BEWARE - Demo Released!

Milli · October 1, 2014

Wow Ry... :lol: to make it work with Oculus Rift i believe he first needs to have access to one, be it buy one or not. And i don't think it's something that cheap...

Ryzza5 · October 1, 2014

You also need a powerful computer...

Soul Challenger · October 1, 2014

Like in the movies lol, ye imo it looks good. Guy really trying to almost bash you off the road, then he realizes his car is not made for sporty driving and he has to do whatever he can to get through the turn.

Yep - I'm trying to achieve some of that 70's movies feeling :). For this test, it was mostly the sliding and counter-steering I was trying to implement. Never really seen this in other games, where the AI cars are always well glued to the tarmac.

Ye we also tried looking into hingejoints and lookat codes but we can't really find any useful helptopic or anything. Some people did manage to get it right but they either are unreachable, or they have lost like half of all the needed coding/files. :(

Ok. I'll share my solution if I manage to get it right - might take a while though, since I'm very busy with another project at the moment.

Wow... this is quite impressive. Looks like a scary car game! I like it. :D

Thank you! Nice to hear that some scariness does come across. :)

Very nice got me interested ...is that a teddy bear driving :lol:

The driver is called Time Rodent - a time-traveler from the far future :cool:

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Seems a tiny bit odd but that also seems to suit the in game environment quite well.

Maybe the steering is a bit cartoony?

Do you plan to make the headlights light up more of the road? The camera position isn't working for me either, can't see anything when the AI is close.
You might also attract a lot more layers if you can implement a cockpit view and Oculus Rift support.

Cheers for the update

Yes, better headlights and camera are planned (among lots of other yet-to-be-implemented features). There's also a cockpit view but I'm not so fond of the way it behaves right now.

Occulus could be very interesting to boost the immersion.

Thanks for all the comments. Very much appreciated!

Soul Challenger · November 30, 2014

Here's an early attempt in-car view (for the 5% of you who prefer cockpit view :twisted:):

...and a ramming compilation:

CLR-GTR · November 30, 2014

I like it. Perhaps eventually add a setting to enable or disable head movement. I liked it but maybe others might find it dizzymaking, although I do find it quite realistic, also in the sliding moves. Nice work on making the enemies trying to perform a PIT maneuver on you. They are a bit clumsy sometimes though lol.

Eudemon · November 30, 2014

It is so good watching this project evolve and the latest videos are fun to watch because it's something different to the norm which is refreshing. Watching them I got an eerie sense of some kind of driving Silent Hill type game and then the ramming test reminded me so much of Ronin. Good work yet again, every update is always something better to see.

Soul Challenger · December 29, 2014

I like it. Perhaps eventually add a setting to enable or disable head movement. I liked it but maybe others might find it dizzymaking, although I do find it quite realistic, also in the sliding moves.

Making it optional is not a problem. For now it's a dynamic rig that imitates body and head movement and also adjusts the view direction when the car is sliding.

I also though of bundling a

with the game :D

Nice work on making the enemies trying to perform a PIT maneuver on you. They are a bit clumsy sometimes though lol.

Hopefully it will behave better when an actual programmer starts working on this project. Until now it's been a one-man-show (and I've never programmed in my life before working on this). Kind of a miracle I managed to get this far alone :)

It is so good watching this project evolve and the latest videos are fun to watch because it's something different to the norm which is refreshing. Watching them I got an eerie sense of some kind of driving Silent Hill type game and then the ramming test reminded me so much of Ronin. Good work yet again, every update is always something better to see.

Well it's certainly a huge motivation to get that positive feedback :) It makes me feel it's worth it to keep going with this project - thank you for that!

And thanks to all for their valuable feedback! All the very best for 2015 :)

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Soul Challenger · January 11, 2016

Aaaand happy 2016 :D

Here's a brand new gameplay trailer showcasing the car-chase part of the game:

[media=vimeo]151343852[/media]

Had a tough time recording this because the NPC's are starting to drive better than me :eek: while maintaining a drunk-aggressive and risky driving style. Hooray!

(I'm really motivated on getting this right because personally, I find it disappointing, how easy it is to escape NPC's (cops, villains) in most open-world "driving games" (GTA, Mafia, TDU..). Although those games do compensate with quantity over quality, and cheating on the physics, the car chases don't feel genuine at all).

Compared to the versions from last year, the physics are now back to simulation mode (tire friction was at 1.2, now it's back on 1.0). Rewrote completely the steering and braking behaviour and did some minor work on the graphics.

Eudemon · January 11, 2016

That was so cool. It caught me by surprise that you were in fact the white car due to the driving of the chasers being so good. Then the whole chase sequence itself was very like Ronin and I couldn't stop laughing when you saw the pursuers bouncing and bobbing about as the car was being thrown about.

This is some incredible work and it's been a real delight watching the updates and reading about this project of yours.

Thank-you for continuing to show us.

TIMELESS · January 11, 2016

Now that is a car chase. Excellent stuff. Love the whole atmosphere of the game, so dark and creepy. Can't wait to see more.

Soul Challenger · January 22, 2016

That was so cool. It caught me by surprise that you were in fact the white car due to the driving of the chasers being so good. Then the whole chase sequence itself was very like Ronin and I couldn't stop laughing when you saw the pursuers bouncing and bobbing about as the car was being thrown about.

Thanks. That's music to my ears :)

Yeah, I've been doing some sniffing around and this may sound pretentious and cheeky: it seems like I've got the most believable and fair (no cheats at all so-far) driving AI known to man :D

Concerning the pursuers, they're kind of grotesque for now - but IMO better than an empty car. They're basically just ragdolls with their limbs constrained to the car and an extra bone to make the jaws jiggle when the car is bouncing around. Sometimes it looks as if they were drunk and singing :)

This is some incredible work and it's been a real delight watching the updates and reading about this project of yours.

Thank-you for continuing to show us.

I'm always happy to post here :) Great site and community.

Now that is a car chase. Excellent stuff. Love the whole atmosphere of the game' date=' so dark and creepy. Can't wait to see more.[/quote']

Thank you. More will come - I've invested too much time and energy into this - now there's no turning back :)

some stills to compensate for the crappy video quality:

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Camel · January 22, 2016

Always like seeing the updates you post in this thread. Can't believe that you've made something that looks so good and fun in Unity! Looks like really good fun bouncing around in that car. :nods:

TDUZoqqer · January 22, 2016

This looks amazing! If you need any help in matters 3D Models hit me up! :)

hassan1995 · January 23, 2016

Don't listen to zogger, his models suck :P

Soul Challenger · February 13, 2016

Always like seeing the updates you post in this thread. Can't believe that you've made something that looks so good and fun in Unity! Looks like really good fun bouncing around in that car. :nods:

:) Thank you! Unity does have a bad reputation but it's possible to squeeze some nice results out of it. So-far, I'm quite happy with it.

This looks amazing! If you need any help in matters 3D Models hit me up! :)

Thanks a lot for your feedback and offered modeling help. Much appreciated :)

--- Post Updated ---

Made a video of me racing against an AI-controlled car:

[media=vimeo]155246283[/media]

Which car is player-controlled? Yellow or blue? :cool:

Eudemon · February 14, 2016

Well yet again you continue to impress as personally I couldn't detect the usual AI traits that games have with their car handling and racing. And I genuinely mean it, even when the car in front was in positions that would normally see most games apply the brakes hard or switch from side to side the video had none of that. Not to mention the fluid car control when the car was stepping out.

If I had to guess though, I would say you were the blue and if you weren't then bravo as that is some unbelievable driving for an AI in my opinion. And even if I am right it is still very natural in a lot of its behaviour, which is kind of scary. :para:

DJSalajutsu · February 18, 2016

I......oh my...color me impressed. This is just by Soul Challenger? alone? whether it is or not, VERY impressive.

I think I have to agree. That's just about the best AI in terms of natural...uh...ness, that I've seen.

physically, graphically....

Instantly bookmarked, I really like.

Soul Challenger · May 13, 2016

@Diablo & @DJSalajutsu Thank you! It's really great help to get this kind of feedback. Also, I'm probably too deeply invested in this and lack distance so your opinion is very important. I'm a bit sad that not more people wanted to participate in the previous guessing game - but, maybe it's a good sign :D

Well, time for some news!

I've further perfected the AI driving, and because I'm finally quite happy with it, I started working on stopping maneuvers during the past months.

Most games will just spawn many cars coming from all directions, mindlessly ramming the player. I wanted to do something slightly more advanced and try a quality over quantity approach. OK, so how do you stop a car with a single vehicle?

After extensive testing, it appears that the most effective way, is to perform a PIT maneuver. But then what? I need the player car to be immobilized, at least for some time, so the mean blokes can exit their car(s) and finish the job. Ideally the player car would get pushed into slippery terrain where it will take time to recover - or get pushed into a tree/building/streetlamp dealing significant damage to the car. So I came up with this enhancement where the player car will be pushed right after the PIT is performed. It's called Pit n' Push :

0QdMJcL.gif?1

Side-ramming is quite fine too, but there have to be road-side objects present for it to work:

G1NEcz3.gif?1

Blocking doesn't really work with a single enemy car (+ it's somewhat annoying). With a heavier car it's better and I'll keep it, for once I start implementing multiple enemy car behaviours. For example: one car would block in front and another car at the back would perform a PIT.

EMvMkCM.gif?1

TIMELESS · May 13, 2016

The AI looks absolutely incredible. Reminds me of the crazy police in Driv3r :lol:

Djey · May 13, 2016

That's a very interesting project. Thanks for sharing news ;)

We all need next gen of driving games, and your AI would fit special police units very well :D

Eudemon · May 13, 2016

I'm starting to think you are an AI yourself now. :susp:

Seriously though, the thinking and smooth motions that the AI takes in doing these actions is so much more natural than almost any other game I can think of. The gentle use of brakes, the swerving out and then back in to increase momentum when the cars collide and then the way they turn to cut you off from driving away. You have a real talent and it's not just in the one area either, as the visuals and physics that can be seen show.

Thank you again for showing us an update.

Camel · May 14, 2016

That looks incredible! As you say, much better than just spawning AI after AI that ram you. Looks like it's great fun and very difficult trying to escape form them.

hassan1995 · May 14, 2016

Indeed this looks absolutely incredible! Keep up with the progress, this is coming up real good.

Soul Challenger · May 20, 2016

Thank you all for the great feedback :) I'm really happy there are still some people who feel that competent AI is meaningful. I've recently started a topic about this and felt quite disheartened after reading most of the opinions: http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/solved-reasons-for-horrible-artificial-intelligence-in-aaa-games.400473/#post-2616789

Soul Challenger · July 21, 2016

Some news: Time Rodent, the short animation film, from which this game takes some inspiration, will be broadcasted on Arte this upcoming weekend (+ available for watching for 7 days). World premiere!

http://www.arte.tv/guide/fr/051125-000-A/time-rodent