We've been busy completing and polishing up the Ellisbury Update for its merger with the public branch. With this massive patch (102 changelog entries!) we have revised and fixed many of the important new systems.


A very wedgey supercar from days gone by, courtesy of Juice

Here are some of the patch highlights:

• Much improved AI competitors
  
• Added sandbox-only racing tire choices
  
• Reworked traction / diff tests
  
• Improved gearbox torque limits, its messaging, and gearing setup
  
• Lots of tweaks to emissions and added exhaust reactor converter
  
• Rebalanced many stat dependencies with better progressions
  
• Full rework of tires for BeamNG exports

And for those of you curious what else there is, here you go!

• Car AI competitors now use as much quality as they have tech pool
  
• Implemented a lot of changes to car AI lookup table
  
• Implemented car generation AI for the new gearing setup
  
• Improved AI to now deal with reliability penalties of gearing setups

• Fixed 08_jpn_mpv and coupe exporting their lowering bounds boxes to beam
  
• Fixed UV tearing which was related to bounds box issues
  
• Fixed Sunflower bodies (11_jp_ute_3door_M_cpp) all being 3 row, 3/3/3
  
• Fixed opaque grills exporting as transparent
  
• Fixed all families of jpn_fatale bodies missing cameras for Beam export
  
• Possibly fixed 10s_CoupeSmall exporting bounds boxes to Beam
  
• Created LODs for 2-, 4-barrel carb, and alternator models to improve performance in Beam
  
• Fixed 4 barrel carb intakes sitting too low

A funky, modern crossover in a series of wild colours, courtesy of Westono.

• Fixed CVTs calculations asking for way too much power in test cycles
  
• Fixed drive type weights always thinking it was AWD
  
• Fixed RWD grip calcs not working correctly
  
• Fixed that gearboxes were not accounting for their power transmission loss
  
• Fixed advance gearing allowing ratios set to zero which broke car calculation
  
• Fixed Lua error changing gearboxes back and forth
  
• Fixed rear brake pads costing 1/100th of what they should
  
• Fixed issue where cars don't respect RPM limit on test track
  
• Fixed launch procedure for cars on test track
  
• Fixed issue where a car doesn't want to upshift even though there should be sufficient power
  
• Fixed turbine sizes not being clamped on load, making some cars/engines to not calculate
  
• Fixed an instance where engine testing would crash from an infinite loop
  
• Fixed issue with factory refresh costs being weird (negative or nonsensical)

• Added sandbox-only racing tire choices
  
• Improved year-dependent tire grip multiplier progression
  
• Tweaked range of allowed profiles for crossply tires
  
• Tweaked various tire type and compound stats
  
• Reworked traction / diff tests to make them more stable and fit for purpose
  
• Improved traction calculations
  
• CVTs now scale torque limit with their ratio range
  
• Implemented CVT efficiency dependency on speed ratio range
  
• Changed progression of gearing spread slider
  
• Changed progression of top gear ratio with its slider
  
• Reworked drivability / sportiness factor calculations for gearing
  
• Implemented gearbox weight scaling depending on torque limit used
  
• Updated gearbox torque limit progression and values
  
• Tweaked CVT scaling torque limit
  
• Rebalanced differentials and hooked up more stat dependencies
  
• Implemented boost dependence in prestige to stop fake turbos giving prestige
  
• Implemented utility grip factor dependence
  
• Remove grip reserves stat from drivability calcs and detailed stats UI
  
• Tweaked prestige progression for top speed, power, and forced induction
  
• Tweaked drive height dependence in drivability and sportiness
  
• Rebalanced stats for springs, dampers, and swaybars
  
• Tweaked the sportiness car agility stat, punishing larger cars less
  
• Improved offroad tire base stat score calculation
  
• Catalytic converters have new reliability multiplier
  
• Increased effect of tire profile on comfort
  
• Added new +3 front seat row option and tweaked seating stats
  
• Fixed issue with single VVT not having correct effect on emissions
  
• Tweaked carburetor AFR precision (slight nerf) affecting emissions
  
• Tweaked balance of catalytic converters
  
• Added exhaust reactor converter
  
• Added dependency for HC emissions with boost
  
• Added emission dependencies for compression and engine load
  
• Added emission dependency for engine block / head design year and quality
  
• Fixed a bug where dynamic logos on engine parts would disappear if the camera collided with them

A total revamp of how gearboxes and their torque limits affect reliability, and thus the desirability of your cars. This gearbox works well!


This gearbox, however, does not...

• Added engineering time & material cost breakdowns to detailed stats panel
  
• Increased allowed setting range of first gear speeds to higher speeds
  
• Fixed item list tooltips using model year instead of relevant year to part
  
• Rename "Light Truck Monocoque" to "Partial Monocoque"
  
• Fixed an issue with engine size widget behavior
  
• Fixed fixture button issue with flip-to-opposite-side being inconsistent
  
• Fixed sandbox company manager being available in campaign UI
  
• Fixed sandbox car / engine manger not remembering the selected company
  
• Fixed side panel display of material costs being broken for $100k+ costs
  
• Fixed inconsistency in detailed stats emissions panel display of WES standard introduction
  
• Fixed inconsistent coloring in emissions UI
  
• Fixed errors in the display of tire grip in the tire tooltip
  
• Fixed End key taking players to start menu when used in a text box
  
• Fixed fuel efficiency not being unit converted on car summary screen
  
• Fixed double clicking "All Fixture" or "Fixture" materials not backing out to fixture display
  
• Fixed unit conversion issue in gearing setup with inputs not being interpreted correctly
  
• Added gearbox torque limit info in power torque graph and in gearing graph
  
• Improved y-scale for power vs. traction graph for high grip cars
  
• Fixed cornering graph cutting off data as the car rolls over without warning
  
• Added display of 0-100 time in power vs traction graph
  
• Fixed power density limitation icon moving off the top of the power torque graph
  
• Created red warning for if the car rolls over during tests, cutting the cornering graph short
  
• Improved layout of graphs and their selection buttons
  
• Fixed issue with emissions graphs not getting data
  
• Added weight distribution over time to the power vs. traction graph
  
• Fixed engine project sign-off screen not correctly updating after adjusting engineering sliders
  
• Fixed retooling a car factory's minor tooling not saving defaults correctly when facelifting a car

With the tire rework and over a decade of being asked for them, we've finally added slick tires to Automation!

• Massive rework of tires, wheels, and hubs for exported cars for greatly improved driving feel
  
• Fixed using both fixture cameras resulting in 1 not working
  
• Implemented On-Demand AWD sensitivity progression by year and quality
  
• Added lockup in off-road drive mode for modern On-Demand AWD
  
• Fixed bounding box issues with tiny meshes
  
• Fixed issues with invisible car bodies
  
• Added scaling to experimental props
  
• Fixed torque curve extrapolation runaway when engine doesn't hit peak torque before limiter
  
• Moved advanced car tuning sliders to separate parts
  
• Fixed a crash caused by the engine sound thread when the export fails
  
• Tweaked lowShiftDownRPM
  
• Made the wheel hub stiffness slider affect beamDamp
  
• Tweaked FFB strengths for different steering and tyre setups
  
• Added a max FFB weight for power steering
  
• Added dependencies to tyre grip and front wheel load to FFB
  
• Fixed multiple bugs causing inconsistent weight and stiffness of wheels, tyres and suspension
  
• Adjusted default tyre pressures (mostly higher, lower for off road, higher still for utility)
  
• Lots of performance improvements from level of detail adjustments
  
• Note: Drag tires are still WIP and currently replaced with race soft on export!

In the coming days we will address any issues that pop up with quick patches, gearing up for the main release of this big update so that we can move on to the next big update cycle before the end of the year.

Cheers!

Header image credit: ChilPollins1982 (Reddit)

A small patch with quick fixes for some brokenness in the previous version! We have plenty more on our ToDo list, but think it is best to get this out before the weekend.

• Fixed country tech pool jumping between levels instead of interpolating
  
• Fixed advanced gearing UI only using km/h as input
  
• Fixed campaign not opening player-selected design rooms
  
• Fixed advance gearing final drive not causing gear speeds to update
  
• Fixed wrong country tech progressions, mixed up countries
  
• Fixed turbo pressure graph being empty in turbo grid
  
• Fixed engine reducing stroke making engine shift position instead of getting smaller
  
• Fixed effective tech year not initializing correctly
  
• Fixed twin exhausts spawning one of the mufflers the wrong way
  
• Fixed issue with a material that shouldn't exist but is exporting
  
• Added gearbox ratio range reliability penalty to warnings

That is all for now, patch 5 won't be long!
Cheers!

Patch 3 took a whole lot longer than anticipated, mostly due to larger underlying structural problems found and resolved in the process of fixing seemingly minor problems.

For example, competitor car generation having some issues with data handling, which led to large sections of the car designer game code being translated from Lua to C++. That is something we wanted to do anyway, but certainly not right now!

As you can see in the big patch changelog below, in the last month we were able to get a lot done though, despite a lot of work being hidden under the hood.


A brilliant modern supercar, by iIvanSmith.

• Converted a big chunk of car designer calculations from Lua to C++
  
• Fixed various issues with competitor car generation
  
• Fixed lua error when swapping fuel to nitromethane
  
• Fixed lua error when importing pre-4.2 cars and improved prompt to show body name & UID
  
• Fixed hard lock while using 4 grid mode and rapidly changing turbo settings
  
• Fixed Lua error with convertible options in campaign
  
• Fixed a performance issue with global colors
  
• Fixed AI using emissions tuning when it doesn't use a cat
  
• Fixed timing belts stop spinning when changing block material
  
• Fixed semi-slick tire textures being backwards
  
• Added lower-res map layers to the test tracks to use when fully zoomed out

• Implemented gearing range reliability penalty and opened up allowed gearing range
  
• Improved torque converter, CVT, and general shifting logic and test cycle behavior
  
• Fixed inconsistencies in acceleration calculations and clutch logic
  
• Applied all changes to shift logic and acceleration test improvements to test track calculations
  
• Added in engine family stroke length effect on engine fitting
  
• Added efficiency vs. cruise speed graph
  
• Added traction tests sheet as a selectable graph
  
• Fixed issues with downforce and lift calculations
  
• Hooked up toe effect to tire wear / tire service costs
  
• Implemented CVT hard torque limit (size-independent) and fixed limits not scaling correctly
  
• Fixed reliability of CVTs being unexpectedly high
  
• Fixed 4x4 / manual locker not having expected effects
  
• Fixed issue in calculation of interior space vs seat rows used for coupes
  
• Implemented drivability & sportiness gearing dependency (WIP)
  
• Updated gearbox "grades" for drivability, sportiness, comfort, reliability, and engineering

The new power-traction graphs, which breaks down your car's performance on different surfaces, and with different traction levels at each wheel.

• Changed behavior of country tech pool to be a true offset you don't pay for
  
• Fixed yearly autosaves in campaign zeroing various market data, including preorders
  
• Fixed leaded fuel cars selling to other countries despite their leaded fuel ban
  
• Fixed taking a loan for standalone factories starting payback immediately
  
• Fixed market tab not updating when open and time is ticking in campaign

• Fixed removing cat not resetting emissions optimization back to zero before locking it
  
• Added piston / block icon at power density line depending on which item limits it
  
• Added all-fixture scale controls to advance trim settings to resize of fully 3D fixture cars
  
• Fixed some fixture slots not accepting light type changes
  
• Fixed missing units in power / torque graph
  
• Finished implementation of new detailed stats UI for Test Cycles & Emissions
  
• Fixed previous decade safety button not working until a safety package is selected
  
• Fixed inconsistencies in the display of fuel availability
  
• Fixed mod wheels with incorrectly set up wheel families not displaying in wheel selection
  
• Added car trim engine sound controls to engine testing UI
  
• Added "open custom images folder" button to HDRI level widget
  
• Added tooltip for steering and traction aids PU values
  
• Fixed issues with drag graph formatting and labeling
  
• Fixed gear selector for emissions UI not updating on gear change
  
• Fixed gearbox warnings appearing before a gearbox is selected
  
• Added various missing icons

The new detailed stats page, for emissions and test cycles.

• Significantly increased importance of reliability stat, proportional to demographic desires
  
• Tweaked R&D branch cost multipliers
  
• Tweaked costs of undertrays
  
• Tweaked costs and PU of interiors and entertainment
  
• Tweaked costs of steering options
  
• Tweaked costs of traction aids
  
• Tweaked costs and PU of springs

• 78_TaS_Comp_SWB changed to Truck
  
• 78Comp/78Plus - Wagon changed to 5 door, Con and Coupe changed to coupe, cargo and ZMPV_Cargo changed to van
  
• 80s_OR_LWB Wagon changed to SUV
  
• Kei_Truck/LWB_Truck/MWB_Truck: removed convertible tag
  
• JD1974_E3 vans adjusted to 3 doors
  
• BodyEditor_70sFamilyvan and BodyEditor_70sPanelvan changed to 5 door
  
• CS_Moore: All vans bulk edited to ensure 3 doors
  
• 65_XMB_Wagon_2Dr_Alt adjusted to 3 doors
  
• BodyEditor_60sCoupe Targas given hardtop flag
  
• All eras of GPV 2 doors are now flagged as 3 door, and 4 doors are flagged as 5 doors
  
• BodyEditor_60sSedan02 wagon variant adjusted to 5 doors
  
• JD1974_60s_112A van and MPV adjusted to 3 doors
  
• 60s_Mid_LM longer wheelbase van adjusted to 3 doors

• Fixed exported cars sometimes having huge bounding boxes with certain fixtures
  
• Implemented new sectional body JBeam generation among other minor body generation changes
  
• Tweaked gearbox shifting logic
  
• Added "Expand Body Bounds" parameter, controlling if unbreakable fixtures resize bounding box
  
• Increased tire sliding friction
  
• Lowered taillight flare intensity
  
• Added an upper limit to engine braking torque of 60 Nm
  
• Added a lower limit for speed limiters of 10 km/h
  
• Fixed CVTs displaying a gear count in the name
  
• Updated light triggers
  
• Adjusted force feedback effects of various power steering choices
  
• Reworked the Zip-Pack mode to modify the archive instead of entirely overwriting it
  
• Added experimental prop support
  
• Various optimizations

Retro-futurism at its finest, by Skyline.




We are currently working on a series of new test tracks for Automation, and we want your feedback on the art style! Simply go to the Google Form by clicking on this link, and vote for the three finalists in the survey; it will only take a minute!

With all that out of the way, we've come a lot closer to a public, main-branch release of the Ellisbury Update. Of course there are more issues to address and likely even a few new ones introduced. We will continue to improve the update within the open beta until we believe it to be ready for general adoption.

Cheers!

Banner image credit: Oochya (Automation Discord)

Just one more fix... this took a lot longer than we wanted as more and more things were deemed important to be included in this second patch. But here it is, and rather chunky once again!

Here is the full changelog for Patch 2!

• Fixed engine graphs missing before car is finished
  
• Fixed lua errors changing to boxer configurations
  
• Fixed crash to desktop reverting a held engine in engine dyno
  
• Fixed power density thresholds being half of what they should be
  
• Fixed (potentially) car export of legacy car fails with lua error
  
• Fixed competitor companies failing to use their latest line-up facelifts
  
• Fixed Fuel Economy calculation seems to give wrong value
  
• Fixed manual locker diffs being OP for drivability grip tests
  
• Fixed a crash related to fuel economy calculations
  
• Fixed dyno testing tab not updating the power torque graph scale
  
• Fixed engine start/stop controls color for colorblind mode
  
• Fixed 2-way cat efficiency always being zero in the dyno UI
  
• Fixed issue with wheel size and MacPherson availability on 76_eu body variants
  
• Fixed leaf spring suspension models not displaying in car designer
  
• Fixed thumbnails of doorcars showing backface

• Implemented [WIP] new emissions UI for detailed stats page
  
• Implemented [WIP] gearing range limits for gearboxes (affected by quality)
  
• Implement throttle response, TC, and ESC dependencies in drivability grip tests
  
• Added tech pool cost estimation to sandbox and company manager tech pool UI
  
• Tweaked factory addon times for earlier part unlocks
  
• Update grip test choices for Drivability, Sportiness, and Offroad diff tests
  
• Optimized cornering sim for car calcs and track calcs

• Mirrors, license plates, antennas, lights, interior pieces, and tow bars now don't contribute car body bounding box expansion anymore
  
• Fixed default transmission missing in configuration files
  
• Fixed CVTs having too small of adjustment ranges, causing wrong ratios being used
  
• Disabled AWD and Differential DSE controllers
  
• Lowered wheel stiffness
  
• Lowered body stiffness
  
• Fixed broken AMT and DCT transmission modes
  
• Nerfed on-demand AWD
  
• Implemented new Advanced AWD
  
• Changed names of differentials to match Automation ones
  
• Optimized mesh cleanup
  
• Interior sound muffling now depends on interior choice, quality and weight optimization
  
• Added internal recalculation of mesh bounding boxes

We're working on the next patch already and there is plenty more fixes and improvements to come.
Cheers!

With two and a half days of bugfixing since the big milestone update going into open beta, it is time for the first beefy patch in which we are addressing most crashes and some of the biggest other issues.

No time to waste, here is the full changelog for Patch 1!

• Fixed memory leak in dyno testing
  
• Fixed several sandbox company techpool and UI issues
  
• Fixed CVTs causing a lua error on the test track
  
• Fixed shift times increasing with added quality instead of decreasing
  
• Fixed the "speed mode" of individual gear ratio not converting to mph
  
• Fixed fuel economy display value being wrong in car stats
  
• Fixed inconsistency in power density reliability penalty calculation
  
• Fixed bottom end parts not having correct addon requirements
  
• Fixed issue with fixture mirroring in exports
  
• Fixed missing keybindings categories in the settings menu
  
• Fixed lua error switching to CVT while in detailed gearing mode
  
• Fixed engine dyno power / torque graph scaling issue using hp
  
• Fixed engine manager search bar issue
  
• Fixed tread contrast slider functionality having unexpected behavior
  
• Fixed issues differential art models
  
• Fixed front diff not disappearing for RWD
  
• Fixed RPM gauge saying x1000 RPM but then also showing up to 12000 RPM
  
• Fixed intake & fuel systems not appearing correctly for various configurations
  
• Fixed bore and stroke manual input throwing error with bad inputs
  
• Fixed cross ply chunky offroad tires having varying tread colour
  
• Fixed two strings gone missing in poster creations

• Implemented power distribution options for more center diff types
  
• Deactivated emissions adaptation when no catalytic converter is selected
  
• Updated drivetype AWD Clutch to be baseline 2WD
  
• Added speed limiter setting to the advanced gearbox mode
  
• Added back in 8-gear DCTs
  
• Tweaked shift times for manuals and advanced automatics
  
• Tweaked emissions compliance costs in campaign

• Fixed unrestrained fender morphs on 50er and JD1974_50s car bodies
  
• Adjusted available seat configurations on 94_jpn_alt bodies
  
• Fixed 65_XMB_Hatch to be 3 door instead of 5
  
• Adjusted 76_eu_hatch_s to fit 2 full rows of seats
  
• Fixed 10sVillain Wagons in 2.8, 2.9 and 3.3m wheelbases to show as 5 door instead of 2

• Fixed broken light parameters
  
• Fixed missing AMT powertrain
  
• Fixed an error caused by using electric center differentials without TC or better
  
• Fixed balancing mass parts being unavailable
  
• Improved accuracy of exported total weight
  
• Cleaned up mesh files by removing duplicate and unused vertices
  
• Tweaked light parameters
  
• Renamed "Force Unbreakable Fixtures" export parameter to "Merge All Fixtures"
  
• Renamed "Fixed Fixtures" export parameter to "Weld Breakable Fixtures"

As we are releasing this one, we're working on the next patch already with plenty more fixes and improvements to come.

Cheers!

After a short delay to squash a bunch of bugs found in closed testing, we are finally ready to share the first look at the hotly-anticipated Ellisbury Update with everyone!


A delightful vintage racer, by Lorraine

As the Ellisbury Update is entering into the open beta phase, this will be an opt-in event. You can opt in to the Ellisbury Update open beta with the following steps:

1. Right-click on Automation in your Steam library, and go to Properties.
   
2. Go to the Betas tab.
   
3. From the Beta Participation dropdown, choose openbeta - Ellisbury Update Open Beta

Allow Automation to update, then launch the game!

Compatibility Note: All Sandbox Mode cars made in LCV4.2 will be compatible with the Ellisbury Update, but some minor adjustments to engines and transmissions specifically will be needed for them to perform at their full potential with the new update. All Steam Workshop mod content from LCV4.2 is fully compatible with the Ellisbury Update.


The stylish lightbar of BarthoNavarro's futuristic compact wagon looks on.

• Added companies to Sandbox mode, and implemented techpool for Sandbox mode
  
• New body variants: 469 new or updated and improved car bodies in 8 families
  
• Complete overhaul of transmissions, including (optional) full player control over gear ratios
  
• Complete overhaul of differential behaviour
  
• New, more flexible all-wheel drive system choices and re-worked behaviour
  
• Added CVTs and sequential gearboxes
  
• Complete overhaul of fuel economy calculations for real-world-like fuel consumption testing
  
• Added toe adjustment for suspension tuning
  
• All-new test track screen, with the ability to follow your car around the track
  
• Added the Ellisbury track, with Tri-Oval, Grand Prix, GT and Junior track layouts

The new Ellisbury track.

• Complete revamp of engine block and bottom end, including up-boring and new interactions
  
• Engine power density mechanic added
  
• Engine emissions calculations completely overhauled, reflecting real-world test cycles
  
• Added several graph options to help players visualise engine emissions and efficiency performance
  
• Improved accuracy of catalytic converter behaviour, added pre-cats options
  
• Complete overhaul of engine dyno, new gauges, more info and full control of load and RPM
  
• Lots of new and improved engine artwork

The new engine dyno at work, showing all of the new information and emissions stats.

• With fully user-configurable and moddable layouts to create your own car posters

• Added Sankey charts to allow players to see competitors and visualise sales and market flows
  
• More dynamic AI companies now use techpool and production quality properly
  
• Countries now have techpool offsets to better reflect local conditions
  
• Reliability is now an important factor in desirability calculations

This rally-inspired hot hatchback by Azka looks ready for anything!

• Added new camera display widget to control custom camera locations for exported cars
  
• Fixed decal discolouration and LOD issues in exported cars
  
• Many fixes and updates to materials in exported cars - carbon fibre is now fixed too
  
• Improved exporter’s ability to handle anything edited with the Advanced Trim Tool
  
• Implemented electric centre differentials
  
• Rebalanced tire parameters
  
• Added "Fixed Fixtures" export parameter. Breakable fixtures immune to breaking but can collide
  
• Implemented drivetrain friction
  
• Active dampers and sway bars now export
  
• Body weight will now be adjusted for added light and fixture weight (to a point)

LS Swapped Rx-7 brings us this ten-star car build!


The immediate task at hand for us is to take the vast amount of questions, comments and inevitable bug reports generated in the open beta phase. We'll provide regular patches working towards the full public release. After an inevitably busy first one or two weeks, our team will start to partially shift some focus toward the second milestone of the Supercharger Update, the Al-Rilma Update. More news on that in the not-too-distant future!

Cheers!


Catch us again later, much like Oreology's custom street racer!

It's been a while coming, but the beta test for the upcoming Ellisbury Update is just around the corner.

We've been hard at work developing new emissions testing and fuel economy drive cycles, based on real-world tests, a complete revamp of our drivetrain systems, and much more... all of which we touch on in our latest Dev Update video, which weighs in at a pretty hefty 53 minutes long!



Real-world fuel economy drive cycles are complicated; this is the US EPA's city drive cycle.


We keep the complexity of the real-world test, but make it easy to understand.

With the full fuel map we added back in LCV4.2, this has given us the ability to use more realistic fuel economy calculations for your Automation cars. More importantly, we can now actually calculate your car's true emissions values too, just like a real car's values would be measured, instead of the (almost completely) meaningless value we had been using for tailpipe emissions until now.

A lot of research and work have gone into the emissions calculations, and it will have some pretty profound implications on gameplay, especially in Campaign Mode. Getting something like a really highly-tuned supercar engine to pass emissions, for example - especially taking into account the prodigious emissions those engines produce when they are cold - is going to be quite an achievement!



Our engine dyno now more closely matches a real one, in appearance and behaviour!

With the Ellisbury Update, we are also completely re-doing the engine dyno tab. With the new fuel economy and emissions calculations, we can now give real feedback on engine performance at any RPM and throttle setting, which will be of immense value for tuning your engine. You will get instant feedback on your engine's performance, airflow and fuel flow values, emissions concentrations, and more, all with more control from the player.



The sales model has been opened up for all to see.

Campaign Mode players will be getting a powerful new visualisation tool, to view exactly what is going on within a particular sales demographic; the Sankey chart. With this chart, you will be able to see exactly how many cars your competitors are selling in whatever combination of markets you wish to inspect, and what's more, you will be able to see how strongly your competitor's entries in that demographic are, even going as far as to see what their car's stats are. After all, real-world car companies don't operate in an information vacuum, why should you?



A whole new way to share your creations.

We have often asked ourselves, "how can we help our players showcase their creations better and more effectively?" That has resulted in many new tools over the years, and the new Poster Tool is the latest. Nearly totally user-customizable and moddable on top, with the ability to design and upload many of your own custom elements, the Poster Tool allows you to create a tidy, informative and attractive posters to showcase your cars, complete with statistics.




In the Ellisbury Update, we are revamping our Test Track tool, to allow for a much more interactive and immersive experience as your cars go around the track. Gone is the old red sprite, in with a new sprite, based on a top-down shot of your car as it is. Additionally, the new test track screen is a lot tidier and easier to read, and helps bring you in closer to the action, as your car makes its way around the track.



Though it won't be in the Ellisbury Update, we are comfortable showing you all the new Track Editor tool we are making! With this new tool, creating a new test track for Automation will take only a matter of minutes to create the spline, as opposed to the old method of painstakingly coding in LUA, or with a fussy and frustrating visual tool. Simply draw the optimal line spline around the track, then add the track mask, and you've got yourself a new track! You'll also note from the screenshot here, that there's a full weather simulation built into the track editor, so each track will have even more character and personality than before.

And finally...



If you want to make some money making 2D track art for us, let us know!

With all of these new tools to make new tracks, we are putting out a call to anyone with appropriate skills and who is interested in making a lasting mark on Automation, to participate in our Art Test!

The ideal candidate should be creative and will take great care with the finer details of their work, is able to plan and manage their time effectively and is a strong communicator, fluent in English. Experience with Adobe Photoshop is a must, and experience with Illustrator will be beneficial. If this sounds like you, you can download the Art Test package here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vkmhukrd_Wly8L47WDUIc5ulxfNC28It/view?usp=share_link

Good luck to all of those interested!


The beginning of the openbeta test of the Ellisbury Update is in 2-3 weeks. We are tentatively looking at 4-6 weeks duration for that, and we will be making an announcement when the open beta phase starts, so stay tuned!

That should be all for now,
Cheers!

Greetings, motorists!

We are very happy to announce that we are partnering up with our friends at BeamNG.drive to run a BeamNG modding contest, in celebration of the amazing partnership they have just announced with Gambler 500!

Through this partnership, we aim to blur the boundaries between virtual and real-life creativity, and we’re inviting you all along for the ride. The BeamNG.drive team, together with the Modding for Dummies community and ourselves, are bringing you the Gambler 500 Modding Contest, so everyone can show us what they’ve got!

We challenge you to unleash your imagination and bring the spirit of Gambler 500 to BeamNG! Make a map, vehicles, props, Automation vehicles or even missions in the theme of the Gamber 500 - now is the time to strut your stuff.


Submissions are open from now until 30 June 2023. The following categories are accepted:

• Vehicles / props, vehicle / prop modifications with accompanying configs
  
• Automation creations
  
• Maps
  
• Gameplay (missions, scenarios)

• Entries must be submitted through the BeamNG mod repository
  
• Each entry must be original and represent the theme of the contest
  
• The quality of the mod and the repo page should be as good as possible
  
• The published mod should be shared in the dedicated forum thread
  
• You cannot continue an older project for this challenge

The winners will be determined by a jury comprising the BeamNG dev team, the Automation team, and the MFD team. We will announce the winners on 17. July 2023, and they will receive the following rewards:

1st place - $300, an exclusive BeamNG x Gambler 500 poster, 3x game keys package
2nd place - $200, an exclusive BeamNG x Gambler 500 poster, 2x game keys package
3rd place - $100, an exclusive BeamNG x Gambler 500 poster, 1x game keys package

Each game keys package consists of one key for BeamNG, one for Automation, plus one for the Automation DLCs. We will also be running a dedicated category for Automation exports, where the best entry in the Automation category will receive:

Best From Automation: $100, an exclusive BeamNG x Gambler 500 poster, 3x game keys package

For more information, please refer to the official BeamNG post here, or you can join the Official Automation Discord here.

We can’t wait to see your submissions and wish everyone the best of luck!

With the last, massive milestone update having been out for a good while now, today we want to share with you the roadmap for the ongoing Supercharger Update development cycle. With the series of updates contained therein, we are bringing the core of the game to feature completion - including lots of things the community has been asking for since the early days of Automation!


As you all witnessed during the way-too-long LCV4.2 development cycle, it would seem appropriate to break up a milestone like this into three smaller, more manageable updates. That is exactly what we're doing for the Supercharger Update, which would be enormous all put together. That way, we will deliver new content and features more frequently, without the long wait until the end of what will likely be a year-long (likely more) development cycle.



We've also given each of the three updates within this cycle a special name; these are the names of some of the cities in the Automation Light Campaign world, and each has some significance to the content of each of the updates.

Keep in mind that anything we talk about and show here very much is WORK IN PROGRESS and may or may not be fully indicative of the final content as it will appear in Automation!

Let's get into it!

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A summary of all the main points included in this first update of the larger cycle.

In the Ellisbury Update, much of the content we're adding is the logical extension of everything we've added in the LCV4.2 update. It is taking full advantage of all the new systems we created to make engine design a more interesting and nuanced proposition. One aspect of that are the new engine block construction methods and re-thinking how all of the moving parts within the engine - crankshaft, conrods and pistons - interact with one another in terms of reliability and performance.


Up-boring and all kinds of new bottom end options.

Also, we are completely reworking the drivetrain options, with the addition of CVTs, proper racing sequential gearboxes, and the ability to manually set gear ratios if you prefer to do so. Drivetrain types and differentials will be getting a rework too, with a complete rethink of how Automation handles all-wheel drive to better reflect the wide variety of different systems in use in the real world!


The new gearing setup and gearbox options. Still missing here: several new AWD systems.

And finally, the test track system is going to be completely redesigned, from the ground up, with the track becoming a zoomable entity no longer relying on a 1280x720 image as its background, but a massive 8192x8192 texture with tons of detail. That means you will be able to closely follow your car around the track.

Additionally, we will be adding another official track to the game; the very versatile Ellisbury Tri-Oval! With a tri-oval itself and three very different road courses available, this track will test your creations to their limits, and beyond.


A first look at the new and yet unfinsihed Ellisbury Tri-Oval.

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This is the big one that everyone has been waiting for. In the Al Rilma update, we will be bringing in not just superchargers of several different kinds, but also sequential turbochargers and likely twincharging too. As many of you might remember, sequential turbos got postponed in the LCV4.2 update, since that update took so long to deploy, and also because deploying them with superchargers and twincharging makes a lot more sense from a development perspective. But, as promised in all the way back in 2011, here they come!

As if that's not enough for one update, we are bringing back a popular feature from the pre-Unreal Engine days; the scenario-based multiplayer challenges! How does that work, you wonder? Everyone in a multiplayer game will be given the same randomized scenario to design an engine or car for, that must meet certain criteria. Players will have a limited amount of time to complete their entries, which are scored based on how well they perform compared to the requirements. These player scores are always visible in a leaderboard for you to climb in these fast-paced and very competitive challenges!

If you love cringe and want to see how far the game has come, we have some proper ancient video for you from 2013 where this kind of multiplayer existed in the early Kee Engine version of the game. Enjoy... or not. xD

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The third and final major update of the Supercharger Update will bring much more multiplayer functionality; more on that to come in the following months, but we can say that we have some incredibly exciting plans for this. Additionally, full scenario gameplay will return, as will a comprehensive suite of tutorials for Automation - something that new players always ask for!

Finally, this third update will also see us fully integrate Steam Community Items, including Steam Trading Cards and Achievements into Automation! We have some fun ideas for this, which we will share with you all when the time is right :)


That is a brief overview of what the Supercharger Update is going to look like; what do you think? Let us know in the comments! We encourage you to watch the Little Dev Update at the top, and to follow us on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok for the very latest information. We love to hear from you!

Cheers!

In this patch we are addressing a few important issues found in the big 4.2 update.
Here is the change log for this patch:

• Fixed engine not visually getting added to car on first selection of drivetrain
  
• Fixed the character " in trim names causing car exports to not work
  
• Fixed rebuilt lighting of 10's design room
  
• Fixed factory screen staff employment times displaying incorrectly
  
• Fixed factory production not being limited by staffing correctly
  
• Fixed contract factory behavior for low volume engine production
  
• Fixed pie chart and bar chart not matching campaign expenses screen
  
• Fixed specific Lua error in campaign causing game to break
  
• Fixed error when pausing trims from a previous facelift
  
• Tweaked engine-production-matching graph behavior

• Rebalanced suspension tuning
  
• Expanded race suspension customization

At this point we're all back in office and mostly working on new features for the next big 4.3 milestone - more on that in a coming news post.
Cheers!