In the last devlog we shared our optimistic belief that Ambulance Simulator's playtest will be available soon, around the same time we launched playtests for Cruise Ship Manager and Offroad Mechanic Simulator. Moreover, we informed you that the full game should be released this year.
While we had every intention to do so, after lengthy internal discussions we chose to cancel the playtests for now and delay the release date of Ambulance Simulator to 2023. While the main mechanics are implemented and functional, as a whole, the game doesn't present the quality and realism that we aim for.
Ambulance Simulator is a very big and ambitious project. Between a living, breathing city and realistic medical treatments, there's a lot of work to do and even more polish to apply. We already had to tone down the realism of certain medical procedures to ensure that the game's pacing is fun for everybody. We also worked hard on optimization and got some very satisfying results.
But there are always more things to sort out, such as patients not laying down properly, physics acting weird, or medical procedures that need tweaking to get the right balance of realism and fun. Delaying the game gives us time to address all of these issues and ensure that Ambulance Simulator can be exactly what you hoped for.
Accidents happen, as shown below. ...needless to say, in the final version of the game you won't be able to just drive over the pedestrians like this. But we are curious - what do you think is the best solution for this issue, how should the game react when the player hits a pedestrian? Do you want us to be realistic (hitting a pedestrian = game over), semi-realistic (hitting a pedestrian = you are fined but can continue), or completely unrealistic? Share your suggestions on our official Discord, we would love to hear them.
Here’s a long-awaited update on Ambulance Simulator! We know, it took us some time. Let us brief you a bit since the silence was too long on our end.
Frankly saying, we've had a lot of organizational changes on the verge of 2021 and 2022. We decided to significantly strengthen and expand our team. With new talented people on board, things are looking better now!
💣💥💥 That said, we plan to release Ambulance Simulator this year. We also plan to launch a Steam playtest demo of the game to be released very soon, stay tuned!💣💥💥
And here’s a summary of the works from the last weeks/months:
- Living City – we’ve been building a busy city. The environment has been entirely reworked from the ground up. There’s way more variety, more props, complex road intersections, and sidewalks. The city itself has increased in size compared to previous designs, so expect a bigger, better, living city.
- The traffic system has been redone from scratch and is now more responsive, more clever, and more optimized, meaning the roads will be busy. Given the fact that driving through traffic as an ambulance driver is no easy task, you as a player will be challenged with real-world situations found on the roads of a busy city. We’ve improved the AI of NPC Cars to make room for an incoming ambulance (make sure to toggle your sirens on!), however, keep in mind the pedestrians and other cars on your way to the victim in need.
- The ambulance has never been more precise to drive. We’ve developed custom vehicle physics to accommodate for accurate physically driven vehicle handling. You’ll be able to feel the weight of an ambulance car, along with its acceleration and traction.
Pedestrians have been given a second life. We’ve reworked our pedestrian system in order to populate our city with lots of NPCs. Thanks to that the city has never been so much alive. The pedestrians in the current iteration come with their own physics behavior, different animations, and procedurally generated navigation.
- The player navigation system and minimap have been done from scratch. As a player, you won’t have any issues finding the victim. New procedural minimap path generation that’s in place will let you navigate easily throughout the city.
- General tweaks, the latest engine version, and a project reworked from the ground up allowed us to run the game smoothly with 60 frames per second even on lower-end machines. And all that with a bigger city, better traffic, and pedestrians in mind. Optional DLSS and FidelityFX systems are implemented and ready to be turned on if you desire. These technologies will let your game run even better with higher graphics settings.
Expect more news, playtest, and trailer in the upcoming weeks! We are now constantly present here on Steam forums, so should you have any questions, just let us know there or on our official Discord!
Best, Image Power
Devlog #6 - UI & Gameplay Changes
Hello everybody!
In case you missed it, we published a new trailer for Ambulance Simulator! We didn't post about it on Steam until now, so here it is, feast your eyes: [previewyoutube="0D7w8AeDmY8;full"]
As you can see, the game evolved quite a bit from what you've previously seen. This is all a result of the small-scale test we ran a few months back. Many gameplay and visual aspects of the game were changed since then.
Perhaps the most obvious is the change in the UI. We moved away from the red-black-white colors, in favor of cleaner, more modern shades of blue. We're still making some small adjustments so the UI in the final version might be a little bit different but not by much.
We also mentioned gameplay changes and these are mostly related to QoL improvements (quality of life). The equipment system was the most modified. The old one relied very heavily on micromanaging everything. If you needed to bandage someone, you used to have to look for the proper items in your backpack, take them out, and finally use them on your patient. This system worked and was very realistic but it slowed down the game too much.
Our solution is simple. As long as you have enough medical equipment in your backpack, you can click on a patient and perform any action you want. You don't need to individually take out every single item anymore. And if you don't have enough supplies, the game will warn you that a given interaction is not available because you lack necessary items.
This also applies to medicine. You can now easily prepare a shot by simply choosing the right interaction on the patient and selecting which medicine you want to use (out of any that you have on your person).
We also stayed true to our goal of making a fun but realistic simulator, so certain actions are still realistically complex, such as preparing an IV.
That's all for this devlog, we will share more information on recent changes in the next one. This is also our last post before the end of the year. From the bottom of our hearts, we wish you happy holidays and all the best in the coming year!
It was difficult choosing the right topic for this devlog as there has been a plethora of changes and additions in recent months. Traffic has been improved, UI overhauled, more animations added, even the patients and the pedestrians are in the middle of a graphical upgrade right now. But perhaps the most significant change is what we did to the ambulance and the city itself, so let's talk about that!
As you can see on the gif above, the ambulance looks drastically different from before. We added more detail, especially on the inside. Simultaneously, we optimized the vehicle to squeeze out a few more frames per second in your game.
The ambulance is now also equipped with a stretcher auto-loader. We're currently unsure if this should be an upgrade that players unlock during gameplay or something that is always available. The auto-loader is very convenient so we're considering the latter option. But if you have a different opinion then let us know in the comments!
Meanwhile, our town grew to a massive size. It's quite formidable, with dozens of different roads and hundreds of buildings. We made sure that our city is not one of those soulless, game-y areas where every block is a rectangle and every crossing is a right angle. We have changes in elevation, a good mix of two- and one-way roads, plenty of turns, and unusual shortcuts.
The town is not yet finished. The outskirts still have missing roads and buildings. And the downtown area still needs more love in the form of additional details and more polish. It's playable and looks good, it just needs a bit more love before we're satisfied.
Our work is even more challenging because we have to keep things optimized. At the moment, we have fairly simplistic building geometry, meaning that they are relatively flat. As our FPS count increases, we will upgrade these structures, up to a point that we deem feasible in terms of graphical fidelity and performance. It's just how it is with big, open worlds. It's safer to first create a fully functional, optimized, and simplistic city, and then to make it prettier based on the performance.
Another big part of creating a living city is the traffic. We're setting it up very carefully and look for any tricky crossings where the AI gets into car accidents too often. Right now we have an AI that drives competently and pedestrians that sometimes gather into groups to have a conversation on a sidewalk. It creates a sense of being a part of something more as you drive around the town.
You might be wondering, when are we going to let you check it all out. We did start the sign-ups for the playtest after all. Well, there's been a small change of plans. After some small-scale testing, we decided to iron out the playtest demo a bit more before we invite more players in. As such, we need a few more weeks to make sure that everything is good enough for the playtest.
So the playtest is still on. We're going to invite people in once new gameplay elements are implemented and additional polish is applied. We'll keep you posted!
Thank you for your support and enthusiasm. We're working very hard to make our game realistic, fun, and educational. Soon, you will have an opportunity to tell us if we're on the right track!
From this day we launch registration for the Steam Playtest of Ambulance Simulator. You can help us improve our game by signing up and sharing your opinion on our game.
Q: Why are we launching Steam Playtests?
A: Because we want to make a game that is fun to play and your feedback will help us to achieve that! In order to make everybody's experience enjoyable, we need to collect data from players who never played this game before.
Q: When will the playtest start?
A: After enough people register for the playtest and once our inner QA team confirms that our current version is ready for global playtests. We don't want the playtests to be too buggy after all ;)
This process might take a few weeks, depending on the number and severity of bugs found. This gives you plenty of time to sign up!
A: At the moment, the playtests will be limited to Windows 64-bit and English will be the only language available.
Q: How much gameplay will I get to experience?
A: Our initial playtest will be short and it will involve playing an early version of the tutorial, as well as helping people on a small, limited map of the city. We want to hear your first impressions, collect all feedback, and improve our game accordingly.
Q: Will there be a public demo?
A: Not yet but we do plan to make a demo in the future. These playtests are essential to help us establish what needs to be ironed out before sharing our game with a broader player base.
Q: How will the playtest version of the game differ from the final one?
A: It will be very different! The full version will have several different types of calls, a big city to move around, more mechanics, more languages, and, in general, more polish.
Q: Should I sign up for the playtests?
A: If you want to help us make an awesome game and you don't mind playing an unfinished, limited version of it - then yes, sign up, we welcome your help!
Q: This sounds exciting! Where can I chat with the devs and other players?
We took big steps towards developing an Ambulance Simulator into a better game. New features are constantly being implemented and today we are going to be talking about two of them - the dialogue system and answering calls! We are thrilled to show you the mechanics of it and explain how it all works.
Being a paramedic is one of the most responsible jobs in the world. It requires you to react quickly and accordingly to the situation. We know how hard this task is and we are doing our best to adapt the seriousness of this work in our game. Over the course of the game, one of your responsibilities will be accepting new assignments. The dispatch will always have new calls registered for you and it's going to be your task to choose the ones you need to focus on.
The tricky part is that the reports you receive from dispatch don't always turn out to be true. Some of them are as right as it gets, but sometimes a panicked eyewitness might mistakingly pass on misleading information. Just like in real life, you might sometimes receive reports of unconscious patients in the park, only to find out that the person you drove to rescue was simply asleep after drinking too much. With a bit of practice, you will learn to prioritize your calls and save more and more people. And your performance will be judged via a reputation system... but now's not the time to talk about it ;)
We hope you like our update. Let us know what you think in the comment section and don’t forget to join our discord to stay fresh with our production schedule. You can chat about the game as well. We’re thrilled to hear your opinions.
The new year is finally here and we’re not slowing down with the development of Ambulance Simulator. Last time we talked about UI and - before that - we explained the process of designing traffic mechanics. In today’s devlog, we will introduce you to the equipment system we’ve recently added to the game.
Similarly to the management system, using the equipment will not pause in-game time. This means that if you look for the right tool for too long, you might be risking the patient's life. That’s why maintaining your ambulance clean and organized will be crucial to the gameplay. The inventory’s layout is up to the players. Of course, all of the tools can be scattered around in a complete mess or they can be put in specific places, so in crucial situations, you will immediately know where to reach for essentials.
As we mentioned in the previous devlog, medical supplies can be bought via a special, in-game tablet. Tools obtained this way can be placed in several different spots in the ambulance - on shelves, in the back of the vehicle, or in a medical bag. Some of these objects can be reached from outside of the ambulance so you can prepare your most essential tools in advance.
Our goal is to make the game realistic, therefore there is a limit to what the players can carry at any given time. However, backpacks or bags can help alleviate this limitation. Each piece of equipment will have a particular use, depending on what type of accident players are called to. For example, if someone has an open wound, you will be able to cover it with a bandage.
The work of paramedics is tough and we’re all well aware of that fact. We’ve spent a lot of time familiarizing ourselves with their inventory and the rules, by which ambulance workers organize their tools. It all serves the purpose of having convenient access to them, even during the most unpredictable scenarios.
That's it for our third devlog! There’s much more to discuss in the future, so stay tuned for future updates on Ambulance Simulator! And remember that you can reach us on Discord if you have any suggestions you want to share with the developers.
Welcome to another update on Ambulance Simulator. We’re so glad you’re here with us!
You already know what’s happening with the in-game environment, but if you missed our latest text about traffic mechanics, it’s available here. In this devlog we would like to talk about another visible part of the game, but this one is way closer to your eyes.
The topic for today will be UI. Designing it took a long time, but you know us - our perfectionist souls didn’t allow us to submit something that we weren't satisfied with completely. All of the careful preparations resulted in two versions of it: one for performing first aid, the other for driving the ambulance. Icons on the screen will be present throughout the game, so they need to be barely visible and provide relevant information at the same time. If there are too many elements to look at, player will be distracted and that will impair immersion.
When it comes to first aid, there are many steps to be taken at the scene of an accident. All actions need to be performed quickly, just like in real life. That’s why we decided not to pause the in-game time when inventory is being used. This is also how we added more realism to the game by putting pressure on the player, which normally accompanies medics in their work.
To keep the player engaged, we got rid of typical menus - there are no additional panels for shop or ambulance management, so there will be no need to pause the game in order to perform a particular operation. To keep the immersion undisturbed, we wove them into the game mechanics. Those elements appear on a special tablet that the player has to use during gameplay anyway. This way, they can do many things, like e.g. order new bandages or specialized equipment and a number of other actions (which we will tell you about another time!) without breaking the flow.
Of course, all of the above elements are still being tested, to make sure that everything is visible, legible and harmonizes with every single part of the gameplay.
We will publish a new devlog pretty soon, but first a quick announcement - we have our very own Discord server! On it, you can find channels not only about Ambulance Simulator, but also about our other games like Yacht Mechanic Simulator, Dieselpunk Wars and Archer: The Witch’s Wrath.
Joining our Discord is the best way to stay updated about Ambulance Simulator 😉 We can chit-chat a little, you can ask us questions and learn more about our titles.
We’re waiting for you here: bit.ly/ImagePowerDiscord
You don’t have any idea how happy we are that we can finally share our work with you! With a new gameplay teaser released, we’re ready to bring you some news about the development of Ambulance Simulator.
[previewyoutube="uAawOejru4k;full"] We are aware how challenging working in an ambulance is. We are impressed with how well the crews cope with unfavorable conditions. While the rest of the team is helping people in need, the driver has to remember not only about people onboard, but also watch out for other users of the road. We ourselves have eyewitnessed many dangerous situations in the street, when an ambulance had problems with passing through. This is happening, because streets live their own lives, they’re powered by people who move around. It’s a factor we paid a great attention to. We couldn’t leave the surroundings empty, otherwise the game would be less authentic.
In real life, traffic is an extremely complex mechanism - we’re all part of it almost everyday, so we know how many pieces are required to work together. Same rules apply to the mechanics we’ve prepared in Ambulance Simulator. The system we created manages everything that is happening around you, including cars and pedestrians. It makes vehicles drive straight and people obey the rules of the road or respect the traffic lights. Pedestrians are not mindless strollers - the game engine makes sure to highlight that, so you can often see people during different activities, like jogging in the park for example.
A city living its life makes the game realistic, but also more challenging. Ambulance drivers deal with lots of obstacles in their job and our game - as a simulator - has to mimic those situations precisely. That’s the reason why creating a believable environment took us so long. We believe that thanks to this commitment, we will provide you with the best paramedic experience on the market.
Keep an eye out on future updates, as we’ll be sharing more news about Ambulance Simulator in the near future!
