Main Principles of Traffic Operation
- Realism: The behavior of vehicles and pedestrians is as close to reality as possible. We’re working hard to improve AI algorithms to make traffic movement more natural and dynamic. Special attention is given to vehicle behavior at intersections, their reactions to traffic lights, and road signs.
- Interactivity: Traffic responds to the player's actions and other events in the game world. AI-controlled vehicles can adapt to road situations, taking into account the player's actions and those of other road users.
- Dynamism: Road congestion levels change depending on in-game time and other factors, creating diverse driving conditions.
The Impact of Time of Day on Traffic
One of the recent changes we added to the game is the effect of time of day on road congestion. This is an important element for a realistic gaming experience, as now you’ll need to choose the most optimal time and routes for your trips.
Morning
Mornings in the game are characterized by increased traffic levels. Drivers will need to be extra cautious and patient, maneuvering through the dense flow of vehicles.
- Increased traffic
- Some game locations are closed in the early morning hours
Day
Daytime represents the peak period of city activity. Traffic becomes more stable and predictable, allowing for better route planning.
- Standard traffic
- Most game locations are open and available for interaction
Evening
Evenings bring back higher traffic levels. This creates additional challenges for drivers, requiring more attentive driving.
- Increased traffic
- Some locations begin to close
Night
Nighttime is characterized by significantly reduced traffic, offering a chance for more relaxed driving and city exploration.
- Lower traffic
- Some night venues open up
Behind the Scenes
To give you a better understanding of the traffic creation process in the game, we’d like to share some technical nuances and game elements:
Major Challenges in Building the Traffic System
Switching to Unreal Engine required us to almost completely rework the traffic system. The mechanics from the CCD simply didn’t function under the new conditions, so our initial task was to recreate the existing logic in a new environment. Additionally, we aim to surpass the traffic system of the CCD by adding many new parameters for vehicle behavior and improving the physical model of the cars. Another challenge is balancing realism and performance. We want the city to feel alive and vibrant, but the game must run smoothly even on mid-range PCs. Therefore, we are developing an optimization system that dynamically adjusts the number and detail of traffic objects based on the player's position and system power.
Implementing AI for Traffic Control
The basic behavior of vehicles is based on a rule system that takes into account road signs, markings, and other infrastructure elements. We’ve also added decision-making algorithms that allow AI vehicles to adapt to different road situations, such as adjusting speed depending on traffic conditions, avoiding collisions, and considering the actions of other road users.
Ensuring Traffic Variety and Behavior
We’ve created a library of vehicles with different characteristics. Each traffic vehicle has its own unique parameters: acceleration, braking, maximum speed, turning radius, and more. The AI considers the vehicle's parameters and changes its behavior on the road, creating a more realistic traffic flow.
Early Access Expectations
We already have functional traffic that can react to road situations and conditions, closely approximating real-world behavior. AI drivers follow traffic rules, stop at lights, give way to cars and pedestrians. Of course, we still have a lot of work ahead to polish the system. It’s one thing when the city lives its calm life, and quite another when an unpredictable player appears on the roads. We’re confident that players will experience the best traffic simulation!
Future Plans for Traffic System Improvements
In the future, we plan to further develop AI traffic. For example, we want to implement a system that remembers the player’s behavior on the road, causing cars to either keep their distance or attempt overtakes depending on how the player drives. We also plan to create a system of probabilistic events—cars may make random mistakes, like sudden braking or delays at green lights, adding more dynamism and unpredictability. We’ll start this once the core work is complete.
While we were writing this article, our tester sent in this video. Well, the development is in full swing—we’re off to fix some bugs!
Dear friends, we’d love to hear your thoughts! What aspects of traffic do you consider most important for a realistic gaming experience? Your feedback will help us make the game even better. We look forward to your ideas in the comments. See you in two weeks!