Traffic in the Mix
Respecting that huge, poor, pedestrian dominant population!

We all know that Red Sector is an insanely overcrowded place with incredibly low average income. This, combined with relatively high price of cars makes me think that the Mix is pedestrian dominant to an extreme level. And because of this I would expect that traffic in the mix would be terrible.

I can easily imagine cars having to frequently slow down as crowds of people cross the street without notice. I also think that, given the low level of legal enforcement in the mix, traffic laws are more suggestions then hard rules. The crowded conditions might also encourage smaller vehicles like motorcycles and pedicabs.

I simply envision it as a more extreme version of what I experienced in Ahmedabad, India and similar cities (for those who have the opportunity to visit such places). Cars and cabs zooming through the streets just doesn't feel right to me in a place like the mix.

I suggest changing how traffic works and instead of stopping you outright, it just makes you change areas slower, and if your car can accelerate, you're still going better than vehicles that are slower. Maybe have a command that allows you to try to push through traffic, which would get you through traffic, but much more demanding of the driving skill and adds risk for messing up. I would think it would be interesting to have more difficulty of driving through Red as well as the tubes.

Regardless, as I have stressed in other places, game balance and theme is more important to me then mimicking our real world - so go with whatever works. I would just like driving in the mix to be a painful experience compared to driving on upper levels.

I also like the idea of driving skill impacting how well you can deal with traffic as you drive - assuming that it is not already factored in.

I mean, we already have ares in the game that limit what vehicles can be used there. Do you want those restrictions removed too because you bought a 300,000c car? In my opinion, if you want to speed about in your 300,000c car, then do so where it makes sense. You get no guarantee that it can be used equally well everywhere.

This timer could be reduced with tiers in driving (much like repairing vehicle parts damage requires certain tiers) and encourage investment in the skill, allowing those who do invest in driving to shine because they're your faster renowned cabbie. I'm not sure how hard that would be to code though, but it's a positive mechanic if done that way for several reasons, I just gave one.

They'd have a few different uses. Maybe have it where it increases your chance to get into a wreck if you blow through a red. And it's just another law to potentially break and enforce. It'd add more risk to the usual just bursting through the roads like it is.

Plus it has a lot of use for street racing. Once the light goes green, then zoom. It's creating a sense of danger for each intersection and of course, the higher your driving skill and stats, the better you can blow through a light without having to worry about cross traffic, causing a good divide between good drivers and excellent drivers.

Thoughts?