Hello all,

Today we're excited to announce what's next for Flashing Lights! Take a read of the updates roadmap below.



In the Spring we'll be revamping a substantial portion of the city section of the map, with new buildings and locations, improving the visual quality of the city and increasing immersion.

For an improved gameplay experience, we're also updating mission locations within the city and adding street names to the mini map HUD - great for immersive role playing!

Last but not least, in the Spring update, we'll also be introducing a dynamic day/night cycle, which shifts the time of day automatically as you play.

This Summer, we'll be delivering the long awaited K9 update! We're adding an AI dog for police and fire departments, alongside new callouts designed around this new feature, increasing mission variety.

We'll be adding vehicles modified for K9 transport, as well as a K9 AI backup unit - allowing you call for assistance from your trusty four-legged friend.

Alongside the content updates detailed above, we'll also be continuing ongoing work on bug fixes, and optimization, to improve stability and the overall game experience. Lastly, we're also planning to release additional DLC.

That's all for now, but we'd love to hear your thoughts! We hope you're excited by the new roadmap, and look forward to delivering these updates.

Thanks,
The Flashing Lights Team

Hello all,

We have just released a hotfix with a handful of bug fixes.

• Fixed NPCs in missions spawning without interactivity
  
• Fixed missing parked cars
  
• Beach Town ground and roads didn't load properly
  
• Duplicate props at Beach Town removed (mail boxes, bins, fuse boxes)
  
• Loading screen fade-in fix when joining multiplayer game
  
• Player could get stuck in menu when interacting with NPC just after they have been registered at station

In the previous update, we fixed an issue with voice chat for Mac players. We have become aware that for the fix to take effect you may need to try the following:

1. Uninstall Flashing Lights
   
2. Restart Mac
   
3. Reinstall Flashing Lights
   
4. After you customize your character the game will ask for mic permissions. Select yes.

If this doesn’t work, retry the above steps but do the following before reinstalling the game:

1. Go to Mac settings
   
2. Go to privacy and permissions
   
3. Go to mic
   
4. Double click Flashing Lights
   
5. Hit show in finder
   
6. Move to trash

Thanks to Discord users IANxJii and B. Davis for these steps!

Thanks,
The Flashing Lights Team

Hello all,

We have launched a bug fix patch, tackling a variety of issues as well as optimising how chunks of the world load.

There are more updates on the way for Flashing Lights - keep an eye out for more details on this soon!



New

• Audio mod support for traffic stop sound, car and truck airhorns
  
• AI backup now use same wail and yelp sirens as player (mods supported)
  
• Added ability to place one suspect through the Swat Van's and the Beast's rear doors
  
• Siren now auto-turns off if emergency lights are turned off

Optimisations

• Reworked map area chunk loading with optimisations
  
• Area loader optimisations for house interiors and grid address display

Fixes

• Opening Sandbox or Esc menus while getting in/out of vehicles could break player's input (character and vehicle control)
  
• Possible fix for crash on game load after main menu
  
• AI backup path adjustments
  
• Horn customisation and modding fixed for fire trucks
  
• Another invisible pedestrians issue patched
  
• Shoplifting callout victims now walk away in a more sensible direction after stolen goods returned
  
• Fixed MP sync issues with traffic stop NPC drivers not looking at client players and not having their window rolled down
  
• Sometimes traffic could move to side as if the player had lights and sirens on, when they didn't
  
• AI car windows no longer roll back up when interacting at traffic stop
  
• Fixed AI driver looking sideways when driving off after being told they're free to go
  
• Text chat messages fix for /r and /t commands
  
• Text chat could wrongly replace last message with newly sent causing last message to disappear
  
• Fixed parking ticket for blocking fire hydrant at 23-30 (in city where elevated train tracks end with street loop)
  
• Car blocking fire hydrant was partly merged in barrier at Cod Town (66-73)
  
• Fixed voice chat for Mac players (previously the game failed to request mic permissions)
  
• Fix for transparent buildings in Beach Town while interiors still loading
  
• When exiting vehicle menu stats window (F1) popped back up if it was toggled off
  
• You should no longer hear loud fire or other noises when loading vehicle menu during active missions

Thanks,
The Flashing Lights Team

Hello all,

We have a general bug fix patch out now! Take a look at the bug fixes below, and, as always, let us know your thoughts! We're now working away on the next bug fix patch. Watch out for news!



Fixes

• Pedestrians and suspects should no longer be invisible in some cases
  
• Text chat optimizations, for longer sessions it could lag the game
  
• Tools and items are now correctly removed from game when players leave server or change roles
  
• Civilian role team voice chat added
  
• Civilian role players no longer see other role members (PD, FD, EMS)
  
• AI backup vehicle obstacle detection changes
  
• AI suspects fleeing in vehicles now correctly despawn when mission is cancelled
  
• Pedestrians should no longer spawn outside player area, which caused issues with the spawn/despawn logic
  
• Downed suspects despawning no longer get stuck and blocks further NPC spawning
  
• Added timer so that AI backup characters despawn after a certain amount of time if not able to get back to their vehicle
  
• Opening radio in singleplayer while still loading or in role/character menu could break the game
  
• Multiplayer weapon reload animation sync was missing
  
• Fixed errors when AI EMS pickup removed a body
  
• Disabled player ability to shoot between health hitting zero and the start of ragdoll
  
• Player's name didn't show correctly on register suspect sheet, when they called an EMS pickup, muted players list and on UI when responding to a call
  
• Fixed an issue where player's health would not fill to 50% after revive

Thanks,
The Flashing Lights Team

Hello all,

We have just released a new patch for Flashing Lights, which fixes a bunch of issues and introduces improved in-game voice chat functionality.

We are continuing to work on bug fixes and game improvements, so keep an eye out for news!




New
- Voice chat channels (Proximity, Global, Team). Talk key: hold V. Select chat channel: default key B

Fixes
- Fixed pedestrians and suspects being killed with one shot to the body
- In-game graphics settings menu buttons would get stuck
- Traffic vest function for traffic stops fixed
- AI backup units could get stuck when trying to dismiss them
- Using Role Menu and pressing back could mess up role ID which lead to broken vehicle menu and player weapons/tools sync
- Sometimes NPC pedestrians and traffic could stop spawning after player role change
- Sandbox Menu > Custom mission list scrolling issue
- Christmas theme removed

Multiplayer fixes
- Players could get stuck on loading traffic when the server had host changes
- Client player shooting or hit AI suspects sync
- Could join servers with other player's name
- Pedestrians and traffic spawning around client players while host is not in area
- Optimisations for pedestrian and traffic spawning area finder around all players
- Pedestrians stopped walking for client players if host was far away
- Voice chat will reconnect when the random disconnection happens
- Voice chat input was active while using text chat
- Traffic lights got stuck for client players

Hello all,

As you may be aware, our main focus over the next few months will be on fixes, optimisations, and improvements to Flashing Lights.

Our first round of fixes focuses on multiplayer issues, and optimisations, and is now live!

We welcome your continued support for Flashing Lights and appreciate all the feedback and bug reports.

Keep them coming as we work on further fixes for Flashing Lights.

Don't forget to join our Discord to keep up to date with the latest news, unstable updates, modding support, and more.


New
- Ocean rendering option added in Settings > Graphics (switch to basic water in case of crash issues on some Macs and PC)
- Christmas tree in city park, Christmas hats for players and surprise gift when placing cones and road flares

Multiplayer Fixes
- Invisible or missing ragdoll patients in missions
- Missions ending after accepting
- NPC despawning errors for clients
- When spawning fire trucks other players could get Qsiren error
- "Waiting Host" added if players join a server that is still being loading by the hosting player
- Pedestrian run animations sync
- Traffic vehicle lights/indicators sync
- Joining player name pop-up sometimes showed incorrectly
- Server name sometimes used the default player name with random numbers, could mess up initial multiplayer loading
- Possible fix for voice chat disconnecting on server join
- Voice chat icon didn't update on role change
- Radio icon removed

General Fixes
- Optimizations for pedestrians
- More optimizations for traffic lights system for the whole map
- Removed ability to call for AI backup as civilian player
- Disabled ability to get in vehicle while crouching
- Traffic spawner generated set of errors
- Fixed issue with level of detail not unloading properly
- Beast Swat truck seat fix to support player and 7 AI partners
- Adjusted traffic blocking detection against AI backup cars
- Fix for getting stuck on AI traffic loading screen
- Asking NPC to Wait in vehicle could break interactivity if their vehicle is towed or too far away
- Player movement stuck when get out of Beast while playing hatch animation
- Player couldn't get out of vehicle if Sandbox menu and MDT were open
- Couldn't interact with some suspects that got out of their vehicles (unless tazed)
- Disabled the ability to get in vehicle while reloading a weapon, which could break the character input

Hello all,

As we've now released AI updates part 1 & part 2, we know a lot of you are wondering what's next for Flashing Lights!



This Winter, rather than adding new content, we're focusing on bug fixes, optimisation and general game improvements. While we certainly still plan to add further exciting content to the game down the line, we're hitting pause on that for the Winter, and are instead taking a step back and dedicating time to improving the current game experience.

Community feedback and thoughts have been crucial to the development of Flashing Lights since day one, and that's just as true today. We hear you, and this focus for the Winter is of course informed by your feedback across the Steam forums, our Discord and social media channels, so do keep sharing your thoughts and experience with the game as always!

We'll continue to share news as we have it, so keep an eye out!

Thanks,
The Flashing Lights Team

Fixes
- Multiplayer clients AI pedestrians didn't despawn
- Multiplayer client's AI victims duplicate when using med bag
- Multiplayer patient clothes sync for client players
- In multiplayer, players without lightbars DLC could not see them on other player vehicles
- In vehicle menu, light pattern import window could keep loading when none was found
- Valery lightbar size adjusted
- Mod.io light pattern file names don't need prefix anymore
- Vehicle traffic optimizations

Hello all,

I'm happy to announce that the AI Update Part 2: AI Backup is out now! This update expands and improves on the recently introduced AI backup system by introducing the ability to use a walkie talkie to call for backup while you are out and about in the open world.



This update also lets you call for backup from police, fire or EMS departments, regardless of the department you're playing at the time.




We are also happy to announce the Emergency Response Lightbar Collection is out now.
This comes with 10 new highly requested lightbars. Each can be used with all departments and most vehicles.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2649420/


AI Backup (Singleplayer Only)
- Use radio to call for backup (Default key "Tab" where you choose to control partners or call for backup)
- Texture mods for backup vehicles and characters (Using Slot 1 in Assign Menu for each model)
- Command backup AI characters while they are out of car
- Police backup (Police Car, Sheriff SUV, Swat Van)
- Firefighters backup (Engine Truck, Fire SUV)
- EMS Backup (Ambulance, First Responder SUV)

New
- Light patterns on Mod.io (Add prefix Lights_ to exported file, example: Lights_My Mod Name.txt and upload as .zip (no folders))
- Dispatch now give calls around players (1300m radius), the range limit is ignored when using next mission command [/nm_]
- Sheriff partner character
- More props for pedestrian crossings in City East, Cod Town, Beach Town and City Marina
- Partners and backup units now show on minimap and full map UI

Traffic Spawner Improvements
- New waypoint finder around player (might improve multiplayer lag with 6+ players)
- Using optimized waypoint finder the spawner will try to use free spots to spawn more traffic
- Distanced traffic optimization (based on distance it will turn off AI driver character or wheel animations)
- Pedestrian waypoints added in City East, Port and Beach Town Pier

Pedestrian and Traffic Fixes
- NPC loading improved to fix loading hickups at game start and when loading missions (The NPC pool now has 60 pedestrians which should be enough for default pedestrian count and missions, if for custom missions need more, it may load more pedestrians but could cause some hickups)
- NPC pedestrian pooling was broken and during gameplay new pedestrians were created for each spawn causing memory increase over time and possible crashes or lag on multiplayer
- NPC in missions now despawn when player cancel the mission and leave area
- NPC pedestrians no longer stop spawning after a while
- When loading a game, now only the host creates NPC pedestrians and traffic, solving an issue with clients loading duplicate NPCs and traffic unnecessarily, causing lag for all players and memory increase
- Sorting and fixes for multiplayer entity ID mismatch causing random sync issues and lag while Photon tried to fix it with destroying NPC clones and creating new instances
- Pedestrians no longer spawn partially in the ground while loading before they start walking
- Pedestrians no longer walk around with a gun floating in front of their head
- Function for missing traffic lights in City East and Beach Town

Fixes
- Multiplayer car seat rotation sync fix for players
- In multiplayer sometimes pedestrians stopped walking
- Toggle auto-off sirens setting now saves when you get out of your vehicle
- On each game load and each vehicle menu launch, customized siren slots previously got messed up
- Beach Town pier poles rendering fix
- Hovering parked cars aligned with ground in Beach Town and Cod Town
- Parked cars are now using optimized traffic car models
- Changed default setting for parked cars from Low to Medium when creating a game
- Changed default vehicles for new players (SUV for police and Engine for firefighters)
- Map buildings and roads were previously loaded duplicate on CPU
- NPC vehicles have correct lights when at night
- Fixed an issue that caused the UI to freeze if double clicking on done in character menu
- Minimap water texture fixed

Thanks,
The Flashing Lights Team

Hello all,

I'm happy to announce that an early version of AI Update Part 2: AI Backup is now available for testing on the unstable branch! This update expands and improves on the recently introduced AI backup system by introducing the ability to use a walkie talkie to call for backup while you are out and about in the open world.



This update also lets you call for backup from police, fire or EMS departments, regardless of the department you're playing at the time.

We look forward to hearing what you think of this early version of the update, and will be reading all of your posts on this announcement, the Steam forums and our Discord.




To access the unstable branch you can do the following:
- Load up Steam and head to your library
- Right click on Flashing Lights and then select "Properties"
- Head to the Beta tab and in the drop down select "unstable_test_branch" (no password needed)
- This will then download the new update for you

https://store.steampowered.com/app/605740


AI Backup (Singleplayer Only)
- Use radio to call for backup (Default key "Tab" where you choose to control partners or call for backup)
- Texture mods for backup vehicles and characters (Using Slot 1 in Assign Menu for each model)
- Command backup AI characters while they are out of car
- Police backup (Police Car, Sheriff SUV, Swat Van)
- Firefighters backup (Engine Truck, Fire SUV)
- EMS Backup (Ambulance, First Responder SUV)

New
- Light patterns on Mod.io (Add prefix Lights_ to exported file, example: Lights_My Mod Name.txt and upload as .zip (no folders))
- Dispatch now give calls around players (1300m radius), the range limit is ignored when using next mission command [/nm_]
- Sheriff partner character
- More props for pedestrian crossings in City East, Cod Town, Beach Town and City Marina
- Partners and backup units now show on minimap and full map UI

Traffic Spawner Improvements
- New waypoint finder around player (might improve multiplayer lag with 6+ players)
- Using optimized waypoint finder the spawner will try to use free spots to spawn more traffic
- Distanced traffic optimization (based on distance it will turn off AI driver character or wheel animations)
- Pedestrian waypoints added in City East, Port and Beach Town Pier

Pedestrian and Traffic Fixes
- NPC loading improved to fix loading hickups at game start and when loading missions (The NPC pool now has 60 pedestrians which should be enough for default pedestrian count and missions, if for custom missions need more, it may load more pedestrians but could cause some hickups)
- NPC pedestrian pooling was broken and during gameplay new pedestrians were created for each spawn causing memory increase over time and possible crashes or lag on multiplayer
- NPC in missions now despawn when player cancel the mission and leave area
- NPC pedestrians no longer stop spawning after a while
- When loading a game, now only the host creates NPC pedestrians and traffic, solving an issue with clients loading duplicate NPCs and traffic unnecessarily, causing lag for all players and memory increase
- Sorting and fixes for multiplayer entity ID mismatch causing random sync issues and lag while Photon tried to fix it with destroying NPC clones and creating new instances
- Pedestrians no longer spawn partially in the ground while loading before they start walking
- Pedestrians no longer walk around with a gun floating in front of their head
- Function for missing traffic lights in City East and Beach Town

Fixes
- Multiplayer car seat rotation sync fix for players
- In multiplayer sometimes pedestrians stopped walking
- Toggle auto-off sirens setting now saves when you get out of your vehicle
- On each game load and each vehicle menu launch, customized siren slots previously got messed up
- Beach Town pier poles rendering fix
- Hovering parked cars aligned with ground in Beach Town and Cod Town
- Parked cars are now using optimized traffic car models
- Changed default setting for parked cars from Low to Medium when creating a game
- Changed default vehicles for new players (SUV for police and Engine for firefighters)
- Map buildings and roads were previously loaded duplicate on CPU

Thanks,
The Flashing Lights Team