pay $500 to upgrade the line to support convertibles”, instead you actually have to find space for the convertible equipment. And maybe you don’t have space for both the convertible and sunroof equipment, and need to specialize the lines.

You could make your line have varying width in the interest of keeping it straight and dense, or you could keep the width constant but introduce gaps to allow other functions (like a QC walkway which provides a quality bonus whenever the walkway is adjacent to a workspace).

2

Actually quite an interesting idea. I do get frustrated at times by the random spaces left behind. Not sure how easy that would be to implement this far in.

I like the idea of having to put an additional block in the for upgrades adds to the complexity further into the game as you have to plan in the space required.

3

Interesting idea.
One thing on my todo list for a long time (but put-off because other things took priority) is QA stations. These would be very small (maybe just 1 tile, or maybe 3 straddling a conveyor) and would check for any quality problems in nearby slots, and thus reduce defects.
Obviously I need to put defects, car quality and re-work stations in, in order to implement this, but it is on my list (after introducing scenarios, and some better help stuff).