From this thread http://positech.co.uk/forums/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=19354&p=88369#p88369 I got a wonderful idea for the game, that would greatly extend the play of the game and immerse the player deeper into the simulation. Allowing more actions to be taken in the late game instead of sitting back for an hour with nothing to do waiting for things to finish.
Each car that’s produced has an MPG/KPL rating based on the vehicle type and the weight of the major components it’s fitted with. In fact Cliffski, I’m so excited for this concept I’d even do all the tables (for free of course).
Here’s how it would work:
Pickup trucks would have a base fuel efficiency. Maybe 18 mpg aka 7.7 kpl. For each weighty or vanity item added this would decrease. Bull Bars, spare wheel, wood dash, spoiler. Those would make an immediate impact. Most of the additions would have a tiny impact, but when fully loaded would add up over all. Of course aluminium body would decrease weight.
An added variable would be included for those buying a vehicle and that would be fuel efficiency. And that’s where we extend the interaction with the design and research aspect of the game. Each part would have a “optimize weight” option to research. Researching these for each item would shave precious weight off increasing fuel efficiency and making each car even more unique. You could have a customer that wants absolutely everything, but is also demanding of the best fuel efficiency for that vehicle as well. They’d pay premium prices for this vehicle, so it’s worthwhile to research everything to get weight down and fuel efficiency up to placate this demanding consumer. Plus it will be really cool to see an mpg rating for each car during it’s design phase giving the player a bit more attachment to their cars.
Here’s how it would show in the main screens:
