Help with In-Game Descriptions

Hey guys!

Quick question if you can help out with this. We’re currently going through and correcting / improving the various strings (technical term for “texts”) in the game and I just stumbled upon the engine configuration strings which for the most part still are empty or rather use placeholder strings.

The first two engine types making it into Automation (I4s and V8s) do have decent descriptions and the I4 probably has the style we’re aiming for here:

The Inline 4 configuration consists of 4 cylinders in a single block, lined up in a row. This makes for a cheap, simple, lightweight and compact engine, which is usually best suited to economical compact and family cars. However, when tuned for high RPM or forced induction added, it can make for a very quick, compact sports car. The small number of cylinders can also cause an Inline 4 can to be harsh and unrefined, and vibration will begin to become overwhelming in designs over about 2.5L capacity.

The V8 description is more technical and to some extent lacks the “what is it good for” part of the description. Probably it is a little too long, too:

The V8 configuration consists of eight cylinders in a single block, lined up in a “V” shape. There are four cylinders on each side (bank), with a 90 degree angle between the two banks of cylinders.

V-type configurations are more complex to manufacture than inline configurations, as the two banks of cylinders are separated by a wide angle, which requires two separate heads to be manufactured. In most cases, this means that double the amount of camshafts need to be provided. Because of this, V-type configurations are much wider than Inline-type engines, but can fit double the amount of cylinders in approximately the same length. A V8 is not much longer than an Inline 4, but can be over twice as wide.

There are two types of V8 configurations, crossplane and flatplane, and the primary difference is in the crankshaft design:
A flatplane V8 shares the same principle crankshaft design as an Inline 4. As the name implies, the crank pins (where the conrods attach) are in a flat plane, with the front and rear pins facing left and the middle two pins facing right. Thus, you could place a flatplane crank on a table, and it would not roll away. Most Italian sports cars, use flatplane V8 designs.

Anyway, we need descriptions for I3, I5, I6, V6, V10, and V16 engines (eventually B4 and B6 too, of course). I guess you enthusiasts out there could cook up something for the game? :slight_smile:

If yes, just have a go at it in this thread!
Cheers!

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Oh, oh, I’m dumb but I like to write and contribute!

“The Inline 6 configuration consists of 6 cylinders in a single block, lined up in a row. While it is a longer, less space-efficient, and often costlier design, they benefit from being very smooth due to it’s superb engine balance, making it suitable for luxury cars. The fully balanced nature of the Inline 6 means that it can be used in large, heavy-duty applications, such as large trucks and utility vehicles. However, because it tends to be longer than a comparable V8 and more expensive than an Inline 4, it may not be fitting for compact, inexpensive vehicles.”

“The Inline 3 configuration consists of 3 cylinders in a single block, lined up in a row. This makes for a very cheap, simple, and extremely compact engine. The inexpensiveness of the design allows it to be a good fit for cheap, low-cost vehicles where budget is a major concern. With forced induction, it is capable of substituting Inline 4 engines by being equally powerful but more economical. Because of its low cylinder count it tends to run less smoothly than other engines, making it unsuitable for stressful applications, and sizing it over 1.5L could make the vibration overwhelming.”

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It doesn’t have to be perfect :slight_smile: iteration is king, thank you for contributing! This is good. I changed it slightly down here. What do others think? Iterate as you see fit.

“The Inline 3 configuration consists of 3 cylinders in a single block, lined up in a row. This makes for a very cheap, simple, and extremely compact engine. The inexpensiveness of the design allows it to be a good fit for small, lightweight vehicles where budget is a major concern. With forced induction, it is capable of substituting Inline 4 engines by being equally powerful but more economical. Due to its low cylinder count and lack of symmetry, it tends to run rougher than other engines, making it unsuitable for stressful applications and sizing it over 1.0L could make engine vibrations overwhelming.”

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I’m gonna take a stab at it. If there are any inaccuracies, please feel free to correct them.

That last statement is historically true. It’s why 5-cylinder gasoline engines have been around (in production cars) for much less time than 5 cylinder diesel engines. Because of the ‘direct fuel injection’ nature of essentially all forms of diesel engines, air and fuel can be distributed without issue; but for gasoline applications, single-point injection/carburetor, dual carburetor, and carb per cylinder all lead to uneven fuel or air/fuel distribution.

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That’s very well written. If you’d allow me, I think the last part could be shortened a bit.

The Inline 5 configuration consists of 5 cylinders in a single block, lined up in a row. This configuration has the advantages of being smoother than an Inline 4 engine, while being more compact than an Inline 6 engine and being narrower than a V6. This makes them suitable for applications where the additional displacement over an I4 is needed but an I6 will not fit. The odd cylinder count and firing order creates a unique sound signature, similar to its larger V10 cousin.The use of modern fuel injection is recommended as air/fuel distribution problems may arise.

And I’ll try my hand at V6 as well.

The V6 configuration consists of six cylinders in a single block, lined up in a “V” shape. There are three cylinders on each side (bank), with either a 60 or a 90 degree angle between the two banks of cylinders. With a 60 degree angle, the engine is less wide and more compact overall. As it is only as long as an inline 3 of half the displacement, it fits much easier in small spaces, making it suitable for front wheel drive setups. While the higher cylinder count gives it a smoothness advantage over an inline 4, the added complexity of extra heads and camshafts also makes it more expensive, more so than an inline 6. However the ease of fitting in larger displacements in smaller spaces means that they offer greater potential for making powerful setups, irrespective of drivetrain setup. Compared to boxer 6s though, they have a higher center of gravity and are not as smooth.

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I’ll try one for V16s.

A V16 engine is perfectly balanced regardless of the V angle without requiring contra-rotating balancing shafts which are necessary to balance engines with odd numbers of cylinders in-line or those equipped with counterweighted crankshafts like the 90° V8. In addition V angles of 45° and 135° give an impulse every 45°, so are optimal solutions, for even-firing and non-split bearing crankshaft journals.

V16s were uncommon for automotive use due to similar displacement V8s and V12s usually producing the same output while being less expensive to build and maintain. The few applications where V16s saw use were in high-end luxury and high-performance cars due to their superior smoothness.

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Well, I mean I’d personally think this was adequate for V10s:

V10s are the best engines.

But if I have to be more technical about it:

A V10 is easily thought of as two Inline 5 engines, seperated by a 72 or 90 degree V angle. The 72 degree offers more smoothness and RPM potential to a similar displacement of V8, but keeps weight high and can’t share parts with other engines. A 90 degree V sacrifices some smoothness, but is often used because it can be made by simply “adding” an extra pair of cylinders to a V8.

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Nice! Thanks for all the suggestions so far, I’m happy with how this is going.
I consider the I3, I4, I5, and I6 descriptions to be complete.

Turns out we don’t even have a V6 string in our strings database :stuck_out_tongue: just a V4 string for whatever reason. I like the V6 description by @ramthecowy would just iterate on it slightly, removing parts that talk about other engines that needs to go in their respective descriptions :slight_smile:

The V6 configuration consists of six cylinders in a single block, lined up in a “V” shape. There are three cylinders on each side (bank), with either a 60 or a 90 degree angle between the two banks of cylinders. As a V6 is only as long as an inline 3 of half the displacement, it fits much easier in small spaces, making it suitable even for transverse front wheel drive setups. While the higher cylinder count gives it a smoothness advantage over an inline 4, the added complexity of extra heads and camshafts also makes it more expensive. The V6 is a good all-round performer which can be used for many different purposes, anything from utility to sports vehicles.
60 degree bank angle is the natural angle for V6 engines resulting in good levels of smoothness. 90 degree bank angle should only be considered in order to cut engineering time and costs when frequently using V engines based on a 90 degree angle.

The V10 description suggestion is good, but too technical compared to the I4 one, I’d like to have some glue in there which talks about what you actually could use them for. The V16 description is almost there, but I think we need to focus that more on what is actually available in Automation, using a 90 degree bank angle and … I’m actually unsure about the crank design… :confused: if we made it 2 glued together V8s or a proper V16 crank, I think it was the latter. Do you remember that from any of the LDUs with that one in it?

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Not too sure on how to best phrase it, but the V10 should mention that it can be used as an improvement on the V8 in trucks and heavy delivery vehicles without too much added costs, and the same can go with sports cars along with the increased prestige.

I was basing that on what I’ve read. Cadillac used both a 45 degree angle and later a 135 degree angle for their engines. I couldn’t find any specifics on the Sixteen Concept as far as angle is concerned. The Marmon V16 also used a 45 degree angle. Those are the only manufacturers that put true V16s on the road.

For V10s you could mention how they were often popular in pickup trucks for people who wanted extra towing power but did not want a diesel.

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I’m thinking that we should avoid references to diesel and other tech not in game. That way we don’t confuse anyone into thinking they are options.

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I’ll take a stab at the V10 description, taking the recent comments about them in mind.

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Excellent, V10 done! :slight_smile: I just left out the last little bit (we don’t want n00bs to build V10 delivery vehicles :P) and corrected the spelling of configuration. Cheers!

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Oops… I should have spell-checked it more thoroughly before posting. :sweat:

Here’s an attempt for the Boxer descriptions.

The Boxer-6 description is a little short… but I’m not sure on what else to add.

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I didn’t see it on the list above, but are straight 8s going to be a thing?

Maybe in a post V1.00 DLC, second engine pack… so “maybe eventually”

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Would be a nice extra with a V16 DLC for us later buyers :wink:

I’m sure if could be offered at a discount for those early supporters getting the V16 first.

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Maybe :slight_smile: we’ll see, that’s all pretty far future stuff anyway, so no descriptions needed for I8s. V16s are basically done, so they definitely need a description.

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But while we’re at it why not just write out the descriptions for every engine type that may possibly end up in the game at some point? It doesn’t take us that much time

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Because i would imagine that there still could be a complete and fundamental game change that could make a currently accurate description for the current game version become slightly inaccurate, for example how automatics used to be more fuel efficient than manuals

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