Homebrew car mods?

[Maxaxle]

I bet SOMEONE in the '70s tried to modify their car's parts to try to make it go faster, but didn't bother buying nicer replacements for said parts. Perhaps we add a crafting-menu-thing from which to attempt to modify or build car mods? Some mods would simply be "grind excess bits off of XYZ part", which would increase performance slightly at the cost of part strength (not what state the part is in, but how quickly it'll wear down), whereas others would be complex, like "Build homemade blower" (the resulting part would be ~$100 cheaper than a manufactured one, but would perform 15% worse, would wear out more quickly, and would be 25% heavier), or "remove emissions controls", which would make the car noisier and slightly faster at the cost of having a chance to be pulled over by police.

Thoughts?

[cdoublejj]

I bet SOMEONE in the '70s tried to modify their car's parts to try to make it go faster, but didn't bother buying nicer replacements for said parts.

That's and under statement, in fact i still believe in making my own horse power rather than buying bolt on parts, to an extent.

What you are stating is has more or less already been planned. with the exception of things like building a homemade blower or being pulled over by cops for no emissions. Emissions just didn't happen in the 70s in fact to this day cars from 1970 or older are emissions exempt in the USA I'm not entirely sure about 71-72 but, i'm fairly sure back then it didn't matter as much as it does today.

However it was an accepted idea that player would/will be able to get stuff like heads "re worked" and or "ported" along with other parts like the intake (porting).

[Maxaxle]

However it was an accepted idea that player would/will be able to get stuff like heads "re worked" and or "ported" along with other parts like the intake (porting).

What about stuff that's more jury-rigging based, like trying to make a fuel injection system from an old vacuum cleaner and some pneumatic equipment?

[cdoublejj]

  absolutely not. 

[Maxaxle]

Still on the subject of car mods: What if different mechanics in different towns would offer different services, have different skills in different areas, and/or have specialties? Example: The mechanic of Town 1 isn't very skilled with engines, but can repair transmissions with ease and has a Specialty of "Unique Exhaust Mod 1" that improves performance slightly and decreases exhaust system weight slightly, whereas the mechanic of Town 2 is good with engines but not so good with bodywork, however his services are generally cheaper and he'll throw in exhaust repairs any time you buy something from him.

[K52]

that idea sounds great i think

[cdoublejj]

In street rod 3 you get to be the mechanic.   

[Maxaxle]

In street rod 3 you get to be the mechanic.   

1. Well, what if certain garages had certain pieces of equipment available to them, and certain people in certain towns sold certain parts? e.g. you'd have a good chance of finding excellent engine parts in Town A, but not so much in Town B.
2. As much as RPG mechanics might be a bad idea, what if the cost of repairs would go down as you got more experienced at repairing things, eventually getting to a lower limit? Example: At the beginning of the game, it costs $50 to repair a half-damaged engine block. Ten successful repairs later, it costs $40. Twenty successful repairs after that, it costs $35, and as time goes on the price gets closer and closer to $30, but the rate at which the price lowers gets lower; you could grind for 8 hours and get a price of $1000 to $800, but 16 hours of grinding will only get it down to $750 (whereas the lowest price is $600 or so).
3. What if you had the opportunity to find actual mechanics to do things for you? The upshot would be that they'd be more experienced (generally speaking), HOWEVER the cost of service in itself could offset the price difference if you're too experienced. Or, perhaps repairing things yourself takes time that you could spend elsewhere? Or perhaps self-done repairs cost some other resource, preferably something that regenerates over time, like stamina?

[cdoublejj]

I think the programmers will have their hands full as is and there will be many other game play mechanics to keep you occupied.

however I have a counter idea, maybe if you beat the king in one city, you then get certain discounts in that city after beating the king. no levels or no rep system but, something simple that does what you suggest and make sense give the game, game style and story line.

[Maxaxle]

however I have a counter idea, maybe if you beat the king in one city, you then get certain discounts in that city after beating the king. no levels or no rep system but, something simple that does what you suggest and make sense give the game, game style and story line.

Definitely an interesting idea...

[cdoublejj]

Interesting. At the very least you do raise an interesting topic and ideas. In some of the old street racing movies some of the racers worked at shops for money. As you know SR3 starts out with main player having saved money up from job prior to the summer. perhaps certain specific shops might offer small discounts on certain parts earlier in the game. parts like mufflers and tires nothing good because it's the begging of the game. Perhaps as you beat kings (more/all kings) the discounts might increase slightly.

[Battlewagon]

Another thing that comes to mind is the possiblity of rare HD factory parts and C.O.P.O. cars becoming more available as you become more "credible."  Again, this could be a way of working an A/C Cobra or GT40 in somewhere, or possibly some crazy HEMI crate engine.

[cdoublejj]

that idea or similar ones have been suggested. ie getting more advanced stuff as you progress. it's definitely something to consider and keep in mind since it's too early to implement such ideas.

[Battlewagon]

The main issue may be (and since you're a more advanced programmer you would know the details), that we're not building a straight racing simulator, but a game with a plot, goals, etc.  Simulating a Falcon with a side oiler mod would be easy.  It would be the story line, and the required goals to unlock, that could make the whole thing complicated.  In fact, I'm tempted to build something crazy for TORCS or Speed Dreams (discovered today) to hold me over.

[Maxaxle]

In fact, I'm tempted to build something crazy for TORCS or Speed Dreams (discovered today) to hold me over.

What, not Rigs of Rods or BeamNG? I know it's not an ideal sim at all, but the softbody physics bring up the stakes significantly.