You're over designing a vehicle for 1900. I suggest looking toward real vehicles for insperations. You should be able to match the specs and prices of the Oldsmobile Curved Dash quite easily: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_Curved_Dash

So the total comes to 950 then designing a vehicle is another 500 that's 1450.
So you would have to sell for ~3200+

Not necessarily true. You could get away selling this vehicle for as low as $1800. You would have to keep your factory going at full production and expand/cut prices in order to meet supply. But yeah, you don't have to sell the vehicle for $3200+.

However no one at 1900 would buy a vehicle at that price.

Some will if it is the correct type of vehicle and you're in the correct cities. But in general, you are correct. You want to try to keep your sales price below 5-7x per capita the first 10 years of the game. And then within 5x after that.

I understand the numbers when creating designs are just estimates but the estimates have to be WAY off. So far off that the menus don't make sense and that's half the battle of the game.

Which estimates are off? You designed a $350 engine, $200 chassis, $400 gearbox, and $500 body. That comes up to $1450.

The engine cost 350 gearbox 200 chassis 400 (which incidentally should be suggested order in the menu.)

Ordering is subjective, I designed the game to do Chassis, Engine, Gearbox, Vehicle. But you are free to do Engine, Gearbox, Chassis, Vehicle if you like.

This is not the only set of numbers that are off.

What numbers are off? Are you talking about selling a $3200 vehicle in 1900? You over designed your vehicle, and you're marking up the amount too high. Thus why the price of your vehicle is so high. In any case, average price for a vehicle in 1900 in real life, is around $1500. Range wise, it's around $300 to $3,000. The former price won't be doable, as cycle-cars are not implemented in the game. For example:

1903 Ford Model A $800.
1904 Ford Model B $2000.
1904 Ford Model C $850.
1905 Ford Model F $1000.
1905 Ford Model K $2800.
1906 Ford Model N $500.

You can actually go through the wiki pages and see the prices of some of their competition too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Model_A_(1903%E2%80%9304)

Different priced models for different segments, with different characteristics.

The basic guide the dev made of the game is helpful showing you how to do things
but if someone could make a more detailed guide of what all the information is and how the numbers like for instance the cost of producing the vehicle is calculated.

Best you'll get for now is to rummage around the forums. There is quite a bit of details that I have posted over the years about how it all works. In short, the vehicle will be more expensive based on the costs of the sub-components you select. And how far to the right you move the sliders.


If you post the specs of your vehicle, for example, take a screenshot of the vehicle in the RnD View Vehicle window. I'll be happy to tell you where you can cut back if you're trying to make a mass production "People's" car.

Originally posted by Eric.B:

Not necessarily true. You could get away selling this vehicle for as low as $1800. You would have to keep your factory going at full production and expand/cut prices in order to meet supply. But yeah, you don't have to sell the vehicle for $3200+.

Well you could but you also need to produce to many you can't handle to get all your cost back out of it but what I mean by the numbers are way off as if you look at the final screen for branches. It doesn't show the amount as adding them up individually.
It shows something around 8-900.
I made a spreadsheet and added the cost to produce with research cost and how much I'm selling for. How many vehicles needed to sell to get the initial part and research cost back.
Still didn't make a profit to last.
Sold decent at 1st but died off before I could get my cost back.

Over designing, not really, I'm just trying to get the suggested of level 2 like the tutorial shows.

Ordering is subjective, I designed the game to do Chassis, Engine, Gearbox, Vehicle. But you are free to do Engine, Gearbox, Chassis, Vehicle if you like.

Yes I know I'm free to do in any order but "I just think it should be menued in that order."
As you design the best engine you can and fit the frame around the ability to carry the engine.
Knowing how big the engine is tells you how big of a engine housing you need.

If you post the specs of your vehicle, for example, take a screenshot of the vehicle in the RnD View Vehicle window. I'll be happy to tell you where you can cut back if you're trying to make a mass production "People's" car.

Just trying to get a model selling then 2-3 and get a good profit to expand the factory and design another.

The latest play though I just left everything basically as it come up.
Made a small tweek to try to get a little more HP but the rest of the sliders in assisted design for all parts. Left it alone.
Individually the part cost was around 2k but when deciding cost to sell at it shows under 1K.
Suggested price is around 1500 but selling at ~2300 as all the other producers were selling at 2K on low end and up to 3K.
So why not,
but it's selling and making a profit. About 10-50K a month. A couple more vehicles with the same engine gearbox and possible a couple versions with same chasis and new chasis. Some new trims.... Rest you know.

Originally posted by LTL King:

but what I mean by the numbers are way off as if you look at the final screen for branches. It doesn't show the amount as adding them up individually.
It shows something around 8-900.

If you can take a screen shot, or tell me what categories you're looking at on the branch window I can explain what they mean. Most of those numbers factor in other data points.

I made a spreadsheet and added the cost to produce with research cost and how much I'm selling for. How many vehicles needed to sell to get the initial part and research cost back.
Still didn't make a profit to last.
Sold decent at 1st but died off before I could get my cost back.

You need to dilute your fixed costs by designing more models using the same components. Creating trims, and/or producing more vehicles.

As you design the best engine you can and fit the frame around the ability to carry the engine.
Knowing how big the engine is tells you how big of a engine housing you need.

Or you design the chassis for the type of vehicle you make. Then knowing what size engines that chassis can support, you use existing engines or create new ones that will fit the package.

It can go either way.

The latest play though I just left everything basically as it come up.
Made a small tweek to try to get a little more HP but the rest of the sliders in assisted design for all parts. Left it alone.
Individually the part cost was around 2k but when deciding cost to sell at it shows under 1K.
Suggested price is around 1500 but selling at ~2300 as all the other producers were selling at 2K on low end and up to 3K.
So why not.

Depending what you're trying to do, that's over-designed. I just did a quick Phaeton on hard mode, using the assisted designer and it came out to $480 material costs. I can sell 80 a turn for $850.

If you're trying to do a high end company, I suggest aiming for the sweet spot of around $2500, but it will get much more difficult as more companies come online. You may want to pair it with a cheap car, similar to Ford's early models.

Engine 268
https://prnt.sc/p0kasa

Chasis 200
https://prnt.sc/p0ka3y

Gear box 281
https://prnt.sc/p0kapu

Vehicle 883
https://prnt.sc/p0ka7w

1632

New design no adjusted sliders 718
https://prnt.sc/p0kb8b
268+200+281+718=?

What to sell at.
https://prnt.sc/p0kcd9
Calculator
https://prnt.sc/p0kckv

Oh and the other thing. The pistol should be removed.
That's just wrong.
It shouldn't be joked about.

OK, I see where you're making your mistakes.

The vehicle, Pick-up 1, cost $883. That includes the price of the chassis, engine, and gearbox. So that's $268 (Engine) + $200 (Chassis) + $281 (Gearbox) + $134 (Body) = $883 (Total vehicle price).

The total price of the new design is $718. (Vehicle prices go up till about 1910, and then decline until early 1920s, then they go up for the rest of the game.)


For the last two pictures.
"Material Costs" = Cost of the vehicle. (Including Chassis, Engine, and Gearbox.)
"Manufacturing Costs" = Cost of the vehicle + Factory Cost Associated with the vehicle.
"Total Unit Costs" = Cost of the vehicle + per vehicle share of all company costs.

Material Costs is the cost of your vehicle. The other two costs are variable cost based upon how much you spend to make the vehicles, how much you spend outside of making vehicles, and the number of vehicles you are producing.

Originally posted by LTL King:

Oh and the other thing. The pistol should be removed.
That's just wrong.
It shouldn't be joked about.

Homage to the game that this game is designed after: https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/motor-city/screenshots/gameShotId,59141/

And it's not a joke.

Originally posted by Eric.B:

Homage to the game that this game is designed after: https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/motor-city/screenshots/gameShotId,59141/

That was 94.
It may not have been meant as a joke in this instance but may have been at that time.
Even if not at that time.
Times have changed.
I think it really should be changed.
I don't open the safe just to get to stocks and loans.
I don't even like the reference of it.
To close the game I just force close.

7 yrs.
What's next?

To close the game I just force close.

If you want to exit the game, just hit the escape key or click the filing cabinets in the office to bring up the menu...

The gun is used to delete the save game upon exiting.


Interesting factoid, Detroit, the other granddaddy of this theme/genre also had a suicide scene when you lost the game. https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/detroit/screenshots/gameShotId,36752/ It's par for the course.

7 yrs.
What's next?

GearCity has been in development for a little over 9 years. With engine work pushing it into the 9.5-10 year range.

Upon completion of GearCity, the game will go into a long term support phase. I will attempt to raise additional funding to add more stuff to the game. While I am waiting for funds to materialize, I will switch over to making a casual spin-off of GearCity. Once that is completed, if no additional work is to be done on GearCity, I will switch to an Airline business game called "AeroMogul". You can see some ads for it in GearCity. It will be similar to AeroBiz, Airbucks, and the dozen or so airliner php games out there.