Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator
Passenger interactions and player reactions | Taxi Life
Negative responses from your customers | Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator
Check out some of their reactions 😂
Taxi Life will have a selection of 6 cars
You'll be able to customize your vehicle with any color from the available options and even add some cool looking neons to the bottom of the car 😎
We're asking the age old question, which view is better?
How did we make Barcelona at a 1:1 scale?
Creating a realistic urban environment can be a challange. Especially at a 1:1 scale. Leveraging the power of OpenStreetMap vector data, we craft our buildings with precision and detail.
But that's not all! 🌆
With the integration of the Houdini engine, we take our simulation to the next level. All non-landmark buildings are meticulously generated by spawning instances of wall elements, ensuring a diverse and authentic cityscape for you to drive through.
See you in Barcelona.
Hasta La Proxima,
Mike
Taxi Life: Developer Blog #14
Hello Drivers!
We're back again with another exciting update on our progress with the development of the game! As we continue to fine-tune and enhance the gameplay, we’re thrilled to share some of the new features and improvements we've been working on. So, let's get into the latest updates:
Driving Model Fixes
We've made substantial improvements to our driving model. Our team has been working hard on refining the physics and tweaking the handling to ensure that the driving experience is as immersive and responsive as possible. We believe you'll enjoy the nuanced and authentic feel of driving mechanics when you get behind the wheel.
New Vehicle Alert
WE've added a new vehicle into Taxi Life. It's sleek, it's fast, and it's all set to bring an extra dose of thrill to your driving experience. We can't wait for you to discover and drive this new addition to our vehicle lineup! But remember, always follow the rules of the road in and outside of Taxi Life 😉
AI Improvements
Our AI has also received a significant upgrade. The aim here isn't just about upping the challenge, but also about making the game world feel more dynamic and alive. With smarter traffic patterns and more lifelike pedestrian behavior, we're striving to create a rich and immersive urban environment for you to navigate.
New Voice Overs
We added new voice overs for the passangers as well as the new tutorial guide. We hope you'll enjoy them when you get your hands on the game and let us know what your thoughts are on what you hear in the video below.
Tutorial Update
Tutorials are crucial to any simulation game and that's why we've added a new tutorial to guide newcomers through the game mechanics. It's currently in the polishing stage, and we're making sure it's as helpful and comprehensive as possible. We'll be sharing more information on the status of the tutortial in the coming days/weeks.
Thank you!
As always, we're very greatful for the feedback you all have been giving us throughout this time. Keep the comments and feedback coming and remember Taxi Life is coming at the end of 2023 so make sure to wishlist if you haven't already. Stay up to date with the latest news and updates from the Simteract team, please join our Discord and follow us on Twitter.
P.S.
There have been some people asking about livestreams. We've had a bit of a break on streams, but we're coming back with more live content for you all very soon. Stay tuned!
Hasta La Proxima,
Michal
Simteract Community Manager
Taxi Life Developer Blog #13
Hello Drivers!
We are thrilled to announce a series of updates that we have implemented in our game to enhance your gaming experience. Our team has been hard at work making improvements, and we can't wait to share them with you. So, without further ado, here are the latest additions and changes:
Menu Improvements
We have thoroughly overhauled the menu interface to enhance both its aesthetics and usability, making sure that your navigation throughout the game is as seamless as possible. Here's a detailed look at the changes we've made.
Streamlined layout: We have reorganized the menu layout to be more intuitive, with logically grouped and clearly labeled options. This makes it easier for you to find and access the features you need without any unnecessary confusion.
Visually appealing design: Our design team has worked diligently to create a visually engaging menu interface. The new design not only looks great but also contributes to an enjoyable and immersive gaming experience.
Manual Saving Option and New Task Spawning System
In response to your suggestions, we've incorporated a manual saving function, granting you greater flexibility in determining when and where to save your progress. Furthermore, we are currently developing a new and enhanced task spawning system for the game. Once implemented, this updated system will supersede the previous one, offering a more captivating and dynamic experience as you advance through the game.
Enhanced Car Controls Quick Looks Feature
We've significantly enhanced both gamepad and keyboard controls, resulting in a more engaging and reactive driving experience. In addition, we've addressed and incorporated the quick looks feature to improve situational awareness during gameplay. This function enables you to swiftly survey the surroundings, simplifying the process of strategizing your moves and responding to obstacles.
Camera Operation and Rotation
We've improved the camera operation, resulting in a smoother and more user-friendly movement. We've introduced camera rotation during turns and we believe this addition heightens the sense of immersion, giving you the feeling of being in complete control of your vehicle.
Thank you!
We hope you're as excited about these updates as we are! Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we are committed to continually improving the game based on your input. So, please keep the suggestions coming, and thank you for your continued support!
Hasta La Proxima,
Mike
Simteract Community Manager
Dev Blog #12 | Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator
Hello Drivers!
We've been busy working on some exciting updates to our game over the past month or so and based off of last Mondays livestream, we think you're going to love what we have in store for you. Here's a rundown of some of the latest changes and improvements that we've made.
Core Loop Improvements
The core gameplay loop in Taxi Life is going to be super important so we must make sure that it’s working correctly. We've removed loads of common issues and now you can easily pick up and drop off clients. We've also improved the AI traffic flow and will be further improving it later down the line. The AI traffic and pedestrians is what makes the city of Barcelona feel alive and we hope players will get immersed in the city when the game launches.
Garage Panel Improvements
We’ve restored the Garage panel to the game. You can easily enter the garage, repair, refuel, and clean your car, check its parameters, and even buy a new one. Plus, we're adding more features in upcoming updates, so stay tuned!
Skill Tree Improvements
Now we mentioned this in the past about the skill tree being added into the game, and now, it’s ready to be used. The experience you're gaining is going to be put to good use and you will gain experience points as you level up to fill up that skill tree and progress your game. Plus, we've added basic menus, so you can change resolution, load quick saves, and auto-saves with ease.
Charging Stations and Keeping your Car Clean
Want to make your car look like it's fresh out of the showroom? We've implemented a dirt and cleaning mechanic! The car can get dirty, and you can use the car wash to clean it. You can also clean the car in the garage, and you can even charge EVs at gas/charge stations. We've got you covered, no matter what kind of vehicle you're driving.
Car Model Improvements
We've also added some new cars to the game and now they are fully functional from both cabin and TPP view. We've also added the small city car (the blue one you guys may have seen in our previos social media posts) with a few things left to fix in the cabin, but it's ready for you to take for a spin.
Collectibles
We've hidden some collectibles in the game world, just for you! If you're in range of one of them, hold down the action button to get some EXP. It's a way to level up, and we've got some tweaks planned, so keep an eye out for those!
Miscellaneous Changes
We've made loads of smaller and bigger fixes, like map visual improvements and new levels. They look great, thanks to our LA and LD teams, but all levels are still under construction. And we've improved the controls for wheel support. It's better now, but we're still going to be working on it in the future.
Thank You!
We hope you're as excited about these updates as we are! We’re planning on releasing Taxi Life at the end of this year and we just wanted to thank the community for sticking with us throughout the entire development process for Taxi Life. Make sure to follow us on our socials and join our Discord to stay up to date with the latest news and updates from our team.
Hasta La Proxima,
Mike
Simteract Community Manager
Taxi Life | Developer Blog #11
Greetings Drivers!
We’re back again with another Developer Blog for you all today and we’re going to be covering things that we talked about in last nights livestream which you can check out by clicking here as well as some thing that we didn’t cover yet such as improvements with the AI, implementing the new car wash in our build and much more. So, with that out of the way, let’s dive right in!
The Garage
The Garage has been reworked several times during the process of development in pre-alpha. At one point, we had to completely remove it from the building to start from scratch. Now, it’s nicely taking shape and players can now choose the type of vehicle they want to buy and sell, with some stats to the side showing the efficiency and power of the vehicle they’re buying, as well as the type of vehicle, automatic or manual transmission and so on. We still have to work out for some tweeks, but overall it’s looking pretty good so far. Let us know what you think!
The Car Wash
Cars in Taxi Life will get dirty. That’s a fact and players will be able to wash their vehicles now using the in-game carwash feature that will help keep the cleanliness factor high and the customers coming into your vehicle happy. We don’t have anything to show right now of the car wash itself (more info on that soon) but for now, please enjoy this dirty vehicle.
AI Improvements
We were finally able to add drivers inside of AI vehicles! Now that the cars have some life in them, we were able to improve the AI so they drive more dynamic as well as turn on there headlights at night. Further down the line we will be adding more improvements to the AI to make the experience driving in Barcelona as close to the real thing as possible.
Collision Detection
We added a new sound to help notify players when they are nearing an object. This will help when backing up when in first person mode alongside with the rear-view camera. Of course, this will be further improved upon as we work out the kinks. Right now – it’s sort of detecting collisions everywhere and we don’t want to distract drivers that much!
The Menu
It might not be much, but we were able to finally improve the games menu a little bit. We added a new loading screen (that is subject to change) as well as interactable options for the player to make adjustments.
New Types of Steering Wheels
We added the possibility to use more steering wheels in Taxi Life as this will allow players to add a broader variety of steering wheels while playing Taxi Life too not only be restricted to one type. More info on this soon as we develop the game and head into alpha and beta versions.
That’s all folks!
First and foremost we wanted to thank the community for being with us throughout this development process. We are heading closer and closer to getting out of pre-alpha and into a full alpha version of the game. We will be looking for volunteers to help us test in the future before full release, so please make sure you join our Discord and follow us on social media to stay up to date with the latest developments from our team. On that note, we wish you all farewell and until next time!
Hasta La Proxima,
Mike
Simteract Community Manager
Taxi Life Developer Blog #10 |
We’re well into 2023 and we got some fresh new content from the development of Taxi Life. We shared some stuff with you guys on our last Mondays livestream and now, we’re going into more detail about some of the things that we have implemented. Let’s dive right in!
Progression Panel
We added a new progression panel where players will be able to add skills points to their character that will benefit them throughout their adventures in Barcelona. At first, the player won’t have access to all the perks as we want the player to explore the city and play at their own pace which will lead to unlocking more perks later down the line.
New Vehicle Model Added
We added a new vehicle model into Taxi Life making it currently 5 out of the 6 total cars we’re going to add upon the release of the game. Obviously, all vehicles are modified in such a way to avoid licensing issues and we will never unfortunately have real makes and models in Taxi Life. So, which real-life vehicle model does this remind you of?
New Collectible System
Collectibles are also going to be an activity players will be able to do in Taxi Life while exploring the city. Driving around you’ll encounter messages notifying you that there is a collectible nearby as shown below:
Now – these messages won't give you the exact location of the collectible, and it will be up to the keen eyed of you to find the object. We’re thinking about how to let the player know that they found the collectible item simply by highlighting the object or maybe have an arrow pointing to it. For now, we’re going to leave it as it is and come back to it later down the production line.
Company Management Panel
We mentioned the company management panel before and we showed you guys a sneak peak of what’s to come and now, we have a little bit more to show. Company management won’t be available to players at the start of the game as we want to ease players into the game rather than just showing everything that they can do at once. Think it makes sense. With that being said, company management will be available to the players later down the line where they will be able to hire/fire drivers, buy vehicles, real estate as well as manage their finances. Check out some of the cool images below:
For now – that about sums it up! We hope you enjoyed this edition of our developer blog and in case you missed it, make sure to check out the livestream we did with Unreal Engine where we took a deep dive with our Art Director and Head of Development on how we generate cities at a 1:1 scale!
A big shoutout to our community on Discord and if you want to be a part of it, make sure to join and stay up to date with the latest and greatest news from Taxi Life. See you in the next one!
Hasta La Proxima,
Mike
Simteract Community Manager