Miksi Early Access?

Automation is a very expansive game, and without the financial support that Early Access offers, this game would otherwise be impossible to produce to the high standards we strive for.

Miten kauan peli tulee arviolta olemaan Early Access -vaiheessa?

Automation continues to be in active development, and will continue to be in development for the foreseeable future.

Once the LCV4.2 development cycle is completed later in 2022, LCV4.3 will introduce supercharging to the Engine Designer, at which point both design tools will be feature-complete. With this, all of the Scenarios and Tutorials will be re-done to reflect the changes made in the game, and will return in this version. Additionally, we are planning to bring back the Multiplayer Challenge Mode from the Kee Engine days in LCV4.3.

LCV5.0 will be primarily a campaign-based update, and will begin the process of making the Campaign Modes feature-complete. There will likely be a V5.1 and 5.2 Update along the way.

Millä tavoin lopullinen versio tulee eroamaan Early Access -versiosta?

In the full release of Automation, we will have the Car and Engine Designer feature-complete, a Multiplayer Challenge Mode, as well as the fully-functional Campaign mode.

Mikä on Early Access -version tila tällä hetkellä?

Currently, the Car and Engine Designer tools are close to being feature-complete. LCV4.2 will see the introduction of a complete re-work of the Engine Designer, with vastly improved calculations and simulation of both naturally-aspirated and forced-induction engines. Turbochargers will be completely re-worked, with many more options and configurations available. The Car Designer sees several changes as well, with the introduction of better brake customisation, as well as user-controlled tools to control both the amount and distribution of a car’s weight. Additionally, a completely new Lite Campaign will deploy in this version, with a vastly improved sales and production model that will address most, if not all, of the complaints from LCV4.1 and earlier.

Muuttuuko pelin hinta Early Access -vaiheen jälkeen?

Buying in Early Access will give you a 15 percent discount from the purchase price of Automation when it reaches full release.

Miten yhteisö otetaan mukaan kehitysprosessiin?

Since being selected for Early Access in 2015, the Automation community has been vital to the development of the game. We have worked closely with the community, and will continue to work closely with them until Automation is released, and beyond. We actively use the Automation forums and the official Discord server to communicate and interact with the community, as well as field bug reports, gameplay suggestions, etc.

As major development milestones approach, we offer both private and public beta tests to community members for testing and feedback.