The entire city of San Francisco as a video game

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

A browser-based project that turns Apple’s 3D Maps data of San Francisco into an explorable video game city is drawing admiration for its nostalgic impact and technical ambition, despite bugs, performance issues, and awkward controls. Commenters compare it to titles like Microsoft Flight Simulator, Watch Dogs 2, GTA: San Andreas, and classic SF racers, and speculate about extending the idea to other cities, MMOs, and AI-enhanced pipelines that can auto-generate detailed game worlds from real geospatial data. Some also question the legality of repurposing Apple’s map assets and note the broader potential and risks of making highly realistic, navigable replicas of real-world environments.

Overall reception

  • Many find the SF “walkable map” striking, fun, and oddly moving, especially for former residents retracing commutes, favorite parks, and neighborhoods.
  • Several describe a “dreamlike / Silent Hill” quality: low-res, slightly broken, which triggers nostalgia more than clean tools like Google Maps.
  • Others see it as a neat but shallow “atmospheric explorer” with no real gameplay loop beyond wandering and occasional vehicles.

Comparisons to other games

  • Compared to Microsoft Flight Simulator: similar or slightly higher fidelity there, but with less direct ground-level control.
  • Compared to open-world games: Watch Dogs 2/Legion, GTA: San Andreas (San Fierro), Driver: San Francisco, American Truck Simulator, Midtown Madness, and older title “Vette!” are all referenced as prior “SF in games.”
  • Some users previously used such games to prep for real trips or driving (e.g., London, UK driving).

Controls, usability, and bugs

  • Common confusion around camera control, especially on laptops and phones; solution is usually click-and-drag or touch-and-hold.
  • Glider and flying mode exist (e.g., double-jump, speed keys), but vehicles can be unreliable (“vehicle unavailable” messages).
  • Collision issues: getting stuck in terrain or courtyards, walking over buildings or water, and blocked underpasses.
  • Several report loading failures, CORS/WebGL errors, memory leaks (GBs of RAM), overheating on laptops/phones, and Safari hard-freezes.

Data sources, legality, and tech

  • The scene appears based on Apple Maps’ 3D/flyover data, acknowledged by the Apple copyright/T&Cs link.
  • Some argue this violates Apple’s terms (reverse engineering / repurposing data); others explicitly dismiss concern over large-company ToS.
  • A few speculate about the rendering method (triangle/gaußian splatting hybrid) and note Apple Maps itself may be evolving similarly.

Future directions and feature wishes

  • Suggestions: higher-res offline or AI-upscaled version, street names and landmarks, address/lat-long teleport and sharable URLs, better minimap, avatar customization, richer weather/lighting, and smoother “UFO”/no-physics viewing.
  • Many want similar experiences for other cities (LA, NY, Seattle, Philly, whole planet) and imagine pipelines from GIS/elevation/streetview data into GTA-style or milsim worlds, with quests or stories on top.