This is the other half of my idea of how to make generational refreshes more streamlined.
I've noticed that I often have a lineup of various gearboxes, engines, and chassis. So I might have:
I3 engine
I4 engine
I5 engine
V8 engine
Truck gearbox
General purpose gearbox
Economy gearbox
Performance gearbox
Truck chassis
Small chassis
Sport chassis
Large/luxury chassis
And every so often I'll refresh them. The old I5 produced 70 horsepower, the new one produces 75 or 80. Then I'll refresh the cars to use the better components.
But I might have seven vehicles that use the old I5, and I have to tell each and every one of them, "use the new I5 instead". Sometimes I forget and my new-gen vehicle is using the old-gen engine. At least it's cheaper, but usually I'd rather have the new engine.
So the idea is to be able to mark a redesigned component as a "successor" component, and then if you design a new generation of a car that uses the old version, it will automatically default to using the successor versions of its existing components.
It may sound small, but when you're updating 35 vehicles and they have 3 components each, that's over 100 selections that would be done for you. And you could still change the parts if you prefer.
On the whole, it's a "reduce the tedious parts so the focus is on the fun parts" (and so I'm more likely to play into the mid-late game) suggestion. No idea whether it would mesh with other people's play styles, but that's what the voting part of the FBS helps establish.
I've noticed that I often have a lineup of various gearboxes, engines, and chassis. So I might have:
I3 engine
I4 engine
I5 engine
V8 engine
Truck gearbox
General purpose gearbox
Economy gearbox
Performance gearbox
Truck chassis
Small chassis
Sport chassis
Large/luxury chassis
And every so often I'll refresh them. The old I5 produced 70 horsepower, the new one produces 75 or 80. Then I'll refresh the cars to use the better components.
But I might have seven vehicles that use the old I5, and I have to tell each and every one of them, "use the new I5 instead". Sometimes I forget and my new-gen vehicle is using the old-gen engine. At least it's cheaper, but usually I'd rather have the new engine.
So the idea is to be able to mark a redesigned component as a "successor" component, and then if you design a new generation of a car that uses the old version, it will automatically default to using the successor versions of its existing components.
It may sound small, but when you're updating 35 vehicles and they have 3 components each, that's over 100 selections that would be done for you. And you could still change the parts if you prefer.
On the whole, it's a "reduce the tedious parts so the focus is on the fun parts" (and so I'm more likely to play into the mid-late game) suggestion. No idea whether it would mesh with other people's play styles, but that's what the voting part of the FBS helps establish.
