Jul 12, 2017
Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game - Killrob
Finally the time has come for the first Unreal Engine 4 based version of Automation to go live on the public branch. After some very busy six weeks in open beta, which started out pretty rough, we’re now in a place where we consider this version polished enough for most people to have a look at it. A big thank you to everyone who actively contributed and helped us by giving feedback, posting bug reports and sending crash logs.
From the release candidate crash reports we see that there still are two quite significant issues, one in which fixture placement or adjustment acts out and crash the game and another one where the graphics card device connection is lost. Both of these issues will be investigated and addressed in the coming updates.
As this marks a big milestone, we feel it is appropriate to again mention some of the important background info why we decided to port the game to UE4 in the first place and where this is headed.
The past 7 months for the first time our whole team has been focussing on the UE4 version, and what we release today is a rebuilt version of Automation - more or less from scratch - in the new game engine. Still very much incomplete with limited content, and for now just a sandbox with no “game”. We hope that already now in this incomplete form it is apparent that this port is going to be more than just a port. Actually, it is a necessity.
Not only does the port to UE4 give us the opportunity to significantly improve the UI and UI feedback delivered by the game, it also allowed us to fundamentally change how the game works beneath the surface. Poor data-level code design decisions from the ancient past were remedied in this process, which allows for better game performance on one hand, but more importantly for us to even be able to continue development towards the grand campaign without constantly fighting these old flaws and making the coming complex calculations take ages. Our old engine sure did not age well graphically either, so this is a much needed facelift.
All graphical assets in this version are either completely new or significantly reworked, including but not limited to a new dyno room, car room, engine art, and car bodies. The variety of the latter is rather limited still, but we will add more car bodies on a regular basis until we have the full selection again and more.
Once scenarios are implemented, we’re focusing on making the all new UI for the Lite Campaign V3 implementation, including an improved flow and overview of your designs, productions, and engineering tasks.
Enjoy the first UE4 Automation release version.
Cheers!
From the release candidate crash reports we see that there still are two quite significant issues, one in which fixture placement or adjustment acts out and crash the game and another one where the graphics card device connection is lost. Both of these issues will be investigated and addressed in the coming updates.
As this marks a big milestone, we feel it is appropriate to again mention some of the important background info why we decided to port the game to UE4 in the first place and where this is headed.
Some Background: Why Port?
Work on the port started about two years ago, shortly after the game released on Steam Early Access. For a long time work on the port was done in parallel to continued updates to the Kee Engine version of Automation. The past 7 months for the first time our whole team has been focussing on the UE4 version, and what we release today is a rebuilt version of Automation - more or less from scratch - in the new game engine. Still very much incomplete with limited content, and for now just a sandbox with no “game”. We hope that already now in this incomplete form it is apparent that this port is going to be more than just a port. Actually, it is a necessity.
Not only does the port to UE4 give us the opportunity to significantly improve the UI and UI feedback delivered by the game, it also allowed us to fundamentally change how the game works beneath the surface. Poor data-level code design decisions from the ancient past were remedied in this process, which allows for better game performance on one hand, but more importantly for us to even be able to continue development towards the grand campaign without constantly fighting these old flaws and making the coming complex calculations take ages. Our old engine sure did not age well graphically either, so this is a much needed facelift.
All graphical assets in this version are either completely new or significantly reworked, including but not limited to a new dyno room, car room, engine art, and car bodies. The variety of the latter is rather limited still, but we will add more car bodies on a regular basis until we have the full selection again and more.
What is in This Update?
Currently only the car and engine designer tools are available to be tried out, i.e. the classic core of the game. Due to the complete rewrite of all relevant data structures, savegames, cars, and engines are not compatible between the UE4 version and “old Automation”. This does not mean your cars are lost though, you can still launch the old version from the game launcher without complications and continue playing the Lite Campaign V2 or browse your massive car and engine selections.What Comes Next?
Work on the scenarios already has started and that is what is going to be added back into the game next. Considering how old the basic engine tutorial scenarios are (5 years *cough*) it is time to revamp them and smoothen out the rather jagged learning curve of the game by revamping and expanding these scenarios to better prepare players for the campaign. Furthermore, thanks to the new UI design both engine and car scenarios can be improved. We also have a new game mode in store for you which long-term followers of Automation may remember: real-time randomized challenge scenarios!Once scenarios are implemented, we’re focusing on making the all new UI for the Lite Campaign V3 implementation, including an improved flow and overview of your designs, productions, and engineering tasks.
Thank You!
Not only do we want to thank you for your continued support of Automation, but also for your patience. It is a massive project for a 6-person team and development seems slow as a consequence of that, but we are and always have been 100% dedicated to making the best possible product in the long run and will continue to work our little butts off for that goal.Enjoy the first UE4 Automation release version.
Cheers!
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