[$400] #218 | End Production Mk2

[Eric.B]

Price: $400

Description: This bounty adds several features to the End Production system. When you end the production of a model, the game will pop up a new window if you are using that design in an active vehicle or contract.

This window will list all models using the design. You will have the option to end the production of those models from this window.

The window will also list all contracts using this model and all contracts of designs that use this model. This also includes racing series. We will display the total breach costs for breaking these contracts.

When ending the production of a vehicle design, if you are not using the components in any other models, you will have the option to discontinue them.

Requirements: None

Required By: None

Concerns: Some people hate popups, I mean to the point of irrational hatred of the things... Other than the Quality of Life improvements by being able to mass discontinue designs, half of this bounty's benefit is duplicated in the Merge RnD View and Modify windows bounty. Although that bounty doesn't touch the Mega Menu, this one does.

Eric's Opinion: One frequent request comes when players want to end production of a component design, but the game says they can't because the player can't because they're using it in an active vehicle design. Merging the modification and the view windows together in RnD per bounty #8 fixes some of that problem, but this bounty is a full solution. Although, it will rely on a popup and more UI. There is a little discount on this bounty to get it funded.

Links: It doesn't happen unless you contribute!

[JC_Denton]

I was thinking about this tonight, and what I'd really like is a way to mass-retire old components. What do I mean by that?

Often, I accumulate old designs. Right now it's 1960 and I have all these 1947-ish components cluttering up my components list, and a few dating back to the '30s. A few of them are still in use (military contracts that keep getting renewed, that one mid-50s vehicle that I accidentally assigned an old chassis, a vehicle that's obsolete but chasing the #1 all-time sales spot, etc.), but I don't want to use any of these old designs in anything new (even in my 1954-ish refresh, I didn't want to use them), and while I offer them for licensing, I also offer my mid-50s designs for licensing, so there's no reason to continue offering these other than the time it takes to discontinue them.

As written, this one and #226 (https://www.ventdev.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=4074) would help, but often I don't necessarily want to stop production of my military money-maker or that Oldsmobile with an accidentally-old chassis that still sells, I just want to not be able to select the old ones anymore. Whether it's still in production by an older design, I don't really care.

Thus, my proposal for components:

An option to mass-retire all engines/gearboxes/chassis of a certain year or older. Doesn't matter if it's still in use, the vehicle can keep using it (just like customers can keep using designs they licensed after I retire them), but I no longer see it unless I uncheck the "Show Only Active" box or click on "Refit Old Designs".

It might not work for every playstyle, but IMO it would be a big improvement over the current "End Production", "Yes I'm sure/oh whoops it's in use" workflow. Although, I probably do design too many components, but that's part of the fun of the game. I just need the equivalent of a dishwasher to help clean up the dishes from all the engines I've been cooking up.

[Eric.B]

Thus, my proposal for components:

An option to mass-retire all engines/gearboxes/chassis of a certain year or older. Doesn't matter if it's still in use, the vehicle can keep using it (just like customers can keep using designs they licensed after I retire them), but I no longer see it unless I uncheck the "Show Only Active" box or click on "Refit Old Designs".

One of the main goals of the revisions to the factory systems is to make the players produce ALL components for their vehicle designs. Meaning that you'll need to make an engine, chassis, and gearbox in a factory before (or on the same turn) that you produce a vehicle. This is automatically assumed in current builds of GearCity, but the end goal is to have you manage that.

Your idea of discontinuing the production of designs but allowing them to be used in active designs is counter to the end goal and what is assumed currently.

A filter option would be a much better idea. But we'd need major improvements to the UI library to do that. Those sorts of bounties may come after various UI improvements are funded.

But really, I don't see the need to keep 50+ year-old designs sitting in the system. End the production, have the game tell you if you made a mistake, and give you the option to correct it there. If anything, we're encouraging you to make the database more efficient by removing items we have to run calculations on.

[JC_Denton]

Hmm, producing all the sub-components sounds like too much micro-management for me. Realistic, sure, but I'm looking for more ways to optimize the management of a large company. Although if that works with auto-produce as well, it just means I'd turn auto-produce on earlier.

But yes, a filter, especially one that could still apply after closing/re-opening a window, would also work well. Aside from the tedium of retiring designs (but not being able to retire some) slowing things down, the later the game goes, the more I find vehicles that are accidentally on those old components, reducing their competitiveness and preventing me from retiring them. Which I guess kind of gets back to, "if not discontinue, at least a way to prevent me from commissioning new designs based on these old components", which a filter might accomplish (note to self: motivation to vote for the UI/QOL bounties first).

[Eric.B]

Hmm, producing all the sub-components sounds like too much micro-management for me. Realistic, sure, but I'm looking for more ways to optimize the management of a large company. Although if that works with auto-produce as well, it just means I'd turn auto-produce on earlier.

https://www.ventdev.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=3801

https://www.ventdev.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=3803

But yes, a filter, especially one that could still apply after closing/re-opening a window, would also work well.

I'm more talking about a filter for lists, similar to the dropdowns we have now in a few different places. Like the licensing window.

Aside from the tedium of retiring designs (but not being able to retire some) slowing things down, the later the game goes, the more I find vehicles that are accidentally on those old components, reducing their competitiveness and preventing me from retiring them. Which I guess kind of gets back to, "if not discontinue, at least a way to prevent me from commissioning new designs based on these old components", which a filter might accomplish (note to self: motivation to vote for the UI/QOL bounties first).

I'm failing to see where this bounty fails to meet what you want. If you try to end the production of an Engine, you can end the production of all vehicle designs using that engine. If you end the production of a car, you can end the production of its components. If you're not using a design, end its production...

Maybe, what you're looking for is a bulk end production tool that lets you put in criteria, like "End production of all unused designs that are 5 years old or older."

[Eric.B]

Maybe, what you're looking for is a bulk end production tool that lets you put in criteria, like "End production of all unused designs that are 5 years old or older."

Thoughts on this idea in another bounty: https://www.ventdev.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=4563