Seeking expressions of interest
As many of you know, I’ve been discouraged from designing for the last 15 months and counting because the way I play (at least design) isn’t very compatible with the way the game currently updates: I take so long that by the time I finish even one model I’m about to lose it due to the update wiping out the car, because I also spend a lot of time twiddling with the .jbeam when exporting (see the above post about making wings move).
However I’ve recently had a chance to test the export tyre model in a bit more detail and it really is quite an advancement. It really mitigates the compromises necessary to make ultra high performance vehicles work (though body shake under heavy braking is still present in very light cars). As a result, while I’m still utterly demotivated to design, with the significant advances in techniques possible and the 3D fixture placement, I’ve actually been thinking about giving it a whirl.
Except I don’t want to do the fixture work. This is where you come in.
Who is “you”?
You here refers to people who enjoy designing in the game, who might want to help me in getting the fixtures where they need to be so the car looks nice. But also, I have to say, specifically people who are meticulous and have the same level of attention to detail as I do. I’m extremely particular.
How many people do you plan to work with, and for how long?
Precisely one, for one car at a time, until it is done, which may take weeks or months. This is not a fast project.
What exactly do I plan to do?
What I’ve always been doing mostly: turning any one of my cars into as decent a Beam export model as possible to emulate what I think that particular car should feel like. Which means that I present the vision, we work on the design, and once that’s finalised I’ll twiddle with the .jbeam as necessary to make the car work as intended.
Which cars exactly?
Any one of several of my Gryphon Gear models. We can negotiate this depending on who the successful applicant is and what your interest is. Models include:
2012 Nightfury
Pros
- +15 tech spam Unlimited Time Attack car
- Can go all out on the body kit
- Hope you like custom liveries
- The interior will be really spartan and race car
Cons
- +15 tech spam Unlimited Time Attack car
- No active aero
- Hope you like custom liveries
- The interior will be really spartan and race car and have a rollcage
- The aero kit is going to be really annoying to make workable and will probably require me to move around several node boxes
If you like making stupid unlimited bodykits for production sedans then consider this one
2013 Mephisto
Pros
- Now we can make it look as crazy as it was meant to be
- Fire-breathing and over-testosteronated and probably still the coolest idea I had to date
Cons
- The bloody engine bay doesn’t fit the right size engine. No matter, it works well enough
- No active aero still
- One of the most difficult visions to achieve, the design is going to be pretty thoroughly overhauled and I hope you like body sculpting in 3D
- Rollcage
If you like fire breathing quad exhausts and so much straight line speed it feels terrible in corners despite the fact it’s actually got heaps of grip then pick this one
2015 Mercury
Pros
- The vision was mostly already there and doesn’t need too much changing… or does it
- 2 way active aero which I’ve already mostly figured out which is nice
Cons
- This particular body has some really annoying features like seams that won’t erase, and the roofline which is impossible to work with. If that is still the case this may not work out, but you probably know better than I do by now
This is the car to pick if you want to see the fully finished result of my 500km/h deathtrap shenanigans from last year
2017 Lilith
Pros
- Probably the sexiest model I made
- The front and the rear only need a minor rework unless you want to come up with something even sexier, in which case go ahead I don’t mind
Cons
- The side body is going to need a lot of reworking because this was the body that was starting to take on the Aston Martin Valkyrie concept and that simply wasn’t possible then
- Active aero. The rear flaps I can deal with but I haven’t worked out what I’m doing on the front
If you like 8 foot tall naked succubi and you remember what the hell I’m talking about then you know what to do
2018 Jormungandr
Pros
- Sleek speedtail looking thing
- More sophisticated and refined than the excesses you’ve been subjected to this point
Cons
- It’s a fucking bus
- This body may no longer be suitable for it but the Aston Martin Valkyrie body and others don’t really strike me as suitable either. It needs to retain the speedtail look because it’s designed to do 500km/h a hell of a lot more comfortably than Mercury does it
- Therefore quite a lot of work probably will go into revision
- Programming the 4 way aero in this thing is going to be a nightmare, but that’s my problem not yours
This is for if you like working hard to make things look easy, which those in the know will realise is ten times the effort
2020 Kelpie
Pros
- It smol, it fast, it intense
Cons
- I haven’t even decided what engine, whether it’ll have active aero, whether I’ll offer both RWD and AWD variants etc. etc.
- The front end is so light it judders under heavy braking
This is the one to pick if you wonder what Group B would feel like modernised and on tarmac.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S A BONUS PICK AND IF YOU PICKED THIS ONE I WOULD ACTUALLY REALLY ENJOY IT
2025 Apex Predator
I did this in a time when there was no 3D fixture placement
Pros
- Most outlandish car concept I’ve done (it’s a shark car)
- A lot of creative latitude on offer here, especially interior design as my vision for the cabin is more akin to motorcycle riding position than car seat
- Will also have outlandish things done to it in Beam, including electrification because sharks don’t make noise when they swim now do they
Cons
- I’m probably going to have to pay someone to do the node editing in the .jbeam
- The body for this doesn’t even exist anymore
- Probably by a fair margin the most difficult design process
You’re probably at least halfway to being a furry if you bite haha geddit
When do we start?
Sometime after my wedding, which is this weekend (22nd May). Probably give it a couple of weeks
How do I apply?
Send me a DM listing which car you’d want to tackle, and sell me a pitch as to how you might rework it and what design elements you want to pick up on. Images of your previous work are invited and knowing the level of some people on this forum probably necessary. It’ll take me some time to respond, see above, so don’t worry if I’m quiet at first.