QFC24: A Change For The Worse? [DONE]

Simulated diesels are a slippery slope in my opinion. Diesel fuel isn’t in the game so why bother faking it when there are plenty of petrol base fuels.

Before you know it you’ll be getting mid engined police cars in 70’s America in challenges

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scribbles notes furiously

Here we go

https://discourse.automationgame.com/t/pdc-political-design-challenge-round-5-cuff-em-and-stuff-em/

Have a read

As said by the very first QFC, realism is still important.

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Gave it a quick once over, I’d be very upset too if realism took a back seat to numbers. Almost defeats the point of adding in a story at all.

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Regarding fake diesels; if they are allowed, I think they should be mandated to use lower octane since altough diesel is not measured in octane it does have a relatively low “octane” compared to petrol. And if the host decides there is no such thing as a “fake diesel” then obviously making a petrol engine with a torque curve like a diesel and rev limit at 4300 rpm would make it a really bad petrol engine.

I don’t have a preference either way, I have been playing with fake diesels and think it could be fun, but given there is no diesel in Automation I would say there needs to be some handicap for diesels

Regarding fake diesels, judging them will be hard. What stats will change and by how much? Same as fake hybrids etc. Let’s just stick to petrol engines, yeah?

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IMO such fake engines would need some really well tested rules to work… which is a good theme for a whole separate challenge with a few rounds. Then, yes, they could work, within a proven framework. Otherwise not really.

Spain taxes based on overall displacement and cylinder count, which is calculated as fiscal/taxable horsepower. A 4-cylinder engine with 90x90mm bore/stroke would come out as 14.44 taxable horsepower, which falls in the 12-16 range. Above 20 is the most expensive, and below 8 is the least expensive.

The formula can be found on Tax horsepower - Wikipedia

Additionally, costs can be found here

I’m not sure if the host will judge it, though.

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That is rather a CSR grade of realism.

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so with a QFC, specifically this one should I be more concerned with numbers or realism. apologize for the newb questions.

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It’s unwise to just optimise for one or the other; try to build a vehicle that is suitable to sell in the real world (i.e. don’t use an 800cc turbo I3 because it gives you 150bhp and also 60mpg), but don’t go with a full replica of some real-world car, since that’s just overdoing it, and comes off as uncreative.

Stats wise, just optimise the in-game stats once you have gotten something vaguely realistic; you’ll be quite competitive once you do.

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Thank you for bringing THAT one up again… Lol

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Ok final question, I’ve seen in other challenges that not using any or all of the allotted quality points can result in a bin. Is it mandatory to use them all even if it pushes a build over its intended range? sorry for all the questions btw im just happy to finally have a pre-existing car that works with a challenge!

Usually when you don’t use (enough) quality, the bin results from having such poor stats that you practically were out of the competition before you entered, rather than the rules disallowing not using quality. It’s shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t use a few points here and there.

If I am interpreting right, you may also be talking about techpool - the thing that’s below a quality slider, usually saying +5 when not adjusted. In most cases, not using correct techpool will get you binned, so adjust as the rules say.

However, for this QFC, it seems that techpool will remain at default +5 for everything, so only quality plays a part.

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But don’t be pressured to use lots of quality points, it depends on the car and quality points can be really expensive without getting a lot of stats in return so it’s fine to not have quality points in every part

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So, I am at home. Time to give you the last information you need!

Starting with his Astrona. Here are a few pictures to give you an impression what he has now.



The Astrona has a comfort score of 30.
This is what his new car must exceed, however, a score above 50 would NOT be neccessary to make him buy it. He is well aware the budget will not allow for a car that rides like a cloud with angels playing a harp on it.

The Astrona has 165 horsepower.
More than that will scare him, since he considers it as quite too fast for his abilities that he is left with at age 86. But a car that struggles with merging on a highway will leave him looking for something else.

The Astrona has a lenght of 4,54 meter.
He now wants something NOTICEABLY smaller. So a Jetta with 4,4m length would not be what he wants. Please see 4,2m as upper limit (since I noticed some had that length already).

The Astrona has a drivability of 60.
It´s a very competent machine he replaces, so the new one should be good in this as well. His new ride should not be worse, otherwise his visit at the dealership would be very short and unsuccessful for your sales staff.

The Astrona scores 25,5 in sportiness.
Not needed to equal this. His priorities changed. However, something handling as boring as the shopping carts at the local Carrefour or Lidl will not please him. He is old, he has to downgrade, but not to zero.

A test mule was built.
Ignacio plans to spend 18.500. He has more in his bank account, so if a car is really, really good, he might invest 20k if it´s quite a step ahead of one being below his 18,5 limit. This was already the case when he bought the Astrona that was more expensive than he planned, but was worth the extra cost. But everything above 20k will be binned.

Transverse boxer engine
Even if it is nonsense, this is no CSR so well, just build it. Mechanic Sergio will however take notice that it is unusual, so make sure it boosts your stats to justify it.

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Tbh I wouldn’t switch that if I was the owner
Maybe I’ll try enter this challenge, though the topic is not anywhere near I voted.

Come on man, shopping carts can be fun… drifting intensifies
Anyhow, neat idea with the reference car, and a good one.

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First, that thing is pretty sweet. I too would hesitate to change it… was a shorter hatchback version never produced? What’s the Astrona weigh? Service costs?

Second, are you looking at power as a single variable, or does powerband matter any? I often set up cars in Automation (and to some extent IRL as well) to have two personalities depending on how they’re driven, aided greatly by VVL. Shift below ~2800, and it’s a docile, efficient, amply powered transportation appliance, unlikely to get the driver into trouble whether from behind (for being too slow) nor ahead (from uncontrollable power). But let the revs climb, VTEC kick in “yo”, and it’ll sing and dance if you ask it to.