Potential Buyer Question

[Grim.Reaper]

Hello,

First of all, I wanted to say it looks like you have a very good concept for a game and wish you the best in its launch. Before I purchase, had a few questions.

1) If you are not an extremely knowledgeable car person, can you still enjoy and understand the game? I know nothing about cars but I would enjoy a management sim like this, I think.

2) After you build a model of a car let's say in 1900...can you continue to modify and release a new version of the same car just with teaks? For example, certain cars always just release a new model versus completely changing the car. Does the game make this process easy?

3) At most auto companies, they have tons of cars/models.....how many cars/models can you have per company each year? Is there a limit? How many do typical people have when playing the game?

4) I know you can't give precise information, but how far away do you think the full release is? Month? 3 Months? Year?

Thanks and good luck!

[Arakash]

Hello,

First of all, I wanted to say it looks like you have a very good concept for a game and wish you the best in its launch. Before I purchase, had a few questions.

1) If you are not an extremely knowledgeable car person, can you still enjoy and understand the game? I know nothing about cars but I would enjoy a management sim like this, I think.

2) After you build a model of a car let's say in 1900...can you continue to modify and release a new version of the same car just with teaks? For example, certain cars always just release a new model versus completely changing the car. Does the game make this process easy?

3) At most auto companies, they have tons of cars/models.....how many cars/models can you have per company each year? Is there a limit? How many do typical people have when playing the game?

4) I know you can't give precise information, but how far away do you think the full release is? Month? 3 Months? Year?

Thanks and good luck!

I can answer most of these just as a fellow player.

First thing ill say is go ahead and try the demo which is just listed as version 1.14 in news i think. Maybe its renamed demo at this point.
That is basically a limited version of the game you can use to test it, totally free. As you would expect for a demo, its limited in a number of ways, but you should be able to get the general idea of the game.

1) Its good you mention this, because you have basically described me Ive been playing this game for months, mainly because i looked at "Automation Game" and was intimidated by its focus on technical detail and tiny engineering details/statistics.
From a strategy gaming and wargaming background, i really enjoy the game because of its business complexity and just how fully fleshed out a lot of the buisness mechanics are.

2)Yes you can.
Usually this is done though modifying an existing design with new components, using a mechanic called "New Model Year".
You still have to design new components, so its not necessarily easy.
If you dont want to define every detail, You can use the assisted design functions though, which make the entire design process very very quick.

You can also make new trims for it as well in the same section, though thats not really what you were asking about.

3) Im not even sure there is a limt tbh. Ive never run into the limit, if there is one.
There are 10+ vehicle categories in 1900 (and more open up as time goes on), so you could have a vehicle for each, or multiple.
For a practical example, i have 6 vehicles on sale i think, by 1908 in this one game ive been playing today.
Two are new model year versions of older vehicles which are still on sale.
So basically, 2 Compacts, 2 Phaetons, 1 Sedan, 1 Microcar.
This is just one example of a strategy, you can pretty much do whatever you want.

4) This is the question i really dont know the answer to.

[Eric.B]

The open beta on the main site is a little more buggy than the Steam build of the game. As the Steam build gets updated more frequently. So try not to base too much on its stability.

1) What Arakash said, the game can be played fairly detached from the cars. You just need to know the basics, such as Trucks need cargo, sports cars need to go fast....

2) As Arakash said again. The process for new models is nearly the same as designing a vehicle it self. So it's not that complex.

3) The only limit is your computer, and the ability of my code to handle the data on your computer.

4) The retail release depends on how well the Steam Early Access does. The better it does, the longer Early Access will be. As I hope to implement a lot more stuff! To give you exact dates, If the game is a huge flop then I look to finish it up in about 6 months. If it exceeds my goals, it could be another 1.5 years before it's finished.

That being said, the Early Access is 100% of the gameplay. It's just missing a few features, some balancing late game, artwork, and has a few crashing bugs. So in that respect it is the Full Game, just not at the quality I want it to be at.

[Grim.Reaper]

Thanks for the replies....I likely will pick the game up tomorrow.

Just curious if your able to say...in the early sales, is it meeting your expectations where it looks like it will have longevity?

[Eric.B]

Thanks for the replies....I likely will pick the game up tomorrow.

We'll have a new update tomorrow too! So nice timing!

Just curious if your able to say...in the early sales, is it meeting your expectations where it looks like it will have longevity?

That's a tough question, As of right now, it's beating my minimum expectations. Which is to make back the capital costs (money) I put into the game. That does not mean sales will remain the same. It could increase or more likely decrease. I don't know.

Roughly in November I will take a step back and see what is what. I would assume if I have broken even on capital costs by then, I will continue to make GearCity as feature complete as possible. If I'm way off from even, I will write up a list of things that MUST be done in order for me to be comfortable with a retail release, and do them. It won't be the product I want, but you have to cut losses on a losing horse sometime, specially one that eats up 4 years of your life.


You may see me talk about a "Multiplayer Expansion" every once in a while. The goal with that is at least minimum wage for the time I spent working on the game. Will we hit that? Anyone's guess. For the time being, I code because I enjoy it and I have nothing else to do!

Thank you for your patronage, I hope you enjoy the game.

[Grim.Reaper]

Your openness and honesty in discussing the game certainly pulled me in as a new customer......I made the purchase this morning and look forward to trying it out over the weekend. I wish you the best in meeting your goals!