The Farm Truck Challenge, Complete Results Announced!

Community Challenges & Competitions
1

[size=150]The Farm Truck:[/size] The quintessential piece of any farmer’s vast array of machinery. It doesn’t matter what type of agriculture the farmer is in. Those farmers have had a truck to get the work done since the Model A rolled off the assembly line. That farmer has probably had many different trucks of many different kinds and maybe even many different makes throughout the years, but there’s one thing for sure: The best ones have worked just as hard as the farmer.

Farm Truck Challenge Logo.jpg720×540 171 KB

The year is 2011 and the American Automotive Industry is starting to fully recover from the financial crisis. With that recovery comes new sales and revitalized product lines with much needed improvements. Ford Motor Company has just re-branded the F-150 with its EcoBoost lineup and it appears that the American Pickup wars have begun anew. Your company realizes that the F-150 is the best-selling vehicle in the entire United States, not just the pickup market. Therefore, you want a piece of that market share. You know that most of these trucks go to the blue collar, hard working, everyday buyer. You know that you need to build something dependable, tough, and powerful enough to start working before the sun comes up while also being able to keep going once the sun sets again. Your market is broad so that your truck must perform at various altitudes and temperatures. You also know that this truck may be the family’s only car, so it has to be versatile enough to log highway miles, sit in traffic, or run on dirt roads all day. The challenge is great, but the rewards for being competitive in the American Pickup Market are huge.

[size=150]Judging Criteria[/size]
(I intend to make this into a multi-stage competition in order to encompass the various uses of Pickup Trucks and some of the different draws they have to their respective markets. For now please only consider the below criteria, but be considerate to the fact that you may need to be able to revise your design for a secondary stage at a later date.)

I plan to do a mini-review (a few sentences) of each truck with the top tier (number dependant on amount of entries) getting full reviews. More on this as entries come in.

[ul]
]Very Heavily Weighted (Score x 1.5): Reliability, Utility, Practicality, Environmental Resistance/]
] Heavily Weighted (Score x 1.3): Offroad, Drivability, Cost of Ownership ((Total Cost + Running Cost Tab)/-750)/]
] Standard Weight (Score x 1.0): Fuel Economy, Comfort, Safety /]
] Lightly Weighted (Score x 0.7): Sportiness, Prestige /]
] Very Lightly Weighted (Score x 0.5): Track Time (Time x -1) at Tulsa Drag Strip Available at: automationgame.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=4860#p46892/:m][/ul]

[size=150]Rules[/size]

[ul]
] Model, Trim, Engine, and Variant Tabs all use MY 2011./]
]Market Price < or = $60K in Gasmea @ 5%./] (Remember costs affects the score, but for the purposes of this challenge farmers don’t take their F-150 Limited competitors into the field.)
] Cooling must be sufficient for engine requirements. /]
] Must be a Pickup Truck Body. (Open Cargo Area.) No SUVs or Vans./]
] Must have at least the minimum amount of seats for the given body style. No .Lua modding./]
] All Mods used MUST be available through the Steam Workshop. (thecarlover is currently building a modern truck body that will be available as a mod. It should be done before the deadline. You can check the progress of it here: automationgame.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=8552&start=140#p89627)/]
] Must have a catalytic converter. /]
] Must be Road Legal. (Headlights, Tail Lights, Door Handles) /]
] Must use Regular Unleaded Fuel. /]
] Loudness < 60 /]
] Safety > 40/]
] Engine Reliability > 50/]
] No negative quality sliders. /]
] Tires must be Hard Compound Road and may not exceed +3 on the quality slider. /]
[/ul]
[size=150]
How to Submit[/size]

Please export your truck to a .Zip folder using the game’s Export Function and PM the files to me.

Naming Convention:
Model: FTC (Username)
Trim: FTC (Car Name)
Engine Family: FTC (Username)
Variant: FTC (Engine Name)

Entries are closed. The deadline for submissions was 11:59:59.999 PM US Eastern Time January 8, 2016.

[size=150]Accepted Entries[/size]
VMO
Rollarider10
HighOctaneLove
AirJordan
Sillyworld
thecarlover
Sebesseg
BlastersPewPew
Lenraj
Puffster
Carskick
KakarottSajyajin
Madrias
Zabhawkin
Slax
Vri404
Matti
TheTom
Koolkei
strop
stensen
Manche
nialloftara
asdren

[size=200]Results[/size]
[ul]

]Click HERE for the 1st and 2nd Place Review./]
]Click HERE for the 3rd Place Review./]
]Click HERE for the 4th Place Review./]
]Click HERE for the 5th Place Review./]
]Click HERE for blurbs. (Includes 24th-6th Places.)/]
[/ul]
[size=85]Edits:
Added Road Legal Requirement to the Rules Section.
Added @ 5% to Market requirement.
Added finalized Mod rule.
Various syntax, capitalization, spelling, and punctuation corrections.
Adjusted Cost Calculation.
Added Tulsa Time Calculation Formula and Link to Track.
Added How to Submit
Added Accepted, Pending, and Rejected Entries
Added thecarlovers pickup mention.
Added review section.
Added Timezone to the Deadline.
Closed competition.
Added and Updated Results Section.
[/size]

2

For mods, I’d say anything from the workshop (Bar VMO, unless people want them.) as that is the easiest way to control mods.

Everything else seems good to me anyway. I’m gonna try to enter (Unless entries end before the 25th of december, which I hope not.)

3

Last I heard was that VMO mods have been corrected so that they no longer need to be banned. I’ll wait for the community to verify here. Also, as a general question to those wiser than I, do I need to install all the mods for them to load in my game or will they appear just because they are in the .Zip? I have some mods installed, but not many.

Also I don’t think I’ll be closing entries until early January. I’d like to have this done before I need to bury my face in my second set of law books next semester.

4

I think that it is easier to control (as a builder) total cost of the vehicle than sales price…
thumbs up for adding “Very Lightly Weighted (Score x 0.5): Track Time at Tulsa Drag Strip” :smiley:

5

From experience, hard compound tires do not last long when dealing with dirt, gravel, rocky roads. They tend to fracture and can not be repaired.

And even in your picture those tires would be of the chunky off-road variety.

6

[quote=“Zabhawkin”]From experience, hard compound tires do not last long when dealing with dirt, gravel, rocky roads. They tend to fracture and can not be repaired.

And even in your picture those tires would be of the chunky off-road variety.[/quote]

I dunno, if you look at most new pickup trucks they pretty all come with regular highway tires unless they have an off-road package, i.e. Raptor. The tires on the truck in the photo are obviously not stock, for instance. I’ve admittedly never worked on a farm, but most work trucks I see are beater el cheapo base models.

To the OP, I’m wondering if 2011 is too new for this competition. All the current pickup body styles are over a quarter century old at this point.

7

This is mostly to put an upper cap somewhere. Setting a total cost limit allows for the designer to move costs into production units instead of overall costs. The market tab is useful because it actually gives a total price consideration. Don’t forget that this is just a limit. Your score would be directly influenced by managing your total cost.

[quote=“oppositelock”]

[quote=“Zabhawkin”]From experience, hard compound tires do not last long when dealing with dirt, gravel, rocky roads. They tend to fracture and can not be repaired.

And even in your picture those tires would be of the chunky off-road variety.[/quote]

I dunno, if you look at most new pickup trucks they pretty all come with regular highway tires unless they have an off-road package, i.e. Raptor. The tires on the truck in the photo are obviously not stock, for instance. I’ve admittedly never worked on a farm, but most work trucks I see are beater el cheapo base models.

To the OP, I’m wondering if 2011 is too new for this competition. All the current pickup body styles are over a quarter century old at this point.[/quote]

I tend to agree about tire design. I imagine Chunky Off-road to be 37" Nittos. Every new truck my family has purchased over the last 25 years comes with Hard Highway tires unless you buy an Off-road package. I grew up on a farm and while the tires didn’t last very many miles off-road, they did last a decent amount of time and we always replaced them with OEM tires. Don’t forget these trucks may be used exclusively for towing on a highway. You have to compromise.

As far as the year goes, you are right to say that the bodies are outdated. That being said, outdated bodies won’t penalize your score. I wish the bodies were more modern for aesthetics, but practically speaking, there is no impact since desirability isn’t a factor. I really want people to be able to utilize modern engine technology and 2011 was a transformative year in the American Pickup Market IIRC.

8

It should be Construction Cost, and I am with the others. 2011 is too new, unless someone can get a ~'10s body out soon.

9

Can someone substantiate an argument as to why 2011 is too new that doesn’t involve looks? I’d like to know what the practical implications of 2011 are as they relate to the judging criteria as they stand.

As far as the costs is concerned, I’d rather get rid of the cost limit than set a total cost limit. It’s already scored so there’s no need to limit that. I might make it weighted more heavily if that change is really wanted.

10

There’s a safety penalty when using old bodies. But assuming everyone uses bodies from roughly the same time period, everyone could expect the same penalty. Any downside (stats wise) from using old bodies would be even for everyone, though I’d assume stronger with the 1950s pickup instead of one of the 1970s ones.

11

Nope! Carry on, looks like a fun challenge.

12

I’d be up for entering.

13

i just tried to scratch up something.

it’s doable… just… it’s really challenging looks wise.

got something about 50ish practicality and 70ish utility.

14

[quote=“KLinardo”]

I tend to agree about tire design. I imagine Chunky Off-road to be 37" Nittos. Every new truck my family has purchased over the last 25 years comes with Hard Highway tires unless you buy an Off-road package. I grew up on a farm and while the tires didn’t last very many miles off-road, they did last a decent amount of time and we always replaced them with OEM tires. Don’t forget these trucks may be used exclusively for towing on a highway. You have to compromise.

As far as the year goes, you are right to say that the bodies are outdated. That being said, outdated bodies won’t penalize your score. I wish the bodies were more modern for aesthetics, but practically speaking, there is no impact since desirability isn’t a factor. I really want people to be able to utilize modern engine technology and 2011 was a transformative year in the American Pickup Market IIRC.[/quote]

I’ll just cut to the chase… what I would like to see is tire choices opened up. Each type will have trade offs, even the 3 that would be practical for this competition.

I always figured that the chunky off-road tire was more of an AT style, as the game is based on what is sold OEM.

We just bought a new F150 truck and granted its more of a judgement the Goodyear Wranglers that came on it seem more like a “medium” tire than a hard highway tire.

Edit: nevermind, I just went out and looked it has the HT version.

15

About the safety. I guess having it as sellable in Gasmea means that it needs a minimum amount of safety anyway, so that should not be a huge issue.

Should there be any engine limitations or do you all think that should be free game?

16

I hope there’s no engine limitations. I’m thinking of entering a 10L V8 (Based on current rule set)

17

[quote=“Tycondero”]About the safety. I guess having it as sellable in Gasmea means that it needs a minimum amount of safety anyway, so that should not be a huge issue.

Should there be any engine limitations or do you all think that should be free game?[/quote]

I don’t have desirability in the weighted stats so I figured I needed a minimum safety. I didn’t want a death trap to score better because people redirected funds elsewhere. I thought a minimum was reasonable.

Engine is free game. I want to see what people come up with.

[quote=“Zabhawkin”]
I’ll just cut to the chase… what I would like to see is tire choices opened up. Each type will have trade offs, even the 3 that would be practical for this competition.

I always figured that the chunky off-road tire was more of an AT style, as the game is based on what is sold OEM.

We just bought a new F150 truck and granted its more of a judgement the Goodyear Wranglers that came on it seem more like a “medium” tire than a hard highway tire.

Edit: nevermind, I just went out and looked it has the HT version.[/quote]

I would possibly consider allowing off-road because it seems like a trade off point for comfort and offroading capabilities. I don’t think that I’d go much further because tire choice and quality really effects the stats quite heavily. If that’s being changed in the upcoming update I could open this up more. I’d like to hear more from some other competitors on this, if possible.

Ok. There’s the answer I was looking for. I really want this to be a 2011 challenge. I’d be happy to do a subsequent one of a different year. That being said, would lowering the minimum safety requirement to 30 or 35 help? I think that it should be a level playing field otherwise. Tell me if I’m wrong.

18

This is what I think when I hear “The Farm Truck”…

Farm Truck(4).png640×512 504 KB

19

That is “The Farm Truck.” But someone had to build the original for them to modify it.

[size=50]Remember what I said about multi-stage challenge? This might happen later. Just look at the very lightly weighted stats.[/size]

20

Sixty thousand dollars seems like a ridiculous amount of money for a truck. It feels less like Ford F-150 money and more like Lincoln Mark-LT Money.