Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3y0LG6IidM

In prototyping stage on an idea I've had for a while, a driving game where speed isn't everything but how well you can navigate traffic also
This is the first driving test with roads and traffic. Different AI driver behavior profiles to be work on next to bring some variation and more unpredictability to the traffic.
Testing out whether the idea is any fun or not

one if my favorite things to do in burnout 3 was drive into oncoming traffic and rack up near miss combos. It helps that you got progressively more nitrous as you went so you had a direct gameplay incentive to take the risk so you could go faster and win the race.

You might need to add another gameplay layer to this and somehow weave this traffic navigation mechanic into it to give players a reason to engage with the game. You can make a lot of things fun its just about balancing your mechanics and systems.

Your game reminds me a bit of Spy Hunter where you navigate around cars and vehicles and use various weapons and gadgets to escape the bad guys. Maybe you could do a modern take?

So what does "how well you navigate traffic" mean?

Do you need to pick a route that has little congestion? Do you need to race around other cars? Do you need to stick to the rules of traffic?

Going 130 in 4th gear?
But the handling looks good 👍🏻

For the AI profiles, a small set of numbers per driver goes a long way: reaction delay, following distance, how often they change lanes, and how late they brake. Mixing 3 or 4 profiles in the same traffic already reads as "people" rather than "cars on rails".

The thing to watch is fair vs unfair unpredictability. If a car swerves into you with no warning it feels like the game cheated. If it signals or drifts toward the line half a second first, the same move feels like a near miss you dodged. Telegraphing is what makes weaving through traffic a skill instead of luck.

Can you post another video of driving through the corkscrew road? Video ends just as it appears in the distance.

Also, what’s up with all the monoliths beside the road?

Lol yeh I haven't started tuning any of that yet. I'm just going bare bones to test out the idea first

Yes, you're exactly right. I have been thinking of what the incentive would be to play, thank you for your helpful comment.

Yeah, I haven't explained that too well. What I mean is, being able to read the traffic ahead and planning your moves accordingly without taking damage (not sure what the disincentive to taking damage would be yet, still working that part of the loop out).

Getting from point A to B in the least amount of time / highest position amongst other racers taking the least amount of damage in a semi-open world environment.

In the video at 37 seconds is the exact situations I see in my head when I think of the game, going at speed but also having to patiently get around traffic. I don't know if the idea is any fun so that's what I'm testing out at the moment :0)

Yes for sure, there are some people who tailgate, there's a shit load of people lately who don't indicate when changing lanes even in medium - heavy traffic, some people do 85 in 100 zone, some go between 90-100, some will 105 in a 100 zone, some change lanes no reasons. But amongst all that, there will need to be some order and logic too as there I'm picturing a semi-open world so AI will be getting on /off freeway, stop at stop lights etc.

Yes, I will do another video as it progresses.

Those monoliths were from before I made the freeway with traffic to test vehicle movement on a flat plane. Without them, you can't visual see the car is moving :P hehe

Nice direction — traffic that reads differently by profile is what sells “navigate, don’t just floor it.”

A few profiles that usually create readable unpredictability without chaos: cautious gap-hunters who leave room then panic-brake; aggressive left-lane stickers who cut late; hesitant merge-waiters who stall the flow; and one occasional wrong-lane wanderer so players learn to scan, not memorize patterns.

Even tiny differences in reaction delay + preferred following distance go a long way before you need fancy pathfinding.

Looks great! Make it a police persecution

I've thought about adding police too, that would be further down the line in development.
I'll keep it in the todo features list, thank you!