Positech's Production Line rolls into early access
Where do cars come from? That century-old question is answered in Production Line [official site], a car-building factory management sim from Gratuitious Space Battles dev Positech, which has now hit early access. We all know cars live in symbiotic relationships with humans, letting us ride in their cheek pouches in exchange for food. And many of us know that a car nearing death will make one final journey to a local park to be set ablaze by teenagers in a mating frenzy. But their beginnings? The truth might surprise you.
Turns out, the human domestication of cars has become so invasive and so immoral that scientists 'design' cars to suit their every need then 'build' them in labs they call 'factories'. These Frankensteins stitch cars today from individual pieces, picking everything from their vital battery and beating engine to their headlights and the mechanism of their windowlids. These monsters even intentionally make some cars worse than others, denying them advanced organs to make them -- get this! -- cheaper. That's right, they sell these cars. For money. And you might enjoy cold-heartedly designing cars and building the monstrous factories that bring them to life?
Positech started selling Production Line in pre-alpha state in January, and now chief Frankenstein Cliff Harris has bumped it up to early access. That means it's more done but not yet done. "The current version is fully playable and has multiple maps, a map editor and some achievements," he says. Still to come are new music, new sound, a user interface overhaul, new car parts, and new features including advertising.
Production Line is £11.99/15,99€/$15.99 in on Steam Early Access and a few Britcents more on GOG. Harris expects the game to be in early access "for at least six months" and "possibly much longer" depending on what players make of it.
Here's Harris poking at the game in a recent dev video: