Please add dev mode/cheats

[mj]

This is one of those frustrating games that I would come back to FAR, FAR more often if I could skip monotonous steps or play the way I'd like to play it. Please add a god mode, or a dev mode with cheats, etc. I've been waiting for CheatHappens or other third parties to make some for years. It's difficult to use a hexeditor like CheatEngine to cheat in this.

There aren't even any cheating / QOL mods... I don't get it.

[[CAMSO] MrChips]

Originally posted by mj:

This is one of those frustrating games that I would come back to FAR, FAR more often if I could skip monotonous steps or play the way I'd like to play it. Please add a god mode, or a dev mode with cheats, etc. I've been waiting for CheatHappens or other third parties to make some for years. It's difficult to use a hexeditor like CheatEngine to cheat in this.

There aren't even any cheating / QOL mods... I don't get it.

Without the constraints of part strength, thermals and the like, what even is Automation at that point? Without that you might as well just write down numbers in a spreadsheet for how much power you imagine your engine makes.

And no, that part of Automation is not open to modding, nor will it ever be.

[mj]

I want a refund in that case. Look at how many hour I've played this game and when I bought it. 3 hours. 3 hours max since 2023.

I'm not asking you how to play your game. I'm telling you that I, and many other people who don't have tens or hundreds of hours a month to play your game CANNOT GET ANYWHERE IN THE GAME because we dont have the TIME to burn to get anywhere in it. And none of this would matter if you weren't ACTIVELY stopping people from modifying those parameters because YOU don't like people cheating in the game. Well, fine, then tons of people just can't play it.

There's THOUSANDS of strategy games and GAMES in general that let us mod happily. People with your stance are absolutely ridiculous and do NOTHING to improve the game or its longevity. "what is Dwarf Fortress but a spreadsheet if u cheat?" "what is stellaris but spreadsheets if u cheat." Go look at peoples hours playing those games and many, many of us, like myself have never played those games without cheating BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE REAL LIFE TIME TO GET ANYWHERE.

Yeah, maybe I want to play a spread sheet calculator where i run megabiggcorp with 9 billion horsepower and a quadtrlilion dollars. WTF else would playing this game be like anyway? I want to see different combinations of stuff and try new things without wasting my ENTIRE SATURDAY. FFS. Some of us touch grass.

Since you're so adamant about this, I'll put in a refund request and you can happily refund me for it. Thanks.

if you had any other reason than "ew, I don't like that, that's now how I play my games" sure. But that reason is such a f'in piss ass response from any junior developer. I've made hundreds of game mods that KEEP PEOPLE PLAYING THE GAME for years. This game doesn't even make it past 1-3 hours in peoples libraries.

I'd play right now if I could make some progress over the next 3 hours then not pick it up again for 2 weeks. But I won't, because I can't. This game is so dead it barely even registers as a blip on https://howlongtobeat.com/game/29881.

Not to mention how BUGGY the game is and how often people have to restart in general.

Letting people mod in cheats isn't a dig against your game, half of us using them just don't have time to play games often and it lets us play them. It feels worthless playing games like this when I can only progress 1-4 hours a month. I'm playing Baldurs Gate 3 in god mode right now so I can get to the end of the chapter and see the story.

[mj]

Lol refund denied. 3 hours play since 2023.

[Slim Jim]

Hi mj,

I understand that your frustration stems from not having as much free time to play, but I think it’s unfair to characterize people who do are somehow wasting their lives or don’t “touch grass.” Everyone enjoys games differently, and for some, diving deep into a game like this is a fulfilling hobby or a form of relaxation, or in my case education. Just as it’s valid for you to want a quicker way to experience the game, it’s equally valid for others to enjoy the challenge and time investment it requires. It’s not a matter of one being better or worse—it’s just different approaches to gaming.

Unlike Dwarf Fortress or Stellaris, not all developers prioritize modding because it can interfere with the experience they want to deliver. If you re-read what Mr Chips wrote, it's not about “ew, we don’t like how you play” - it's about protecting the integrity of their core design.

This is definitely a niche game and it'll never have broad market appeal - but that doesn't make it "dead" by your standards and definitions. There's an active community of dedicated players, modders, content creators, and more.

Your point about bugs is absolutely valid—if you're constantly having to restart, that’s a serious issue. It would've been far more productive to focus on that posting a detailed bug report (which is actionable), rather than labeling the developers as “junior” for a choice that reflects their creative vision. Doing so just make you look, "sophomoric", while we're on the subject of high school grade names.

At the end of the day, not every game is going to be a perfect fit for every player, and that’s okay. I hope you do get your refund. I also hope this response gives you a new perspective to think about, and that you find a similar game that scratches the itch you’re looking to satisfy.

Take care.

[VaderDFXB]

So, the guy doesn't actually want to play the game, complains, gets rightfully shot down for it, tries to get a refund for a game he's had for over a year and played over the 2 hour mark which makes him completely ineligible for a refund in accordance with Steam's refund policy and cries about not getting said refund? Do I have that right?

There be something wrong with some people. The game isn't even hard if you bother to learn to play it. There's plenty of videos on the tubes of you that can help with that.

[cbw06]

Originally posted by VaderDFXB:

So, the guy doesn't actually want to play the game, complains, gets rightfully shot down for it, tries to get a refund for a game he's had for over a year and played over the 2 hour mark which makes him completely ineligible for a refund in accordance with Steam's refund policy and cries about not getting said refund? Do I have that right?

There be something wrong with some people. The game isn't even hard if you bother to learn to play it. There's plenty of videos on the tubes of you that can help with that.

You'd think people would try and solve their problems before resorting complaining, wouldn't you.

[VaderDFXB]

Originally posted by cbw06:

You'd think people would try and solve their problems before resorting complaining, wouldn't you.

Honestly if they were asking for help understanding what to do then that'd be fine. Instead they completely lost the plot and are basically hating the game for being what it's advertised to be. It's not for dumb people. Need use brain to Automation.

[[CAMSO] Caswal]

Originally posted by mj:

Lol refund denied. 3 hours play since 2023.

We don't have any say on refunds as developers. It is all on Steam/Valve's end.

[Gudi]

There are no cheats in this game:
POV: A 1.0L 3-cylinder engine with 400 horsepower.

[[OverSteer] 400IQ EOWLI]

Originally posted by mj:

Lol refund denied. 3 hours play since 2023.

you do realize the steam refund rules are UNDER 2 hours of playtime and in max 14 days after purchase right? also no devs have control over refunds in ANY way...

[dragonflyer]

If you can talk to a human you'll have better chances than with refunds. That said, in this case, it's a long shot. In fact, this game does offer a sandbox mode, in which you don't have to care about running the company, you can make whatever.

That said, Automation is a game first and foremost, not a freeform car designer. While some might find Stellaris or DF fun for just fooling around with cheats, it's not the intended use case. In fact, the only reason for a game to have "cheats" is as a debugging aid and for modders. If that's not needed, say, because the game has a sandbox mode where mods can be tested, there's no reason for devs to waste time on adding them.

Originally posted by Gudi:

There are no cheats in this game:
POV: A 1.0L 3-cylinder engine with 400 horsepower.

Crazier things had been made IRL. When you don't care about your engine lasting for more than a few laps, you can get some truly impressive results. Such designs may be fun to build and drive in BeamNG, but seldom useful in campaign.