Welcome to the Simulation!
This is an interactive world designed to teach you the fundamentals of driving and owning an Electric Vehicle (EV). Explore the city, manage your battery, and learn the key differences between EVs and traditional gasoline cars.
Gameplay: Missions & Economy
This world now has an economy. Drive around the city and you will receive mission offers for Taxi or Delivery jobs. Completing these jobs earns you money, which you'll need to pay for charging your vehicle. Keep an eye on your wallet balance in the top right!
Driving controls
- [W] or [↑] — Accelerate
- [S] or [↓] — Brake / reverse
- [A] / [D] or [←] / [→] — Turn left / right
- [SPACE] — Emergency brake (friction only, recovers nothing)
Camera — the view is fully free
Drag anywhere to orbit the car through a full 360°, scroll to zoom from paintwork-close to a city-wide overview, and right-drag (or two-finger drag) to pan away from the vehicle entirely.
- [C] — Cycle camera mode:
- Free Orbit — the camera stays exactly where you leave it.
- Chase — settles behind the car after you stop dragging, so you can still look around mid-corner.
- Cinematic — a slow automatic orbit that drifts up and down.
- Driver — cockpit view with speed-dependent camera shake.
- [V] — Snap the camera back behind the car
- [L] — Headlights: Off → DRL → Dipped → Main beam. Each step changes intensity, cone angle and how far down the road the beam reaches.
- [H] — Hide or show the whole HUD for a clean view.
- [R] — Adaptive resolution. On by default: the renderer measures its own frame time and quietly adjusts how many pixels it draws to hold a smooth rate, without switching off any lighting, shadows or effects. Turn it off to pin full resolution.
- [F] — Frame-rate meter. The millisecond figure is the useful one: get under 8.3 ms and the loop can sustain 120 Hz, under 16.7 ms and it can sustain 60. If your display is 60 Hz the frame count will sit at 60 however fast the loop runs, so read the milliseconds.
- 💾 / 📂 — Save and load. The game also autosaves every 30 seconds, and remembers each vehicle's own wear history.
- 🔧 Service — Drive into an EV Service workshop and stop. Tyres can be replaced and the pack reconditioned, but a recondition never recovers all lost capacity — cells genuinely age.
- [M] — Open the full city map (or click the mini-map). Shows roads, buildings, the river, every bridge, the dam, all chargers and your heading.
- [N] — Day / night · [R] — Rain · [T] — Simulation speed
- Map — the mini-map shows your position (blue dot) and available chargers (orange icons).
Reading the telemetry panel
Every number on the right-hand panel is computed from real physics rather than a scripted animation. Nothing is a fixed drain rate.
- Power flow (kW) — instantaneous battery power. The bar fills right in orange when you are pulling energy out of the pack and left in green when regenerative braking is pushing it back in.
- Efficiency (Wh/km) — the number real EV owners actually watch. It is your net energy divided by distance covered, and it will climb sharply if you drive fast.
- Real range left — remaining usable energy divided by your measured consumption. Compare it to the brochure claim printed underneath; the gap is the whole point.
- Aux + climate — accessories and cabin heating. In cold weather a resistive cabin heater alone can pull over 3 kW, which is why winter range collapses.
- Pack health — degrades very slowly with energy throughput, tracked in equivalent full cycles.
- Simulation speed — a 400 km battery would take hours to empty in real time, so the clock is compressed. Every displayed value is a true reading at that compressed rate. Switch to Real time ×1 to see genuine drain rates.
The physics being simulated
Energy use comes from the standard road-load equation, the same one used to set official coastdown targets:
F = Crr·m·g·cosθ + ½·ρ·Cd·A·v² + m·g·sinθ + m·a
- The aerodynamic term scales with the square of speed, so it dominates everything above about 70 km/h. This is why going 100 km/h instead of 120 km/h buys so much range.
- Grade matters enormously. Climbing a hill costs real energy; descending gives most of it back through regen.
- Traction is roughly 89% efficient, but regen only recovers about 70% of the kinetic energy — braking is never free, which is why coasting beats braking.
- Cold air is denser, so drag is measurably higher in winter on top of the heating load.
EV Fundamentals Explained
Electric Vehicles run on electricity stored in a large battery, powering an electric motor. Unlike gasoline cars, they have no engine, no exhaust, and produce zero tailpipe emissions.
- Instant Torque: Electric motors deliver power instantly, resulting in quick and smooth acceleration.
- Regenerative Braking: When you slow down, the motor works in reverse, acting like a generator to send a small amount of energy back into the battery. You can see this effect when the battery icon glows green.
- Quiet Operation: EVs are significantly quieter than gasoline cars, providing a more peaceful ride.
All About EV Batteries
The battery is the heart of an EV. Understanding it is key to a good ownership experience.
- Capacity (kWh): Measured in kilowatt-hours, this is like the size of the fuel tank. A higher kWh number means a larger battery and generally a longer range.
- State of Charge (SoC %): This is your "fuel gauge," showing how full the battery is.
- Temperature is Key: Battery performance is affected by temperature.
- In the Cold (❄️): Range is reduced and charging is slower. The "Precondition" button at a charger uses wall power to warm the battery to an optimal temperature, improving performance before you even start driving.
- In the Heat (🔥): Extreme heat can also impact battery health and charging speed, though this is less of a factor in daily driving.
- Battery Types (LFP vs. NMC): You'll see these in the vehicle specs. LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries are known for their long lifespan and safety. NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) batteries offer higher energy density, meaning more range from a smaller, lighter battery.
Charging — and why the curve matters
Plug in and watch the live graph. Charging is not a straight line, and the shape of that curve is the single most misunderstood thing about EV ownership.
- AC Home (2.3 kW): a standard domestic socket. Overnight charging.
- AC Fast (7.4 kW): a wallbox or public AC point. Note that AC speed is capped by the onboard charger inside the car, not by the wallbox — plugging a scooter into a 7.4 kW supply still gives you 750 W.
- DC Superfast (150 kW): bypasses the onboard charger and feeds the pack directly. Only some vehicles can take the full rate.
The taper: power holds near peak up to roughly half charge, then falls away steeply as the cells approach full. Charging 10→80% is dramatically faster than 80→100%, which is why long-distance drivers rarely charge to full — they take shorter, earlier stops instead.
Voltage architecture: the Ioniq 5 and EV6 run an 800-volt pack. Higher voltage means less current for the same power, less heat, and that is precisely why they accept over 230 kW while a 400-volt car tops out much lower.
Temperature: a cold pack physically cannot accept fast charge — the BMS will hold power back to protect the cells. Preconditioning costs a little energy but can save many minutes.
Driving for Efficiency
Your driving style is the single biggest factor in an EV's range. After each drive, you'll get an "Efficiency Score" out of 100.
- Avoid Hard Accelerations: Flooring it consumes a huge amount of energy. Smooth starts are best.
- Brake Gently: Slamming the brakes wastes energy. Anticipate stops and let regenerative braking do the work.
- Moderate Your Speed: Driving at very high speeds dramatically increases energy consumption due to wind resistance.