Chapter 188 - 140: Gas Cars and Electric Cars

Jiangning, Binhai Avenue.

Chen Ba and Lu sat at the entrance of the grocery store, observing traffic at the city’s most congested intersection for three hours straight.

"Ba, I’m so hungry..."

"How come you’re hungry again?!"

Chen Ba rolled his eyes and said, "Didn’t you just eat earlier this morning?"

"But now it’s afternoon!"

"Alright! Hang in there a bit longer, have some biscuits to tide you over. We’re almost done collecting the data."

After soothing the hungry Lu, Chen Ba took a sip of the iced tea the shop owner offered him and gave a glance at the stat sheet.

Most vehicles fell within the 100,000 to 300,000 yuan range.

Green license plates for new energy vehicles made up about 30%, and SUVs accounted for close to 45%. The market share of different manufacturers was quite balanced—with some legendary cars running around and some unfamiliar models.

"New energy vehicles and SUVs are pretty mainstream!"

Chen Ba remarked and then added, "But that’s normal; Jiangning has a lot of charging stations, so electric cars are more cost-effective than fuel cars for daily commuting."

That’s not necessarily the case in rural areas.

Then again, the models we surveyed that frequently run on the road are meant as samples for the new game "Speeding Frenzy."

With the game set in a bustling city, it makes sense for them to survey traffic at busy urban intersections to match the game environment.

"So many SUVs?"

Lu glanced at the survey sheet and couldn’t help but marvel, "So should we have more SUV models in our game to meet demand?"

"We’ll see."

Chen Ba neither affirmed nor denied.

Because the specific models the game will adopt don’t necessarily fully reflect the survey data; it also depends on the game’s requirements.

Although SUVs are the first-choice vehicle for most buyers in reality, that doesn’t mean the majority of players will choose to drive an SUV in the game.

Why?

Because people buy SUVs for the spacious interior, ideal for road trips, a higher driving position with a wide view, and the ability to handle different road conditions.

But these factors are hard to capture in a game.

In other words...

In reality, drivers can clearly feel the difference between SUVs and sedans—driving experience, posture, view, and space inside are all things you sense.

But in a game, can you really feel that much of a difference between driving an SUV and a sedan?

No, you can’t!

The actual gameplay experience is almost indistinguishable unless the game developer optimizes vehicle control for different models. Otherwise, players won’t notice any differences.

"What about electric cars versus fuel cars then?"

Lu listened and then followed up with, "Is the performance between electric and fuel cars the same as well?"

"Electric cars..."

Chen Ba was stumped.

He’s played many racing games, but it seems like he’s mostly driven fuel cars, with electric vehicles being very rare, almost nonexistent.

"That’s not good!"

"If SUVs and sedans can’t be made too different, so be it. But the driving experience between pure electric and fuel cars should be completely different, right?"

"You’re absolutely right."

Chen Ba pondered, indeed, there should be some distinction between electric cars and fuel cars, mainly in control.

After all, one is electric-driven, the other is fuel-driven, and the difference is much bigger than between SUVs and sedans.

In the game, electric cars should have impressive acceleration capabilities, immediate power delivery, while fuel cars might be slightly slower.

"Electric cars generally start quickly, with instant power delivery, while with fuel cars, even when flooring the gas pedal, there’s a delay in power response."

Chen Ba considered, "When it becomes a game, we should distinguish based on these vehicle characteristics."

"Simply put, electric cars fit game logic better, with strong acceleration and quick response to player commands, whereas fuel cars are somewhat slower."

"Doesn’t driving a fuel car sound like a disadvantage then?" Lu countered.

If designed like this, unless players are foolish, they would surely all opt for electric cars. After all, the essence of racing games is supreme performance.

Reality differs from games.

In the game, given these issues with fuel cars, they’re unlikely to be players’ first choice. The concern of range doesn’t exist within the game.

"Indeed..."

Chen Ba furrowed his brows.

If the game’s emphasis is on electric cars’ rapid acceleration, then fuel cars appear too disadvantaged.

Unless fuel cars have other advantages!

In reality, the advantage is endurance and convenient refueling.

In the game, if you want to show the fuel cars’ advantages, aside from having gas stations and charging stations, is there a better way?

"Modification potential?"

Lu suggested a somewhat immature idea, which is that in the game, while fuel cars may lag in quick acceleration, they have greater modification potential to meet various needs.

Moreover, when fully modified, the acceleration won’t lag much compared to electric cars, excelling on other fronts.

This way, whether fuel cars or electric cars, they’ll have their fan base in the game, without bias towards one side leading to neglecting the other.

"Sounds good!"

Chen Ba nodded, "Then electric cars would cater to casual players, easy to play without much tuning, and not lacking in performance. Fuel cars become the realm for hardcore players since they love tinkering, giving them room to unleash their creativity."

This solution balances things out.

In "Speeding Frenzy," both electric cars and fuel cars can attract a player following.