Automation RestoMod chapter 30 (ARM30) - Restore My Sanity [DONE]

Automation RestoMod chapter 30: Restore My Sanity


Previous ARM

Model background here

Backstory

“Seriously, by text? Who does that, let alone the freakin’ Sultan?”

“Yeah, by text. All it said was ‘You’re fired.’ I’d’ve thought it was a prank, but there’s no spoofing that phone number - simply ‘1’ - and if we’re honest…” Blinoor paused, drawing at length from a bottle of brandy, frowning sharply.

“Oh Blini, honey…” Farra embraced her, as she continued.

“…I’d been expecting it. I’dn’t’ve put up with my own attendance record, that’s for sure. And the techs I’d brought on board didn’t do me any favors, either. Apparently, the new guy just parties all day and can’t find cars; I heard he was told to round up a dozen of some kind of old exotic and came up with just four, one of them illegal. Well, I can’t say I trained him any better.” She took another swig, before looking her partner forlornly in the eyes.

Gazing warmly back, Farra reassured her, “It’ll be ok, whatever we do. I’m pulling pretty good royalties on the last album, and that’s before the first delivery of the Fruinian Edition goes on sale this week. And living out here, boring as it may be, is dirt cheap.”

“I know, dear… but you know how uncomfortable I am mooching off of you. I need to feel like I’m earning my keep. But where the hell am I going to find another gig like that? It took so long to find a way to get off this island… I moved here for you, but you know how crazy it drove me being out here. That job was supposed to be our stepping stone out, but now…” She finished the brandy, and sighing in frustration, staggered off the couch to look for more. Failing to find any in the vicinity, she began searching energetically, then frantically, before tripping over a box on the floor and collapsing beside it, doing her best to contain a panic attack as Farra quietly crouched beside her.

A minute of deep breaths later, still on the floor, she suddenly opened her eyes wide and declared in a determined voice, “I gotta get outta here. Of course not from you, Fari, but off the island. A change of scenery, something to alleviate the glorified cabin fever of being a 4-hour ferry ride from the nearest meaningful town, something to take my mind off the chaos, some fresh perspective, some fresh air…”

“You know, I remember very fondly how you used to regale me with stories of your roadtrips, and how psychically cleansing they were. When’s the last time you actually went on one?” Farra asked. Blinoor looked at her quizzically, some joy returning from the memories jogged.

Farra continued, “And truth be told, I’m feeling some cabin fever and wanderlust too. All the while you were in Basara or elsewhere on the mainland, I’ve been here, and recalling all your adventures… gives me a strong itch to experience something like that myself. With you, that is.”

They stared into each other’s eyes, each watching the other’s gears turning, wordlessly forming in their collective consciousness a thought - first nebulous, then increasing in clarity until reaching the point of being spoken aloud. “Let’s hit the road, Blini. I’ve got a few months before I even want to think about a new album, and look on the bright side - now your schedule is pretty free too. Let’s go on an epic roadtrip like you used to! Across the continent! I want to see Archana’s Sapphire Valley with you! To do the Hetvesian Castle Tour! To…”

Cutting her off, Blinoor’s 80-proof pessimism issued a challenge, “With what car? My Nashwar can hardly fit a suitcase, and your Skaði…?”

“How about we build one? My royalties will fund it, our labors and some outsourcing will materialize it, and the brains of the most talented mechanic I know…” Her eyes sparkled at Blinoor. “…Will plan it. It’ll give you something to do, something to earn your keep by. And then we use it.”

“Hm, ok, but build it on what?”

“You know that ranch property my aunt inherited from grandpa on the other side of the island? With all that junk on it? Well, last time I visited, I found a DCMW Sharriallat, apparently a 50s one, buried in the small barn. Aunt and family want the place cleared out to sell it, and they don’t give a damn about cars so I bet we could get it for a song. Of course, it’s going to need some work. Let’s go check it out!”


“Do horseshit fumes help preserve the paint, or why has it been stored with such… indignity?”

“Nobody knows. Grandpa had a few cars, a lot of friends, a lot of friends with cars, and did random odd favors for everyone. Storing a car for someone, forgetting about it, and both the owner and him expiring is the likeliest explanation. Anyway, my cousins were kind enough to dig it out, but they don’t know how to make it run or if it even will. That’s where you come in, Blini. Look it over, tell me what it needs. I’ll be in the house catching up with my aunt.”

Hung over, but with an interesting task to take her mind off of that and its cause, Blinoor got to work, and a half hour later walked up to lunch on the front porch with a report.

“We’re looking at a 1959 DCMW Sharriallat Superiority Twelve, all stock. The engine is siezed, a paperweight. The gearbox won’t shift and has no oil. The rear end seems fine and is a limited-slip, too. Tires and suspension are of course shot. The interior is decimated by the mice, moths, mold, and many moons. The body has some minor damage from storage, and the paint - despite the horseshit - has turned to dark chalk. Not a trace of rust; the body panels on most first-generation Sharriallats were aluminum, with the spaceframe underneath galvanized.”

“So it needs a powertrain, paint, and interior materials? What else?”

“Depends. What are we doing with this thing again?”


Purpose

“First of all, we musn’t make the car significantly worse in any dimension, and if it’s worse in any way at all, it needs to more than make up for it elsewhere. The exception is for Prestige, because the base car is so high and because much of that comes from the engine, whose replacement may or may not be so high-rolling.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know I enjoy an engine’s song as much as you do, but we need to keep consumption reasonable. I’m open to anything between 6 and 16 cylinders. Within that spectrum, the balance between quality and costs - the fuel bill, mostly - seems flexible.”

“How about a diesel?”

“Sure, if you know what to do with one. I don’t see that as inappropriate or sacrilege to the car’s spirit or any of that crap. Torque and economy are always welcome, just make sure NVH is ok. See rules 4a-4d.”

“What do we have to work with?”

“The car, of course…”
Hey__clone_me_first__-_DCMW_Sharriallat_Superiority_Twelve.car (5.0 MB)

“…and $60k soft limit, default techpool.”

“And what do we care about?”


Priorities

image image image image

Comfort. Specifically, for long trips. A smooth, quiet engine, a well-tuned suspension, and most of all a high-grade, high-quality interior are just some of the factors. What is not a factor are torque and transmission choice. These will be removed from Comfort calculations.

Looks, inside and out. Whether it pays tribute to the original, is the original, or eschews it, the car has to have a sense of purpose and cohesion to its styling, inside and out. That said, we don’t want the extremes of either bone-stock or totally unrecognizable, but something in between.

The interior may be left as stock fixtures, modified, or ripped out and started anew. It may not be left at stock textures. While the .car has intact wood and upholstery, this is only for the purpose of demonstrating an example. Paint slots Body, Interior 1, Interior 2, Interior 3, Stitched Leather, Carpet, Wood, and Headliner must be substantially changed, to simulate the restoration. While simply changing the colors will suffice, I’d like to see at least one or two fresh photo textures. Of course, you may change other paint slots too, or redo the interior to take different materials.

image image image

Reliability. This would normally be a higher priority, but with a master mechanic on board - and with a sense of adventure, too - the odd hiccup can be dealt with, and makes for good stories later.

Fuel Economy. We’re covering some serious distances, occasionally with sparse fuel availability as well, and while we can sacrifice a little for the sake of performance and prestige, that budget runs out quickly. Anything worse than 20mpg US or 12L/100km will be discouraging; worse than 15/15 is a dealbreaker. 30/8 would be great, but the more/less, the better.

image image

Off-road. We won’t be rock-crawling… or would we, if we could? Ok, maybe not that extreme, but 4x4 would not be unwelcome here. See the model’s background, and note that later domestic-market Sharriallats had true 4x4 drivetrains as well as height-adjusting hydraulic suspensions. Reasonably competent 2wd is ok too, won’t incur points off as long as it won’t get stuck in a small puddle.

Sportiness, drivability. Blinoor will be doing most of the driving, is highly skilled, and takes occasional pleasure in making it sprint or dance. Farra, however, doesn’t mind a fast cruise but would rather not bounce side to side in corners, so we’re not looking for a sports car. Competent, not athletic.

Prestige. Not so much bragging rights, but Farra and Blinoor both appreciate a multi-cylinder soundtrack (especially with ITB) and have some flexibility on economy, and more so on upfront costs, to pay for it.

image

Safety. As long as it’s not a total deathtrap, it’s fine. Newer than Advanced 70s is unrealistic.

Service Costs. We do our own work and have parts connections. While we won’t be happy replacing staggered semi-slicks every week because of wacky alignment specs, most other contributors to SVC are no big deal.

Upfront Cost. Saving money is always nice, but nothing should feel missing.


“And what other rules and constraints?”

Other rules and constraints

    1. Before anything else, clone both the model and engine family using the lower-rightmost button.

    1. Model year remains at 1959, trim year may be set freely.

    1. ATS unrestricted, but doing things that could’ve been done in engineering will be poorly regarded.

    1. Quality and other sliders unrestricted unless otherwise specified.

    1. Engines may be of any year, and run petrol or diesel. Petrol engines run on 91RON, or 95RON with a 5% fuel cost penalty. Diesels are subject to the following…

Diesel-specific rules 4a-4d:

  • 4a. Architecture must be 2-valve. Block and head(s) cast iron. Bore/stroke ratios expected to be somewhat more undersquare (smaller bore, longer stoke) than IRL. Compression ratio expected to be lower than IRL, in the 12-16 range.

  • 4b. Bottom end may not use any “light” parts.

  • 4c. Cam profile zero. VVT, VVL prohibited.

  • 4d. Diesel fuel is simulated by Compressed Gas, LNG 150 RON. Timing fully retarded. Fuel system options:
    image

  • 4e. Exhaust must have one muffler set to None.

    1. Regardless of fuel type, emissions must pass in Dalluha for the engine family year. Catalytic converters not required as such.

    1. Race headers ok, other race parts are forbidden. DCOE and semi-slicks are not race parts.

    1. Tires may end in 0 (will be interpreted as ending in 5, plus pressure, caster, or other tweaks that aren’t in the game). In-game staggered tire cost penalty removed. Total vehicle price manually recalculated as if all tires were the larger size, or as large as will fit square.

    1. Every quality point spent on Architecture, Fuel System, or Exhaust reduces baseline engine loudness by 0.75.

    1. Comfort stat will be recalculated with Torque and Gearbox removed, and reduced engine noise factored in. Sportiness will be recalculated to remove Gearbox modifier.

    1. Mechanical realism expectations: 2/5; loose correspondence to reality. Quad-turbo V16 ok, just maybe not a 1.5L with a magnesium block and eight eco carbs feeding a CVT… sideways.

    1. Stylistic realism expectations: 2/5. If it looks like a functional, street-legal car, even if custom/one-off, it passes.

    1. Forbidden chassis/body changes: chassis type, chassis material, panel material, engine position (orientation change ok with +$1000 penalty), body family, ATS wheelbase except minor tweaks, suspension type except to solid axle.

    1. Major change costs:
      ** $2000 morphs APILLAR, BPillar, L Fender
      ** $1000 all other morphs, each, price capped at four (IOW, $4k buys you all-you-can-eatmodify morphs except the three above, while $10k buys unlimited morphs)
      ** $1000 switch body to 44_eu_fastback_hyper_3door_L_cpp with same morphs
      ** $10000 switch body to any other 44 Bug 3.0 with any morphs
      ** $1000 convertible using negatape
      ** $3000 major bodywork with fixtures
      ** $1000 moderate bodywork with fixtures
      ** $1000 driven front wheels, unless solid axle conversion.
      ** $500 solid axle swap, each. Front includes driveline.
  1. Before touching any morphs, I recommend Copying all Fixtures and then Pasting them back in. The interior in particular uses a lot of unstable projections.

Submissions

  • Entries open 13 May, close when there are five entries or 7 June, whichever happens last.
  • Naming convention: car Model and engine Family shall be “ARM30 - (your forum name and anything else you want)”. Trim and variant unrestricted.
  • Submitting: DM me your .car and post an advert publically
  • Resubmitting: everyone gets at least one with no questions asked. Subsequent ones are case-by-case. I tend to be lenient with these.
5 Likes

This is the first ARM with a Dalluhan car as its subject - I’m expecting a lot of variety from the submissions for this round.

1 Like

The engine family year in the car I imported is 1956, not 1959. Maybe that should be changed in the rules.

Fixed.

Due to the cycle of challege announcements, I’m postponing this by two weeks, starting 5/13 and ending 5/27.

I know it’s late, but… How soft is that soft cap? The existing car is already at the cap, making it pretty hard to genuinely improve without upping the costs.

Let’s say low $40ks is unremarkable, while $50k is doable but had better be amazing. Regarding stats improvement,

  1. I’m not expecting much. The focus is more restoration, with a little (or a lot of) customization, not major modernization and reengineering.
  2. Much of it could happen from more modern or simply newer subsystems.
  3. Some of it could happen from engine downgrading.
  4. It’s ok if Prestige decreases.

That said, do you think any prices should change? Specifically, are engine change costs too high?

I think the costs themselves, in isolation, are fine. However, with how little “breathing room” there is in the budget, I feel that the rules push entrants towards being incredibly selective with which ones are to be used. In particular, switching body to anything other than the fastback or going wild with morphs will almost certainly compromise stats, perhaps even to the point of rendering an entry illegal.

This is a certified hood tragedy. This is also the DMCW Sharriallat Superiority Twelve. For $39,300, you get to barely expirence 260hp in the 4 speed manual of this Austin-Healey offbrand. It’s top is a surprising 219mph, but you probably won’t experience that within your lifetime. The S12 resto”mod” also has leather seats and carpeting. All the splintering wood? Forget about it! Worry about 100 degree burns when you step foot into this thing instead! And if you want to drive a long way with it? Good luck, you’ll need it with it’s abysmal 21.7mpg. Don’t choose wisely, lose wisely. Tungsten Modifications; Innovation at it’s Finest. (we cant even get the copyright)



3 Likes

The ruleset is flawed and I’ll be mostly unavailable the rest of the week. The challenge is hereby paused at Rule Discussion. Uh… discuss.

3 Likes

Things that I noted while building my take on this -
Holy price limits and cost of changing parts, even though I only have $2500 total penalty, I can’t use quality and replacing the engine and doing some bodywork left me with $37500 before the soft cap which for this car isn’t enough to now “optimise”. I can’t imagine if you’d done a body swap. In theory that should be cheaper than having to modify the other morphs, but instead it’s more than the total + a bit.

Does changing away from RWD cost you anything?

and the price of part changes

This car has MANY fixtures to sort through, and any kind of touching of a morph can destroy about half the interior since they’re all placed with the 3d-2d trick. I spent a good 50% of my time just finding textures to replace on the interior and body.
To add to that, there’s less of a “theme” like there have been for previous ARMs. This is simply make the car better, with no direction on styling (other than vague hints to keep it stock which doesn’t help)

also price limits

It’s probably quite hard for some of the less experienced players to be handed what is essentially a complete car and go “make this better”. That’s just a gripe about having to do detailed cars though, it’s still possible.

What came to mind when I looked at the brief, was these two cars. Otherwise though, I’m pretty stuck, do I delete 200 fixtures and redo much of the car? or just leave everything be and update some textures and colours.


With all that, I think it’s probably fair to open up the budget just a tad, while it may be a “premium” car to DCMW, this is very much a luxury car to the rest of the world.
I did manage to increase stats for everything apart from sportiness and fuel economy (and weight obviously)

4 Likes

Ok, proposed new ruleset/scenario:

  • Needs a new engine, no engine-related cost penalties.
  • No panel material changes permitted except to carbon, and no extra cost penalty for same.
  • 60k budget.
  • In-game staggered tire cost penalty removed. Total vehicle price manually recalculated as if all tires were the larger size, or as large as will fit square.
  • Warning to copy all fixtures before touching any morphs, then pasting when done. The headliner in particular relies on unstable projections.
  • Sportiness is desirable, expected to be 40-100% of Comfort.
  • Theme? Surprise me. Here, I care more about execution and cohesion in whatever direction you choose, rather than the direction per se. Themes include and are not limited to: stock; hotrod; modern reinterpretation; soft-roader; hardcore offroader…
  • Doesn’t have to be better, just different and not much worse (except Prestige).

Encouragement to find and use photo textures is precisely the point. They don’t need to be all new; some with just color changes would be alright, I’ll just be disappointed if that’s all you do visually.

Comments?

2 Likes

ZRD

Presents

DCMW Sharriallat Superiority Twelve ZRD

A complete restoration and modern interpretation of this classic beast included new steel panels and new engine to boot. The new 7.0L supercharged V12 outputs 625hp and 800Nm of torque, which allows this 1880kg behemoth to swiftly complete 0-60 in 3.4s flat. Top speed is the far end of 197mph.

Gallery









These cars are not a real product of any manufacturer, any likeness or other similarities to real brands is purely coincidence. Actual model may change in final submission.

9 Likes

Was there ever supposed to be a deadline extension for this, considering the challenge being paused?

1 Like

Uhhh, I’m not sure what to do. It was paused at a broken ruleset, then one solid entry came in. There’s been almost no commentary on said rules. And meanwhile the challenge was announced twice as ARM50… :person_facepalming:

Part of me wants to start over with another car, but I don’t want Riley’s work to’ve been for nothing.

Looks like I’m a little late seeing the deadline, however, I hopped on the link to mess with a beautiful-looking car for fun, then was pleasantly surprised to see that the challenge has been paused. Okay, the pause isn’t so pleasant I imagine but hey, cool looking car, I’ll have a go at it and hopefully be able to compete.

Please dont start over with a new car, the one provided has so much potential.

I have a work in progress right now, really thought the deadline was June.

I can try to get it done this week if it can be extended slightly.

How about til there are five entries, or June 7, whichever happens last?

2 Likes

Sounds fine to me, my car kind of has “diamond in the rough” status ATM, the basic ideas were kind of there when I paused the work for a while since the rules were due for a change, and then I forgot it. Some more days and I am sure I will come up with a finished product.

Rules updated.