Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator News

[h2]Greetings Drivers![/h2]

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!

[h3]The Garage[/h3]

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!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]The Car Wash[/h3]

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.



[h3]AI Improvements[/h3]

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.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


[h3]Collision Detection[/h3]

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!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


[h3]The Menu[/h3]

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.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]New Types of Steering Wheels[/h3]

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.


[h3]That’s all folks![/h3]

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

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!

[h2]Progression Panel[/h2]

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.



[h2]New Vehicle Model Added[/h2]



We added a new vehicle model into Taxi Life making it the 5th vehicle we added into the current build. 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?

[h2]New Collectible System[/h2]

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:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

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. Some will be easier and some more difficult but sure enough with enough due diligence, you'll find it!

[h2]Company Management Panel[/h2]

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, 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

[h2]Hello Drivers! [/h2]

We hope you had a great holiday season, and we’re looking forward to sharing some exciting news with you in the new year! In the last milestone, we worked on the company management panel, improved pedestrians in Barcelona, and more. So let's dive right in!

[h3]New Car[/h3]

We’ve added a new electric vehicle into Taxi Life. You can only view it from the outside for now, though; we’ll show you how it looks from the inside next time. Until then, here's a picture of the new car:



[h3]Company Management[/h3]



We added a new panel where you can assign cars to drivers. Of course, this is still in the early development of the Company Management system and we're working hard on fleshing it out as much as we can before the full release of Taxi Life.

[h3]Collectibles System[/h3]

We’ve talked about this system before, but now we’re making some real progress. In Taxi Life, aside from company management and the missions you’ll be able to do, there will also be fun things to do on the side, like collect some special items throughout Barcelona. When you want to take a break from grinding and working your business, just step back and enjoy the city skyline as well as other amazing sights there are to explore in Barcelona.

[h3]Things we’ve fixed[/h3]

Development is never a straight path. When one aspect of the game improves, another can become unstable. While some of these issues have been addressed, we wanted to share a few things that we improved upon since last time.

• Pedestrians were a big part of Taxi Life. They made the game feel more alive and more like a real city. We were happy to finally have them in the game, but they left a lot to be desired. So, we took some time from our previous milestones and made them better.
  
• Destruction system: In the last sprint, we implemented a system for external damage to your car as well as your surroundings so it feels like you ran over a trash can instead of just hitting it.
  
• Vehicle AI: Another aspect of Taxi Life we're working on is realistic traffic scenarios. The player should feel like he's experiencing realistic traffic scenarios as he drives throughout the city. The AI for the cars is turning out great, and it's getting better and better as we add more and more functionality to it. For example, the AI now knows how to approach an intersection and let pedestrians cross the street.
  

[h3]Save System[/h3]

Finally, we're working on implementing a save system in Taxi Life. To start with, we've already begun adding the following features to the save function:

• When you save your money will be saved
  
• When you save your experience will be saved
  
• When you save your position will be saved
  
• When you save your time of day will be saved
  
• When you save your vehicle damage will be saved
  

[h3]Happy New Year! [/h3]

As you can see, we have been pretty busy throughout this time of year and now it’s time to relax and prepare for the new year. We wanted to thank the community for sticking with us throughout this entire year. We are starting to have a great little community surrounding Taxi Life and we’re excited to see it grow. If it’s your first time here, welcome and make sure to join our Discord channel and follow us on all of our socials.

On behalf of Simteract we wish you all a happy new year!

Hasta La Proxima,

Mike
Simteract Community Manager

It’s been a while since our last Developer blog, and we’re excited to talk about some of our achievements during the last sprint. We started working on a variety of topics ranging from the company management panel, the saving system and polishing the first vehicle model that you are all aware of and among other things, the new shiny radial menu. So, let’s dive right in!


[h3]Company Management[/h3]

(This image is a mock-up and not a final version of the company management panel and is subject to change during the development of Taxi Life)

The general premise for company management is something that our Train Life players might have some familiarity with, but with some functionality that has been upgraded. You’ll be able to hire/fire drivers, buy real-estate, as well as manage your finances. In Taxi Life, you’ll be able to play the game how you want, whether it’s enjoying the scenery of Barcelona or diving deep into the ins and outs of creating the ultimate transportation company.

[h3]Car 1 and The Save System[/h3]

Taxi Life has come a long way since we started writing these blogs and going back in time a little bit, the functionality of the cabin in the first vehicle was practically non-existent. Now, we have fully fleshed out the cabin and everything should be working from the back-up camera to the in-game radio as well as AC so you can stay cool in the Barcelona weather.

Another thing we wanted to talk about was the saving system. We believe it’s super important for players to have the ability to manually save the game and not rely on auto saves. You ask and you shall receive! If you have any more features that you would like to see added into the game, we encourage you to let us know in the comments!

[h3]AI Destruction and The New Radial Menu[/h3]



Not only are players going to notice significant damage to their vehicles when driving erratically but also to the AI vehicles as well, adding more to the immersive nature of Taxi Life. The new and improved radial menu can help you in avoiding crashes with AI by giving you the ability to quickly interact with your car. From lowering the window down at your clients request to turning on the AC, you’ll be able to swiftly decide without moving the camera around too much. Unless you’re into that kind of gameplay. Again, the choice is yours.

[h3]Steering Wheel Support[/h3]

Probably one of the most asked questions in the community and we’re happy to say that we completed the implementation of steering wheel support. We did some tests with the Logitech 920 steering wheel in-house, and we’re proud to say that Taxi Life will support most steering wheels on the market as well as pedals and gear shifters.

[h3]You guys’ rock! [/h3]

From the social media posts to the developers streams that we’re doing, it’s a true pleasure to see the community so passionate about Taxi Life. As time goes on, we’re growing our members and the general interest in the game and for that, we thank you! If you’re new here, you can check out our monthly community livestreams where we have some light conversations with our development team and share some “backstage” access to the production of Taxi Life. Usually, these streams are on a Monday @ 7PM CET. Check out our last one:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

With all that in mind, we wish you guys farewell and until next time!

Hasta La Proxima,

Michal
Simteract Community Manager

[h3]Hello Drivers! [/h3]

Welcome to the 7th edition of the Taxi Life Developer blog! We’re going to be talking about some back-end stuff like the map, pedestrians as well as some changes in the 1st car model. By the way – in case you missed last Monday’s stream, we talked about all these things with our Lead Game Designer and producer! Check the stream out here.

Before we get into the details of this blog, please remember that you should take everything that we’re working on with a grain of salt as everything could be subject to change and iterated upon when the game fully releases at the end of next year. With that out of the way – lets get into it!

[h3]The Map[/h3]

We added some map filters where players will be able to see a lot of details such as speed cameras, places of road accidents or roadworks as well as landmarks found throughout Barcelona. You can also create your own custom route by placing multiple points on the map so you can efficiently plan your next trip.



[h3]Pedestrians [/h3]

Now, this may sound like a trivial feature to add into our game, but oh boy did we have to fight with this beast to make it work properly. This honestly took us a few months to get down correctly but once we got it, we knew we were headed in the right direction. There is still some kinks to work out here and there and if you noticed on the last live stream we did showcasing this, the pedestrians looked like something from the Walking Dead show (we did this on purpose to show you guys just in time for Halloween) but the animations and all that jazz will be getting a facelift in the future so no worries, you wont be getting attacked by zombies in Taxi Life.

https://youtu.be/6Ujf1F0pUDI

[h3]Car 1 – The White One [/h3]

We added a whole new list of features when it comes to the first cars cabin. Everything ranging from a back-up camera, emergency lights, the cabin light as well as 3 new camera modes that will help with the immersion of driving a car in the big city. More features for the other 2 models of cars you have seen in the past will be added soon and you can bet we will let you guys know when that happens!

https://youtu.be/b_BdiRL8b7I


[h3]The Radial Menu[/h3]

The Radial menu is going to complement the player when driving around the city of Barcelona. You will be able to do things like quickly and efficiently open the window upon your client’s request, turn on the AC or explore the other functions the vehicle has to offer.



[h3]Thanks![/h3]

Thanks to all of the current and future supporters of Taxi life! We believe in this project just as much as you do and with all the support we’ve been getting throughout our livestreams and social media posts – it gives us the motivation to bring you guys a driving simulation game that you all will play for years to come.

Make sure to follow us on all the things and until next time, MikeyShines, signing out!

Mike
Simteract Community Manager