The research ideas thread

Production Line Suggestions
21

Some additional research ideas

Add a new assembly slot between Fit Body Shell and Fit Hood, called Install Wire Harness. This is where the main wiring for the car is installed before the rest of the car is assembled. New research ideas: Enhanced Wiring allows for some early tech like electric windows, central locks. Advanced wiring allows for for advanced tech like reversing camera, keyless entry, touch screen, etc. This may help gate some of the more advanced technology form the start.

Add a new assembly slot before Fit Power Train or split it into Fit Transmission and Fit Engine. Add manual transmission at the start and upgrade to basic 6 speed transmission, 6 speed advanced transmission, 8 speed transmission, Continuous Variable Transmission.

There are heated seats and leather interior and Nappa leather Seats. Should there be heated leather seats and heated Nappa leather Seats? By leather interior does that neat the seats or the rest of the interior?

Expand the Windscreen (Called windshield in US) wipers. It should start with basic wipers, variable speed wipers, intermittent wipers, automatic wipers

The Heater should be Heater and Air Ducts as that is what is installed in the car. A separate item (Electric Heater) should be researched and a part used for heated seats, Heated Wind Mirrors, add heated steering wheel, rear window defroster.

Lane Departure Warning is a radar sensor that is installed on the windscreen (windshield) that scans the road ahead and dives a warning if you leave the lane. A Blind Spot Warning is both a sensor and indicator that is installed in the wing mirrors.

Split Fit Lights into Fit Front/Head Lights and Fit Tail Lights. Add upgrades to Fit Tail Lights to add turn signals, center break light.

Driver airbag should be added to Fit Steering Wheel. Side Airbags can be added to Fit Doors.

Also it would be nice to add a little description rearrange the tool tip for research items. Example for Keyless Entry:

Keyless Entry allow the driver to open the doors by putting their hand on the door handle if they have a chip key.
----------Unlocks At Slot ----------------------
Fit Doors Panel
------- Requires the Following ---------------
Process: Doors Specialization
Technology: Advanced Wire Harness

Finally what is the difference between Auto Steer headlights and Directional Headlights?
Can add high beam lights as an early tech upgrade to Fit Lights or Fit Front/Head Lights.

22

Just a few things that seem out of place in the research tree and upgrade slots:

Heater should actually be two items under environmental controls. One is Heater and Duct System which is needed for the car heater. The air con should the follow and then be an option for either the pollen filter or climate control. Air Conditioners uses the same duct system as the heater. My truck has a in cabin filter but not climate control. There should be an Electric Heater research object that unlocks that resources that is then used in the heated seats, heated wing mirrors, and heated steering wheel. You could also add rear window defroster.
…| —> Pollen Filter
Heater -> Air Con --|
…| —> Climate Control

…| -----> Heated Seats
…|
Electric Heater --| —> Heated Wing Mirrors
…|
…| ----> Heated Steering Wheel
…|
…| ----> Rear Window Defroster

Driver Airbag should be assembled in steering wheel. Maybe add Side Airbags after passenger airbag and installed in the doors.

Cruise Control should not be in Fit Breaks. Cruise control controls the power of the motor to maintain a constant speed. Original cruise controls did nothing to the breaks. The adaptive cruise control added a feature to slow a vehicle when too close to a car in front along with Traffic Aware Sensor. Technically you need both the Adaptive Cruise Control added to the breaks and the Radar sensor for this feature to work correctly. The game makes them seem like separated items but really they are the same.

Lane Departure Warning is actually a radar sensor (may be the same one used for adaptive Cruise Control) mounted on the windshield/windscreen that scans the road ahead. This feature is not mounted in the door. It should be moved to electronics.

There is a Blind Spot Warning which is actually a sensor and light added to the Wing Mirrors.

There should be a Center Command Screen that is researched first. Then there should be the options for Sat Nav, Reversing Camera, and Touchscreen. There was a simple center console screen that showed the image for the reversing camera and early sat nav. It makes absolutely no sense to have a reversing camera if you can’t see it.

… |—> Reversing Camera
… |
Center Command Screen —| —> Sat Nav
… |
… | ----> Touchscreen

I know that Cliffski is going to change the economic model for where the car models fit. To be honest it should not be tied to costs. For example a luxury compact is usually around the same price as an expensive sedan which is usually around the same price as a Mid SUV Crossiver which is usually around the same price as a enhanced basic 4x4 full size SUV. Which shows that each vehicle type has its own price range. $40K compact is unheard of while $40K 4x4 Full Size SUV is Mid. The way the system is currently set up makes a luxury compact impossible. I have to fix almost twice the features in the compact as in the SUV just to get to the mid range. What should determine the class (Basic, Mid, Expensive, and Luxury) should be the number of features. I remember back in the 70’s where a car that air condition, 8-Track Radio, Leather Seats and a Sun Room was considered Mid to Expensive. Today these items are considered basic. I added this comment here because the current model does not allow for this and no matter how big the research tree becomes luxury would be unreachable because as you unlock enough technology it becomes cheaper and devalues making Luxury unreachable. This leads to the research race to research all features in the tech tree as fast as possible while they are very rare in order to just hopefully get expensive or luxury.

23

I hope this idea won´t drown in the other ideas, but…

As it is now you place a facility down and then start accumulate points/ideas/etc.
My suggestion is to change that slightly, and connect these to the number of cars produced.

For example:
1 Car produce 100 experience gained from successfully produced a car (a.k.a. XP)
The XP gained would then be distributed between the different research facilities etc, based on which one you have built.
If you only have a research center you would only be able to convert XP to research points.
If two or more different types of facilities (research types/design/marketing/etc) is added you you would be able to divide the XP income between them.

More facilites of could either add a conversion bonus (100 XP ->105 Points/ideas/etc), faster research speed (+5% speed) or add the ability to research multiple stuff at the same time (+0.5 projects/facility). The ability to specialize one of these three areas and pick the bonus can be added as a custom (unlockable) feature(s) in the future.

I think the benefit of such a system would be that you are forced to produce cars to progress, as your tech level/progress depends on it.
This may also solve a few future issues on how to implement a certain research feature/slot (like the design center) as the background mechanic to group/categorize stuff would be there. It would then be easier to move stuff around and decide which slot that may (or may not) be able to unlock specific items etc since they share the same base mechanic (XP).

It´s of course a idea that may require a lot of rewrite of the code as it is a kind of a overhaul of the research, but it may also be change that would make the area easier to explain since similar features is common in other games (and already exist in PL). I personally think it would be more logical than the current system.

24

I’d be worried about slowing down the game, it might kill it. Adding research would be better, the gearbox and engine varieties above strike me as particularly good. Also how about a end of year model run out sale ?? Of course you would need changing body shapes, say every 3 years.

25

How about customer feedback or survey info helping to decide which research will be profitable ?? I have noticed some customers think “not value for money”…why seems vital but it isn’t to be found.

Also an Office that sends the change of production out to the floor rather than clicking on the first axel build.

26

Body
Steel (standered) => fiberglass => alum. => Carbon Fiber (only available after day 200 or so)

Safety
crumple zone front / crumple zone back => Side crumple zone (after day 100 or so you pay a fine for not having this)

Market research
this quarter (winter) customers very seldomly buy convertibles or open top cars, -75% sails if no heater, & don’t care if it has AC. Next Quarter (Summer) +50% sails on sports cars, -75% if no AC, & don’t care if no heater.

Every quarter the game pauses and a popup window shows the quarters profit, car sails. (help you see new trends)

Inter net orders
An office room to allow for optional car parts. (you have two check boxes on you car model. 1 is optional parts & the other is always installed parts.) (optional parts you don’t make as much money on and add more base cost to the car model But is increases sails and reputation)

27

Before Nucleon and the Chrysler turbine cars, it would make sense to have Mazda’s Wankel engines (but with a made-up company name naturally, or none), which were in production for far longer, from 1967 to 2012, and are probably by far the most thoroughly developed Wankel engines. They are known for their excellent power to weight ratio. The article is interesting, apparently the first volume-produced twin-turbo engine was a Mazda Wankel.

28

cliffski ! do the era thing mentioned earlier. makes a ton of sense!

29

How about…

Bulletproof windows.

Winch (for the 4x4)

Quadbikes (bodytype)

30

Here’s a few suggestions

  • Single Point Injection “SPI” -> Multi-Point Injection “MPI” -> Direct Injection “DI”
  • Hypereutectic Pistons
  • Forged Pistons & Crankshaft
  • Aluminum Engine Head -> Aluminum Engine Block
  • Catalytic Converter
  • Dual-Exhaust
  • Disc Brakes
  • Electronic Stability Control “ESC”
  • Coil Spring Suspension
  • Limited Slip Differential “LSD”
  • Run-Flat Tires
  • Launch Control
  • Side Airbags
  • Pillar Airbags
  • Laminated Windshield
  • Monocoque Shell -> Crumple Zone
  • Hood Scoop
  • Tow Hitch
  • Windshield Washer Fluid

Edit:

What about some double-edged technologies which gives you a monetary bonus at the cost of damaging the car brand on the long run ?

Recycled metal : Reduce x% cost on frame components but have a negative impact on brand image (Pre-2009 Mazdas became known to rust much earlier than competition because of recycled metal)

Thin/Cheap paint : Reduce x% cost on paint (or uses half the paint needed) but have a negative impact on brand image (Some car manufacturers uses thinner paint which causes it to chip easily)

31

My only suggestion here is to have a Station Wagon Body Type in addition to the existing body types. Not sure they have ever used that body type in the UK. Might need to look it up.

32

Maybe something like two size of “vans”? So 1 smaller like a VW Caddy and one like a VW Transporter or VW Crafter :slight_smile:

33

A list of ideas, not sure if already suggested or not, but as follows:

  • ISOFIX - It’s pretty standard in most cars now a days, but might be something to add into the game.

  • Adaptive Suspension - For the sport type cars.

  • Traction control

  • Autonomous emergency braking

  • USB/Aux in

  • Autopilot

  • Heads up display

34

Dual exhausts and side airbags really badly need to go in methinks…

35

Awesome Game, I think the following add on have not been mentioned, or if they have then I missed them:

  1. Embedded Technology for the cars to be WiFi enabled
  2. Wireless charging for cell phones
  3. A research line dedicated to software updates for the vehicles such as emissions controllers (sic Emissions Scandal) and apps for the touch screen displays or patented GPS apps that create their own market share
  4. Blu Ray players in the cars
  5. Bluetooth technology
  6. Hydrogen based cars for future tech
  7. Dash Cams
  8. Driver assist technology and driver-less cars
  9. Self Inflating or run on flat tires. Perhaps also a smaller spare wheel for the budget cars ( we call them a biscuit Tire)
  10. A Wheel replacement kit as an add on feature ie, a jack and wheel spanner
  11. A Owners manual for the vehicle, should be standard.
  12. Marketing can manage a web site
  13. Heads-up display for luxury cars
  14. Digital/analogue instrument panels
  15. Night vision tech
  16. Self Parking (this could also fall under the software research)

quite a few, and I am sure I have mentioned some which may be hinted at in the game, but I feel it does give a more realistic idea of what we will see in all cars in the next few years

36

I would like to suggest something left field.

  1. Vehicle Prototypes and Auto Shows
  2. A branded goods shop in the showroom that generates brand awareness more so than the income
  3. I know that you are thinking of including the logo up against the walls of the factory in future builds. How about a fully fledged branding of the factory in your corporate colours? But wait theres more, how about even going as far as having your workers uniforms change?
  4. A maintenance team to ensure cleanliness which impacts on your company prestige?

Just a few left field ideas.

37

All researched upgrades are immediately applied to all existing and future slots which benefit from them. Constantly re-applying upgrades when I redesign is tedious and tiresome.

Currently when you start a game you can only build the ‘All in One’ slots (fit chassis, fit body etc.). The only researched upgrade you can install with these slots are ‘in car music’ at the ‘fit electronics’ slot. All upgrades should be applied to the root ‘all in one’ slot. Example any ‘fit door’ upgrade will also be applied to the root ‘fit body’ slot. Allowing us to upgrade these ‘All in One’ slots will prevent us from a complete redesign every time we upgrade a part. Maybe assign parts a tier 1/tier 2 flag etc. and these ‘All in One’ slots can only do tier 1 installs. These slots should be able to produce a base model car which includes a radio, heater, airbags, spare tire, and power steering at minimum.

The ability to have the camera follow a car in production would be nice.

Remove the ‘new loan’ pop up in freegame. Still display current cash in freegame.

Ability to show/hide resource conveyors, ‘no research/no resource connections’ flags on slots and rooms.
OR
Create a basement level which controls all the import, manufacturing, storage, and resource movement, this will clean up the factory floor so we can watch this game without resource conveyor messing up the view.

When in the car design window the list of available systems should be sorted by categories (safety, environment etc.) instead of alphabetically. Maybe even a list of same bodystyle cars you produce and their options.

Luxury achievement states sell $10 mill in luxury cars $70K +, but cars need to be priced at $105K+ to grade as luxury.

38

There are some great ideas here, thanks everyone. I’ll definitely be putting some of these into the game.

39

Reaearch topics:

  • Supplier QA: reduces the base chance for defects ( inspired from the problem FIAT had when they used liw-quality metal from the S.U. back in the 1960ies )
  • production control systems: CONWIP, Kanban
  • marketing options: support rallye/racing/… team, support sports event, merchandising products, space program ( launch your $$$$-car into space )
  • sales options: create automotive finance company: enables car leasing. leased cars do not add their value immediately to your balance but start adding smaller leasing amounts over time which in the end add up to a higher total amount
40

We are building modern cars, not creating cars from scratch (well, kinda).

I feel that it would be quite interesting from a game perspective to have predefined accessories randomized for each class of vehicle upon launch.

Ex: A ‘budget’ sedan has X accessories max (randomized / explicitly listed out per game)
A ‘mid-range’ sedan has the budget features plus Y more.
An ‘expensive’ sedan has the mid-range features plus Z more.
A ‘luxury’ sedan has everything.

This process could be completed for each model type (compact, pick up, etc)

What this does is allow for planning…
-If you want to compete in different bodies, maybe some rare accessories are common and you could concentrate manufacturing, or have a leg up when entering that new market.
-The process of having features common is just fine… we just ‘know’ that a budget vehicle will eventually ‘max out’ with the randomized features. (could be pseudo random, so car radio is in 90% of games, etc)
-This allows for planning / decision making more than once. Currently, if I decide to compete in Mid-Range, then I could select the same very rare accessories every game and sway to eventual competition. With randomization, I may have to adjust some games due to my ‘favorite’ very rare features may not make up an end-game Mid-Range sedan.
-This stops the accessory crunch later in the game where all vehicles begin to have everything as there is now a floor.
-Brings in re-play ability as each game will contain differing features for vehicles (keeping luxury with everything)