Sim Lift - all the thrills of waiting for a lift!

Sim Lift - the ultimate simulation of waiting for a lift to arrive.

Waiting in the lift lobby at my workplace for up to five minutes for a lift to arrive started me wondering how lift systems operate and if I could program one more efficiently.
This of course led to the creation of 'Sim Lift' which, apart from being a bit of fun, demonstrates the complexities involved in what seems like such a simple process.
Add to that an endless supply of little sim people to work the lifts and watch as they either reach their destinations or storm off in a cursing rage if forced to wait too long.
Hours of entertainment guaranteed!

'Sim Lift' is my first Blitz creation and is COMPLETELY FREE!!

Visit the Sim Lift Webpage or click here to download it directly.

Enjoy!

Oh. My. God.

This is *exactly* the idea I've been meaning to put into practise for 5 years, and although I've yet to try it, it looks pretty much exactly as I intended it. The 'idea' almost reads the same as my plan too, written 5 years ago (for someone else to comment on):

http://www.hi-toro.com/misc/gameidea.zip

This isn't an accusation or anything -- I'm just utterly dumbstruck... and I think I'm glad someone else has apparently done all the work for me! Looking forward to trying this!

All I have to say is that at first, it sounds like a very, very, very late submission for the Stupidest Games Contest, but actually this sounds kinda cool. I'll check it out.

james he haxed u!!! RUN RUNNNN!

James,
Believe it or not I've had the idea for Sim Lift in my head for -7- years and only got round to doing something about it in the last few months. :) It sure is a relief to finally form the idea into a completed product.
Great to know you also think on the same wavelength.

Drekkin, thinking about it, although the document is dated 2000, I was working at the hospital mentioned from early '96 to late '99, and the idea probably came about half way through that time, so we must have been communicating telepathically at pretty much the same time! Can't wait to try it...

I like it, but I was not patient enough to wait and see someone storm off in a huff.

I had the idea 100 years ago before lifts were even invented.

James' idea is actually a game where as Drekkin's could be a screensaver if modified a bit.

I think you should add a stairs door with windows in so you can see people using the stairs instead of the lifts when they get really pissed off.

Also, I've noticed some people stand miles away from the lift and don't get in the door in time, people tend to crowd round the entrances.

Also, their legs move too fast (unless this is a style choice).

Rob,
Haha, yes, I'm aware of all the quirks you mention - all intentional. :) I agree that the people standing too far from the doors can cause frustration on the viewers part, though it helps to add a touch of anticipation don't you think, not to mention realism. Who'd have thought watching people walking towards a lift could be so nail-biting? :)

Best game where you don't have to do anything ever! :)

Love the artwork!

This is ace.

Looking forward to v2 with random noxious smells - everyone looking at everyone else accusingly, and the odd overloaded lift plunging to the basement.

Seriously, would love to see this expanded into a logistics puzzle game with fixed goals, etc.

Multiple building types perhaps with express or normal lifts and so on.

Great idea ......

Could take puzzle games to a whole new level.

Funky Frank

Very nice! Although i would like to follow the elevator behind the wall. Other than that it was just fine :)

Great :)
I love your artwork in there too. And your web site is surprisingly good for something that's free! You definietly know how to make something look quite well produced.


I agree with Frank. And with Rob for the stairs idea :)

lol ... When I first saw this I laughed. This is a cool and original idea. I did think it was a game at first, and was looking at the screenshot for ways to understand how it might play ... figured you maybe controlled ALL the people kinda like a `highrise lemmings` game. It's neat and definitely has potential!

I agree there should be obscure farts and corresponding reactions (ie farts increase the lift-emptying rate). I haven't watched the demo yet but I hope you get some lifts that break down for maintenance once in a while? I agree a stairwell is needed for the impatient folks. When people get involved in a conversation with each other there should be a chance that they don't realize the lift arrived and then get frustrated. Do you have people also sitting down and going to sleep? Also caterers going in and out with carts of food, and post-delivery people shuttling their little post carts around? Maybe you can also create families where the whole family has to end up on the same floor and they might get separated, and then as one person from the family goes to meet with the others they miss each other by taking separate lifts or something. Maybe also the lights go out sometimes and the bulbs have to be replaced. And maybe when the lift doors open to let the people out, they should have a new and unusual pose on their face which you can use to allude to what just happened inside. Half naked bodies? people crying? laughing? saying nothing? holding their nose? etc.

Cool!

Finally got to try it. It's very cool from my point of view, just to see the basic idea in action! As Rob suggested, at this point it'd be perfect for a screensaver (it'd probably sell a few copies too!).

I must admit was sort of relieved to see that there's still room for my more management-oriented take on it -- are you going to be turning it into more of a game, though, Drekkin, or expanding it with more stuff in the same sort of hands-off, highly entertaining 'fish-tank' direction?

I'd just like to damn you heartily for beating me to it (cheating via the use of 'effort' and 'work', no doubt), as I'll feel like a real ripoff merchant if I ever get around to doing my own version!

James - What about doing an escalator simulator then?

Or perhaps Sim Stannah Stairlift? (Has a catchy ring to it)

Lol - I know people who install Stannah.

Hi luke :) see ya down the White horse in Penton :P

It could be made more efficient - sometimes both lifts go to the same floor for one person, even though people are waiting on other floors and one of the lifts is empty...

In the US "Need a lift?" they're asking if you'd like a ride in their car.

These are ELEVATORS, not LIFTS!

I mean if your game was set in Europe, then I guess you could call them lifts, but I don't see one single person in those screenshots wearing a bobby hat, or doing a funny walk.


Also, I have to ask, does the G there stand for Ground, or Garage? Because I've never seen a building where the second floor is labeled 1. :-)

A lift is an elevator and a ride in a car in the UK. I don't think people call them lifts in the rest of Europe, not least cos they tend to have other languages. :D

G=Ground. The 2nd floor is the 1st floor here.

So when someone asks you how many floors your house has you say ZERO? :-)

Nonetheless, they're called 'lift' in Dutch too. ;-)

lol @ (with?!) our American cousins - they've always been "Lifts" to me, and "First" floor has always been the first above-ground, what you guys would call second (which makes more sense if you ask me, but there you go).

"Two countries divided by a common language" I guess.

I have noticed that Star Trek refers to the 'elevators' on the Enterprise as Turbo*lifts* - they also measure distances in metres and kilometres - was Gene Rodenberry hinting that in the future we'll all become European? <gdr> ;)

Drekinn - great little app by the way, I agree with most people here that a screensaver version would be way cool. How about reading the user's Outlook address book where present, and naming the people in the sim after them? It would be a laugh to see some of my friends and colleagues stomping off in frustration...

Nice, The binary equivalent of watching paint dry.

Sswift should make a Journey to England.. ;)

here they would ask how many storeys, not floors. A two storey house has Ground Floor and First Floor.

Elevator Action - Yay :)

"I have noticed that Star Trek refers to the 'elevators' on the Enterprise as Turbo*lifts*"

Well that's just because "elevator" sounds old fashioned.


"they also measure distances in metres and kilometres"

And that would be because meters and kilometers, (You guys swap the r and the e around TOO?!) are measurements that make a lot more sense than the imperial system. I specify stuff in metric myself whenever I code physics in a game, because physicists tend to use the metric system for defining constants.

Though oddly, science texts will always say that gravity pulls down with an acceleration of 9.8 meters per second, but they will then turn around and say that light travels at 186,000 miles per second.

"was Gene Rodenberry hinting that in the future we'll all become European?"

Well he did have Patrick Stewart commanding the Enterprise, and every episode saw him order "Tea, Earl Grey, Hot."

I actually started drinking Earl Grey because of that. I figured if he liked that specific tea so much then maybe it's a good tea, (I used to drink lipton and salada with milk because that is what my parents would drink) and I found out that Bigelow's tasted really good... And after trying the old teas again I realised they tasted like complete crap. Of course I've never drank Earl Grey with milk in it. I used to drink tea with milk before I started drinking Earl Grey, but I found I liked the tea they served at chineese food restaraunts better than tea with milk, so I started drinking my tea like that.

<edit>

I was saying mean things about Earl Grey tea...

its a very weird tea, I go for Irish Breakfast...

Becaue metric units are SI units which are the convention for Science. Specifically because they have a basis in science

1 kg is the mass of 1l water at 293K

1J is the energy required to heat 1kg water by 1K

1/9192631770s is the spin differential of orbital electrons

etc.

you know too MUCH!

You don't need to censor yourself Keyboard. :-) I don't care if you say bad things about Earl Grey.

But you should know that every kind of Earl Grey tastes different. Earl Grey is some kind of a mix of teas... They talked aobut ti on Food Network.

I drink Bigelow's. It doesn't have any weird aftertaste to it.

Twinnings on the other hand tastes mediciney. But my parents bought _400_ Twinnings teabags once in two giant tins SIGHT UNSEEN, or rather TEA UNTASTED, so I had to drink it and I grew to like the weird taste after a while.

Speaking of Food Network, they had a whole show on teas. I think they said the water should be boiling, and you should allow the tea to steep for two to three minutes. They also said you should not squeeze out the teabag at the end or you will get bitter flavors. And if the teabag has a lot of dust in it it's no good. In fact, the larger the bits of tea leaves, the better the tea, and the names of different quality tea leaves make no sense, but the longer the name, the better the quality.

I tried steeping my tea the way they said, and I could definitely taste a difference, but it wasn't really worth the trouble, and it drive me nuts not to squeeze out my teabag. :-)

You can't beat PG Tips when it comes to tea!

Earl Grey tastes like cat p*$$ :)

Nice looking game Drekinn, interesting idea :)

Cool idea for a game/demo, and I love the look you've achieved. Can't wait to try this one.



Best quote ever!


I realize this is just due to how you stated it, but do you have any idea how stupid that sounds? That's like saying, "Around here, 1 plus 1 equals 3."

hasnt it always been Ground Floor, First Floor ,Second Floor etc. all over the world?

Apparently not!

I'm surprised a programming forum is having problems counting with a 0 index! Imagine the floors as TFloor instances in an array and you'll be fine.

It's always been G - 1 - 2 - 3... for me in Australia and it's fine. Obviously I'm conditioned to it, but I've always viewed it as Ground - 1st floor above ground - 2nd floor above ground... etc

Great idea for a game/program Drekinn. It actually is inspirational for me as I've currently been searching for the illusive obvious puzzle game idea. Something that is second nature to gamers and non-gamers alike and hasn't been done before. I think I'll go for a walk around town...

James,
Would you believe that -my- inspiration also came from working in a hospital? This is getting scary. Hospital lifts must be the worst on the planet. :)
By the way, I checked out your lift game idea and think it's great! Fabulous illustrations too! I like the idea of a 'patience meter' and giving full control of the lift to the player. Your ideas are far more fully formed as an interactive game and I think you should definitely go ahead and create it. Please don't let the arrival of 'Sim Lift' deter you in any way - it was only meant as a fun little exercise in programming to become more acquainted with Blitz. Who knows, perhaps we could work together on 'Sim Lift 2'?

Indeed yes! 'Sim Lift is just a skeleton for something much bigger and better. There's so many more elements that could be implemented to form a fully-functioning and entertaining management type game. :)

Hmm.. well it wasn't my intention for 'Sim Lift' to be anything more than a 'fish-tank'. My inspiration for this stems from watching people in real life going about their everyday business. For example, how staff at a cafeteria interact with their workplace and customers (eg. taking orders, preparing food, cleaning up spillages, walking back and forth from counter to tables with trays, dealing with complaints, mood changes, personality types etc.) 'Sim Cafe' here I come.. hehe. All of these elements make for a compelling programming study, of which 'Sim Lift' is my first (although a highly simplified one). Making such passive simulations and just sitting and observing the unpredictable nature of events and outcomes is fascinating in itself but to go further and make it into a fully interactive game can only increase the entertainment value, not to mention the longevity.
My plan for now though is to start working on a different project altogether, a unique tetris-style puzzle game, which I'm rather excited about. Hopefully in the future I'll attempt 'Sim Lift 2' as a fully interactive game, that is, unless someone else beats me to it. ;)


Funky Frank,

Haha... great ideas, especially the noxious smells. I could introduce a fart-o-meter which measures each person's level of consciousness and when they're likely to pass out. :)


cermit,

This was my initial intention but realised it would look rather odd, so I decided to leave it out.


AngelDaniel,
Hehe.. more great ideas. If 'Sim Lift 2' ever comes along you can be sure it will include every situation imaginable. :)

Especially this one. :)


Rottbott,

It certainly could! Partway through the coding process I sort of lost focus on the lifts being efficient and began concentrating on the people aspect. We all know though that no set of lifts is efficient. :)


sswift,

Here in Australia, we call an elevator a "lift". We also say "Need a lift?" when offering to drive someone somewhere.

G stands for Ground. You think a second floor labelled '1' is confusing? The ground floor of the hospital I work at is labelled '5'!


Elf,

lol.. how about the little sim people parading around with your friends heads in animated photographic form? hehe.. :) You could enter in personality details, traits, mood triggers etc. Better still, the lift lobby is a network server; when you log in you see yourself walking around and can interact with others. Ok, this is getting out of control. :)


jhocking,

Wow, I'm surprised to receive praise for my graphical achievements. I've always thought my graphics are quite primitive, what with their cartoon-style black outlines and simple colours and textures.
I guess it's an improvement from my previous gaming graphics (see Santa's Mix-Up for an example).
Thanks for the compliment! :)


enidox,

Hasn't been done before? Really? Cool. I thought this kind of thing would be considered old school by now. Well, that's reassuring to know. :)



Thanks everyone for your positive feedback! :)

Drekinn, I still plan to at least try to make the game 'one day', but knowing me I'll never get around to completing it. If you ever expand on Sim Lift, feel free to appropriate anything that might be worth appropriating from my game plans!

This has been a very weird experience indeed (working in similar jobs, at the same time and on opposite sides of the planet, yet both coming up with much the same cool and off-the-wall idea). It's a bit of a downer to be 'beaten to it', but also pretty cool to see in action without having to do any of the work!

As for graphics, your style is very neat and effective -- a lot of the charm is in the simplicity, and it makes everything very clear.

Some elevators also mark the ground level 'L' (presumable for 'Lobby'?)

In one of the offices I use to work at you had

LowerGround
Ground
UpperGround

James/Drekinn, I think this is a very good idea for a real game, so one of you (or both of you) should start programming the game now! :)

Oh, and on my slow computer, the mouse pointer lags very badly in the menu screen. Also, you could make the people turn around to look at the screen when they're standing in the lift, rather than with their backs to the screen. Good luck!

Back at Carnegie Mellon several of the buildings were built into hills, presenting major conundrums with floor numbering. The ground floor entrance on one side of the building would be on a different floor from the entrance on the other side. And there was no consistent solution to this problem. For example, in one building (the computer science building, incidentally) the lowest floor was 1, and you were entering the fourth floor when you walk in the door from the main campus. In another building, the highest entrance floor was 1, and you entered B3 if you're coming in from the other side.

And then there was one building that was slanted! The office building in 'Being John Malcovich' had nothing on us.

That was actually the case with the hospital I worked at -- the main entrance was on level 7, while I worked on level 4, from where you could also walk outside...

Heh. You should add some 'yawning' and 'cursing under the breath' sound effects to add to the atmos of being bored. :)

>That was actually the case with the hospital I worked at

I used to work in a hospital too, so that makes 3 of us! But I never had dreams about lifts! :)

If anyone does make a big scale thing here, you have to make a joke of some sort on the 13th floor :)

James,

Thanks for the offer, though I hope you have the chance to achieve what you set out to do. :)


robleong,

Oh? And only in the menu? Hmm.. odd. There were initial problems with mouse cursor lag in the menu but that was because I was executing a TileImage command together with a tiny graphic, but I found another method and the problem was gone. I haven't had much opportunity to run 'Sim Lift' on a slow machine yet. I'll let you know of my findings.


ENAY,

Definite additions to a possible sequel. :)


Hmm.. I have a few questions of my own:

1) When I run 'Sim Lift' on a slow, outdated machine running Windows ME (4.90.3000) it results in the error: "SimLift.exe is not a valid Win32 application" and fails to load. I notice that the file icons I created for the 'Sim Lift.exe' file etc. are replaced by the default windows icons for those particular types of files (evidence of an outdated file system?). For your information the 'Sim Lift' exe and accompanying installer were created on my fast machine running Windows XP Pro.
What needs to be done for 'Sim Lift' to run properly on the old machine? Do I need to install the latest DirectX drivers perhaps?

2) How would I go about making 'Sim Lift' into a screensaver? (Not that it would save your screen with that static background image). :)

Any help with these queries would be appreciated.

1) Weird. How are you copying it over? Could you try zipping it up on the XP machine and unzipping on the other?

2) There's a tutorial here that might help...

James,
1) I burnt the Sim Lift installer exe to a CD and simply copied it onto the old computer's harddisk. The Sim Lift program exe file also suffers the same problem.

2) Thanks. I'll check it out. :)

I wonder if it's somehow (not sure how, mind!) related to the read-only properties the installer would have after being copied off CD? Maybe try going to the installer file's Properties and un-checking Read-Only before installing?

I've had this great idea in my head since like 1990 when I started playing Muds on the internet. (mulituserdungeons, mmorpg in text)
It would be like a D&D like game, except you would be totally virtual reality, you'd put a bunch of crap on then it would be like the holodeck or something. And you could have sex with other people in the game, which come to think of it would probably be the primary function.
But, i thought it would be cool because you would have to actually incant the spells correctly to cast them and what not.
Also, there would sex. Did I mention that?
I've already started a little bit in Assembly.
Ha, ha that was a joke.
Okay, but seriously Drekkin having an idea about an elevator sim game in your head for 7 years?? You must not be putting much else in that noggin of yours if things like that stay stuck in there. ;)
No, but seriously it looks cool, I like the people graphics. They're so AOL-ish.

CodeD,

Hehe.. well actually, the reason it took seven years was because it was such a silly idea and so I decided to focus my attention on other more exciting game ideas during that time. :)

This just rules....!