In the future this will be replaced by an official wiki with an up-to-date manual.
In the mean time we have the manual written for version 1.12 here as a place holder.

This version was written in 2014, so it is fairly out of date. However there is still some relevant information inside.

GearCity Beta 1.12 Manual

Preface/Intro/About/Contact

Welcome to the GearCity Beta 1.12 Manual. The following pages will offer the user a glimpse into gameplay mechanics, user interface details, economic tips, and general tutorials for GearCity.

GearCity's primary goal is fun. We attempt this by simulating historical and economic situations of the automobile industry. This is not your ordinary tycoon game. It is an economic business simulator. We strive to make the game as easy as possible to play without compromising game mechanics. As such, the game has not been dumbed down like most tycoon games and has a slightly higher than average learning curve. That being said, if you have been able to read this far, you can most probably play and enjoy GearCity.

And so I'd like to thank you for choosing to GearCity. I hope you enjoy the game as much as I have had in making it.

If you have any questions or are looking for updates, please visit our forums at http://www.ventdev.com or the website at http://www.gearcity.info

-Eric B. Jones

Quick Tutorial

The quick tutorial system aims to give you a quick understanding of the game so you can get in there and play! Please note: This tutorial will not cover all features of the game and is only meant to get you up and running with the basics. So let's begin!

• The first step is to create a new game. Start by clicking “New Game”

  This will bring up the “new game” window. Select a starting year and a difficulty. Easy is recommended for first time players. (Details: “New Game” on page )

• Click the city in which you want to start your company. The “City Details” window will pop up. This information is helpful in planning how you are going to run your company. TIP: It is best to target cities with large populations and high per capitas. Shipping vehicles can be expensive in earlier game years. (Details: “New Game HQ Selection” page )

• When you have selected a city, you will need to insert your name and also create a name for your company. The AI selection is disabled in this build. (Details: “Player Creation Menu” page )

• Now that you are in your office you will probably want to start designing a car. This is how you make money. First, we have to design the parts of a car. Click on the door to go to the RnD Department. (Details: “Door” page )

• You are now in the RnD room. You will need to design a chassis, an engine, and a gearbox before you can design a car. Click on "Design" then click "Chassis.” You will be given two options to design the chassis. “Advanced” has a number of sliders, while “Assisted” has far less. For now, lets use the “Advanced Option”. If you feel overwhelmed with the options in “Advanced,” please try the “Assisted Designer” as it is less work and easier to understand. (Details: “Design Components” page )

• Select the main components that make up your chassis and name it. When you are ready, select “OK.” (Details: “Chassis” page )

• The buttons on the bottom will give you various methods to modify your chassis. Click on “Build” when you are finished. You'll also want to design an engine and a gearbox. (Details: “Design” page )

• When designing an engine, you want to make sure that the engine length and width are less than your target chassis's maximum supported engine length and width. If you are unsure of that size you can click on “View” on the upper panel without losing your place.(Details: “Engine” page )

• After you have created these three components, you will need to end the turn by clicking the clock in the Office. Lets return to the office, find the clock and click it. You need to keep doing this until all components have been researched. (Details: “Clock” page )

• After the chassis, engine, and gearbox are completed, we will need to return to the RnD Department and design a car. (Details: “Vehicles” page )

• Next, select the “Design” button. Then select the “Vehicle” button. After choosing “Advanced,” you will be shown the design vehicle panel. The buttons on the bottom will allow you to change various attributes of the car. We have to design a body before we can build the vehicle. Select the "Design Body" button. (Details: “Design Body” page )

• Select the base mesh you wish to work with. Clicking the "Body Design" button on the left will allow us to change the physical dimensions of the car's body. A new panel will appear in the bottom right corner of the screen.(Details: “Select Body” and “Body Modification” page and )

• The "Tire and Body Parts" button will bring up the accessories menu. To put an accessory on the body, simply drag the accessory button on to the vehicle. (Details: “Accessories” page )

• To paint the vehicle, click “Paint.” Next, click the paint color you wish to use, then select the vehicle or component you wish to paint. (Details: “Paint” page )

• Once you are done designing the vehicle you can return back to the office and end multiple turns until the design is finished. Once the research is complete, you will need to set production and distribution. Click on the globe to continue. (Details: “Globe” page )

• The glowing cities on the world map are where you have branches and factories. Click on your HQ city. Select "Factories" and then "Production". You will need to assign the number of factory lines for your vehicle as well as the speed at which they will produce the vehicles. (Details: “World Map” and “Factory” page and )

• Now you need to set the vehicle up for sale. Click on "Branch" in the "City Info" window. Then click on “Distribution.” (Details: “Branch” page )

• Set the price and priorities. Next, add it to your sales list. It is advisable to set the price roughly twice the unit cost until you get the hang of the game. (Details: “Distribution” page )

• Go ahead and end the turn. You are now selling vehicles!

Go ahead and try some other things in the game such as marketing, view your reports and charts, and expand into more cities! (Details: “Marketing” page) (Details: “Sales Book” and “Charts” page and)

Main Menu

The Main Menu is the starting point of GearCity. Here you can start a new game, load an old one, read more about the game, or change settings. You may also access the vehicle designer from the Main Menu if you just wish to design individual cars at your leisure.

New Game

The New Game window can be accessed by clicking the New Game button. The New Game window will give you various options to set for your game. These options are:

Save Name – This is the name of the save game file.

Starting Year – This is the year the game will begin.

Difficulty – This controls how difficult the game will be.

When you have selected your new game options, click “Start” to continue to the Head Quarters selection screen.

Load Game

The Load Game window can be accessed by clicking the “Load Game” button. The “Load Game” window allows you to load a previously saved game. To do so, select the file name you wish to load and click “Load”. If you wish to delete a game, select the file which you wish to delete, then click “Delete.”

Stand Alone Vehicle Designer

The Stand Alone Vehicle Designer allows you to design vehicles without playing the game. This is a great option for those who just want to play around with designs or create designs to be used later in the game. For more details on how to use the designer please see page......

Settings

The Settings window allows you to change various Video and Audio settings in the game. Some changes will require a restart of GearCity to take effect.

Here is a list of options:

Renderer – This option will allow you to select DirectX or openGL to render the game. DirectX is the default render system and should work well on both low-end and high-end video cards in Windows. The openGL render should be used if the DirectX render does not work properly on your video card or you are running the game in Linux or OSX.

Resolution – Resolution sets the size of the game in pixels. The larger the numbers, the better the resolution.

Anti-Aliasing – This option smooths the corners of objects in the game. The higher the number, the smoother objects will look. This setting has a major impact on performance, so keep it at 0 on lower-end machines.

Full-Screen – Sets the game to full screen. (Beta Note: It is advisable to not run in full-screen due to occasional game crashes.)

Mouse Sensitivity – This scroll makes the mouse move faster or slower depending on your preference.

Map Sensitivity – This scroll adjusts the map sensitivity when moving around the world map.

Volume – This adjusts the music volume.

Language – This allows you to change languages. Currently, English is the only option. More languages will be added later.

Shadows – Turns shadows on or off. Lower-end machines may work better with shadows off.

Shaders – This turns shaders such as paint reflection on and off. This feature should be turned off on low-end machines.

About

The About window gives credit and thanks to all those who worked on and have helped GearCity become what it is.

Exit

Exits the game.

New Game HQ Selection

After choosing to start a new game, you will be taken to the Head Quarters selection map. Here you will see a map of the world with various dots representing cities in the game. To select a headquarters click on a city. The “City Information” window will appear. If you are happy with this city, click “Select.” This will bring you to the Player Creation Menu. Fill out the relevant information and click “Start.”

City Information

Upon clicking on a city in the world map, the “City Information” window will appear. This window is filled with vital information which heavily influences actions in the city. If this is the city you want as a headquarters, click “Select” to continue to the Player Creation Menu.

The City Information window displays the following information:

City and Country Name – The name of the city and what country it is in.

Population – How many people live in the city proper.

Per Capita – Typical household income per year (This effects buying power.)

Projected Growth – Projected Growth of the city. This includes population and wealth growth. The more stars, the faster the city/area is growing.

Infrastructure – This rates the city and surrounding area's roads, rails, and ports. The better your city's roads are, the more likely people will buy your vehicles. The better your overall transportation system is in the area, the easier it will be to get materials, supplies, and export products. This will make it cheaper to build factories and produce cars.

Manufacturing Capacity – This represents the overall social and economic climate manufacturing has in the city. The less capacity a city has, the smaller your factories will be. If a city has a high capacity rating, this means it can support larger factories.

Manufacturing Growth – This is the growth rate of both the Infrastructure and Manufacturing Capacity of a city. The more manufacturing that comes to a city, the faster it will grow. The faster a city grows, the better its infrastructure will become.

Resources – This represents the availability of natural resources needed in the manufacturing of automobiles. The lower the rating, the harder it is to acquire materials. A low rating will increase construction costs as well as monthly factory costs. It may also play a role in supply-related events.

Fuel Prices – This is a rating for fuel costs in this city. The higher the rating, the cheaper fuel is compared to the global average. The lower the rating, the more expensive fuel is compared to the global average. The more expensive fuel is, the more the population will look for fuel-efficient vehicles.

Labor Skills – This rating represents how skillful and educated the workforce in an area is. With a skillful workforce, you will be able to produce higher-quality vehicles at higher quantities. However, a more skilled labor force is generally more expensive. The more manufacturing brought to an area, the more skillful the labor force will become.

Average Labor Wage – The average payment for a particular labor per month. Other factors such as job titles will factor into labor wage. For example, factory workers will be paid less, while engineers will be paid more.

Status – This is the political climate in the country. A nation can be at any one of these status:
Stable – The government is stable. No effects to manufacturing or sales.

Limited War – The nation is involved in limited conflict within its borders or is shifting some of its production into war materials. Manufacturing and sales are limited.

War – The nation is at war. Manufacturing and sales have been halted.

Total War – The nation is at war. Fighting occurs on its streets and cities are under aerial bombardment. Manufacturing and sales have been halted. Chances of Factory and Branch damage are very high!

Corporate Tax Rate – This is the percentage of profits (Revenues minus Costs) that you must pay to the government every quarter.

Player Creation Menu

The “Company Details” window is the last step toward creating your own company! In this window you will fill out the remaining details of your company and decide how many AI opponents you wish to play against. When you are ready to play, hit the “Ready” button to start the game.

Your Name – What do your underlings call you?

Company Name – The name of your company.

Company Logo – Choose a logo for your company.

Number of AI – The number of AI companies to create in game. Note: the more you add, the slower turns will take to complete.

Office

The office is the main hub of the game. From here you can access all of the information you need to run your company. The office also acts as a gateway to other parts of the game. Items throughout the office are clickable. Clicking on certain items will bring up various menus and options. The office will evolve over time. Things may change as you progress through the game. The following is a breakdown of all clickable items in the office, what they do, and how they work.

Radio (Music)

The radio controls the music and volume in the game. To change songs, click a song and hit play. To delete a song from the playlist, choose the song and hit delete. Click random to randomize the order in which the songs are played.

To adjust the volume, toggle the slider left and right. Left will decrease the volume, while right will increase it.

Clock (End Turn)

The clock is used to end the turn. After it has been clicked, the game will then begin to process information for that turn as well as perform all AI moves for the turn. This process may take a while based on how many AI you are playing against and how large they have become.

Door

The door is the entrance to three additional places in GearCity. By clicking on the door, you will be given the option to go to Research and Development (Page), The Showroom (Page), or The Race Track. (Page)

Select where you wish to go from the menu or exit the menu.

File Cabinet (Game Menu)

The file cabinets will bring up the Game Menu which will give you the following options:

Return – Returns you back to the game.

Save – Saves as the last saved file.

Save As – Saves the game as a new file name.

Main Menu – Returns you back to the Main Menu.

Exit to OS – Exits back to your operating system.

Paper Stack (Memos)

The stack of papers is where to find internal memorandums generated by your company. Memos are short notes reminding you about the happenings in your company. These notes can have various importance. However, the most important memos will cause the papers to glow yellow until clicked.

You have the options of opening memos to view them, delete individual ones, or delete them all.

The boxes categories on the top allow you to display only certain memos. The filters work for the following categories:

Government – Memos involving government interaction such as lobbying.

Contracts – Memos involving concerns and events about contracting parts in or out.

Boards – Memos regarding board members of your company.

Finances – Memos concerning company finances.

Labor – Memos concerning labor relations.

Research – Memos concerning research progress.

Discrepancies – Memos concerning any errors or optimized work in your company.

Achievements – You did something good!

Advice – This is where the computer may help you for once.

Other – Everything else that doesn't fit in a category.

Sales Book

The Sales Book is located in the center of the desk. It stores important reports and accounting information for your company. As such, it should be your go to place for information on how well your company is doing. You can find the following in the sales book menus:

Sales - The sales section gives a breakdown of various sales figures and information in list format. The following lists are available in this breakdown:

Company Sales Per City - A breakdown of sales for a selected company sorted by city.

Company Sales By Vehicle - A breakdown of sales for a selected company sorted by vehicle models.

Sales In City - Displays all sales in a selected city.

Our Sales In City - Shows only your sales in a selected city.

Our Sales by Model Per City - Sales of a selected model sorted by city.

Our Sales Per City - Your total sales sorted by city.

Our Sales And Production By Model - Sales and production numbers sorted by models.

Expenditures - Displays expenditures for your company for the month. Information can be broken down further into the following lists:

Racing Costs By Series - Expenditures broken down by series.

Transport Costs Per City -Transport costs and sales broken down by city.

Marketing By Type - Total marketing costs for all cities sorted by type.

Marketing Costs per City - Total marketing cost sorted by city.

Labor Costs per City - Branch, Factory, and Marketing Labor Costs broken down by city.

Factory Costs per City - A breakdown of total factory costs, units produced, and cost per unit.

Branch Costs per City - A breakdown of the branches’ monthly costs, units sold, and cost per unit.

Revenues - This will show a breakdown of revenues your company has generated over the last month. These revenues can be broken down further into the following categories:

Contracts - Not implemented yet.

Component Revenues - List of components available for licensing along with units sold and revenues generated.

Revenues by City - Total revenues sorted by city.

Revenues by Vehicle - Total revenues sorted by model.

Contracts - This feature has not been implemented yet.

Charts - You’ll find graphical representation of data in this section. The following charts are available:

Compare Sales of Model Turn By Turn - Compares this month and last month’s sales figures for your models.

Car Sales in City - Charts all sales in selected city.

Market Share in City - Shows the monthly market share in selected city.

All-Time Market Share - Shows market share since the start of the game.

12-Month Profits - Shows your expenses, revenues, and profits for the last 12 months.

12-Month Car Sales by Model - Graphs the last 12 months of your sales by model.

Yearly All Charts - This graphs all vehicles made by your company throughout time.

Model Sales By City - Creates a graph showing sales of a selected model by city.

Market Share in Year-To-Date - Shows the total global market share since the first month of the year.

Profits Yearly - Shows all-time expenditures, revenues, and profits by year.

Total Market Share for Month - Shows the total global market share for the last month.

Stock Chart - Shows the stock price chart for your company.

Reports

The reports system allows you to view large amounts of important information that will help you run your company. Many of these reports are generated automatically, however, some have to be activated manually by creating a report yourself.

Here is a breakdown of the automatically-generated reports :

Body Style Demand - This report shows the different demands for various vehicle types in the selected region.

Vehicle Demand - This report will show the sales and demand in a city for all models of vehicles you currently produce.

Quarterly Report - Shows a general breakdown of costs and income as well as sales, production, and inventory levels for your company after one quarter of operation.

Annual report - The same information as the Quarterly Report, except that this report takes into account one fiscal year.

World Report - The world report will give you the average growth rates, gasoline prices and per capita figures for all regions of the world.

Prestige - The Prestige Report lists all current companies and their prestige ratings in 4 categories.

Marketing effect - This shows the effects that specific marketing is having in a city.

Labor Skills - This report shows the skill level your employees are at based on certain skill sets.

Generate Report - This feature allows the user to generate custom reports based on a selection of up to five different categories. These reports are generated at the end of every turn and can be viewed or deleted using the View Report and Delete Report buttons, respectfully.

The Generate Reports window allows you to customize your reports. Select a report on the left and click add, this will add the category to the report. After you have added all the categories you wish, name the report and hit save.

There are many different categories to generate reports from. Too many to list in this manual in fact. Most names should be descriptive enough for you to figure out what they do.

History

This feature is not yet implemented.

Magazine

The magazine offers a glimpse at how your vehicle are viewed by the public, how they are compared to others and the latest news from all manufacturers in the game.

Reviews- The review section will give you recent critical reviews of two of your vehicle models.

Automaker News - Gives you major news events for all AI companies.

Compare Vehicles - Will give you the ability to compare the stats and specs of two vehicles. Stats highlighted in green are better, red worse.

Calculator

The calculator features quick ways to run and maintain your company. With these tools you can do everything but build factories, build branches, and design vehicles and components.

The Calculator has the following sections:

Mega Menu - The Mega Menu is a quick way to alter production, distribution prices and marketing. For more details see Mega Menu on page

Information - This feature is not yet implemented.

Auto Commands - Auto Command section contains multiple tools that can be used quickly maintain and control your company. The following Auto Commands are included:

Fill Factory - Fills all empty employee positions in factories.

Fill Branch - Fills all empty employee positions in branches.

Fill Research - Fills all empty employee positions for research.

Fill Marketing - Fills all empty employee positions for marketing.

Fill Admin - Fills all empty employee positions in administration.

Wages Factory - Adjusts ALL factory wages by percentage.

Wages Branch - Adjusts ALL branch wages by percentage.

Wages Research - Adjusts ALL research wages by percentage.

Wages Marketing - Adjusts ALL marketing wages by percentage.

Wages Admin - Adjusts ALL administration wages by percentage.

Wages All - Adjusts all wages by percentage.

Auto Hire - Automatically set and adjust wages.

Auto Wage - Automatically fill empty employee positions.

Sell Everywhere - Assigns a vehicle to all branches you own.

Sell in Region - Assigns a vehicle to all branches you own in a region.

Stop Selling - Stop selling a vehicle in all branches you own.

Stop in Region - Stop selling a vehicle in selected region.

Change All Prices - Adjusts All Vehicle Sales prices by percentage.

Change Car Price - Adjust selected vehicle’s sales price by percentage

Set Car Price - Set specific price for selected vehicle.

Modify Marketing - Modify All marketing budgets.

Renew Contracts - Not implemented yet.

Deposit Cash - Deposit cash to savings accounts.

Retool Factories - Retool all factories by percentage.

Retool Branches - Retool all branches.

Phone

The phone allows you to call other departments in the game that do not have visual representation. This includes the following:

Human Resources - Brings up the Human Resources menu which is used to hire and fire people. For more details see Human Resources page

Union Boss - This allows you to negotiate with labor bosses in case of a grievance or a strike.

Lobbyist - This will get you in touch with your government lobbyist so that he may grease the pockets of politicians, thus giving you better deals.

Contractors - This feature is not yet implemented.

Globe

The globe will take you to the world map where you can build factories and branches, visualize information, set production and distribution data, and handle marketing. For more information on the World Map see page

Newspaper

The newspaper will show you global events and important automaker news. Many of these articles will have impact on your company. Extremely important events such as wars will cause the newspaper to glow.

Safe

The safe will take you to the banking and finance state. For more information on Financing, please see page

Computer

This feature is not implemented yet.

MegaMenu

The MegaMenu allows you to quickly control major portions of manufacturing, distribution, and marketing.

To change the focus city use the Arrow keys beside the city name.

For more information on the city click the information button.

To switch to Automatic Tools click the Automatic Tools button in the upper menu. For more information on the Automatic Tools please see page

MegaMenu Factory Control:

If your city has a factory in it, the production adjuster will be displayed. To change the number of units produced, select a vehicle under the select vehicle list. Adjust your production sliders and hit Assign button.

MegaMenu Branch Control:

If the target city has a branch the Branch panel will be displayed at the bottom. To add a new vehicle to the distribution select the target vehicle at the top set the prices in the center and click the add to branch button.

To adjust existing vehicles sold at a branch select your target vehicle from the branch vehicles list. And modify the prices to the right. In this panel you are also given the option to assign and adjust prices for the selected vehicle in all branches you control.

MegaMenu Marketing Control:

On the right is the marketing control system. Select the category you wish to adjust marketing in and for which specific target. Adjust the sliders to meet your desired amounts of marketing. For more detailed information on marketing please see page

Human Resources

In the Human Resources window you will be allowed to manually control employment and wages. To do so select the department which you wish to alter. Directly under this selection you will see a list of locations where applicable. On the top right you will have an option to select a specific project where applicable. On the bottom right will be the details of employment. Such as number of employees and wages. Adjust the slider and set the wages. If the wages you are offering is lower than the average wages for that city you will probably not be able to hire enough employees.

If wages are lower than average, moral will decrease. Also if not enough employees are employed you will receive a penalty in both moral and speed/capacity. By default the employment and wage system is automatically controlled by the game. To turn this setting off please see the Automatic Tools instructions on page

Hot Keys

Most hot keys are not implemented in the game at this time.
The current hot keys are in the game:

Esc – Brings up Menu

F12 – Ends Turn in office

Research and Development

The Research and Development room allows you to control, maintain, contract, and design components and vehicles for your company. To design a vehicle you must first create the three major components of a vehicle. The chassis, the engine, and the gearbox. The research room also gives you the options to modify existing components. End production of components, and license components to other companies,

Design Components

Every vehicle in GearCity requires three major components: chassis, engines, and gearboxes. In order to design a vehicle you must have these components and they must work together. For example an engine can not be too large to fit into a chassis.

Designing components yourself cost a lot of money up front, however if you produce enough units it will be cheaper than licensing a design from your competition.

Chassis

Chassis are the major platform on which a vehicle is built upon. In GearCity they are comprise of 4 selectable components. Chassis can be designed specifically to meet requirements for their application. For example a truck chassis should focus more on strength and durability than performance and road hold.

There are two ways to design a chassis, The Assisted Method and the Advance Method.

Assisted Designer

The Assisted Design feature allows you to quickly design a chassis without being overwhelmed by the options in the advance designer.

To design a chassis simply select your target vehicle type, and adjust the three sliders to meet your design requirements.

Advance Designer

The Advance Designer allows you to design the chassis to your liking completely from scratch. You will first have to pick the components of the chassis. Afterwards you’ll be given various design sliders which you can adjust to alter the chassis’s design specifications.

Frame

The frame is the main component of a chassis. It is what holds all other major components as well as the body together. The frame must bend, flex and handle the stress of use.

Here is a list of available frames:

Carriage

Ladder Frame

Backbone

Perimeter Frame

Superleggera

Unibody

Carriage- The carriage frame is the most basic frame available. It has mediocre stats across the board. This frame should be avoided where possible.

Ladder Frame- The Ladder Frame is tried and test frame. It excels in strength, durability, and cost. It is mostly commonly found in all types of vehicles.

Backbone- The backbone frame is more durable than the ladder frame however it is more costly.

Perimeter Frame-Perimeter frames have moderately good stats all around and is easy to design and manufacture.

Superleggera- The superleggera mainly focuses on performance. It is slightly difficult to manufacture.

Unibody- The unibody is the most common frame type. It has good stats all around. It excels in safety, however it is difficult and expensive to design and manufacture.

Suspension

The suspension is what links the frame to the wheels. The suspension must hold the wheels to the road in all conditions. It must absorb adverse road conditions.

The suspension is broken up into two different parts. The front and the rear.

Here is a list of suspension systems currently in game:

Leaf Spring

Torsion Beam

Air Suspension System

Hydropneumatic Suspension System

Hydrolastic System

Magnetorheological System

Swing Axle

Sliding Pillar

MacPherson Strut

Double Wishbone

Multi-link Suspension

Leaf Spring- The leaf spring is a very basic and very common form of suspension. It a very durable design that is extremely cheap to manufacture. It should be used in applications where a cheap durable system is needed.

Torsion Beam – Torsion beam suspension is slightly better over round at the the same costs as a leaf spring. However when it comes to durability, the torsion beam suspension is significantly worse than the leaf spring, but still better than average.

Air Suspension System – Air suspension systems are expensive and difficult to manufacture. They offer great comfortably and therefor should be used in vehicles where luxury is paramount.

Hydropneumatic Suspension System- The hydropneumatic suspension system are better overall than air suspensions however they are even more expensive and harder to manufacture. As such they should only be used in vehicles that require high amounts of comfort and performance.

Hydrolastic System – Hydrolastic systems are fairly balanced designed overall. They excel at nothing, and are nearly average in terms of everything they do.

Magnetorheological System – Magnetorheological systems offer the greatest amount of comfort in all the suspension systems. It is also the most costly to manufacture and expensive to design. Magnetorheological systems are average in all other fields.

Swing Axle – Swing axles offer high performance at low cost. This reduction of cost effects other design metrics. It is best to only use swing axles in performance applications.

Sliding Pillar – Sliding pillars offer a slightly below average stats across the board. They are also significantly cheaper than more complex designs. Sliding pillars work great for generic chassis.

MacPherson Strut – MacPherson struts has just slightly below average ratings but is extremely cheap to produce. MacPherson struts should be used in any cost concerning application that does not have any pressing suspension needs.

Double Wishbone – Double Wishbone suspension is a common form of suspension that offers generic performance at generic pricing. It should be used for vehicles that offer slightly more expensive tastes, but are by no means luxurious.

Multi-link Suspension- Multi-link suspensions offer fantastic performance and driveability. They also offer average if not better than average stats. However multi-link suspensions can be expensive to develop and are costly to produce.

Trailing Arm – Trailing arms offer below average metrics across the board. They are slightly better than Torsion Beam or Leaf Springs in most qualities. They are also slightly more expensive than either.

Drive train

The drivetrain is a representation of where the engine is placed on the vehicle and which wheels drive the vehicle.. This effects weight distribution, handling, performance, and many other characteristics of a vehicle.

Available drivetrains in GearCity include:

(FF) Front Engine Front Wheel Drive

(FR) Front Engine Rear Wheel Drive

(FMR) Mid Front Engine Rear Wheel Drive

(MF) Mid Engine Front Wheel Drive

(RMR) Rear Mid-engine, Rear-wheel drive

(RR) Rear Engine Rear Wheel Drive

(RF) Rear Engine Front Wheel Drive

(F4) Front Engine All Wheel Drive (4-Wheel Drive)

(M4) Mid Engine All Wheel Drive (4-Wheel Drive)

(R4) Rear Engine All Wheel Drive (4-Wheel Drive)

FF- Is the cheapest and easiest drivetrain to manufacture. However it is slightly below average in all other statistics. This format is the most popular in modern vehicles.

FR- Offers increased performance at little costs. Other stats are average. This format was the most popular until recent history.

FMR- Front-Mid Engine Rear wheeled vehicles offer slightly better weight distribution (performance) and allows for a smaller front end. This configuration is common in vans and front engine sports cars with low hoods.

MF- Mid Engine Front Wheeled drives have better weight distribution than FMR, however the engine is generally placed below the driver and is more costly to build and design. This is an uncommon configuration as rear wheel drive is more describable for mid-engine vehicles. It is generally only used on commercial vehicles that require maximum visibility and front wheel drive..

RMR- Rear Mid-engine Rear wheel drive offers great handling and good performance. However it slightly more expensive to manufacture due to location and space concerns.

RR- Rear engine rear-wheel drive vehicles gain significantly more performance than FF counterparts. However it is more expensive to manufacture and design a RR vehicle due to the complexity of cooling and gearbox operation.

RF- Is very uncommon configuration. It offers no significant advantages but large disadvantages in performance and handling. This configuration should probably be avoided.

F4- This configuration is heavier and more costly however it allows for more engine power to be applied to the ground. As such it is typically performs and handles better in situations where two wheel drive vehicles have problems getting traction. Front Engine Four Wheel Drive is common in off road vehicles, sports cars, and pickup-trucks.

M4- The same principles apply to Mid-Engine All-wheel drive vehicles as does Front Engine All-wheel drive vehicles. However mid-engine vehicles are designed more with performance focus in mind as such they're more expensive, perform better, and are generally only seen on sports vehicles.

R4- Rear Engine Four Wheel Drive vehicles apply the same concepts as Mid Engine Four Wheel Drive vehicles. In that they're primary focused on speed and handling. However this configuration is cheaper to manufacture and design that the M4 configuration.

Designs

After component selection you will be shown the Chassis Design Panel. This panel holds buttons to access a variety of design options. The large text area above the buttons will give you detailed information about whatever is under the mouse. To the right you’ll find the chassis’ ratings as well as the option to name the chassis.

Windows

Frame Dimensions

This window will give you options on altering the physical dimensions of the chassis. It also has the sliders adjust supported engine sizes.

Length – Adjusts the wheelbase of the chassis

Width – Adjusts the axle track of the chassis

Height – Adjusts the thickness of the chassis frames

Weight – Adjusts the amount of material used in fabricating the chassis.

Engine Width – Adjusts the width of the engine bay area.

Engine Length – Adjusts the length of the engine bay area.

Suspension

This window allows you to adjust the characteristics of the suspension system.

Stability – How stable the vehicle is in corners and bumps.

Comfort – How the vehicle absorbs road conditions.

Performance – This effects performance characteristics of the suspension.

Braking – This allows you to put more emphasis into the braking system.

Durability – Adjusts the durability and quality of the suspension system.

Design Focus

This window allows you to adjust the engineering team's focus when designing the chassis. It also allows you to make changes to the chassis's design without having to go back to the starting design window.

Performance – This adjusts the engineer teams focus on performance features.

Ride – This adjusts the team's focus on handling and comfort.

Strength – This adjusts the team's focus on strength and durability of the chassis.

Dependability – This adjust the team's focus on dependability and quality of the chassis.

Component Quality

This window brings up the chassis Component and Material Quality Window. Here you can adjust the material and components that are used in making your chassis.

Material Quality – Adjusts the quality of material used.

Component Quality – Adjusts the quality of components used in chassis.

Technology – Increases the amount of modern technology used in the chassis.

Manufacturing Techniques – Alters the manufacturing techniques used when building your chassis.

Details/Ratings

The details window located on the bottom right of the design panel will tell you how good your design is.

Chassis Name – Name your chassis here.

Completion Date – This is the estimated completion date for the design.

Unit Cost – Estimated unit cost for this chassis when it is completed.

Design Cost – Estimated cost to design the chassis not including labor costs.

Overall Rating – Estimated overall rating of the chassis when all stats both visible and non are combined.

Chassis Strength – Estimated strength of the chassis when it is completed.

Suspension Comfort – Estimated suspension comfort rating.

Chassis Performance – Estimated performance and handling rating.

Design Requirements – Design requirements rating. The higher this rating is the greater of a potentially worse design being made.

Manufacture Requirements – The higher this requirement is the harder it will be to manufacture units. Thus slowing down production.

Available Specs:

Wheelbase - The wheel base is the distance between the front and rear wheels.

Track - Track is the distance between the right and left wheels.

Weight - How heavy the chassis is.

Max Engine Size - The maximum supported engine length and width. Engines larger than either will not fit on the chassis.

Engine

Engines are the main power-plant for a vehicle. They power the vehicle’s wheels causing it to move. In GearCity there are four major components involved in creating an engine. Engines need to be designed for their specific applications. Or the vehicle will surely fail. Fuel efficient vehicles should have fuel efficient engines conversely performance vehicles should have high performance engines. Failure to design the correct engine for your specific vehicle will generally have poor results.

Assisted Designer

The Assisted Design feature allows you to quickly design an engine without being overwhelmed by the options in the advance designer.

To design an engine simply select your target vehicle type, and adjust the three sliders to meet your design requirements.

Advance Designer

The Advance Designer allows you to design the engine to your liking completely from scratch. You will first have to pick the components of the engine. Afterwards you’ll be given various design sliders which you can adjust to alter the engine’s design specifications.

Layout

The layout is the formation of cylinders in the engine. This mainly effects engine dimensions but can also effect weight distribution and engine efficiency.

Layouts included are:

Single

Straight

U

V

Flat

H

W

VV

Wankel

Electric

Cylinders

The cylinder is the main working components of a reciprocating engine. The cylinder is measured by the bore (the size of the cylinder head) and the stroke (distance that it moves). These sizes along with the amount of cylinders gives the displacement for the engine. The larger the displacement the more Air and Fuel the engine can burn. This generally results in more power.

Fuel Type

Combustion engines require combustible fuel to operate. There are many different fuel types which can be used. Each fuel type has multiple benefits which can help or harm certain vehicles types.

Fuel Types in the game include:

2-Stroke Gas

4-Stroke Gas

Diesel

Electric

Natural Gas

Hybrid

Hydrogen

Autogas

Induction

Induction systems force additional air into the combustion chamber thus increasing the amount of power an engine produces. Because the engine creates more power, it will also can be tuned to use less fuel.

Induction systems can be complicated and costly. This inhibits their usage. Induction Systems included in GearCity include:

Naturally Aspirated

Supercharger

Turbocharger

Twin-Turbocharger

Quad-Turbocharger

Designers

After selecting your engine components you will be presented with the Engine Design Panel. This panel has a range of buttons that will bring up new windows that will allow you to customize the engine to your desire. The large text area above the buttons will give you detailed information about whatever is under the mouse. To the right you’ll find the engine ratings as well as the option to name the engine.

Windows

Layout

The layout window allows you to alter the physical size and dimensions of the engine.

Engine Layout – Allows you to change the cylinder layout and cylinder numbers. For more details see page

Displacement – This slider will adjust the bore and stroke in one slider. If you wish to have more control over displacement please use the bore and stroke sliders below.

Stroke – Allows you to adjust the length of the cylinder stroke.

Bore – Allows you to alter the diameter of the cylinder head.

Length – The physical length of the engine.

Width – The physical width of the engine.

Transverse – This places the engine sideways thus making length the width and width the length.

Weight – Alters the amount of weight cutting measures when designing the engine.

Performance

The performance window allows you to adjust various performance specifications as well fuel economy issues.

Revolutions – This adjusts the amount of revolutions the engine turns.

Engine Torque – This adjusts the amount of force that comes out of the engine.

Fuel Economy – This adjusts the average fuel usage rate the motor consumes.

Fuel Type – Use this to change the type of fuel the motor is designed to use. For more information on Fuel Types see page

Forced Induction – Use this to add or alter an induction system on the vehicle. For more information on induction systems see page

Technology

This window brings up the engine Component and Material Quality Window. Here you can adjust the material and components that are used in making your engine.

Material Quality – Adjusts the quality of material used.

Component Quality – Adjusts the quality of components used in the engine.

Technology – Increases the amount of modern technology used in the engine.

Manufacturing Techniques – Alters the manufacturing techniques used when building your engine.

Design Focus

This window allows you to alter the designer team’s focus on various aspects of the engine’s design.

Performance - Adjusts the engineer’s focus on performance features.

Fuel Economy - Adjusts the engineer’s focus on fuel economy issues.

Dependability - Adjusts the engineering team’s focus on making the engine dependable.

Details/Ratings

Name - The name of the engine.

Completion Date - The estimated date the design will be completed.

Unit Cost - Estimated unit cost of the engine.

Design Costs - Estimated design cost of the engine, not including labor.

Rating - Overall rating for the engine.

Power - The power rating for this engine.

Fuel - Fuel rating for this engine.

Reliability - Reliability rating for this engine.

Design Requirements – Design requirements rating. The higher this rating is the greater of a potentially worse design being made.

Manufacture Requirements – The higher this requirement is the harder it will be to manufacture units. Thus slowing down production.

Specs

Length - The physical length of the engine.

Width - The physical width of the engine.

Power - How much power the engine produces at its peak.

Weight - How heavy the engine weights.

Fuel Mileage - Estimated fuel mileage when paired with average gearbox.

Displacement - How large the engine combustion champers are.

Warning - A red warning will appear if you engine is too large to fit in any of your current chassis.

Gearbox

The gearbox connects the motor to the drive axles. Through a series of gears the gearbox amplifies the rotation of the engine. Different gears ratios are used for different purposes, whether it be for increased fuel mileage or increased torque. The more gears a gearbox has the more options there are for different applications. Designing a gearbox that meets your design requirements is critical to a good vehicle design.

Assisted Designer

The Assisted Design feature allows you to quickly design a gearbox without being overwhelmed by the options in the advance designer.

To design an gearbox simply select your target vehicle type, and adjust the sliders to meet your design requirements.

Advance Designer

The Advance Designer allows you to design a gearbox to your liking completely from scratch. You will first have to pick the components of the gearbox and its configuration. Afterwards you’ll be given various design sliders which you can adjust to alter the gearbox’s design specifications.

Format

Gearboxes come in two different formats. Manual and Automatic. A manual transmission requires the driver to physically engage the clutch and change gears. This generally results in better performance and fuel economy. However this is very uncomfortable and is generally not good for certain demographics. Automatic gearboxes are more common and better for general purpose consumer use.

Geared For

The gears inside a gearbox have different ratios. Different ratios can increase torque or increase revolutions coming out of the gearbox. For more information on Gear Ratios see Gear Ratios page

Our designers can automatically set up the gear ratios based on your specification. You can fine tune it later in the designs windows.

Here is a list of geared for options:

Generic - Gears spacing will have an even blend of fuel economy and performance.

Top Speed - Gear Ratio will prefer a higher top speed.

Acceleration - Gear Ratio will prefer quicker acceleration.

Fuel - Gear Ratios will be set to get maximum fuel economy.

Low (Towing) - Gear Ratios will be set to get maximum low end torque.

Gears

The number of gears in a gearbox expands the range which the gearbox can reach. This allows a gearbox to have a more broad range of selection for different applications. This will improve some aspects such as fuel mileage without harming low range torque. Adding more gears can be expensive and complex. It also can hurt performance and quality if not done properly.

Special

Gearbox systems can be supplemented by other components. These components will increase some stats. Special gearbox components included in GearCity are:
Transaxle

Transverse

Overdrive

Limited Slip

Designer

After selecting your gearbox specifications you will be presented with the Gearbox Design Panel. This panel has a range of buttons that will bring up new windows that will allow you to customize the engine to your desire. The large text area above the buttons will give you detailed information about whatever is under the mouse. To the right you’ll find the engine ratings as well as the option to name the gearbox.

Windows

Specifications

The specifications window allows you to set the options in the starting advance window. It also allows you to set Gear Ratios.

Type And Gears - This allows you to change the shifting type and number of gears.

Geared For - Sets the predefined gear ratio the engineers should strive for.

Special Options - Allows you to attach special options to the gearbox.

Gear Ratio - This allows you to adjust the gear ratio for the gearbox.

Technologies

This window brings up the Gearbox Component and Material Quality Window. Here you can adjust the material and components that are used in making your gearbox.

Material Quality – Adjusts the quality of material used.

Component Quality – Adjusts the quality of components used in the gearbox.

Technology – Increases the amount of modern technology used in the gearbox.

Manufacturing Techniques – Alters the manufacturing techniques used when building your gearbox.

Design Focus

This window allows you to alters the design focus of the engineering team.

Performance Focus - Changes the amount of focus on performance features.

Fuel - Changes the engineer’s focus on fuel economic issues.

Shifting - This adjusts the designer’s focus on shifting ease and speed.

Dependability - Alters the engineers focus on dependability issues.

Details/Ratings

Name - Name the gearbox here.

Weight - How much the gearbox weighs

Completion Date - Estimated time when the gearbox design would be finished

Unit Cost - Estimated cost of a unit.

Design Costs - Estimated design cost.

Rating - Overall rating.

Power - Gearbox’s torque rating.

Fuel - Gearbox’s fuel efficiency rating.

Performance - Gearbox’s performance rating.

Design Requirements – Design requirements rating. The higher this rating is the greater of a potentially worse design being made.

Manufacture Requirements – The higher this requirement is the harder it will be to manufacture units. Thus slowing down production.

-Vehicle

Vehicles require 4 major components in GearCity: The chassis, the engine, the gearbox, and a body. By combining these components together you can design and produce a vehicle. Be sure to choose the best components for your application. Failure to do so will result in a poor design and possibly poor sales. Which may lead to bankruptcy.

-Assisted Design

The Assisted Design feature allows you to quickly design a vehicle without being overwhelmed by the options in the advance designer.

After selecting a vehicle type the designer will automatically pick the best components you own to use. Adjust the sliders to customize the vehicle’s quality then use the body designer to design the body. For more information on body design see page

-Advance Design

The Advance Designer allows you to design a vehicle to your liking completely from scratch. You will first have to pick the three components you designed previously. Afterwards you’ll be given various design sliders which you can adjust to alter the vehicle’s design specifications. And finally you’ll have to design the physical body. The selection of components is critical to the success of the automobile. Failure to select proper components will result in a poorly designed vehicle which will not attract sales.

-Type

In GearCity there are many different vehicle classifications. These range from tiny microcars to large heavy pickup-trucks. Each vehicle type has a target demographic looking for specific requirements. The better the vehicle is for the demographic target the more successful that vehicle will be. Included vehicle types are:

-Select Chassis

After a vehicle type has been selected you will need to select a base chassis. Click the select chassis button, click the chassis you wish to use, and hit select. This will be the base of your new vehicle.

-Select Engine

After selecting a chassis you may now select an engine. Only engines that will fit in the selected chassis will show in the list. After choosing your chassis you may select a gearbox.

-Select Gearbox

Select the gearbox you wish to use in this vehicle. After you are done you may continue to the design panel screen.

-Design

After selecting your vehicle type and its three components you will be presented with the Vehicle Design Panel. This panel has a range of buttons that will bring up new windows that will allow you to customize the vehicle to your desire preferences. The large text area above the buttons will give you detailed information about whatever is under the mouse. To the right you’ll find the vehicle ratings as well as the option to name the vehicle and select which brand it should be sold under. To get all stats for the vehicle you must first design a vehicle body. For more information on body design please see page...

-Buttons

Format

Returns you back to advance vehicle design start window.

Interior

The interior window will give you various options to adjust the stylistic and quality properties of the interior of your vehicle.

Style - Adjusts the stylistic characteristics of your vehicle’s interior.

Innovation - Adjusts the innovated features inside the interior space.

Luxury - This slider can adjust luxury properties of your interior.

Comfort - This adjusts the comfortably of the interior.

Safety - This slider is used to adjusts the safety features built into the interior.

Technology - This slider increases or decreases the amount of technology integrated into the interior system.

Materials

This window brings up the Vehicle Component and Material Quality Window. Here you can adjust the material and components that are used in making your vehicle.

Material Quality - This adjusts the quality of material used in the vehicle design.

Interior Quality - This adjusts the quality of the components and materials used in creating the interior.

Paint/Body Quality - This adjusts the quality of the materials used to design the body. It also includes the quality of the paint.

Manufacturing Techniques - Alters the manufacturing techniques used when building your gearbox.

Focus

This window allows you to alter the focus of your design team when designing the vehicle.

Style - This pushes the design team’s focus on stylization of the vehicle.

Luxury - This adjusts the amount of focus on luxury features.

Safety - This adjusts the engineer’s focus on safety features.

Cargo - This maximizes or minimizes the attention to cargo space.

Dependability - Changes the engineer’s focus on dependability issues.

Demographics - This will make the engineers focus more or less on demographic pleasing features.

Design Body

Opens up the design body selection window. See page

Testing

Prototype vehicles and testing them allows for the engineers to fine tune their designs. This window allows you to adjust the amount of time and attention engineers put into their fields.

Marketing – This tests the effects of the target demographics with the vehicle.

Performance – This tests and effects the performance of the vehicle.

Fuel – This tests for ways to decrease fuel consumption.

Comfortability – This tests for ways to improve comforts and luxuries of the vehicle.

Utility – Tests out the utility and cargo usage for this vehicle.

Reliability – Test out the reliability and durability of the vehicle.

Ratings

This window gives more detailed information about your vehicle.

Length – Length of the vehicle bumper to bumper.

Width – Width of the vehicle fender to fender.

Height – Height of the vehicle from under body to roof.

Cargo – Cargo size including interior space.

Passengers – Number of passengers the vehicle can hold.

Engine – Engine Model, Size, Cylinder, and Layout.

Transmission – Gearbox model, number of gears, and shifting type.

Peak Power – Peak Horsepower at rated RPM.

Torque – Peak Torque.

Red Line – Max possible redline of the engine.

Fuel Mileage – Vehicle's fuel mileage, City and Highway.

Top Speed – Max possible top speed for vehicle.

Acceleration – Acceleration of the vehicle.

Braking - Distance it takes to break from indicated speed.

Drag Coefficient – Amount of drag generated by the vehicle body.

Lateral G (Road hold) – How many G' forces the vehicle produces when turning.

-Design Body

In GearCity you must design your vehicle's body. This is a fun and easy process and it plays an important factor in your vehicle's design. When you're ready to design a body click the design body button. This button will bring up the select body window.

-Select Body

The Body Selection window allows you to select the base design on which you will create your vehicle. You are also given the choices of loading an existing vehicle design. Using a design that is already on screen (if you've already created one) or returning to the design panel without altering anything.

To choose a vehicle select a design from the drop down. Then select design.

To load an existing vehicle. Select Load Vehicle then choose the vehicle you wish to load. Only vehicles which match the type and era will be shown.

-Body Modification

The body modification system allows you to alter the shape and properties of the vehicle's body. The procedure is simple however this will erase any accessories already placed on the body. To start select Body Designer. A new panel will appear, In this panel select the location you wish to focus on from the drop down. A new panel will appear with various sliders. Adjusting these sliders will alter the corresponding part of the body. Continue working with different sliders where you see fit. When you have the basic shape you wish to use you're ready to attach accessories!

-Accessories

Everything other than the body it self is applied to the vehicle as “Accessories.” These accessories allow you to further customize your vehicle to your desires. To begin select the Accessories button on the left panel.

Select Type

A new panel will appear. From the drop down select which type of accessories you wish to add.

Current accessories in 1.12 include:

We plan on adding more in the near future.

Drag and Drop

After selecting a category you will be presented with a selection of icons. When you've found the accessory you like click and drag the icon onto the vehicle body. You should see the accessory appear on the vehicle. When you have found the spot you want for it release the mouse button. The morph panel will appear.

If this is not the location you wish, simply click and drag the accessory to it's desired location.

-Morph

After placing an accessory you will be presented with the accessory morph panel. This panel will have various sliders to adjust the properties of the accessory you placed. Continue working with different sliders where you see fit. When you have finished altering the accessory you may select “Finished” or use one of the following features:

-Rotate

Using the 4 arrows above you can change the rotation of the accessories you've placed. This allows you to pitch or rotate the accessories.

-Flip

The flip button located under the rotation arrows will flip the accessory in place. This is useful if your accessories are “inside”the vehicle body. Such as applying a mirror to the right side of the vehicle.

-Clone

The clone button located on the right side of the morph panel will clone the selected accessory to the other side of the vehicle. Any changes done to the accessory will automatically happen to the child clone.

Mirror

The mirror button will flip the accessory onto the other side of the body without making a duplicate copy of the accessory.

-Delete

The delete button will delete the selected accessory.

Finish

Finishes the accessory morphs thus taking you back to the iconedaccessory screen.

-Paint

Vehicles, leather, glass, and in future versions accessories, are all paint-able. To start painting select the Paint button on the left panel. A new panel will appear on the bottom, from the drop down select the type of paint you wish to use. Some paints will only work on somethings. For example leather paint will only change the leather material on the vehicle.

-Apply Paint

To apply the paint click on the icons then click the body or component you wish to paint. It should change to your new color.

Lighting

The lighting in the designer may be changed under the lighting panel in the upper right. Using the left and right arrows you may move the lighting around. The follow toggle button may also be unchecked if you wish for the lights to remain in a fixed location.

-Advice

Your engineers will give you advice on your on your vehicle design. To find this advice look toward the right corner of the vehicle design panel. Use this advice to improve your vehicle design. For more detailed advice select the advice button (Not implemented at this time,write more later...)

Ratings

This panel will give you a quick summery of how well the vehicle is designed in key categories. The more stars the better that category is. This panel also gives you a way to name the vehicle, assign a trim and select a brand. It also includes other important information such as unit cost and design costs.

Ratings Include:

Vehicle Name – Name of the vehicle.

Trim – Vehicle Trim

Brand – Marque to sell this vehicle under.

Unit Cost – Estimated Unit Cost.

Design Cost – Estimated Design Cost not including labor.

Luxury – How Luxurious your vehicle is.

Safety – How safe your vehicle is.

Comfort – How comfortable your vehicle is.

Quality – How much quality the vehicle shows.

Design Requirements – Design requirements rating. The higher this rating is the greater of a potentially worse design being made.

Manufacture Requirements – The higher this requirement is the harder it will be to manufacture units. Thus slowing down production.

Driveability – How well and easy the vehicle drives and also how well it holds the road.

Fuel – How fuel efficient your vehicle is.

Performance – How well your vehicle performs

Dependability – How dependable the vehicle is over time.

Cargo – How good is the cargo space and availability.

Completion Date – The estimated completion date for the vehicle design.

-Build

After you have completed your design, select build. You're now set to hire engineers and complete your design, when you're finished with research return to the office. For more information on the office please see page

-Modify Components

Over time the quality of components degrades. In order to extend the life of these components you may want to simply tweak the designs. This will improve the components at a fraction of the cost of designing new ones. However this can only happen a certain amount of times before the component becomes too old. The exception to this are vehicles who follow a slightly different logic. For more information on vehicle modifications, the trim system, and model years see page

The modification menu also allows you to end production of a component or vehicle. The next section will explain in more detail.

To get to the modification menu simply click the Modify button on the upper panel.

-Chassis, Engine, And Gearbox

The chassis, engine, and gearbox modification system are very similar. Simply click the component you wish to modify. At the bottom a line will appear telling you how much improvement can be generated to the ratings and at what cost. If you wish to do this simply click modify. The expenses will be deducted at the end of the turn.

To end production of the selected component simply click the end production button. If this component is being used in one of your vehicles or if the component is being contracted out you will be unable to end the production of the unit until the issue is resolved.

-Vehicle

The vehicle modification system is slightly different that the component system. From the vehicle modification window you can do three different things: design a new model year, design a new trim, or end production.

-New Model Year

The new model year system is used to create an entirely new vehicle while carrying over some of the image ratings of the previous design. When you click the new model year button you will be presented with buttons allowing you to select a new chassis, engine, and gearbox. After selecting these you may hit design which will take you back to the advance design panel. There you may alter the vehicle body and change around the characteristics of the vehicle.

-New Trim

The trim system should be use to create different variations of an existing model. Such variations could be larger engines, different tires, or many other things. Some of the image from the base model will carry over but not all. After selecting the New Trim button you will be allowed to change the chassis, engine, and gearbox. You may also name the trim. After selecting design you will be taken back to the advance design panel to finish the design of your new vehicle trim.

-End Production

This button will end the production of the selected vehicle. It will remove it from all production lines however it will not remove it from branches or marketing. Since you may have reserved units you wish to sell. If you wish to remove the vehicle from all branches see the “Stop Selling” Quick tool on page

-Licenses

-Chassis, Engines, Gearbox, and Vehicle

The licensing system allows you to buy and sell designs with your competition. This helps reduce development cost or generate some extra revenues from otherwise stagnate products.

The system is generally the same for all three components and vehicles.

-Buy License

Buying a license to manufacture a component or vehicle is a very common practice in the industry. This reduces design costs and can possibly give you better components than you could design you self. The downside is that the products will be slightly more expensive than they would be if you designed them.

To buy the license to a component or vehicle select the “Contract” button from the upper panel. Select the desired component or vehicle. A new window will appear. Your company will automatically be selected. This will allow you to sell your license, for more information on selling you components see the next section.

On the left you may select companies, the components or vehicles they have available for license will appear in the center panel. If you select a component the price will appear on the right hand side and vital statistics and information on the components will appear at the bottom. If you've found the component or vehicle you want hit agree. The component or vehicle is now yours!

-Sell License

You may wish to generate some extra revenue by licensing off your designs to other manufacturers. This can provide you with some revenue with very little costs to you. To do so select your company from the list of companies on the left. Select the component or vehicle you wish to license out. Then set the price on the right hand side and hit agree. It is advisable to sell the component at a higher price than it cost to build!

-View Components

The view components and vehicles window will allow you to view detailed information about your components and vehicles. To use this tool simply select the View button from the upper menu then select what you wish to view.

You will be presented with a list of the selected items which you have created. Clicking on the items will show their detailed information at the bottom of the window.

To view parts that are actively in use or parts whose production has not been ended simply check the Show Active check box.

World Map

The world map screen can be accessed by selecting the globe from the office. The world map is used to manage, maintain, create, and destroy factories and branches. It is also the home of the marketing system as well as the main place to set both manufacturing information and distribute vehicles. The world map also has various maps to visually show you city data and view your competition. As such the world map plays a vital roll in running your company. Many of the features implemented in the world map can be done with the mega menu however the world map gives a better visual representation of the situation.

-Cities

Currently in GearCity there are 274 cities. These cities are the main focal points for warehouses and distribution points. Each city is represented as a dot on the map. Clicking on the dot will bring up the city's information page as well as options for things you can do in the city.

Any city that glows is a city which you have either a branch or a factory in.

-Cities Information

For information on City Information see City Information on page

-Factory

Factories are the heart of an automaker. It is in the factories where engineer's designs come to life, and it is in the factories where the consumer's demands get filled. Factory management can make and break a company, so it is best to maintain a quality factory.

-View Details

The view details panel shows you quick information such as the factory expenditures, number of vehicles produced, number of employees, and vehicles in reserve.

A list of vehicles being built or are held in reserve is also included.

Scrap.

If a vehicle has too many reserves and you're unable to sell them all, the quick way to make something back from them is to scrap them. To do this select the vehicle you wish to scrap and hit scrap. You will make a small amount back from each unit, however it will not be profitable.

-Build

In cities with no factories owned by you, you will be given the option to build a factory. In the Factory Building panel you will be given 3 sliders to adjust the design of your factory. These three sliders are:

Production Capacity – This slider increases the number of factory lines and the amount of vehicles those lines can produce in the factory.

Production Line Quality – This slider increases the quality and workmanship produced at the factory. Higher quality production typically results in less output.

Technology – This adjusts the level of technology used in the factory. Technology generally increases output however it is expensive.

On the right hand side of the Factory Builder you will see information on your future factory, this information includes:

Construction Costs – How much your new factory will cost you.

Government Subsidy – How much the national government will help you out on your new factory. Be sure to tip them well in the lobbying system, for more information on lobbying see page

Overall Rating – This is the overall rating for this factory when considering all the factors that goes into its design.

Estimated Finish Date – This is the estimated completion date baring no set backs.

Estimated Production – This gives you an estimated maximum production figure for any vehicles built in this factory. Including the number of production lines in the factory.

-Resize

If you're successful, eventually demand will outgrow your factory's capacity. In that case resizing an existing factory is an excellent idea to expand production. The resize system works just the same way as the build factory system however production from the old factory will carry over to the new factory. To learn more about building and resizing factories please see Build Factories page

-Retool

Over time your factory tools will wear down or become obsolete. It is important to update your factory production lines periodically to keep up with modern manufacturing techniques. Doing so can increase both production per line as well as the amount of production lines you can squeeze into your factory space.

The Factory retool system is easy to use.

The factory retool panel will display how efficient the factory is and how much it would cost to retool the factory back to 100% The panel also breaks down the factory wear into the following categories:

Wear – The amount of wear on the tools as well as how inefficient they are.

Retool Cost- Cost to retool back to 0% wear, 100% efficiency.

Year Built- The year the factory was built.

Estimated Production – The estimated production figures and amount of production lines that will be after retooling to 100%

At the bottom of the panel is the slider to adjust the amount of retooling to be done. Sliding it to the right will increase the amount of wear to be repaired. When you're finished click the Retool Factory button. Changes are immediate.

-Production

Vehicle production is the main purpose of having a factory. To assign a vehicle into production you must first have a vehicle designed. Next you must have open factory lines. To get started click the Production button in the Factory Window. The Production window will appear. The top of the window is the available vehicle models you have. After selecting a vehicle you will have two sliders to adjust. These sliders are:

Production Lines – Assigns the vehicle to the selected number of production lines.

Production Speed – Adjusts the speed at which vehicles will be made. The faster the vehicles the less quality they will be.

Once you have the settings the way you wish, click the assign button to complete the production assignments.

-Close

If you no longer have use for a factory you may wish to close it to reduce expenditures to you. To do this simply click the Close Factory button then choose “yes”, Closed factories can not be reopened. You will have to endure the cost of building a new one to take its place.

-Branch

The branch system is your direct connecting to your dealership networks. Through the branches you will set prices and priorities as well provide services to dealerships in the branches area. Branches are important as they serve as the middle men between the dealerships and your factories. The branch window has several features similar to the factory window. These are:

-View Details

The view details windows gives a quick overview of the current selected branch. It will show revenues generated by this branch, as well as employees, total sold units and expenditures. The list at the bottom of the panel shows the models for sell at this location as well as their priorities, demand, and transport costs.

-Build

If you do not have a branch in the selected city you will be given the option to build a branch in the city. To build a branch click the build branch button. You will see a new panel. On the left you will see two sliders, these sliders are:

Dealership Resources – This slider represents the amount of effort and resources put into your dealership network. The more resources they have the easier it will be for them to open up new dealerships and expand your network.

Sales Resources – This is the amount of resources the branches puts into promotional and sales training for dealerships in your network. The better your dealerships are at selling your vehicles, the more vehicles you will sell.

On the right more detailed information will appear about your proposed branch operation. Information includes:

Dealer Association Rate – This rating represents the probability new dealerships will join your network.

Sales Efficiency Rate – This is how well your branches are training and providing support to the dealerships.

Construction Costs – This is the estimated construction cost of the branch.

Estimated Monthly Cost – This is the branch's estimated monthly cost not including labor.

Estimated Employees – The number of employees to run the branch at maximum efficiency.

Once you have the branch set up the way you wish it to be. Click the Build Branch button.

-Redesign

If you already have a branch at the selected location but wish to change its configuration you can use the Redesign system. The Redesign system works just like the Build Branch system. So for more details on how to use it please see Build Branches on page

-Retool

Overtime your branch's equipment and supplies will wear out. Causing your workers to be less efficient. To combat this you should retool your branches often. To retool click the retool button. This will bring up the retool menu. This menu will show you the wear amount, how much it will cost to retool, and what year it the branch was built.

Adjust the slider to your desired retooling amount and click retool. The effects will be immediate.

-Close

If you wish to down size, closing a branch is a good way to reduce cost and lower the transportation needs of your company. To close a branch simply click the “Close Branch” button then choose the “Yes” option. Branches can not be reopened. If you wish to enter this market again you will have to build a new branch.

-Distribution

The distribution system is how you assign vehicles to be sold to dealerships. It is the main source of income in GearCity and should be taken seriously.

To access the distribution window selected the “Distribution” button from the branch window. The new window that appears will be the Distribution window. You will see two lists and two panels on the right.

The top list is available cars that have not been Distributed to this branch. The list on the bottom are vehicles being distributed at this branch. To add a vehicle simply choose a vehicle from the top list, fill out the information on the top right hand side then click the “Add” button.

To remove a vehicle from the branch. Select the vehicle from the bottom list and click “Remove”

If you wish to modify an a vehicle already being distributed at the branch, select the target vehicle then adjust the options on the bottom right panel. When you're are finished hit the “Modify” button on the bottom right panel

The following options are available when setting or modifying distribution of a vehicle at a branch:

-Shipping Priority – This sets the shipping priority to this branch for the selected model. See Shipping Priorities in “Game Play Rules” page

-Sales Priority – This sets the sales priority in the branch. Higher priority vehicles will be “pushed” before lower priority vehicles.

-Price – The price of the vehicle sold to the dealerships. Many other factors goes into pricing a vehicle but it is safe to say a 100% markup will cover your margins.

-View Vehicle Details - This button will bring up vehicle specification data and other information.

-Add/Set All – This button will set the modified price to all branches that sell this vehicle and add the vehicle to any branch that does not sell this vehicle.

-Marketing

The marketing system is used to increase brand and vehicle awareness. Marketing plays an important role in getting your vehicles into the minds of the consumers. As such you should not take marketing lightly as it can drastically increase sales.

-Marketing Types

Marketing is broken down into nine distinct categories. Each categories have their pros and cons and will effect certain demographics. The following marketing types are in the game:

Newspaper

Billboards

Magazines

Sporting

Events

Radio

TV

Internet

Miscellaneous

To continue to market select a category from the list of icons. A new panel will appear.

To the left will be vehicles to the right will be the budget adjustment slider. Select the vehicle you wish to market then adjust the sliders to the amount of funds you wish to spend. When you're finished click the “Apply” button.

-Brand Marketing

To market the entire brand select Brand from the vehicle list. This will help improve your image ratings.

-Competition

You may wish to view what your competition is up to in a selected city. It's good to know what you're enemy is doing, especially if you're about to enter a market with strong pricing.

The competition button will bring up the View Competition window. You will be presented with three lists. The list on the upper left is the company list. Selecting a company will display all the vehicles sold by the selected company in this city. The list to the left shows the available vehicle types. Selecting one will bring up all vehicles of that type sold in the selected city. This is good to see what prices your competitors are selling similar models at.

-Maps

GearCity offers a number of data maps to visual show information to you. To access these maps simply click on the maps button in the upper panel. You may then chose which map you wish to view from the left panel. On the right is the legend.

The following maps are currently available:

Per Capita – Household Per Capita (Amount of money per household) each city makes.

Economic Growth – Economic Growth rates in a city, This is the rate per capita will increase.

Manufacturing – Shows the manufacturing capacity of each city. The higher capacity the more units you will produce.

Manufacturing Growth – Shows the growth rates of of the manufacturing segments of a city.

Population – Shows the population numbers compared to other cities.

Population Growth – Shows how quickly more people are moving to this city.

Conflicts – Shows conflicts throughout the world. **Conflict table**

Competition – Shows branches and factories of selected competition.

Financial

The financial page is where you go to handle monetary and stock transactions. In the finances room you will find many banking and stock broker features. It is smart to put your idle money to good use.

You can access the financial page by clicking the safe in the office.

-Stocks

Every company in GearCity has the ability to go public. By going public they receive an amount of money from their initial offering. This is called an IPO. After the IPO anyone may buy and sell “Shares” or portions of the company at a market value. Over time these shares should increase value as the company grows larger. Allowing for the company to generate more revenues by selling off more stocks or allowing the public to share the profits of running the company.

To access the Stock Broker, you may click the button labeled “Broker” in the top panel or click the paper stocks in the safe.

The Stock Menu will have a your company and a list of public companies to the left. On the right panel is information about the selected company followed by various action buttons that are different depending on the company. The available actions are:

-IPO

IPO stands for Initial Public Offering. This action is only available for your company if you have not yet done one. The IPO will break your company into many shares, and it will sell these shares to the public for a predefined price. You will be left with 51% of the company and a decent amount of cash for having sold 49% of the company. It is best to do this when the company has grown large but is having cash flow difficulties for more expansion.

-Buy

Use the buy button to buy shares of the selected company. The buy window will appear, here you can adjust the sliders to determine the amount and cost of the shares you wish to buy. The more shares you accumulate the more of the company you will own.

-Sell

If you own shares of a company and are in need of cash you can always sell what you have of a company. To do this select the company and hit the “Sell Button” in the next window you will be given a slider which you can adjust the amount of shares you wish to sell.

-Holdings

The holdings button is only available if your company is selected. This action will replace the public company list with a list of companies you own stocks in. This makes it easier to go through the companies and select a specific brand.

To return to the public companies list click the All Stocks button.

-Takeover

There will be times when you wish to take control of your competition. In this case the takeover button is what you need. When you attempt to take someone over the company board will hold a vote. If you win a majority of the vote you will takeover the company. If you already control a majority of the shares you will automatically win the vote.

After clicking the “Takeover” button a takeover window will appear. Adjust the slider to alter the proposed take over price. The higher you offer the more likely you are to take over the company.

-Marques

After taking over brands you can view your or other companies marques by using the marque button. The larger a company is the more likely they own multiple marques.

-Spin Off

If your company is in financial trouble or you just want to down size. One option for quick cash is to sell off a marque. To do so select one of the marques you own, you'll notice an offer price on the right. If this price sounds good, hit the “Sell Off” button on the right hand side. The marque will either be sold to a competitor or spun off into a brand new company.

-Banking

The banking system in GearCity offers a safe way to invest money without the risks of the stock market. They able to do this by offering fixed rate interest via a short term savings account. The banking system also offers loans in case your company is starting to get into the red.

To access the banking window simply click the banking button in the top panel or the piles of money in your safe.

-Deposit

If you have unused cash it is a smart idea to put it to work. If you don't like the risk of the stock market, depositing it in your bank savings account is a good way to go. In the savings account it will generate a minimum amount of interest, but it is better than nothing.

Once you're in the banking window simply adjust the deposit slider under “Make A Transaction” Then hit the deposit button to submit the funds.

-Withdraw

Every time you pull funds out of your savings account you're charged a fee. So there may be times where you want to avoid paying a fee by pulling large sums out at once. This is where the withdraw button comes in handy. Simply adjust the Withdraw slider in the “Make A Transaction” panel then click the Withdraw button.

-Loan

There may be times where money is a little short. Or you need funds to expand faster than your competition. In this case a loan is probably your best option! Under the loan panel is information regarding the terms and percentage offered.

Just below this information is the loan slider. Adjust the loan amount to meet the desired amount then click the loan button to “Sign” button to complete the transaction.

-Pay Back Loan

In some cases you may want to pay back your loan early to avoid interest rates. To do this simply slider the Payback Loan slider to the amount you want to pay and hit Payback. This will pay back the bank for your loan.

-End Game

The gun in the safe is to end the game without saving. You will lose any progress sign the last time you saved, so be forewarned there is no do overs with this decision.

Showroom

The showroom allows you to see all the vehicles your company has produced over the years. Including the physical models as well as specifications and sales history. This is a good place to remember the past and plan for the future.

To access the showroom simply click the door in the office and then choose “Show Room.”

To move around the room simply hold down the right mouse button and move the mouse. The view will rotate.

-Vehicle

This button will bring up all the vehicles you have produced over the years. Selecting a vehicle in this panel will display the vehicle in the room. You will need this panel to select vehicles for the other options in the showroom.

-History

The history panel will show you both monthly and yearly sales figures for the selected vehicle as well as life time sales figures, average sales, and global ranking.

-Specs

This will bring up the specifications on the selected vehicle. For more information on what these specifications mean see Ratings Window in R&D page

Racing

Racing is a great way to generate image and prestige for your brands. However racing is very expensive, so if you have little funding or not much drive to win it is best to be avoided.

To access the racing screen click the door then select “Race Track.”

-Setup

In order to race you must setup a team. To set or manage your teams you should click the setup button. This will bring the Racing Budget Setup window.

On the upper left hand side of the window is the Series selection drop down. To change series simply select your desired event from the list. Just below the selection is a panel with information regarding the series and any limitations it may have on what you can supply. In GearCity there are three different racing series categories:

Funding Supplied

In a funding only series your company supplies the funds and the marque to a team managed by another company. These are typically the easiest for non performance companies to get good results in however they are also the most expensive.

Engine Supplied

Engine supplied series allows you to supply an engine within specifications and funding. These series typically have standardized chassis or bodies allowing only for the engines to be slightly different.

Vehicle Supplied

In vehicle supplied series you may supply an entire vehicle as long as it matches the specification limitations. These series are great for image, but make sure you have a good car or you won't do well!

Setting up your series is easy, once you have a selected series simply set your budget on the right panel and select any components or vehicles required by the series. When you're all set click the start button to continue!

-Results

The results window will give you racing results for the current season in the selected race series.

-Champions

The champions window gives you a historical view of the final points results for a selected series.

Stand Alone Designer

The Stand Alone Designer is a quick way to jump in and design cars. In the future it will be the place to go to test modder's own creations. To access the car designer simply click “Car Designer” from the main menu. For more information on how to design cars see “-Design” under “Design Vehicles” page

Trouble Shooting

-Windows 8: Game Closes When Starting
Windows 8 has an issue with the directx rendering system. After a few attempts you should be able to get the game to run. Once the game is running switch to the openGL rendering system. **Note some Intel video cards will not be able to run GearCity in openGL.

-Game will not run. (Non-Latin Windows Installs)

If you have an international version of windows or a user name in a different a non Latin character set such as Cyrillic, Turkish, Chinese, Korean, etc. You will need to install the international version of the game. To do this uninstall the game and reinstall using the international checkbox. Sorry for this issue, blame Microsoft!

-Antivirus Warnings

In some cases your antivirus may give you a warning about gnuplot.exe when you attempt to use charts in game. This is because we use gnuplot to chart data in the game. When we do this we open the program from GearCity and some antivirus programs don't like that... Simple solution is to put GearCity.exe and gnuplot.exe in your whitelists. For more help visit your antivirus program's website or our forums at http://www.ventdev.com/

Credits

Programming:

Eric Jones - http://www.ventdev.com/

Artwork:

Serhiy Pazelskyy

Amit Shaikh - http://amunreproductions.blogspot.com/

Ashwin Menon - http://amunreproductions.blogspot.com/

Jakub Kozak

Eric Jones

Music:

Kristin Burdal - http://www.kristinburdal.com/

Website:

Dmitry (Ask mrx_ua for last name!!!) - http://www.studiojazz.de/

Editing:

Thomas Cannon

Jonathan Giszczak

Special Thanks:

Jonathan Giszczak

SQLite

QuickGUI

Kompex SQLite Wrapper

rapidXML

rapidXML Sceneloader

AdvanceOgreFramework

Easy Ogre Exporter

OIS

OgreOgg

OpenAL

Gnuplot

Thank you everyone who contributed to Ogre3d, Ogre3d's forum, Ogre3d's wiki, all those weirdos on #ogre3d, the VENT Community, everyone who submitted bugs and feature requests, and MOST importantly you!