Good question. Unfortunately, the load capacity stats aren’t all that realistic in game, since they seem to only be going by when the suspension bottoms out, sometimes I really wish that you could set a limit yourself. So nah, I won’t look too much into utility brake fade, but in case it affect stats I can’t do much about it.
The leaf sprung Volvo Duett, that this vehicle should replace, had a payload of 500 kg IIRC (with a 70 kg driver and a full tank, as they are measured in Sweden), so no need to go higher than that in theory. But on the other hand, it was said that the springs bottomed out at around 3 tonnes…that’s why I would like to be able to set a manual limit.
I start to realize that the game indeed has its drawbacks when it comes to commercial vehicles…
No real-life manufacturer is limited to one car, either. Trial and error makes a lot more sense when there’s more than one trial available.
One way around the dilemma of cargo space might be to specify the bodies and wheelbases allowed. This would get around the one-car limit by implementing the assumptions that 1. Herr Rørlegger knows how much space he needs and won’t buy more or less, and 2. every competing manufacturer has something in a fairly narrow size class that fits that requirement. Then, cargo space variations between them could be ignored, leaving the focus on their other merits and flaws.
Not just vans. In JOC3C, I quietly dropped cargo and passenger volume stats from any consideration whatsoever when I realized they have nearly nothing to do with the actual model and appear to be mostly arbitrary.
Another way around this would be to actually measure, using a ruler or cube fixture, the space available. Tedious, especially for irregular shapes, but a crude “how big a cube can we stuff in here without overlapping the floor, seats, roof, and walls?” would still be useful, I think.
Yes, actual measuring could be a good way to do it - if it wasn’t for the fact that this is actually QFC.
Thinking things over, the fact that only pickup trucks and vans are allowed, I think I can change my priorities a bit. Yes, of course, practicality, utility and load space are the most important stats for a buyer in this case - but that is when you looking at the automotive market as a whole, that’s the reason why a plumber wouldn’t choose a sporty coupé. When comparing actual commercial vehicles - maybe not as much of a dealbreaker for a business like this.
So, if nobody is objecting, I think I will move them down to one star stats - a little bonus if someone manages to tweak them, but nothing that will make or break the deal since the bodystyle per default makes more or less any vehicle “good enough”.
Fair. Basically a milder version of my first suggestion. Perhaps a minimum wheelbase?
Plumbing equipment isn’t that heavy, so considering it’s QFC and the stats are screwy, perhaps ignore load capacity altogether as long as it hasn’t been minmaxed to a small ham sandwich for the sake of comfort?
Well, I never had the plans to look that much into load capacity TBH, but still gives myself the right to downgrade a vehicle if it has stats that are silly, I was more looking into cargo space.
Your idea with a wheelbase limit seems sane. A short vehicle can lead to trouble since piping can be rather long after all, even if it could be solved with a roof rack, pipe rack on a pickup, or a creative solution like on your Ford, it could eventually become a struggle.
Looking at the inspirations I put up, the Hiace is the shortest at 234 cm. Of course, we have an imbalance between forward control vehicles and bonneted ones there, you could always allow different wheelbases, but I am not going into heated discussions about bodies that are in a grey area there…
The commercial variants of the Mini (probably too small) has a 213 cm wheelbase. The Bedford HA a 232 cm wheelbase, small van, but not much shorter than the Hiace. I think a compromise could be that it should at least be rounded up to 2.2 metres by the game - that wouldn’t eliminate any interesting bodies that doesn’t have a larger alternative IMO, and it would allow for the 60s Econoline body (that could be of interest for someone even if it is a bit old, since vans could have long lifespans and there aren’t a lot of old forward control van bodies to choose from).
Yes, the whole point of the vehicle is that it should be utilitarian, but on the other hand I think that the rules will sort out vehicles that at least doesn’t fulfill some minimal requirements, and at one star it is still a priority after all.
Rearranged the priorities and added a lower wheelbase limit, now you have a little over 24 hours left for feedback on the rules, before the round opens.
It’s a bit late, and this is a bit of extra work for you, but what about using the ruler fixture to measure the cargo space rather than wheelbase? Allows for rear overhangs to be factored in and equalises stuff between forward control and bonneted… But it’s a bit of work for you.
Yes, measuring the length of space is already someting kind of CSR, but at the moment game is not contain ready scale against the background in 2D mode, and using a 30 or 100 cm ruler is too inconvenient. Therefore, with regard to the actual length of the bodies, it will be impossible to connect realism yet. And the QFC concept is a fast-burning challenge.
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