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Taxi Dash

Discussion in 'Works In Progress - Archive' started by ncst, Apr 2, 2013.

  1. ncst

    ncst

    Joined:
    May 28, 2011
    Posts:
    207
    Try the current beta version: Webplayer

    I'm working on a new casual game,tentatively titled Taxi Dash, and I would be happy for any feedback on the current beta version.

    Like all of my games, Taxi Dash is part of a research project (and in this game my colleagues and I are primarily interested effects of spatial training [learning your way around an environment] on memory). The gameplay focuses on delivering your passengers/fares to locations in a city. You earn points and coins based on the path that you take: if you find the shortest path, you will earn the most coins and improve your score multiplier. Some roads will close due to construction, others are infested with traps that will slow you down or damage your car, and other cars on the road seem to be driving the wrong direction (or maybe you are..).

    The target platforms for Taxi Dash are mobile and webplayers, and especially for mobile I'm trying to keep the controls simple: your car drives forward on a straight road (and you can stop the car by pressing the up arrow in the web player), and you can turn at corners/intersections (by swiping on mobile, arrow keys in webplayer). You can use the coins that you earn to improve your skills (to extend the life of power-ups: speed, invincibility) and to buy cars (which have their own power-ups, including speed boosts, invincibility boosts, the ability to jump or make u-turns).

    In this beta, there are two cities, but if you reach the second (Crawfordsville), you'll find that most of the buildings are still missing (hopefully that town will be filled in soon with at least placeholder buildings).

    Icon:
    $Icon_128.png

    Screenshots:
    $chrome 2013-03-25 13-19-10-20.png

    $chrome 2013-03-25 13-19-57-22.png

    $chrome 2013-03-25 13-20-04-68.png
     
  2. ncst

    ncst

    Joined:
    May 28, 2011
    Posts:
    207
    Updated the webplayer with the latest version of the game. Based on some early feedback, I changed the movement of the cab (so that instead of always moving, it now moves when you press the UP arrow). Also, improved some of the text in the early screens.

    And, added high scores tables (which you can see from the main menu, after starting a game).
     
  3. vagelis199

    vagelis199

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2012
    Posts:
    179
    OMG looks cute ^^
     
  4. AlexLeighton

    AlexLeighton

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2012
    Posts:
    99
    Really neat concept, I was actually surprised how quickly I began to learn my way around. My major gripe is that you can't drop your passengers off on the opposite side of the street or do a u turn without finding a dead end road.
     
  5. ncst

    ncst

    Joined:
    May 28, 2011
    Posts:
    207
    Thanks for trying it out, and I appreciate the feedback! And, a number of people dislike something about the controls (with u-turns being the most requested change so far (or letting you drop off from either side of the street).

    I'm working on adding u-turns for the next build (early next week) and fixing some of the UVs in the combined mesh for the town buildings (I'm using PackTextures to create a texture atlas for the buildings, but I think that the updated UVs are off by a bit, and seams are showing along some of the walls).
     
  6. ncst

    ncst

    Joined:
    May 28, 2011
    Posts:
    207
    U-turns are now implemented. And, once you get past the first introductory stages, enemy cabs will be added. In a given run, as you deliver more passengers, more enemy cabs are added. The first 4 are passive (they drive randomly, but don't target you explicitly), and the second 4 target your location (so that the more fares you deliver in a run, the cars you will need to avoid).

    And, below is a screenshot of the waypoints used to find the shortest path between two locations (created using the Easy PathFinding System)

    $Picture3.jpg
     
  7. Shigidy

    Shigidy

    Joined:
    Dec 14, 2011
    Posts:
    441
    Did you go to NC State?
     
  8. ncst

    ncst

    Joined:
    May 28, 2011
    Posts:
    207
    No, I went to Knox College, in Illinois. But, I do have some family in North Carolina!
     
  9. rame16

    rame16

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2012
    Posts:
    29
    Interesting challenge, thanks for the share.