Gameplay and Ride Lifecycle

Gameplay and Ride Lifecycle

TaxiDriver is controlled by a phase-based state machine. UI screens, map visibility, timers, vehicle control, and accepted actions all depend on the current phase.

Phase overview

Phase	Purpose	Native minimap
inactive	Taxi mode is offline	Hidden
searching	Dispatcher is building and presenting requests	Hidden
toPickup	Active route to the selected passenger	Visible
boarding	Passenger boarding loader and door attempt	Hidden
toStop	Route to a scheduled intermediate stop	Visible
stopWaiting	Ten-second stationary wait	Hidden
toDestination	Route to final drop-off	Visible
toFuelStation	Priority detour to a compatible station	Visible
passengerStopDemand	Passenger has demanded an immediate stop	Hidden
passengerForcedExit	Forced early-exit sequence	Hidden
driverAbandoning	Confirmed cancellation with passenger onboard	Hidden
alighting	Normal passenger exit loader and door attempt	Hidden
complete	Fare and ride result screen	Hidden
error	Start or order creation failed	Hidden

Normal ride sequence

inactive
  → searching
  → toPickup
  → boarding
  → toStop ↔ stopWaiting       (multi-stop rides only)
  → toDestination
  → alighting
  → complete
  → searching

Arrival requires both:

• distance to the current target no greater than 14 m;
• vehicle speed no greater than 4 km/h.

Boarding and alighting each use a three-second transfer timer. The extension attempts to find a passenger-side vehicle trigger, open the door, and close it at the end. Door animation is best-effort and does not block a ride on unsupported vehicles.

Pickup deadline

The pickup budget is based on the route ETA:

pickup budget = ETA at 40 km/h × 1.35 + 60 seconds

It is clamped to 120–600 seconds. Once late, the fare penalty starts at 5%, grows by approximately 0.0333% per second, and is capped at 12%. Lateness also lowers passenger mood.

Scheduled stops

Multi-stop rides currently create two intermediate stops. Each stop requires the vehicle to remain within the arrival area and almost stationary for ten seconds. Leaving the area resets the wait.

The main progress bar always represents the complete passenger route. Marker positions are calculated from cumulative route distance, not from equal visual spacing.

Continuous work and queued offers

After passenger-route progress exceeds 90%, the app may display another offer for five seconds.

• Accepting it marks it as queued; it does not replace the current trip.
• Ignoring it expires the offer completely.
• A replacement may be generated after a random 5–10 second delay.
• After drop-off or an involuntary passenger exit, an accepted queued offer becomes the next pickup when still valid.

Going offline

The phone requires a two-second hold on Offline. Releasing early cancels the action.

With a passenger onboard, the first request is rejected and the phone opens a confirmation screen. Confirming abandonment:

• clears the queued request;
• pays no fare;
• applies a one-star loss plus a difficulty-scaled percentage reduction;
• freezes the car during the exit sequence;
• returns the mode to inactive after the door closes.

Pause behavior

Gameplay timers use dtSim, so a game pause freezes pickup, rush, stop, boarding, alighting, passenger-exit, offer-generation, and refueling progress. HUD refresh uses dtReal, allowing the phone to remain visually responsive without consuming gameplay time.

Reset and vehicle switch behavior

• Switching away from the active vehicle stops taxi mode.
• Resetting the active vehicle stops taxi mode and clears the current and queued rides.
• Ending a mission or unloading the extension restores minimap, navigation, vehicle control, and stock station behavior.