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More about gameplay in the 2021 edition of Car Mechanic Simulator. Lets start with fluids. Previously, the only fluid represented in the game was Oil. If you forgot to drain it before taking off the Oil Pan or the Oil Filter, then you had a spillage and had to pay a clean up fee. For newcomers to the game, the Oil Drain tool can be found next to the computer terminal…

…In CMS 2021 this has been expanded to include coolant, hydraulic fluids for power-steering and brakes, and washer fluid. There is a tool provided in the tools menu to drain these systems.

During testing I confirmed that if you accidentally remove the washer bottle without emptying it, you get the fine and the same applies for the water pump and dumping coolant on the floor. I’m not sure that it’s working for the steering pump, but if you don’t want a 50cr fine then I’d advise caution with all items that would have fluids in them. As there are no hoses implemented in the game, you’re ok to change brake callipers without draining the brake fluid.

As you play and obtain the skills to repair items, you will learn that some items can’t be repaired. Nothing with lower that 15% condition, for example. But there are also a lot of classes of item that you can’t fix anyway. Lights and windows in the bodywork area are one example. Wheel bearings, shock absorbers and tie bars for the chassis are another. A number of engine parts like pistons, push rods and rocker arms are also non-repairable. No exhaust parts can be repaired So when buying a car to rebuild you need to deduct the replacement cost of these items from your possible profit. One of the improvements in the 2021 edition of the game is giving control of the repair to the player with a simple ‘stop the pointer in the green’ minigame accessed from the workbench once you have one…

…It sure beats the RNG system it replaces 🙂 Another improvement is a tool to re-skim brake discs if they’re over 15%…

…That saves buying quite a few new discs 🙂

Lets go visit a barn and see what that’s all about 🙂 Barn’s are one of the rewards you can receive for climbing the experience ladder and for the jobs you complete. They are delivered in cases with other rewards, here’s an example…

…Cases used to give you three items, a mix of car parts and the occasional barn map. Now you get 5 cards and can choose 2 – they give a mix of Barn maps, XP, credits and scrap (and sometimes another case). This means you no longer get a load of car parts that you might never use – definitely an improvement 🙂 Barns are accessed from the top right corner of the main map and cost 100CR to get to.

Here’s what you might see when you enter a barn…

…Previously, barns were different sizes and might have 1, 2 or 3 cars present. Now they all seem to have 3 cars but unique layouts. The car on the left is an Edgewood Wildcat (Oldsmobile Cutlass)…

…and it’s a good example of a car that is overpriced…

…All of the cars in this barn were overpriced, so I didn’t buy any of them. However, there are parts to be found in barns too. As long as you remember which parts you can’t repair and the simple 15% and over rule, you can pick up some useful bits by checking the various collections of boxes and cupboards around the barn…

…Here’s an example of what might be available…

…And here’s what I left with…

…There’s always a case hidden in there somewhere too 😉

I visited 2 more barns yesterday and bought 3 cars. Lets take a quick look at how I choose. Firstly, price is important…

…and that bought us a nice example of a ’65 Chevy Impala…

…Looks good but will need a lot of work! You can form a judgement on the amount of work by using examine mode. This will show the condition of most parts that are still fitted in the car…

…Of course, it can only show parts that are still there and usually many parts are missing 😉 This is a Katagiri Tamago (Honda Civic). I came back with that car too and from that final barn I also bought an FMW Panther (BMW 3 series)…

…All at a good discount compared to their value 🙂

That’s the joy of Barn visits – you never know what you’ll find. As long as you stick to the rules of car price checks and part condition, you should maximise your profits. The same process can be applied when visiting the Junkyard – the only difference is that you will be buying wrecks that will need a lot more work and new parts to complete the rebuild!

Hope that’s given more of an insight into Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 gameplay and some of the improvements over its predecessor 🙂

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Missed out on taking part in CMMC recently – blame the Wyoming release in American Truck Simulator. At least there’s a O in the middle of Wyoming 😉

Lets start with a herb – a very poisonous herb…

…Monkshood (Aconitum napellus). The root can be boiled and made into a tincture for external use to combat joint pain. Otherwise, it’s just a pretty garden flower but wash your hands carefully after handling it!

Football – Here are some members of our Youth academy watching a 1st Team match…

Here’s a tree in miniature…

…An example of Bonsai

Finally, sitting on my fence and hoping for more food…

…A Wood Pigeon.

All the photographs in this post were taken over the past week 🙂

You can catch up with Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge here.

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Following on from my previous Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 introduction, here are some thoughts on gameplay and the changes from the 2018 edition. I think the launch screen is a major improvement although it retains the same profile options…

…clicking on Play takes you to your profile slots…

…If you are creating a new profile you can select one of 4 modes. If you are new to the game I’d go with Normal as that gives a good enough level of help for most players and you’ll be soon be making lots of money. Experienced players like myself will choose Expert.

The biggest change from the 2018 edition is the separation of tools and facilities from progression. You still upgrade your skills as before and get benefits like cheaper parts purchase…

…Things like the Test Path that used to be opened as you reached a certain level are now bought when you have the cash…

…That allows you to choose when you want to buy certain things. Using the Test Path as an example, I didn’t buy that until after I’d bought things like the car wash and paint shop – The test track (accessed via the map screen) finds most of the same suspension things and you can usually spot brake issues with a simple visual inspection. The screenshot above taken at level 2 shows that I bought the OBD Tester and the Multi-Meter. These are the two most useful tools you can have in early game when most of the vehicles you will be offered to work on are modern – I recommend buying them first 🙂 You can see that expanding your garage is expensive and so are most other major improvements, so choose when you think it is best to buy those.

Once you have reached a level where you can reliably fix parts and have plenty of money in the bank (at least Cr60k) you may want to visit a barn and see what nice vehicles you can buy to rebuild. Barns and the Junkyard are accessed via the map…

…Check the prices carefully – sometimes a car will be a bargain but they can be overpriced too. Ideally, until you have fully upgraded your skillset, you want a vehicle that has generally good body and interior condition. One of my first rebuilds in game this time was a Chevy Impala which had good bodywork. I only rebuilt the mechanical parts and gave it a respray to make a good profit. Here’s the finished car…

…Once you’ve got to level 6 on your renovation skills though, you can rebuild total wrecks from the junkyard. Here’s a BMW that I bought – I’ve just washed off all the muck so I can see what I’m looking at…

…Later, after sourcing most of the bodywork items that were missing from barns and the junkyard, it was time to move it inside for the rebuild…

…Here’s the finished car…

…Chrome with black wheels 🙂 Behind is another barn find that just needs a full mechanical rebuild to make a good profit.

All of this rebuilding is probably the main activity in game but there are lots of story jobs to work through and doing jobs is a good way to keeping your cash flow under control 🙂 Here’s an example of a story job from level 8…

…There are also two normal jobs listed below. There are 72 vehicles in the base game and you can add more with DLC’s – Currently there are Nissan and Electric Vehicles available to purchase. You can also add in mods from the Steam Workshop.

I hope that’s given a good insight to the general gameplay. I think the balance of relaxed play and the occasional head-scratching fault makes for a good game to fit between those other more stressful things in life 🙂