Need gearhead info please

[Bakkerbaard]

Hello!

I've never ventured this far from the GTA Online subforum. Uncharted territory, this.

 

Anyway, I assume there are some people here that understand cars. I have a question about an undetermined part, but let me paint the picture first.

 

I'm writing an old school adventure game. In it, a guy that works at the fictional version of Dodge is in need of a part that is only manufactured by the fictional version of Buick. His motivations are not important.

So, he can't just order a part and it can't be anywhere in the endless shelves of parts in the fictional Dodge workshop. This means that it'll need to be taken off a fictional Buick.

I just don't know what part it would be because I barely understand my bicycle, let alone a car.

 

The criteria I'm working with here are:

The part must be accessible when the hood of the car is open (opening the hood is part of the puzzle).

The part must be relatively easy to remove (but I have some leeway here).

The part must be portable for a single person (I'm not gonna lift out an entire engine, though it would fit in hammerspace).

 

So, suppose you were playing this, as a knowledgable automobile enthousiast, what part would not make you jump up and shout: "Whoever made this should be shot!"

I don't want to be shot.

 

If it matters, the car my character is going to be stealing the part from is a reference to the '83 Buick Regal T-Type/'87 Grand National. Take your pick.

I was thinking about a manifold. Saw some knotty adventuregame looking manifold pipes on google. And that was the only inside-of-car-word I could recall at the time.

 

Thanks for your time.

[sivispacem]

The Buicks are all carbed, so a carburettor is probably a good shout.

Easily hand-holdable, nice and accessible, and it won't work without one.

[Bakkerbaard]

Thanks. Carburettor it is.

[Cudwieser]

I'll double for the carb. Need light spanner work to get to, is pretty complex to work on in isolation and is pretty small and portable (a little bit of weight to it). if you would permit a bit of artistic license say it is a 5 barrel carburettor.

[Bakkerbaard]

It's just gonna be "a [buick] carburettor". I think it's better if I stay away from details.

The spanner-thing is useful though. I was gonna send my guy in with a screwdriver. Thanks!

[Pedinhuh]

Erm...I personally would go for spark cables since you can just remove those without needing any tool, but the carburetor works too.

[Bakkerbaard]

Erm...I personally would go for spark cables since you can just remove those without needing any tool, but the carburetor works too.

Yeah, I've considered that, but since this whole project is already a bit of a love letter to the old games like Monkey Island and Fate Of Atlantis I opted not to do that, since the latter also features a spark plug bit of a puzzle.

Plus, having to find a spanner somewhere adds another piece to the puzzle, which is kinda light at this point anyway.

[Cudwieser]

 

Erm...I personally would go for spark cables since you can just remove those without needing any tool, but the carburetor works too.

Yeah, I've considered that, but since this whole project is already a bit of a love letter to the old games like Monkey Island and Fate Of Atlantis I opted not to do that, since the latter also features a spark plug bit of a puzzle.

Plus, having to find a spanner somewhere adds another piece to the puzzle, which is kinda light at this point anyway.

 

It's a minor detail, but sometimes a second spanner is use, one to hold the bold and the other to undo the nut. It's a nerdy point and probably redundent in the context, but it might be something to play with

 

Also please let us read a draft when you're ready.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Cudwieser

[Bakkerbaard]

There's not a lot to read, really. I mean, there's a good chunk of story, but apart from that I'm reluctant to publish it anywhere (which I hope you'll understand), I've misguidedly comitted to setting it up in a flowchart editor so I could account for variables textually, as I couldn't differentiate between a boolean and an integer to save my life. Anyway, one side effect is that it makes it tough to read. It's gonna be fun trying to explain to a programmer what the hell I was thinking.

 

Also, while I may have implied it, the game is not a car-game. I had grand plans to make a car-centric giant open world game to put GTA to shame, but then I actually tried it. This was stupid. And I'm being polite here.

Anyway, I like musclecars and although the game borders on ridiculous I figure the limits of Supsension Of Disbelief can be stretched further if there are other elements that feel slightly more realistic, hence the carburettor question. Personally I go nuts when somebody says something wrong about something I know about and think it's common knowledge: "You dumbass! Everybody knows dark side lightsabers are red because the crystal has been mishandled and basically bleeds energy." You know... common knowledge. ;o)

 

So, while it may take a long time, I do believe my pet project has the potential to go public and I'd prefer to keep it under wraps for the time being. Which I could have said, instead of that whole thing I wrote.

[Cudwieser]

There's not a lot to read, really. I mean, there's a good chunk of story, but apart from that I'm reluctant to publish it anywhere (which I hope you'll understand), I've misguidedly comitted to setting it up in a flowchart editor so I could account for variables textually, as I couldn't differentiate between a boolean and an integer to save my life. Anyway, one side effect is that it makes it tough to read. It's gonna be fun trying to explain to a programmer what the hell I was thinking.

 

Also, while I may have implied it, the game is not a car-game. I had grand plans to make a car-centric giant open world game to put GTA to shame, but then I actually tried it. This was stupid. And I'm being polite here.

Anyway, I like musclecars and although the game borders on ridiculous I figure the limits of Supsension Of Disbelief can be stretched further if there are other elements that feel slightly more realistic, hence the carburettor question. Personally I go nuts when somebody says something wrong about something I know about and think it's common knowledge: "You dumbass! Everybody knows dark side lightsabers are red because the crystal has been mishandled and basically bleeds energy." You know... common knowledge. ;o)

 

So, while it may take a long time, I do believe my pet project has the potential to go public and I'd prefer to keep it under wraps for the time being. Which I could have said, instead of that whole thing I wrote.

Hey, No Probs. Best of luck and hopefully it works out for you and if a final product should materialise down the road hopefully it's a hit. In any case not all us car guys obcess about cars, hell some of us know what day it is If there is anything more you need help with, give us a shout

[Bakkerbaard]

If I run into anymore car-puzzles I'll be right back. ;o)

Thanks for the help so far.