Level 4 is finally here! Well, partially! As of right now, Downtown is still very much in development. Actually, none of the game’s levels are really “finished” by any stretch, but Downtown especially! A bunch of the new Downtown content that I’ve been working on isn’t ready for public consumption yet, so I’ll be pushing out more of this content over the next couple of updates. You can play through 4-1 right now to get a little taste of what’s in store. Expect it to become more fleshed out and varied from the other levels in the weeks to come. Let me know what you think of the new stuff in this thread.

This week’s Fortnight Discussion: Altars and Sacrifices. A roguelike staple, Altars have just recently made their way into Streets of Rogue. But… how should they actually work??


Levels

• Game is now playable through 4-1

Art

• Lots of new wall and floor art for Downtown levels

Music

• New Track “Floor 4-1 Hit Me With Your Best Rock”. The mp3 has been added to soundtrack owners’ libraries. More tracks will be coming when 4-2 and 4-3 are added.

Achievements

• Unlock Elevator Access - Downtown
  
• Downtown Diva (you can’t actually achieve this yet, since it requires you to complete Level 4-3 which does not currently exist)

Non-Playable Characters

• Supercop
  
• Upper-Cruster
  
• Mobster

Environments

• Canals
  
• Dance Club
  
• Church
  
• Hotel
  
• City Park

Objects

• Police Box
  
• Alarm Button
  
• Train
  
• Speaker
  
• Turntables
  
• Altar
  
• Manhole
  
• Metal Detector

Performance

• Bunch of improvements (yep, I’m still at it)

Graphics

• Fix for weapons not appearing in the player’s hands when a saved game is loaded (only fixed for games saved in Alpha 35)
  
• Potential fix for pink sprite appearing in place of crushers
  
• Fix for Taser bullets sometimes appearing the wrong color
  
• Yet another attempted fix for generators not always disappearing after exploding
  
• Attempted fix for people sometimes appearing weird on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for frozen people (from Freeze Ray) playing walk animation sometimes

UI / Controls

• Fix for local coop players’ UI sometimes appearing at the wrong zoom level
  
• Fix for people not always being tracked properly on the minimap on multiplayer client

Playfield Objects

• Fix for multiplayer clients not causing Fire Hydrants to spray on the first hit

Items

• Fix for Haterator not working properly
  
• Fix for Ammo Stealer not removing a person’s ammo when used from the multiplayer client

Sound

• Sounds from a level can no longer play after the level has ended and the screen has faded out

Gameplay

• People should fly through walls without breaking them less often

Mutators

• Fix for people and objects not being visible in Rogue Vision after accepting a mission

Other

• Updated Rewired plugin from 1.1.5.3 to 1.1.7.5

• Fix for local coop interface elements appearing at the wrong size (or not at all) on certain resolutions.
  
• Fix for "Ghost Bullets"
  
• Supercops now begin with 2 weapons
  
• Fix for Supercop not initially equipping weapons when Auto-Equip was turned off in settings
  
• Fix for Flamethrower and Water particle effects sometimes appearing improperly
  
• Fix for Fire Hydrant sometimes appearing at the wrong angle on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for multiplayer clients sometimes being able to shoot corpses
  
• Fix for mission screen items not being visible if Player 2 opened the screen before Player 1
  
• Killer Robot can no longer be zombified
  
• Can no longer command your followers to attack Police Box (it’s mostly indestructible)

• Fix for Downtown levels occasionally getting stuck at 87% loading
  
• Fix for start and end points in Downtown not always appearing at the northmost and southmost points on the map
  
• Fix for areas of Downtown sometimes being inaccessible and surrounded by walls
  
• Fix for Shotgun bullets appearing too bright
  
• Fix for camera not following target when player aims with thrown items using the gamepad
  
• Fix for Crushers leaving behind their shadows when reverting into walls
  
• Fix for Shunk people being killed by walking into dead people
  
• Fix for toolbar slot numbers not always updating properly when ammo or durability is depleted
  
• Fix for objects thrown by Wrestler not adding to Destruction stat
  
• Fix for objects sometimes leaving behind a white sprite after being picked up by Wrestler

• Another fix for Ghost Bullets in multiplayer games (hopefully a better one this time)
  
• Fix for mission markers not always appearing for multiplayer clients upon starting new maps
  
• Fix for followers sometimes refusing to exit buildings where the door was locked but opened

• Fix for Ghost Bullets in multiplayer games for players who have turned lighting completely off.

Level 4 is finally here! Well, partially! As of right now, Downtown is still very much in development. Actually, none of the game’s levels are really “finished” by any stretch, but Downtown especially! A bunch of the new Downtown content that I’ve been working on isn’t ready for public consumption yet, so I’ll be pushing out more of this content over the next couple of updates. You can play through 4-1 right now to get a little taste of what’s in store. Expect it to become more fleshed out and varied from the other levels in the weeks to come. Let me know what you think of the new stuff in this thread.

This week’s Fortnight Discussion: Altars and Sacrifices. A roguelike staple, Altars have just recently made their way into Streets of Rogue. But… how should they actually work??


Levels

• Game is now playable through 4-1

Art

• Lots of new wall and floor art for Downtown levels

Music

• New Track “Floor 4-1 Hit Me With Your Best Rock”. The mp3 has been added to soundtrack owners’ libraries. More tracks will be coming when 4-2 and 4-3 are added.

Achievements

• Unlock Elevator Access - Downtown
  
• Downtown Diva (you can’t actually achieve this yet, since it requires you to complete Level 4-3 which does not currently exist)

Non-Playable Characters

• Supercop
  
• Upper-Cruster
  
• Mobster

Environments

• Canals
  
• Dance Club
  
• Church
  
• Hotel
  
• City Park

Objects

• Police Box
  
• Alarm Button
  
• Train
  
• Speaker
  
• Turntables
  
• Altar
  
• Manhole
  
• Metal Detector

Performance

• Bunch of improvements (yep, I’m still at it)

Graphics

• Fix for weapons not appearing in the player’s hands when a saved game is loaded (only fixed for games saved in Alpha 35)
  
• Potential fix for pink sprite appearing in place of crushers
  
• Fix for Taser bullets sometimes appearing the wrong color
  
• Yet another attempted fix for generators not always disappearing after exploding
  
• Attempted fix for people sometimes appearing weird on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for frozen people (from Freeze Ray) playing walk animation sometimes

UI / Controls

• Fix for local coop players’ UI sometimes appearing at the wrong zoom level
  
• Fix for people not always being tracked properly on the minimap on multiplayer client

Playfield Objects

• Fix for multiplayer clients not causing Fire Hydrants to spray on the first hit

Items

• Fix for Haterator not working properly
  
• Fix for Ammo Stealer not removing a person’s ammo when used from the multiplayer client

Sound

• Sounds from a level can no longer play after the level has ended and the screen has faded out

Gameplay

• People should fly through walls without breaking them less often

Mutators

• Fix for people and objects not being visible in Rogue Vision after accepting a mission

Other

• Updated Rewired plugin from 1.1.5.3 to 1.1.7.5

• Fix for local coop interface elements appearing at the wrong size (or not at all) on certain resolutions.
  
• Fix for "Ghost Bullets"
  
• Supercops now begin with 2 weapons
  
• Fix for Supercop not initially equipping weapons when Auto-Equip was turned off in settings
  
• Fix for Flamethrower and Water particle effects sometimes appearing improperly
  
• Fix for Fire Hydrant sometimes appearing at the wrong angle on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for multiplayer clients sometimes being able to shoot corpses
  
• Fix for mission screen items not being visible if Player 2 opened the screen before Player 1
  
• Killer Robot can no longer be zombified
  
• Can no longer command your followers to attack Police Box (it’s mostly indestructible)

• Fix for Downtown levels occasionally getting stuck at 87% loading
  
• Fix for start and end points in Downtown not always appearing at the northmost and southmost points on the map
  
• Fix for areas of Downtown sometimes being inaccessible and surrounded by walls
  
• Fix for Shotgun bullets appearing too bright
  
• Fix for camera not following target when player aims with thrown items using the gamepad
  
• Fix for Crushers leaving behind their shadows when reverting into walls
  
• Fix for Shunk people being killed by walking into dead people
  
• Fix for toolbar slot numbers not always updating properly when ammo or durability is depleted
  
• Fix for objects thrown by Wrestler not adding to Destruction stat
  
• Fix for objects sometimes leaving behind a white sprite after being picked up by Wrestler

• Another fix for Ghost Bullets in multiplayer games (hopefully a better one this time)
  
• Fix for mission markers not always appearing for multiplayer clients upon starting new maps
  
• Fix for followers sometimes refusing to exit buildings where the door was locked but opened

• Fix for Ghost Bullets in multiplayer games for players who have turned lighting completely off.

As you may be aware, I’ve spent the past month or so doing heavy optimization work on Streets of Rogue. Welp, my work is mostly complete for now! As a result of these efforts, the game performs an average of 75% to 100% faster than it did previously! Not bad, eh? There are still some trouble spots that need attention, not to mention the load times could be improved -- but for the time being, I’m very pleased with the results.

This also means that I finally get to start working on content again, so starting this weekend, Level 4 development will be in full swing. Expect to see an early, unfinished version of my work in the next update.

This week’s Fortnight Discussion: “Ideas for a Mobile Version”. No, I’m not planning on creating a mobile version anytime soon. For all I can say at this point, it may never happen! But, I do get asked about Android/iOS a lot, and I’m curious to hear what sort of changes would need to be made for this version to not suck.

Performance

• Many, many improvements

Graphics

• Fix for possessed characters in multiplayer sometimes having white eyes

UI / Controls

• Fix for being able to press Esc and quit the game on the loading screen when not in online
• multiplayer mode
  
• Fix for character select interface not being transparent after death in multiplayer games
  
• Fix for character select screen appearing briefly (barely noticeable) while black “curtains” open at the start of multiplayer games

Environment

• Fix for lakes that appear to be poisoned sometimes not giving proper effects to the player

Items

• Fix for items sometimes going all teleport-y crazy after falling into an incinerator
  
• Fix for items sometimes going nuts when near the edges of water
  
• Fix for item sprite appearing at wrong position on Y axis after exiting water

Combat

• Fixed issue where commanding people to attack an object wouldn’t work properly if the player went outside a certain range of the object

Sound

• Fix for no sound playing when Tranquilizer darts and Water Pistol shots hit wall

Gameplay

• Fix for player jumping in and out of water too frequently when landing on the edge of the water body

Artificial Intelligence

• People become hostile toward someone who freezes their friend
  
• Fix for people sometimes getting stuck at the edge of holes
  
• People are better at figuring out when to pause for Fire Spewers

• Fix for minimap icons not updating properly
  
• Fix for objects sometimes appearing highlighted after being hit with melee attacks while Freeze Frames are turned on
  
• Fix for interactable objects sometimes not appearing highlighted after the player stops interacting with them

• Fix for not being able to create a new character in Gamepad mode
  
• Fix for people's sprites getting weird when arresting them
  
• Fix for people not getting angry at you when arresting their friends
  
• Fix for people not getting angry at you when biting their friends
  
• Fix for Generator sometimes leaving its sprite behind after exploding
  
• Fix for player's hands sometimes appearing in front of their head when aiming north with the gun
  
• Fix for jumping into water not working properly on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for Fires not staying on top of items on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for quest markers not initially appearing on the map on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for Security Cam not causing owners of the building to search for the intruder
  
• Fix for Lunge often teleporting the player through walls
  
• Potential fix for multiplayer client issue where all people start looking weird and purple and not animating
  
• Unity updated from 2017.1.0p2 to 2017.1.1p3

• Fix for trash cans not appearing and machines appearing in incorrect locations
  
• Fix for players not being able to move after being knocked out and getting up
  
• Fix for Generator sometimes leaving its sprite behind after exploding, but for real this time

As you may be aware, I’ve spent the past month or so doing heavy optimization work on Streets of Rogue. Welp, my work is mostly complete for now! As a result of these efforts, the game performs an average of 75% to 100% faster than it did previously! Not bad, eh? There are still some trouble spots that need attention, not to mention the load times could be improved -- but for the time being, I’m very pleased with the results.

This also means that I finally get to start working on content again, so starting this weekend, Level 4 development will be in full swing. Expect to see an early, unfinished version of my work in the next update.

This week’s Fortnight Discussion: “Ideas for a Mobile Version”. No, I’m not planning on creating a mobile version anytime soon. For all I can say at this point, it may never happen! But, I do get asked about Android/iOS a lot, and I’m curious to hear what sort of changes would need to be made for this version to not suck.

Performance

• Many, many improvements

Graphics

• Fix for possessed characters in multiplayer sometimes having white eyes

UI / Controls

• Fix for being able to press Esc and quit the game on the loading screen when not in online
• multiplayer mode
  
• Fix for character select interface not being transparent after death in multiplayer games
  
• Fix for character select screen appearing briefly (barely noticeable) while black “curtains” open at the start of multiplayer games

Environment

• Fix for lakes that appear to be poisoned sometimes not giving proper effects to the player

Items

• Fix for items sometimes going all teleport-y crazy after falling into an incinerator
  
• Fix for items sometimes going nuts when near the edges of water
  
• Fix for item sprite appearing at wrong position on Y axis after exiting water

Combat

• Fixed issue where commanding people to attack an object wouldn’t work properly if the player went outside a certain range of the object

Sound

• Fix for no sound playing when Tranquilizer darts and Water Pistol shots hit wall

Gameplay

• Fix for player jumping in and out of water too frequently when landing on the edge of the water body

Artificial Intelligence

• People become hostile toward someone who freezes their friend
  
• Fix for people sometimes getting stuck at the edge of holes
  
• People are better at figuring out when to pause for Fire Spewers

• Fix for minimap icons not updating properly
  
• Fix for objects sometimes appearing highlighted after being hit with melee attacks while Freeze Frames are turned on
  
• Fix for interactable objects sometimes not appearing highlighted after the player stops interacting with them

• Fix for not being able to create a new character in Gamepad mode
  
• Fix for people's sprites getting weird when arresting them
  
• Fix for people not getting angry at you when arresting their friends
  
• Fix for people not getting angry at you when biting their friends
  
• Fix for Generator sometimes leaving its sprite behind after exploding
  
• Fix for player's hands sometimes appearing in front of their head when aiming north with the gun
  
• Fix for jumping into water not working properly on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for Fires not staying on top of items on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for quest markers not initially appearing on the map on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for Security Cam not causing owners of the building to search for the intruder
  
• Fix for Lunge often teleporting the player through walls
  
• Potential fix for multiplayer client issue where all people start looking weird and purple and not animating
  
• Unity updated from 2017.1.0p2 to 2017.1.1p3

• Fix for trash cans not appearing and machines appearing in incorrect locations
  
• Fix for players not being able to move after being knocked out and getting up
  
• Fix for Generator sometimes leaving its sprite behind after exploding, but for real this time

Yep, I’m still hard at work optimizing every little detail of Streets of Rogue, and there’s still quite a bit more to do. I didn’t expect the process to take quite as long as it’s taking, but apparently there were a lot more spots in the game where I was doing things in a… less than satisfactory way. It’ll be worth the extra effort, since it means the game will be mounted on a much more solid base. Like I mentioned last update, most modern PC users won’t see a huge difference -- these changes will primarily benefit players on older hardware, and the upcoming console ports of the game.

Today’s update has some noticeable improvements for frame drops in the Industrial areas, and there’s still more to come. There are also a number of bug fixes, mostly for things that I broke during optimization. Please keep me posted on anything else that I may have broken!

Also, apologies for last update’s speculation about the release of the “Level 4 - Downtown” content, I’m going to keep my lips sealed about that until the time comes. New content will be my top priority following the current batch of performance improvements. You can still contribute suggestions for Downtown in this thread.

This week’s Fortnight Discussion: “ProTips”. I know you’ve got some. Let’s have ‘em.

Also, a reminder to check out the Wiki Editor of the Month competition!

Performance

• Whole bunch of large and small improvements that hopefully did not break too much

Graphics

• Fix for split-screen camera sometimes showing weird artifacts on Medium lighting mode
  
• Fix for players appearing as purple worm man thing when switching to local multiplayer mode from Home Base

UI / Controls

• Fix for “Other players can revive you” messages not appearing in four-player local mode
  
• Fix for certain interface elements appearing in incorrect positions during camera zooms
  
• Fix for dialogue box appearing on top of main menu when the game is paused

Characters

• Fix for not being able to properly Bribe cops, which in turn made the Cop character impossible to unlock

Playfield Objects

• Switches and Laser Emitters cannot be set on fire

Items

• Fix for cases in multiplayer games where people would refuse to equip or shoot certain weapons on the server due to traits like Stubby Fingers, though they were equipped on the client

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Fix for game freezing if the player killed themselves while having the Bloodlust trait
  
• Fix for Bloodlust restoring someone’s health after their death
  
• Fix for Bloodlust triggering when the player punched dead bodies that were burnt from fire
  
• Fix for bodies not turning into zombies if they were afflicted with Zombiism and then knocked out and killed

Combat

• Fix for opponents sometimes immediately punching the player after the player had just initiated combat
  
• Fix for opponents being too aggressive toward the player prior to actually hitting the player for the first time
  
• Fix for opponents consistently being too aggressive toward multiplayer clients
  
• Fix for opponents phasing through walls often as multiplayer client

Sound

• Fix for Werewolf Transformation sound effects not playing
  
• Sound effects added to menus in a couple spots

Gameplay

• Fix for game going haywire when falling down holes and dying while Possessing another person
  
• Possibly a bunch of other fixes for possessing other people
  
• Fix for players being able to continue the game in coop mode if they were falling into a hole after the game had ended due to Suicide or finishing all the levels

Level Generation

• Fixed a couple of instances where pits were placed in such a way that people would have difficulty pathing around them

Artificial Intelligence

• Improved pathfinding, people less likely to get stuck walking into walls
  
• Fixed issue where people would not pay attention to noises after too many noises had been created during that level
  
• Fix for combat not occurring properly between NPCs when they were off-camera
  
• Fix for people not fleeing clients properly when they were out of range of the host
  
• People will not walk through red lasers in most situations

• Forget the last build, it sucked. I had added a last minute change that tanked the frame rate. This build runs about 33% faster.
  
• Snuck in some more performance improvements that will hopefully not break anything.
  
• Fix for party members not always following commands properly
  
• Fix for fires sometimes burning permanently and causing general weirdness
  
• Fix for people attempting to re-enter buildings they just left while gas is still spraying
  
• Fix for Killer Robot rockets not moving properly in multiplayer mode

• Fix for selection box not appearing in inventory for gamepad users
  
• Fix for Safes sometimes appearing as debris
  
• Even more assorted performance improvements

• Fix for status text sometimes appearing on the screen permanently
  
• Fix for party members not obeying commands to change their position
  
• Fix for Bacon Cheeseburgers appearing in all inventory slots at the start of the Park levels
  
• Yet more small performance improvements

Yep, I’m still hard at work optimizing every little detail of Streets of Rogue, and there’s still quite a bit more to do. I didn’t expect the process to take quite as long as it’s taking, but apparently there were a lot more spots in the game where I was doing things in a… less than satisfactory way. It’ll be worth the extra effort, since it means the game will be mounted on a much more solid base. Like I mentioned last update, most modern PC users won’t see a huge difference -- these changes will primarily benefit players on older hardware, and the upcoming console ports of the game.

Today’s update has some noticeable improvements for frame drops in the Industrial areas, and there’s still more to come. There are also a number of bug fixes, mostly for things that I broke during optimization. Please keep me posted on anything else that I may have broken!

Also, apologies for last update’s speculation about the release of the “Level 4 - Downtown” content, I’m going to keep my lips sealed about that until the time comes. New content will be my top priority following the current batch of performance improvements. You can still contribute suggestions for Downtown in this thread.

This week’s Fortnight Discussion: “ProTips”. I know you’ve got some. Let’s have ‘em.

Also, a reminder to check out the Wiki Editor of the Month competition!

Performance

• Whole bunch of large and small improvements that hopefully did not break too much

Graphics

• Fix for split-screen camera sometimes showing weird artifacts on Medium lighting mode
  
• Fix for players appearing as purple worm man thing when switching to local multiplayer mode from Home Base

UI / Controls

• Fix for “Other players can revive you” messages not appearing in four-player local mode
  
• Fix for certain interface elements appearing in incorrect positions during camera zooms
  
• Fix for dialogue box appearing on top of main menu when the game is paused

Characters

• Fix for not being able to properly Bribe cops, which in turn made the Cop character impossible to unlock

Playfield Objects

• Switches and Laser Emitters cannot be set on fire

Items

• Fix for cases in multiplayer games where people would refuse to equip or shoot certain weapons on the server due to traits like Stubby Fingers, though they were equipped on the client

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Fix for game freezing if the player killed themselves while having the Bloodlust trait
  
• Fix for Bloodlust restoring someone’s health after their death
  
• Fix for Bloodlust triggering when the player punched dead bodies that were burnt from fire
  
• Fix for bodies not turning into zombies if they were afflicted with Zombiism and then knocked out and killed

Combat

• Fix for opponents sometimes immediately punching the player after the player had just initiated combat
  
• Fix for opponents being too aggressive toward the player prior to actually hitting the player for the first time
  
• Fix for opponents consistently being too aggressive toward multiplayer clients
  
• Fix for opponents phasing through walls often as multiplayer client

Sound

• Fix for Werewolf Transformation sound effects not playing
  
• Sound effects added to menus in a couple spots

Gameplay

• Fix for game going haywire when falling down holes and dying while Possessing another person
  
• Possibly a bunch of other fixes for possessing other people
  
• Fix for players being able to continue the game in coop mode if they were falling into a hole after the game had ended due to Suicide or finishing all the levels

Level Generation

• Fixed a couple of instances where pits were placed in such a way that people would have difficulty pathing around them

Artificial Intelligence

• Improved pathfinding, people less likely to get stuck walking into walls
  
• Fixed issue where people would not pay attention to noises after too many noises had been created during that level
  
• Fix for combat not occurring properly between NPCs when they were off-camera
  
• Fix for people not fleeing clients properly when they were out of range of the host
  
• People will not walk through red lasers in most situations

• Forget the last build, it sucked. I had added a last minute change that tanked the frame rate. This build runs about 33% faster.
  
• Snuck in some more performance improvements that will hopefully not break anything.
  
• Fix for party members not always following commands properly
  
• Fix for fires sometimes burning permanently and causing general weirdness
  
• Fix for people attempting to re-enter buildings they just left while gas is still spraying
  
• Fix for Killer Robot rockets not moving properly in multiplayer mode

• Fix for selection box not appearing in inventory for gamepad users
  
• Fix for Safes sometimes appearing as debris
  
• Even more assorted performance improvements

• Fix for status text sometimes appearing on the screen permanently
  
• Fix for party members not obeying commands to change their position
  
• Fix for Bacon Cheeseburgers appearing in all inventory slots at the start of the Park levels
  
• Yet more small performance improvements

Optimization
I have been furiously optimizing Streets of Rogue over the past week or so. While performance issues haven’t been a major problem in the game (save for a few trouble sections), it had been about a year and a half since the last time the game got an optimization pass. If you’re running the game on a low- to mid-range PC, you may notice fewer frame drops in this build. For everyone else, the game will feel just a tad bit snappier. There’s still a lot more optimization to be done as well. And be on the lookout for new bugs, because I modified a whole lot of code in a whole lot of different areas.

Consoles??
A big part of the reason for these optimizations is that I’m currently working on console versions of the game, and unfortunately, consoles don’t have quite the horsepower of a modern PC. So, my code needs to be in impeccable shape for the game to run at a decent clip. While Streets of Rogue might not look like the sort of game that should have big requirements, there’s actually a lot being processed on the CPU at any given time. Fancy AI doesn’t come cheap!

So what consoles is the game coming to, and when? Can’t say right now, but it may happen before the end of the year if all goes well!

What about Level 4??
I was hoping to have it done for the September 7th build release, but that may not happen. There’s a lot on my plate right now given some recent developments regarding the console versions. But I would still like to have it out in mid-September. Can’t make any promises, but I think that should be doable.

PAX
The game will be playable at PAX West next week at the tinyBuild booth. Stop by and say hello to those fine folks, and be sure to bug them about Hello Neighbor's release date, I hear they love that! Sadly I won’t be able to make it this year. I’ll be out of town for a wedding for 5 days during Labor Day weekend.

Community Stuff
This week’s Fortnight Discussion deals with the long-awaited “Big Quests”...

Also, check out the Wiki Editor of the Month competition!, and while you're at it, go make some edits to the wiki!

Performance

• Loads and loads of performance tweaks
  
• Load times are slightly faster

Graphics

• Fix for players clipping through walls and objects vertically after teleporting while in the water

UI / Controls

• Fix for Traits on Load Character screen not being separated by line
  
• Fix for players 2, 3 and 4 not having the correct character selected when entering Character Select screen after death while playing as a custom character
  
• Fix for error if player plays as a custom character, dies, clears the custom character slot, then closes and re-opens the menu

Items

• Fix for Shopkeeper appearing to be equipped with weapons on multiplayer client when he is actually empty-handed

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Fix for Bloodlust, Zombify, Camera Shy, Crepe Crusher, Blahd Basher and potentially others not triggering properly sometimes for multiplayer clients past the level where they joined the game
  
• Unstoppable-Ish cancels out Tank-Like and Skinny Nerdlinger during Character Creation

Sound

• Fix for “jump out of water” sound effect playing if the player teleports while in the water

Tutorial

• Fix for explosions from first laser not hitting the player if he stood in the exact right spot
  
• Player can now eat the Banana to advance the “quick-use health” part of the tutorial

Internal

• Prep work for Downtown levels
  
• Prep work for console versions
  
• Created new Free version of the game
  
• Created new Show version of the game for PAX

• Fix for custom characters sometimes not appearing properly
  
• Fix for chests and shops sometimes having incorrect items

• Fix for Pits not appearing
  
• Fix for Crusher poles not appearing
  
• Fix for shadows not appearing
  
• Fix for player identifiers not appearing in multiplayer modes
  
• Fix for people not turning blue when frozen

• Fixed a small bug that I added shortly before deploying Alpha 32, which ironically might have made performance WORSE than before.

• Fixed issue from 32d where people would not attack you
  
• Added new lighting setting “Medium”. With this setting, walls do not cast shadows, which can greatly improve performance while still keeping the aesthetics mostly intact.
  
• Fix for Killer Plants remaining permanently white after being hit
  
• For for people briefly looking incorrect after being Depossessed by Shapeshifter
  
• More performance tweaks

• Fix for glitch introduced in 32e where AI would often not attack each other when they are hostile

• Fix for people not always fighting back against Zombies
  
• Fix for people not getting angry upon seeing you standing over their friend’s dead body
  
• Fix for people not walking around in their owned buildings and looking at objects
  
• Fix for people not being angry at depossessed people who attacked them while possessed
  
• Fix for people not correctly determining when they should not get angry at a person who attacked them while possessed
  
• Fix for items not having shadows
  
• Fix for players 2, 3 and 4 in coop games not being able to use hacking target properly
  
• Fixed frame drops when people got clustered together
  
• Improved Zombie frame rate issues

• Fix for weird bugs introduced in 32g

Optimization
I have been furiously optimizing Streets of Rogue over the past week or so. While performance issues haven’t been a major problem in the game (save for a few trouble sections), it had been about a year and a half since the last time the game got an optimization pass. If you’re running the game on a low- to mid-range PC, you may notice fewer frame drops in this build. For everyone else, the game will feel just a tad bit snappier. There’s still a lot more optimization to be done as well. And be on the lookout for new bugs, because I modified a whole lot of code in a whole lot of different areas.

Consoles??
A big part of the reason for these optimizations is that I’m currently working on console versions of the game, and unfortunately, consoles don’t have quite the horsepower of a modern PC. So, my code needs to be in impeccable shape for the game to run at a decent clip. While Streets of Rogue might not look like the sort of game that should have big requirements, there’s actually a lot being processed on the CPU at any given time. Fancy AI doesn’t come cheap!

So what consoles is the game coming to, and when? Can’t say right now, but it may happen before the end of the year if all goes well!

What about Level 4??
I was hoping to have it done for the September 7th build release, but that may not happen. There’s a lot on my plate right now given some recent developments regarding the console versions. But I would still like to have it out in mid-September. Can’t make any promises, but I think that should be doable.

PAX
The game will be playable at PAX West next week at the tinyBuild booth. Stop by and say hello to those fine folks, and be sure to bug them about Hello Neighbor's release date, I hear they love that! Sadly I won’t be able to make it this year. I’ll be out of town for a wedding for 5 days during Labor Day weekend.

Community Stuff
This week’s Fortnight Discussion deals with the long-awaited “Big Quests”...

Also, check out the Wiki Editor of the Month competition!, and while you're at it, go make some edits to the wiki!

Performance

• Loads and loads of performance tweaks
  
• Load times are slightly faster

Graphics

• Fix for players clipping through walls and objects vertically after teleporting while in the water

UI / Controls

• Fix for Traits on Load Character screen not being separated by line
  
• Fix for players 2, 3 and 4 not having the correct character selected when entering Character Select screen after death while playing as a custom character
  
• Fix for error if player plays as a custom character, dies, clears the custom character slot, then closes and re-opens the menu

Items

• Fix for Shopkeeper appearing to be equipped with weapons on multiplayer client when he is actually empty-handed

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Fix for Bloodlust, Zombify, Camera Shy, Crepe Crusher, Blahd Basher and potentially others not triggering properly sometimes for multiplayer clients past the level where they joined the game
  
• Unstoppable-Ish cancels out Tank-Like and Skinny Nerdlinger during Character Creation

Sound

• Fix for “jump out of water” sound effect playing if the player teleports while in the water

Tutorial

• Fix for explosions from first laser not hitting the player if he stood in the exact right spot
  
• Player can now eat the Banana to advance the “quick-use health” part of the tutorial

Internal

• Prep work for Downtown levels
  
• Prep work for console versions
  
• Created new Free version of the game
  
• Created new Show version of the game for PAX

• Fix for custom characters sometimes not appearing properly
  
• Fix for chests and shops sometimes having incorrect items

• Fix for Pits not appearing
  
• Fix for Crusher poles not appearing
  
• Fix for shadows not appearing
  
• Fix for player identifiers not appearing in multiplayer modes
  
• Fix for people not turning blue when frozen

• Fixed a small bug that I added shortly before deploying Alpha 32, which ironically might have made performance WORSE than before.

• Fixed issue from 32d where people would not attack you
  
• Added new lighting setting “Medium”. With this setting, walls do not cast shadows, which can greatly improve performance while still keeping the aesthetics mostly intact.
  
• Fix for Killer Plants remaining permanently white after being hit
  
• For for people briefly looking incorrect after being Depossessed by Shapeshifter
  
• More performance tweaks

• Fix for glitch introduced in 32e where AI would often not attack each other when they are hostile

• Fix for people not always fighting back against Zombies
  
• Fix for people not getting angry upon seeing you standing over their friend’s dead body
  
• Fix for people not walking around in their owned buildings and looking at objects
  
• Fix for people not being angry at depossessed people who attacked them while possessed
  
• Fix for people not correctly determining when they should not get angry at a person who attacked them while possessed
  
• Fix for items not having shadows
  
• Fix for players 2, 3 and 4 in coop games not being able to use hacking target properly
  
• Fixed frame drops when people got clustered together
  
• Improved Zombie frame rate issues

• Fix for weird bugs introduced in 32g

So first off: I released a version of Alpha 31 earlier today, prematurely. If you ran this version, all of your unlock progress may have been deleted. I'm very sorry about this, and I'll be taking more precautions in the future to make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again. If your progress got deleted, send me an email (my email can be found at the bottom of streetsofrogue.com) and I'll send you a file with everything unlocked.

Pretty much every major thing that was wrong with the previous iteration of Character Creation has been fixed. Check the list below for the full details.

I’ve also started work on Floor 4 - Downtown. It won’t be done for another couple of update cycles (likely September 7th), so the next update (August 24th) will probably be on the light side. If you want to help out with this new area, you can discuss ideas in this week’s Fortnight Discussion.

I’ve also started work on porting the game to consoles. So yeah, that’s a thing now.

Character Creation (and related gameplay)

• Custom characters can be used in multiplayer mode
  
• Character data is now stored in the My Documents folder (or Mac/Linux equivalent)
  
• It is now possible to change a character’s eye type and color, and add an accessory
  
• Many balance changes made to point values
  
• Character Creation interface has been prettied up
  
• Added “Clear Slot” button
  
• New selectable traits: Unstoppable-ish, Ultimate Butterfinger-er, Sausage Fingers, Scientist Slayer, Specist, Diminutive, Naked, Blahd Basher, Crepe Crusher, Zombify, Flesh Feast, Fair Game, Serve Drinks, Charismatic, Malodorous, Addict
  
• New selectable items: Drink Mixer, Slave Helmet Remote, Steroids, Codpiece, Bacon Cheeseburger, Banana, Whiskey, First Aid Kit, Rock, Combat Helmet, Freeze Ray, Ghost Blaster, Shuriken, Axe, Translator
  
• New selectable abilities: Enslave, Sharp Lunge
  
• Traits and Abilities are now capable of canceling out other traits and abilities
  
• Trait, Ability and Item descriptions may contain “Recommended” text to indicate other things that go along them
  
• Custom characters can get Achievements and Unlocks.
  
• No longer necessary to switch to Sandbox mode when using characters that exceed the point limit. However, players will be unable to get Achievements and Unlocks.
  
• Placed caps on the number of Traits and Items that can be selected before the player exceeds limitations
  
• Button added to allow alphabetical sorting in addition to point value sorting
  
• Sorting takes “locked” status into account
  
• When selecting characters from the Load menu, their information is displayed
  
• Gamepad button prompts only appear when using a gamepad
  
• Error message will appear if you try to give your character a name that is already taken by an existing character
  
• Deleted characters are immediately removed from the Character Select screen
  
• Fix for facial hair appearing as the wrong color in the big character select image
  
• Pressing Start on the gamepad to save the game while inputting a character name will now save that name properly
  
• Assorted fixes for gamepad navigation in character creation screen
  
• Fixed more cases where “E_” text was appearing when performing certain formerly character-specific abilities
  
• Fix for new custom characters sometimes starting with the wrong hair, skin color, etc.
  
• Fix for custom characters who got zombified resurrecting with incorrect body type
  
• Fix for custom characters with “The Law” not being able to see whether a person was guilty or innocent
  
• Fix for custom characters with “The Law” not being aligned with Cops
  
• Fix for Taser not being available to custom characters when No Guns mutator was active
  
• Fixed bug where the last button on the Traits and Items lists was not appearing
  
• Fix for “Killer” on Stats screen reading “E_Custom” at times
  
• Fix for NPC custom characters not having wolf heads, robot heads, etc.
  
• Fix for player not being able to change the color of wolf heads, robot heads, etc.
  
• Fix for original head appearing behind wolf heads, robot heads, etc.
  
• Fix for larger body types not being sized correctly on the Character Creation screen
  
• Fixed timing of certain Character Creation screen sound effects

Sound

• Around 100 new sound effects

Localization

• Fix for fan translations not appearing properly when turned on until after the game was restarted
  
• Fix for Chinese text not appearing on Linux build.

Graphics

• Fix for accessories like Sunglasses sometimes appearing over hair when they weren’t supposed to

UI / Controls

• Fix for pressing space to select random characters on Character Select working weird in Home Base with more than 1 player active

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Fix for Arresting animation not completing properly when arresting Slaves
  
• Studious and Super Studious do not take effect when the player loses XP
  
• Turf Warrior has been replaced with one trait for each gang: Blahd Basher and Crepe Crusher

Mutators

• Sandbox mutator now allows you to do missions, but does not require them in order to get to the next level

Multiplayer

• Fix for appearances of “purple worm man thing”

Engine

• Updated Unity engine from 5.6.1f1 to 2017.1.0p2

Other

• Updated 2D Toolkit plugin from 2.5.8.1 to 2.5.8.5
  
• Updated Rewired plugin from 1.1.3.0 to 1.1.5.3
  
• Updated Steamworks dot net from 9.0.0 to 10.0.0

Internal

• Prep work for Downtown levels
  
• Prep work for console versions

• Fixed issue where character select wasn't working properly and people's unlocks were getting deleted

• Fix for context buttons and store/chest items not being clickable.

• Fix for clients not being able to select custom characters in password-protected games when joining the game via invite
  
• Fix for not being able to select Slave Remote and Drink Mixer
  
• Fix for sorting in Character Creation not always working properly
  
• Fix for being able to gain Chicken Nuggets by switching off Abilities in Character Creation
  
• Fixed gamepad cursor not immediately appearing over custom characters when the player dies and is returned to the Character Select screen
  
• Fix for Zombify not infecting people when used with Bite
  
• Fixed Zombify triggering people to run away instead of Fair Game
  
• Fix for clock not counting down seconds during mutators and disasters

• Fix for Zombies not having yellow eyes
  
• ‘Zombify’ trait name changed to ‘Zombiism’, and description changed to let players know that other zombies will not attack them
  
• Changed Handcuffs description to indicate that these cannot be used on members of The Law
  
• Can’t unlock elevator floors or the Shapeshifter by using custom characters
  
• Added Safe-Cracking Tool to item list
  
• Fix for certain status effects from Lakes not working properly on multiplayer clients
  
• Fix for players still appearing to be underwater after dying in a Lake and respawning as a ghost
  
• Fair Game cancels out Specist, Scientist Slayer, Blahd Bashes, Crepe Crusher, and Naked
  
• Fixed Bloodlust canceling all special abilities instead of just Cannibalize
  
• Fix for Bloodlust and probably a few others not working properly for multiplayer clients with custom characters (traits weren’t getting sent to the server properly)
  
• Fix for mustache sometimes appearing at the side of custom characters’ faces
  
• Fix for list of body type in character creator sometimes appearing as a white square, and not all body types appearing
  
• Fix for Character Select menu sometimes getting stuck in multiplayer mode if a custom character was chosen and then the menu was closed and re-opened
  
• Fixed Zombiism triggering people to run away after first level (only Fair Game should do this)

• Fixed bug where custom characters could sometimes not be used in multiplayer games
  
• Naked works properly for custom characters
  
• Toss cancels Diminutive and Sausage Fingers, and The Law cancels Naked, Naked cancels Likeable
  
• Changed Naked description to indicate that business owners want you to leave
  
• Changed cost values of Safe-Cracking Tool and Safe Buster to better reflect their respective strengths
  
• Fixed certain Character Creation menu sounds occurring on clients when played on host

• It is now possible to play as Custom characters in non-password-protected multiplayer games, just not overpowered characters.
  
• White hair color added, so that gorilla head, robot mask etc. (which are listed under hair types) could have their normal coloring.
  
• Fix for Assassin not showing skin behind the mask on Character Select.
  
• Fix for Debt amount sometimes not displaying properly for custom characters.

• Fix for fan translations not working

• Fixed bug where custom characters could sometimes not be used in multiplayer games, FOR REAL THIS TIME (oh god I hope this is the last hotfix)

• Spoke too soon! Fixed bug where it was impossible to select non-custom characters in non-password-protected internet games.
  
• Fixed bug in the very-briefly-released 31j where unlocked data was not loading because the application data directory had been changed without my knowledge (thx Unity)

So first off: I released a version of Alpha 31 earlier today, prematurely. If you ran this version, all of your unlock progress may have been deleted. I'm very sorry about this, and I'll be taking more precautions in the future to make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again. If your progress got deleted, send me an email (my email can be found at the bottom of streetsofrogue.com) and I'll send you a file with everything unlocked.

Pretty much every major thing that was wrong with the previous iteration of Character Creation has been fixed. Check the list below for the full details.

I’ve also started work on Floor 4 - Downtown. It won’t be done for another couple of update cycles (likely September 7th), so the next update (August 24th) will probably be on the light side. If you want to help out with this new area, you can discuss ideas in this week’s Fortnight Discussion.

I’ve also started work on porting the game to consoles. So yeah, that’s a thing now.

Character Creation (and related gameplay)

• Custom characters can be used in multiplayer mode
  
• Character data is now stored in the My Documents folder (or Mac/Linux equivalent)
  
• It is now possible to change a character’s eye type and color, and add an accessory
  
• Many balance changes made to point values
  
• Character Creation interface has been prettied up
  
• Added “Clear Slot” button
  
• New selectable traits: Unstoppable-ish, Ultimate Butterfinger-er, Sausage Fingers, Scientist Slayer, Specist, Diminutive, Naked, Blahd Basher, Crepe Crusher, Zombify, Flesh Feast, Fair Game, Serve Drinks, Charismatic, Malodorous, Addict
  
• New selectable items: Drink Mixer, Slave Helmet Remote, Steroids, Codpiece, Bacon Cheeseburger, Banana, Whiskey, First Aid Kit, Rock, Combat Helmet, Freeze Ray, Ghost Blaster, Shuriken, Axe, Translator
  
• New selectable abilities: Enslave, Sharp Lunge
  
• Traits and Abilities are now capable of canceling out other traits and abilities
  
• Trait, Ability and Item descriptions may contain “Recommended” text to indicate other things that go along them
  
• Custom characters can get Achievements and Unlocks.
  
• No longer necessary to switch to Sandbox mode when using characters that exceed the point limit. However, players will be unable to get Achievements and Unlocks.
  
• Placed caps on the number of Traits and Items that can be selected before the player exceeds limitations
  
• Button added to allow alphabetical sorting in addition to point value sorting
  
• Sorting takes “locked” status into account
  
• When selecting characters from the Load menu, their information is displayed
  
• Gamepad button prompts only appear when using a gamepad
  
• Error message will appear if you try to give your character a name that is already taken by an existing character
  
• Deleted characters are immediately removed from the Character Select screen
  
• Fix for facial hair appearing as the wrong color in the big character select image
  
• Pressing Start on the gamepad to save the game while inputting a character name will now save that name properly
  
• Assorted fixes for gamepad navigation in character creation screen
  
• Fixed more cases where “E_” text was appearing when performing certain formerly character-specific abilities
  
• Fix for new custom characters sometimes starting with the wrong hair, skin color, etc.
  
• Fix for custom characters who got zombified resurrecting with incorrect body type
  
• Fix for custom characters with “The Law” not being able to see whether a person was guilty or innocent
  
• Fix for custom characters with “The Law” not being aligned with Cops
  
• Fix for Taser not being available to custom characters when No Guns mutator was active
  
• Fixed bug where the last button on the Traits and Items lists was not appearing
  
• Fix for “Killer” on Stats screen reading “E_Custom” at times
  
• Fix for NPC custom characters not having wolf heads, robot heads, etc.
  
• Fix for player not being able to change the color of wolf heads, robot heads, etc.
  
• Fix for original head appearing behind wolf heads, robot heads, etc.
  
• Fix for larger body types not being sized correctly on the Character Creation screen
  
• Fixed timing of certain Character Creation screen sound effects

Sound

• Around 100 new sound effects

Localization

• Fix for fan translations not appearing properly when turned on until after the game was restarted
  
• Fix for Chinese text not appearing on Linux build.

Graphics

• Fix for accessories like Sunglasses sometimes appearing over hair when they weren’t supposed to

UI / Controls

• Fix for pressing space to select random characters on Character Select working weird in Home Base with more than 1 player active

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Fix for Arresting animation not completing properly when arresting Slaves
  
• Studious and Super Studious do not take effect when the player loses XP
  
• Turf Warrior has been replaced with one trait for each gang: Blahd Basher and Crepe Crusher

Mutators

• Sandbox mutator now allows you to do missions, but does not require them in order to get to the next level

Multiplayer

• Fix for appearances of “purple worm man thing”

Engine

• Updated Unity engine from 5.6.1f1 to 2017.1.0p2

Other

• Updated 2D Toolkit plugin from 2.5.8.1 to 2.5.8.5
  
• Updated Rewired plugin from 1.1.3.0 to 1.1.5.3
  
• Updated Steamworks dot net from 9.0.0 to 10.0.0

Internal

• Prep work for Downtown levels
  
• Prep work for console versions

• Fixed issue where character select wasn't working properly and people's unlocks were getting deleted

• Fix for context buttons and store/chest items not being clickable.

• Fix for clients not being able to select custom characters in password-protected games when joining the game via invite
  
• Fix for not being able to select Slave Remote and Drink Mixer
  
• Fix for sorting in Character Creation not always working properly
  
• Fix for being able to gain Chicken Nuggets by switching off Abilities in Character Creation
  
• Fixed gamepad cursor not immediately appearing over custom characters when the player dies and is returned to the Character Select screen
  
• Fix for Zombify not infecting people when used with Bite
  
• Fixed Zombify triggering people to run away instead of Fair Game
  
• Fix for clock not counting down seconds during mutators and disasters

• Fix for Zombies not having yellow eyes
  
• ‘Zombify’ trait name changed to ‘Zombiism’, and description changed to let players know that other zombies will not attack them
  
• Changed Handcuffs description to indicate that these cannot be used on members of The Law
  
• Can’t unlock elevator floors or the Shapeshifter by using custom characters
  
• Added Safe-Cracking Tool to item list
  
• Fix for certain status effects from Lakes not working properly on multiplayer clients
  
• Fix for players still appearing to be underwater after dying in a Lake and respawning as a ghost
  
• Fair Game cancels out Specist, Scientist Slayer, Blahd Bashes, Crepe Crusher, and Naked
  
• Fixed Bloodlust canceling all special abilities instead of just Cannibalize
  
• Fix for Bloodlust and probably a few others not working properly for multiplayer clients with custom characters (traits weren’t getting sent to the server properly)
  
• Fix for mustache sometimes appearing at the side of custom characters’ faces
  
• Fix for list of body type in character creator sometimes appearing as a white square, and not all body types appearing
  
• Fix for Character Select menu sometimes getting stuck in multiplayer mode if a custom character was chosen and then the menu was closed and re-opened
  
• Fixed Zombiism triggering people to run away after first level (only Fair Game should do this)

• Fixed bug where custom characters could sometimes not be used in multiplayer games
  
• Naked works properly for custom characters
  
• Toss cancels Diminutive and Sausage Fingers, and The Law cancels Naked, Naked cancels Likeable
  
• Changed Naked description to indicate that business owners want you to leave
  
• Changed cost values of Safe-Cracking Tool and Safe Buster to better reflect their respective strengths
  
• Fixed certain Character Creation menu sounds occurring on clients when played on host

• It is now possible to play as Custom characters in non-password-protected multiplayer games, just not overpowered characters.
  
• White hair color added, so that gorilla head, robot mask etc. (which are listed under hair types) could have their normal coloring.
  
• Fix for Assassin not showing skin behind the mask on Character Select.
  
• Fix for Debt amount sometimes not displaying properly for custom characters.

• Fix for fan translations not working

• Fixed bug where custom characters could sometimes not be used in multiplayer games, FOR REAL THIS TIME (oh god I hope this is the last hotfix)

• Spoke too soon! Fixed bug where it was impossible to select non-custom characters in non-password-protected internet games.
  
• Fixed bug in the very-briefly-released 31j where unlocked data was not loading because the application data directory had been changed without my knowledge (thx Unity)