Getting close to wrapping it all up for LCV4.1, here is another patch with various fixes and significant improvements to stability, the exporter, and usability.

Note: This update is posted to the openbeta branch first and merged with default once it is confirmed not causing any new bigger issues.

• Major overhaul of BeamNG tires (thanks to Corey from BeamNG)! Cars now more stable, better steering feedback, easier to drive at limit of grip, and more accurate to what you built in Automation.
  
• Added a new photoscene, Sky Mirror
  
• Implemented FFB steering weight of BeamNG cars adjusts with power steering choices.
  
• Improved competitor car AI to be more varied, adding reasonable randomization
  
• Added 3 buttons to allow separate loading of camera, car, and world settings in photoscenes
  
• Slightly changed chunks/pak files in attempt to fix a skeletal mesh startup crash
  
• Fixed a common crash reported on BugSplat, potentially connected to Alt-Tabbing
  
• Fixed AI generated cars to exclude convertibles for non-convertible demographics
  
• Fixed lights resetting their status to be lit in the car designer when reloading the car
  
• Fixed competitor price information in market screen's competitiveness mode tooltips
  
• Fixed "Engine Factory Designer" tooltip showing up everywhere in the engine factory setup
  
• Fixed fixture snapping angle being stuck at 15 degrees
  
• Fixed a crash in demographics calculations
  
• Fixed a memory leak that eventually could lead to a crash

Cheers!

With the last patch showing that our stability fixes seem to have worked, we wanted to get a few more little things cleared up.

• Fixture gizmo advanced settings allow for the gizmo to be offset to the side
  
• Rebalanced the brightness of the fixture light reflectors
  
• Fixed BeamNG Exporter cars pulling to one side at speed, made further toe tweaks
  
• Fixed issue with changing car price, causing a mismatch in preorder numbers and sales oscillations
  
• Fixed automatic sandbox database backups not working
  
• Fixed Japanese not working in game when selected as UI language
  
• Fixed (removed) logic from lights that gave them functionality based on where on the car they are
  
• Fixed various small tooltip issues
  
• Fixed trim deposit fraction textbox not functioning in campaign
  
• Fixed fluorescent green factory utilization bar on models where shift count < target shifts

Just a few more items on the list for LCV4.1. It looks like at the end of the week we'll be able to post a final patch before moving into the longer LCV4.2 dev cycle, the Turbo Revamp!

Cheers!

Big juicy patch coming at you before the weekend with lots of performance optimizations, tweaks, fixes, and BeamNG Exporter löve!

Note: This update has been posted to the openbeta branch and will be merged with the public default branch as soon as it has shown not to have any major new flaws.

• Fixed (potentially) game freezing issue while handling fixtures
  
• Fixed incorrectly sized mid/rear chassis pieces and wrongly placed firewalls

• Added transparent as an option to all fixture materials
  
• Added earned interest to the yearly financial summary and to the finances page
  
• Added display for market average car prestige and reliability in the markets panel
  
• Added a few new spawn points to the desert photoscene: Middle of Nowhere, and Out Back
  
• Massively improved campaign month tick performance (500%+ faster)
  
• Improved and fixed the country taste UI
  
• Changed market mode Affordability to show simple absolute affordability as its value
  
• Tweaked tutorial scenario B1 and B4 starting engines
  
• Tweaked several engine designer tutorial scenarios' balance
  
• Tweaked chassis front morphs to reduce the chance of wheel arches clipping
  
• Fixed excessive Lua garbage collector, improving general framerates
  
• Fixed 3D transform widget being opened over everything for some people
  
• Fixed 3D transform widget not updating icon state on 2D/3D switch
  
• Fixed transform mode of fixture UI not being forced back into local selecting 2D on a 3D fixture
  
• Fixed campaign market screen competitiveness mode to use correct selected regions
  
• Fixed ESC menu and its button in the top right not working in sandbox
  
• Fixed campaigns score multiplier having a doubled up effect from the cash slider
  
• Fixed new campaigns breaking when set to $0 company value
  
• Fixed V16 block description not showing up
  
• Fixed various issues with BeamNG lights and materials
  
• Fixed wrinkle paint not exporting colour
  
• Fixed campaign car designer UI allowing a player to export an unfinished car
  
• Fixed the carpark markings in the 10's design room photoscene
  
• Fixed plastic so it can be made black
  
• Fixed drivability brake fade and sportiness brake fade being the same
  
• Fixed bankruptcy loans not displaying correctly in finances UI
  
• Fixed hub R&D panel tooltips to be more convenient, showing category and part name

• Implemented dynamic toe values in exporter, adjustable in BeamNG
  
• Tweaks to suspension geometry in exported cars
  
• Fixed inconsistent toe and toe-in bumpsteer under compression, improves stability of cars
  
• Improved handling with rear torsion beam
  
• Adjusted automatic transmission shift logic, downshift timing vs load vs engine characteristics
  
• Limited maximum tire stiffness to prevent tires exploding on some cars
  
• Lowered default tyre pressures a little
  
• Made steel wheel materials shinier

We're getting close to the finish with LCV4.1, still a few issues on our ToDo list we want to check off before moving on though. Let us know of any issues you're still having with this version of the game!

Cheers

The first patch of the new year addresses several big and many small remaining issues with the LCV4.1.
Check out the changelog below. Note: This is posted on the openbeta, not the default branch. We will merge it once it has shown to not cause any new big issues.

• Added WIP fixture light controls to car designer
  
• Improved main menu loading times
  
• Made challenges (scenarios) available again. Fixes & rebalance coming soon.
  
• Changing car pricing with existing preorders will affect preorder numbers
  
• Fixed cross-car fixture merging after having several cars in the photo scene
  
• Fixed preorder runaway issue
  
• Fixed wrinkle paint not being possible to cut out
  
• Fixed labor cost multiplier not visually changing labor cost of the cars in UI
  
• Fixed morphing cars not resulting in the recalculation and updating of the UI
  
• Fixed various issues / missing dependencies in the campaign score multiplier calculation
  
• Fixed company reputation & prestige damage not applying to your current ratings
  
• Fixed bodies displaying in incorrect year groups on body unlock UI in campaign
  
• Fixed exploits of preorder system, you now pay back deposits of unfilled preorders
  
• Fixed market volatility not affecting campaign score multiplier
  
• Fixed shift+drag creating a locked fixture in the same place
  
• Fixed a bug relating to region unlocking
  
• Fixed launcher not being DPI setting aware, showing wrong text scale
  
• Fixed titles of boxes describing cloning or selecting an existing engine showing wrong strings
  
• Fixed model year not visually updateding when it got changed between a hold - revert
  
• Fixed useless X buttons being shown in start menu car & engine managers
  
• Fixed 50sMaffcSaloonLarge_2dr being released in 1950 instead of 1955

We still have a few issues on our list we need to get to before moving on, so expect another patch in the coming week and then some more info on what is to come from there.

Cheers!

The current openbeta version LCV4.1.11 seems to be in pretty good shape by now. All the cool new features added in the first release to openbeta, and in the 11 patches since November 12th, definitely outweigh the quirks left in this current version.


Holiday wishes from the Automation-Beam Championships (and Nev)

The recent smaller patches also saw some significant improvements to the BeamNG Exporter, making exported cars drive more naturally and better than ever before, with major improvements to car stability at speed, too. That should be plenty of reason alone to get this one merged with the default branch at this point.

Our plans are pretty straightforward and remain as previously mentioned: after a short holiday we’ll be back early January and work on a few more patches to polish up and fix issues in LCV4.1. After that, once again, we will jump into a longer development cycle for the next major milestone update, which will be the LCV4.2. This milestone will bring the turbo revamp and a massive round of improvements to the engine and car designer game mechanics and their balancing.

The early-January patches will come to the openbeta branch first, so if you want to stay updated early, then just remain in the openbeta branch, otherwise this will be a good time to switch over and opt out of the beta. Do so by right-clicking your game in the Steam Library, Properties, Betas, and select the branch you want to change to.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! (come on 2021, at least try ;)
Cheers!

Another patch, some more BeamNG Exporter love in this one!
Looking pretty good so far for being a release candidate, let us know what issues you find.

• More tire tweaks, more forgiving at the limit, slightly less stiff, bit more grip coefficient tweaking to match automation.
  
• Better suspension toe (more front toe in on all cars, previously had 0 front toe also a little more rear toe in on RWD, more Rear Toe Out on FWD, AWD's adjust toe with torque split. Should give much more stable and drivable handling, and livelier FWD handling. Still adjustable in setup screen, but will be an offset toe range from before.
  
• Automatic default tire pressure adjustment. Will set tire pressure between approximately 24 - 45 psi depending on how heavily loaded your tires are compared to their size. Should make heavy cars with skinny tires and light cars with wide tires more drivable. Pressures can still be adjusted in setup as usual.
  
• Louder turbo sounds (now actually audible!)
  
• Exhaust smoke much less if you have a low emissions car (with a cat), and higher if you don't. Still scales with AFR too.
  
• Exported headlights now more transparent, taillights less transparent.

If things are working out with this patch we should be able to merge tomorrow and disappear for a little while until early January.

Cheers!

While yesterday's update included lots of good fixes, it also exploded some parts of the game and your cars. ːsteamsaltyː This should fix it and add plenty more good changes!

This is a release candidate version for the merger with the public default branch of the game, which we'd like to do before (or on...) Christmas.

• Major overhaul of tire stats in BeamNG, tires are now more realistic, more forgiving in slides, respond more correctly to weight transfer and slip angle. Also change more with profile, taller profile tires should be a fair bit more imprecise and squishy now. All cars should drive better with more feel. Note: Cross Plys currently aren't as different to Radials as they should be - this will get attention in future.
  
• Added measuring checker texture to basic primitive fixtures
  
• Removed D3D10 button from launcher, as UE4.24 doesn't support it anymore
  
• Updated transparent bulbs and faceted reflectors on headlights / indicators / taillights
  
• Note: due to fixes / changes, lots of materials slots changed their order and numbering
  
• Fixed exporter not being able to load cars
  
• Fixed cars merging and destroying each other in the designer after photoscene / exporter visit
  
• Fixed trim descriptions being overwritten and reset on trim saves.
  
• Fixed global paints loading as black plastic and causing materials to be overwritten
  
• Fixed angle of rotation snap setting option not being there anymore
  
• Fixed Utility Budget and Offroad Budget target demographic breaking the forecaster
  
• Fixed trim body not being selected properly in campaign play after selection for model body
  
• Fixed weird spawning multiple-car-bodies inside the same car issue
  
• Fixed mirrored fixture exporting both sides when centered on body
  
• Fixed profit / loss not being displayed on a per model basis
  
• Fixed 2D fixtures not saving undo steps when using gizmos scale / rotate / translate / clone

Thanks to the BeamNG team for helping us with getting the new tire parameters sorted for this update!

The plans are to get the merger with the default branch sorted very soon, then to have holidays, to come back in early January with some more fixes and polish for LCV4.1. Once done, we're moving onto the next large dev cycle which will be LCV4.2!

Cheers

This update serves as a release candidate for the merger of the openbeta with the public default branch of the game, something we would like to get done before the holidays! A whole bunch of important fixes in this one. Check out the patch notes below.

• Fixed fixture light settings not saving correctly (properly now?!)
  
• Fixed accessibility widget not working and added hold-down functionality to it
  
• Further tweaked distribution of sales to go to better-matching demographics
  
• Fixed sales data showing total preorders rather than new orders
  
• Fixed issues with competitor car creating AI choices for seating and gearboxes
  
• Fixed inconsistent step size in mass sign off loan repayment slider
  
• Fixed everything supposedly having a -100% convertible penalty (didn't affect calculations)
  
• Fixed the marker awareness not being initialized correctly on the first campaign month
  
• Fixed dealership settings in campaign setup, now work as base level lower limit
  
• Fixed error on sign-off and month tick after first facelift of car project in campaign
  
• Fixed various Lua errors being spammed in the background in the engine designer
  
• Fixed bug where factories wouldn't produce more despite having lots of preorders
  
• Fixed market volatility setting in not being hooked up correctly
  
• Fixed the fixture gizmo hide state resetting when selecting another fixture
  
• Small performance optimizations for cars and fixtures
  
• Added 0% margin warning to car projects
  
• Fixed BeamNG Exporter issue with auto-locker diffs
  
• Fixed exported cars not having some kind of assist (TC) causing BeamNG errors

We have some more fixes in the pipeline that will be coming with tomorrow's patch.
Cheers!

A big update to the openbeta of the LCV4.1 that brings all kinds of good fixes and improvements, including some love for the BeamNG Exporter that will make driving a lot better! There are some additional changes coming for that very soon too, but thanks to these changes and the recent revamp of the tires in BeamNG, driving Automation cars is better than ever.


With lots of effort, it is possible to make crazy interiors! (crafted by doofus)

We also have some big fixes for campaign issues, finally fixing the unintuitive sales distribution. Have a look at the full changelog below!

Note: The first version of 4.1.8 had an issue with the BeamNG Exporter that now has been fixed. Make sure to get the game updating to get the hotfix.

• Added description field for trims in final testing page
  
• Added emoji support for descriptions (for everything but engine family / variant)
  
• Moved the Design Room level selection to the options menu
  
• Adjusted positions of the fixture UI buttons for better usability
  
• Paint UI now automatically shows advanced or simple UI depending on paint settings
  
• Fixed fixture light setting changes not saving
  
• Fixed drag-cloning a fixture moving the original slightly in some instances
  
• Fixed camera to focus on car when creating a new car model or changing model body
  
• Fixed displaying invalid body slots in fixture paint selection
  
• Fixed photo manager level unloading when exiting from the pause menu
  
• Fixed fixture paints resetting when spawning the same body twice in photo scenes
  
• Fixed extra intakes spawning until an exhaust is selected
  
• Fixed basic paint UI not correctly showing selected colour / flake / shine
  
• Fixed advanced paint sliders only displaying 1 decimal value and not accepting inputs
  
• Fixed (potentially) cause of car body filters losing text / icons / logic
  
• Fixed changing model body not updating the mesh / chassis settings until picking trim body
  
• Fixed clicking rotate on the gizmo on the mirrored fixture side flipping the fixture
  
• Fixed gizmo resetting to scale when clicking off and back to a fixture

• Numerous tweaks to beamng export parameters for fixture materials
  
• Added horns to exported cars
  
• Now using the new ESC/TC system created by DiamondBack
  
• Gear diffs are now 1-way for FWD, 2-way for RWD, and 1- and 1.5-way for AWD
  
• Improved torque / locking settings on LSDs
  
• Added auto locker, and torque-vectoring diffs (electric in Automation)
  
• Fixed that some LSDs in AWD cars create magical extra power
  
• Fixed some beams not being created symetrically
  
• Fixed grille alpha issues with car exports
  
• Fixed cloth material not exporting correctly

• Fully revamped company prestige and reputation calculations
  
• Added factory automation level stat to engineering page list of factories
  
• Fixed bug with distribution of sales, not taking into account penalties (body, seats, etc.)
  
• Fixed some factories being locked to not updating their minor tooling when at 0
  
• Fixed viewing yearly financials within the news sections not pausing the game
  
• Fixed campaign setup competition slider jumping weirdly on first click

Once again, many more fixes and improvements are on our ToDo list. Thank you all for posting about the issues you are finding, that is very helpful in making the process of polishing this version up quicker (especially when steps to recreate the issue are provided ;).

Cheers!

Killrob is having a nice long weekend away with his family, so I (Caswal) have been given the keys

In this little hotfix we address a few issues that popped up with 4.1.5 or were still present in it. Another avenue of potentially nuking your creations was closed and the material issues seen with mods should now be fixed. Here is the changelog:

• Fixed issue where 'Lost Sales' due to too small of a dealerships, accumulated month to month rather than resetting. Causing massive sales, pre-orders and bizarre behaviour in the campaign.
  
• Added Increasing the Trim Price will now cause you to lose pre-orders, in a non-linear fashion.
  Fixed engines not clearing their meshes when creating a new engine from the engine selection UI in the car designer.
  
• Improved family UI disable/enable logic.
  
• Added a more obvious Cancel button to engine selection UI in car designer
  
• Added percentage of desire for car body type on demographic tooltips
  
• Fixed advanced colour picker value slider working incorrectly.
  
• Fixed Mod fixtures have invisible parts, and disappear when changing materials
  
• Fixed Layering doesn't seem to work properly with mod fixtures
  
• Fixed Company Prestige and Reputation not being loaded by the Market Calculation
  
• Removed engine flywheel till it is implemented properly.
  
• Fixed Headlight functionality (hopefully)

As always, many more issues on our list and much more to come in terms of improvements too!
Cheers