the durability system is the single biggest problem with this game

[BOYCOTT]

parts and components wear and tear is far too excessive, a brand new pair of tires will last you 1 maybe 2 checkpoints at the VERY most, if you're lucky.
i think the other components will last you 2-3 at maximum, no part or component has any higher than 4 durability points total and to really solidify it as the main ball ache, even if you had infinite money available to you there still wouldn't be enough tool boxes being sold to ever keep the car in good condition.

so yeah, that said, i've been playing a new game from the start tonight after taking a long break on this game and while it's certainly improving, at the very least part and component durability amount should be doubled for mid-range parts and tripled or even quadrupled for high end parts.

for tires i think there should be low, medium and high quality sets for road, wet and off road each, each higher tier having higher durability than the next so it can last longer before needing repairs.

also, i think a new type of shop should be added where you can pay a professional mechanic to completely repair your entire car to full condition.

just to be clear, i haven't had to worry much about money at all tonight, i currently have about 150 dollars (i know it's not USD... but still, it's what i think of it as anyway) and as i journey further and further that number only goes further upwards and i find nicer parts from abandoned cars and yet i haven't been paying attention to the durability numbers at all, it's futile to pay attention to them since it's clear nothing i can do will let me keep the car repaired anyway.

i have been buying the toolboxes that the shops do have for sale and pretty much using them up immediately right then and there and wishing they had quite a lot more in stock, but i haven't even considered repairing the tires off of 0/3 durability once tonight or felt like it was even possible to have the engine parts fully repaired.

it also sucks i can't get a second full set of tires, not one single shop i've visited in this entire play through has had 4 of the same hardness compound tires for the same road type for sale.
one of them had 3 soft tires, one had 2 hard and i haven't even considered medium hardness at all.

[BOYCOTT]

additionally, i haven't found any way at all to repair or replace the vehicle windscreen glass, not even sure it's possible.

[BOYCOTT]

nearly forgot, but i'm also pretty sure i haven't been charged for the gas i'm filling up with yet.

[spudnik54]

What you need is the trunk-roof mounted toolset. It comes in three different levels, each more expensive than the last but by far worth every cent. In addition to freeing up trunk space by providing a jack and crowbar, the real advantage is the permanet wrench. The three levels of rack give a better wrench each time, the first repairing up to 30%, the next 60%, and the final 100%. This means that once you get the third level rack, you never have to buy another toolbox again.

Tyres are a matter of their own though. Until a tyre patch kit comes out you simply have to keep buying new ones, and considering the normal rate of use, this becomes quite expensive pretty quickly. I for one, do my best to only buy hard compound type tyres, and combined with careful driving they tend to last for about half of a full run. Keeping an eye out for abandoned wrecks with tyres is a must. Unfortunately it's quite rare to find a full set of the same type and compound in a single gas station and I agree that some kind of garage or auto shop, possibly an extension of the current Lika part stores would be an excellent addition to the game.

In reguards to window glass, I believe the state of damage to the windows is reflective of the state of the engine components. If you repair all components fully, they should return to a like-new state.

Finally, if you're desperate for repair kits, tyres, or any stock parts for that matter, you can use return home as often as you like even when at home and the garage will be reset and fully stocked every time. That's right, unlimited toolboxes await courtesy of Uncle.

[BOYCOTT]

yeah, i know you can cheat by driving home repeatedly to full repair the car, that also repairs the window glass apparently.

i had two wet hard compound tires up front and they still seemed to damage at a rate of about 1 durability per 1-2 checkpoints, that's really nowhere near enough still.

also, i thought you're supposed to be able to repair tires somehow?

shame i have to waste so much money on a built in repair toolbox, i honestly wanted the extra storage space a lot more so i could stop driving around with 3-6+ boxes floating in midair inside the car because i ran out of storage spots.

[MinskWorks]

Window damage is a visual display for overall engine component damage. Engine maintenance is a core concept of the game, and I appreciate it's not for everyone, removing it removes the core challenge in the game.

[spudnik54]

Wet compound tyres wear more rapidly when the road is dry and or dirt. I suggest dry-hard compound, though you have to be very careful about skidding when the road is wet.

Tyre repair with toolboxes was removed a few patches back, you can see it in the change logs.

The repair rack does get you extra useable trunk space in that it frees up 6 units of space that would normally hold your jack and crowbar. Even more space if you were to carry toolboxes though you said you don't. The real advantage of it is saving money rather than space though.

It's up to you if you view using Uncle's garage as a source for equipment as cheating. I personally think it's best to leave fully prepared, but since I somehow managed to make it all the way to Bulgaria on my first try, I suppose I may have already kind of "beat the game" in my mind.

[BOYCOTT]

Originally posted by MinskWorks:

Window damage is a visual display for overall engine component damage. Engine maintenance is a core concept of the game, and I appreciate it's not for everyone, removing it removes the core challenge in the game.

actually tire maintenance was the bigger problem by far.

i did notice though, some parts mysteriously seem to never take damage at the same time, like the spark plugs.

[BOYCOTT]

additionally, i like the maintaining the car part of it, it just seems far too futile and vastly exaggerated to the point it stops making sense to try.

[Penny Dreadful]

Something I'd like to see specifically for tires is that instead of immediately popping when they run out of durability (oftentimes meaning 2 or 3 burst at once), decreasing durability makes a tire more likely to pop at any given moment (maybe check like once a minute?) It'd both solve the problem of multiple tires bursting simultaneously and add some tension when your tires start getting low.

[RapidJosh]

This is a productive discussion

[J[Y]anin]

I found you can repair the tyres with the wrench from the trunk tool rack, you just have to jack up the car and loosen the wheel first.
Though it seems a bit strange that you can repair a tyre in this way, so I've taken to thinking of it more like the wheel itself is being fixed up, rather than the tyre :p

[MinskWorks]

Originally posted by Penny Dreadful:

Something I'd like to see specifically for tires is that instead of immediately popping when they run out of durability (oftentimes meaning 2 or 3 burst at once), decreasing durability makes a tire more likely to pop at any given moment (maybe check like once a minute?) It'd both solve the problem of multiple tires bursting simultaneously and add some tension when your tires start getting low.

Nice suggestion.

Originally posted by JYanin:

I found you can repair the tyres with the wrench from the trunk tool rack, you just have to jack up the car and loosen the wheel first.
Though it seems a bit strange that you can repair a tyre in this way, so I've taken to thinking of it more like the wheel itself is being fixed up, rather than the tyre :p

This is a bug, DO NOT DO THIS it could potentially be the cause of the corrupt save issues, as it's not actually repairing your tyres, and they will pop much more often than usual. If you've done this I'd suggest replacing all the tyres on the car. Sorry about this thought I'd fixed this but must have missed one of the trunk tool interactions.

[BOYCOTT]

if tire patch kits do get added sometime i'd also like to suggest a repair along the lines of "it'll do until you can replace it and properly fix", i mean heck, sure you can patch a tire realistically, but at the same time, after you do so it's never going to be quite 100% again, it'll still be a little weaker than one that hasn't yet failed.

Originally posted by Too-DAMN-Much:

nearly forgot, but i'm also pretty sure i haven't been charged for the gas i'm filling up with yet.

also, i paid more attention after driving home and what i observed with the gas is that the pump seems to only count filling up the first time, after you fill the gas can back up the first time the pump doesn't seem to realize or count the amount that (should, not sure if it is for positive) gets charged for it.

[spudnik54]

I did some experimentation with the gas can today. After the first station or so, it stops registering as being filled, but will still be able to fill up the gas tank. Filling the gas tank on the car directly seems to avoid this problem entirely and you get charged as you should when you do so.

I have had the gas can glitch to the point where it wouldn't fill the tank, and ended up having to walk to the nearest station to get a new can even though the one I had was full. This only happened once.

[BOYCOTT]

Originally posted by spudnik54:

I did some experimentation with the gas can today. After the first station or so, it stops registering as being filled, but will still be able to fill up the gas tank. Filling the gas tank on the car directly seems to avoid this problem entirely and you get charged as you should when you do so.

I have had the gas can glitch to the point where it wouldn't fill the tank, and ended up having to walk to the nearest station to get a new can even though the one I had was full. This only happened once.

i've noticed that if you premix the oil with the fuel in the gas can the fill meter stops being reliable, not sure if related but maybe and i swear i recall having issues with the laika's tank not updating the amount of gas you've added until you look away and then back to it.