7 Essential Tips for My Winter Car That The Game Won't Tell You
I died three times trying to figure out why my character wouldn't sleep, so now you don't have to.
My Winter Car is a game that hates you. It wants you to fail. It wants you to slip on ice, crash your car, and freeze to death in a ditch. Because the game is currently in Early Access, it also has a few quirks (bugs) that can completely ruin your progression if you aren't careful.
After dumping way too many hours into this frozen hellscape (In just 2 days), I have compiled the specific tricks you need to know to actually make progress without restarting your game.
1. The Job "Soft Lock" Prevention
This is the biggest issue people are running into. There is a job at the abandoned factory that is a great source of income, but it is incredibly fragile.
The factory opens at 7 AM. You need to be there early. When the boss arrives, go into his office. He will take a phone call. Do not leave. You have to stand there and press K to keep the interaction active while he talks. If you walk away or let the interaction lapse before he finishes, the job might bug out and not start, locking you out of that income for the day. Treat the boss like a fragile explosive.
2. How to Actually Buy Car Parts
Buying parts for the Rivett isn't as simple as clicking a menu. You need to buy the parts magazine from the PSK shop first.
Here is the trick: You have to open the magazine while you are on the phone. Use your keyboard Numpad to dial. Just like with the car purchase, wait until the NPC finishes talking before you hang up. If you click away too fast, the order doesn't go through. The parts usually take about two days to arrive at the post office.
3. The "I Can't Sleep" Fix
If you hold F on your bed and nothing happens, your game isn't broken. You are just cold.
The sleep mechanic is tied to body temperature and room temperature. If your apartment is freezing, your character is too uncomfortable to sleep. You need to go to every radiator in the house and turn them up to roughly 30. Wait for the room to actually warm up. If you are desperate, keep your winter jacket on until the last second.
4. House vs. Apartment
You have a choice of where to live, and it changes the difficulty curve.
The Apartment: It is close to the shop (PSK) and the pub. It is great for quick food runs and survival, but it has no garage. Building the Rivett in the snow is miserable.
The House: It has a garage. This is huge for the project car. However, it is further away from supplies.
My advice: Start at the apartment to stabilize your cash flow, then look into moving to the house once you have the Rivett frame and some parts.
5. Sorbett Quirks You Should Know
The starter car has a few programmed "jank" features that people mistake for bugs.
The AC: The heater only blows hot air when the engine is warm. If you just started the car, don't expect the windshield to defrost instantly.
The Gas Pump: When refueling at the station, you have to prepay at the red machine first. Do not stretch the hose too far from the pump or it will snap back and you will lose your money. Park close.
Good luck, you’ll need it.
Even with this cheat sheet, My Winter Car is absolutely going to find a new way to ruin your day. You will probably still flip the Sorbett into a ditch or forget to pay your electric bill. But at least now you won't get soft-locked out of a paycheck because you walked away from your boss too fast. Good luck out there, and seriously, turn the heat up. You look pale.
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