Well, 16 new mutators to be more accurate, but 5 of them are basically the same thing.

I actually spent the bulk of this update working on the level loading improvements that I started during the last update cycle, but most of my changes weren’t ready for public consumption, so I left them out of this build. I’ll start drip-feeding these changes slowly over future builds, since there is lots of potential for these to cause new bugs, and I don’t want to break TOO much at one time.

More Uptown content is still coming. I’ll be away for a few days over the weekend visiting my grandmother for her 100th (!) birthday, but hopefully I’ll get to spend most of the next update cycle focused on Uptown.

Also, speaking of mutators -- that is the topic of this week’s Fortnight Discussion!

Mutators

• Added “Remove Levels” mutators for Slums, Industrial, Park, Downtown, and Uptown. These will remove the specified level theme from the game.
  
• Added “Random Level Themes” which randomizes each level variety you enter (Slums, Industrial, etc.)
  
• Added “Exploding Bodies”, which causes people to explode shortly after dying or being otherwise neutralized.
  
• Added “No Cops”, which removes patrolling Cops, Supercops and Cop Bots from the game. Cops can still be found in Police Stations, and Supercops can still be called via Alarm Button.
  
• Added “Full Health For All”, which calculates health for players and NPCs the same, rather than reducing NPC health by comparison
  
• Added “Infinite Melee Durability”, which does what it says.
  
• Added “Infinite Ammo”, which again, does what it says
  
• Added “Infinite Ammo for Common Weapons”, which encompasses mostly bullet-based weapons like Pistol, Shotgun, etc.
  
• Added “Random Mutators” where each level contains a new set of mutators
  
• Added “Continue?”, which gives the player 2 Continues. This means that if the player dies, they can start at the beginning of that level, with everything reset to its original state. On the third death, the game is over. This doesn’t work in online multiplayer yet.
  
• Added “Mixed-Up Environments”, which can result in Lakes appearing in the Slums, Manholes appearing in Industrial, Upper-Crusters appearing in the Park, etc.
  
• Added “Quick Game” which makes the game 10 levels long instead of 15.
  
• Extreme Time Limit renamed to Time Limit EXTREME to make it easier to find alphabetically amongst similar mutators
  
• Fix for bug in New Character Every Level where the character’s special ability from the previous level could remain on the screen
  
• In Rogue Vision mode, player can no longer use the cursor to highlight items that are not visible to the camera

Graphics

• Fix for shadows appearing under certain objects in Rogue Vision mode when they were not supposed to
  
• Fix for pink objects appearing on multiplayer client in Rogue Vision mode
  
• Fix for shadows caused by walls near doors occasionally appearing in the wrong spot

UI / Controls

• Fix for countdown timers not appearing on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for multiplayer client not being able to auto-teleport to the Exit using the Ctrl key when all missions are completed
  
• Fix for multiplayer chat log sometimes disappearing if it became too long. Older text is now removed manually if the log gets too big.

Playfield Objects

• Fix for Mine Cart tracks sometime spawning in the wrong position on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for Turret sometimes not activating when Security Cameras spotted the player when there were multiple Security Cams

Items

• Cocaine is now known as Sugar, and Steroids are now known as Muscly Pills. These were the only real-world drug references in the game (except for cigarettes/nicotine, which is bad for you in the game), and I decided to replace these due to A. Parents finding these references a little jarring, B. ME finding them a little jarring since they don’t quite fit with the weird nonsense world of Streets of Rogue, and C. I feel like something like that could take the game from a T rating to an M rating when the ESRB eventually does its thing. Overall, it didn’t seem worth keeping this stuff in the game. Also, the idea that drug dealers sell bags of sugar to willing customers is pretty funny.
  
• Musician no longer carries items that do not exist in the game code

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Modern Warfarer now works on NPCs

Sound

• Fix for music not fading out properly at the end of levels
  
• Fix for music sometimes not playing when reaching a new level

Missions

• Soldier players will not receive missions that take place in Military Outposts

Level Generation

• Various fixes to the new level loading system from the last build that should result in an overall decrease in weird bugs
  
• Lockdown Walls can now be placed next to Fences

Text

• Changed text descriptions for No Guns mutator to mention that all guns would be replaced with equivalent melee weapons. Did the same for No Melee mutator.
  
• Added notification to “End Game” prompt that saved progress will be destroyed

Performance

• Lots more work on level-loading performance, though most of these efforts aren’t bug-tested enough for me to activate them in a public build

• Fix for Downtown levels (possibly others) sometimes not loading properly for multiplayer client
  
• Fix for issue where the player could close the “select a trait” interface if it appeared directly after the player achieved an Unlock and the player clicked outside of the interface
  
• Fix for Refrigerator sometimes running through walls and objects without destroying them

• “Remove Levels - Uptown” mutator is now unlocked at the end of 5-2. When 5-3 is actually made available, I will increase this to 5-3.
  
• Fix for certain traits like Scientist Slayer and Blahd Basher not working properly on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for NPCs attempting to path around Killer Plants that were destroyed
  
• Fix for Cannibals not always facing the player when revealing themselves from bushes
  
• Fix for timer sometimes appearing incorrectly between levels

Well, 16 new mutators to be more accurate, but 5 of them are basically the same thing.

I actually spent the bulk of this update working on the level loading improvements that I started during the last update cycle, but most of my changes weren’t ready for public consumption, so I left them out of this build. I’ll start drip-feeding these changes slowly over future builds, since there is lots of potential for these to cause new bugs, and I don’t want to break TOO much at one time.

More Uptown content is still coming. I’ll be away for a few days over the weekend visiting my grandmother for her 100th (!) birthday, but hopefully I’ll get to spend most of the next update cycle focused on Uptown.

Also, speaking of mutators -- that is the topic of this week’s Fortnight Discussion!

Mutators

• Added “Remove Levels” mutators for Slums, Industrial, Park, Downtown, and Uptown. These will remove the specified level theme from the game.
  
• Added “Random Level Themes” which randomizes each level variety you enter (Slums, Industrial, etc.)
  
• Added “Exploding Bodies”, which causes people to explode shortly after dying or being otherwise neutralized.
  
• Added “No Cops”, which removes patrolling Cops, Supercops and Cop Bots from the game. Cops can still be found in Police Stations, and Supercops can still be called via Alarm Button.
  
• Added “Full Health For All”, which calculates health for players and NPCs the same, rather than reducing NPC health by comparison
  
• Added “Infinite Melee Durability”, which does what it says.
  
• Added “Infinite Ammo”, which again, does what it says
  
• Added “Infinite Ammo for Common Weapons”, which encompasses mostly bullet-based weapons like Pistol, Shotgun, etc.
  
• Added “Random Mutators” where each level contains a new set of mutators
  
• Added “Continue?”, which gives the player 2 Continues. This means that if the player dies, they can start at the beginning of that level, with everything reset to its original state. On the third death, the game is over. This doesn’t work in online multiplayer yet.
  
• Added “Mixed-Up Environments”, which can result in Lakes appearing in the Slums, Manholes appearing in Industrial, Upper-Crusters appearing in the Park, etc.
  
• Added “Quick Game” which makes the game 10 levels long instead of 15.
  
• Extreme Time Limit renamed to Time Limit EXTREME to make it easier to find alphabetically amongst similar mutators
  
• Fix for bug in New Character Every Level where the character’s special ability from the previous level could remain on the screen
  
• In Rogue Vision mode, player can no longer use the cursor to highlight items that are not visible to the camera

Graphics

• Fix for shadows appearing under certain objects in Rogue Vision mode when they were not supposed to
  
• Fix for pink objects appearing on multiplayer client in Rogue Vision mode
  
• Fix for shadows caused by walls near doors occasionally appearing in the wrong spot

UI / Controls

• Fix for countdown timers not appearing on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for multiplayer client not being able to auto-teleport to the Exit using the Ctrl key when all missions are completed
  
• Fix for multiplayer chat log sometimes disappearing if it became too long. Older text is now removed manually if the log gets too big.

Playfield Objects

• Fix for Mine Cart tracks sometime spawning in the wrong position on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for Turret sometimes not activating when Security Cameras spotted the player when there were multiple Security Cams

Items

• Cocaine is now known as Sugar, and Steroids are now known as Muscly Pills. These were the only real-world drug references in the game (except for cigarettes/nicotine, which is bad for you in the game), and I decided to replace these due to A. Parents finding these references a little jarring, B. ME finding them a little jarring since they don’t quite fit with the weird nonsense world of Streets of Rogue, and C. I feel like something like that could take the game from a T rating to an M rating when the ESRB eventually does its thing. Overall, it didn’t seem worth keeping this stuff in the game. Also, the idea that drug dealers sell bags of sugar to willing customers is pretty funny.
  
• Musician no longer carries items that do not exist in the game code

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Modern Warfarer now works on NPCs

Sound

• Fix for music not fading out properly at the end of levels
  
• Fix for music sometimes not playing when reaching a new level

Missions

• Soldier players will not receive missions that take place in Military Outposts

Level Generation

• Various fixes to the new level loading system from the last build that should result in an overall decrease in weird bugs
  
• Lockdown Walls can now be placed next to Fences

Text

• Changed text descriptions for No Guns mutator to mention that all guns would be replaced with equivalent melee weapons. Did the same for No Melee mutator.
  
• Added notification to “End Game” prompt that saved progress will be destroyed

Performance

• Lots more work on level-loading performance, though most of these efforts aren’t bug-tested enough for me to activate them in a public build

• Fix for Downtown levels (possibly others) sometimes not loading properly for multiplayer client
  
• Fix for issue where the player could close the “select a trait” interface if it appeared directly after the player achieved an Unlock and the player clicked outside of the interface
  
• Fix for Refrigerator sometimes running through walls and objects without destroying them

• “Remove Levels - Uptown” mutator is now unlocked at the end of 5-2. When 5-3 is actually made available, I will increase this to 5-3.
  
• Fix for certain traits like Scientist Slayer and Blahd Basher not working properly on multiplayer client
  
• Fix for NPCs attempting to path around Killer Plants that were destroyed
  
• Fix for Cannibals not always facing the player when revealing themselves from bushes
  
• Fix for timer sometimes appearing incorrectly between levels

My work took a bit of an unexpected turn this update cycle. I had been planning to focus on content for Uptown, but I ended up making a pivot. I realized that it was sometimes taking upwards of 20 seconds to load Uptown levels on my PC, which isn’t really acceptable. I’ve also heard reports of other people having difficulty loading the Uptown levels without crashing.

The way the game loads new level data has remained mostly the same for the past couple of years, and I figured this would be a good opportunity to apply some new techniques I’d been wanting to use. These are partially implemented in Alpha 44, and as a result, load times between levels should be about 40%-50% faster. Right now, this new loading method ONLY takes place when going from one level to the next, not when restarting the game or beginning a new game. Also, it’s not fully implemented yet, I’ve still got more to do before the full range of my work is ready for public consumption.

These new techniques will not only speed up load times, but make it more feasible for me to create large streaming worlds with this engine in the future (that’s a ways off, but I’m laying the groundwork right now). I’m also laying the groundwork for “level chunks” to be loaded in a new/better way, which will make a level editor more feasible in the future.

I haven’t added a whole lot of new stuff to Uptown for this build, but I did extend the game to be playable through 5-2. I probably won’t have a ton of time to work on Uptown content for Alpha 45 either, given my continued work on level loading. So I’ll likely make 5-3 available in Alpha 46. Maybe. I dunno, we’ll see :D

For this week's Fortnight Discussion, I'm going to do something a little different. I normally ask for ideas and suggestions on various areas of the game, but: Games Similar to Streets of Rogue.

Levels

• Game is now playable through 5-2

Music

• New Track “Floor 5-2 Gonna Bust a Blood Vessel” added to soundtrack owners’ libraries

Graphics

• Fixed shadow for Loadout-O-Matic when it is facing West

UI / Controls

• Fix for player 2’s Skill Bar text not appearing when player gained XP in coop mode

Playfield Objects

• More difficult for people to become stuck in Lockdown Walls

Items

• Fix for EMP Grenades blowing holes in walls if they hit a Cop Bot or Killer Robot
  
• Fix for Oil Container subtracting 2 ammo per tile instead of 1

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Certain Cop Bots can now rob the player of “non-Uptown-approved” weapons
  
• Cop Bots’ security cam beam colors changed (yellow = Upper-Cruster check, purple = Drug/Alcohol check, Cyan = Weapon check)
  
• Fix for Addict trait for Investment Banker not appearing on Character Select screen
  
• Fix for player not gaining Upper Crusty when Possessing residents of Uptown
  
• Fix for player retaining Withdrawal and Feelin’ Good after depossessing from Investment Banker

Missions

• Fix for Cops sometimes not getting missions on a level

Level Generation

• Fix for early-floor Hooligans not spawning in Uptown prison cells

Artificial Intelligence

• Cop Bot no longer gets scared of people with Fair Game
  
• Fix for Office Drone and Clerk not getting Annoyed at people with Malodorous or Naked
  
• Clerks in Deportation Center do not get Annoyed at people with Suspicious, Malodorous or Naked
  
• Fix for Cops not being Aligned with custom characters with The Law
  
• When Comedian successfully tells a Joke to a Bouncer or Clerk at a Deportation Center, the effect is the same as if the Comedian had bribed them, so other people in the building will leave
• the player alone
  
• NPCs are better at using Flamethrower

Text

• Modified “Promise I’ll Return It” text to clarify that it does not work with Pickpocket

Performance

• Load times between levels improved by around 40%-50%, primarily due to the points below
  
• Unity “scene” does not switch when player enters new levels, so certain elements like the interface are no longer regenerated
  
• Walls are now pooled instead of being generated fresh each level
  
• Higher frame rate during parts of the level load (though you won’t notice this)

Other

• Updated Rewired plugin from 1.1.9.0 to 1.1.10.0

Internal

• Added a new and better method for loading level chunks into the game, though it’s not currently used yet
  
• Got another console version up and running. Still can’t say which one it is yet!

• Fix for issues with walls not always being solid
  
• Fixed issue with game going haywire upon Possessing people or turning into Werewolf
  
• Fix for game sometimes getting stuck on loading screen in coop mode
  
• Fix for Endless mode not looping properly

• Fix for certain disasters carrying over into the next level

• Fix for Safe Combinations and Keys sometimes not appearing in online multiplayer games, and other various related weirdness, such as destroying computers not unlocking doors and safes, and turrets not being connected to cameras
  
• Fix for elements of Missions screen remaining after level ended
  
• Potential fix for rare bug where players start a level with no items
  
• Fix for walls and objects appearing too dark when Lighting is set to None
  
• Added preventative measures to ensure lockdowns can’t last more than 40 seconds at a time
  
• Music for level 1-1 and 1-2 has been altered slightly (soundtrack files included) to remove high-pitched effects from the tracks that were making some players insane
  
• Expanded Gas collider radius slightly
  
• (For real this time) Fix for Oil Container taking 2 ammo per tile instead of 1

• Fix for crash that could occur at 100% loaded if game was out of protips to display
  
• Fix for crash that could occur at 62% loaded if something was spawned out of bounds of the gameplay area
  
• Fix for traps like Crushers and floor switches appearing out of bounds of their building

My work took a bit of an unexpected turn this update cycle. I had been planning to focus on content for Uptown, but I ended up making a pivot. I realized that it was sometimes taking upwards of 20 seconds to load Uptown levels on my PC, which isn’t really acceptable. I’ve also heard reports of other people having difficulty loading the Uptown levels without crashing.

The way the game loads new level data has remained mostly the same for the past couple of years, and I figured this would be a good opportunity to apply some new techniques I’d been wanting to use. These are partially implemented in Alpha 44, and as a result, load times between levels should be about 40%-50% faster. Right now, this new loading method ONLY takes place when going from one level to the next, not when restarting the game or beginning a new game. Also, it’s not fully implemented yet, I’ve still got more to do before the full range of my work is ready for public consumption.

These new techniques will not only speed up load times, but make it more feasible for me to create large streaming worlds with this engine in the future (that’s a ways off, but I’m laying the groundwork right now). I’m also laying the groundwork for “level chunks” to be loaded in a new/better way, which will make a level editor more feasible in the future.

I haven’t added a whole lot of new stuff to Uptown for this build, but I did extend the game to be playable through 5-2. I probably won’t have a ton of time to work on Uptown content for Alpha 45 either, given my continued work on level loading. So I’ll likely make 5-3 available in Alpha 46. Maybe. I dunno, we’ll see :D

For this week's Fortnight Discussion, I'm going to do something a little different. I normally ask for ideas and suggestions on various areas of the game, but: Games Similar to Streets of Rogue.

Levels

• Game is now playable through 5-2

Music

• New Track “Floor 5-2 Gonna Bust a Blood Vessel” added to soundtrack owners’ libraries

Graphics

• Fixed shadow for Loadout-O-Matic when it is facing West

UI / Controls

• Fix for player 2’s Skill Bar text not appearing when player gained XP in coop mode

Playfield Objects

• More difficult for people to become stuck in Lockdown Walls

Items

• Fix for EMP Grenades blowing holes in walls if they hit a Cop Bot or Killer Robot
  
• Fix for Oil Container subtracting 2 ammo per tile instead of 1

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Certain Cop Bots can now rob the player of “non-Uptown-approved” weapons
  
• Cop Bots’ security cam beam colors changed (yellow = Upper-Cruster check, purple = Drug/Alcohol check, Cyan = Weapon check)
  
• Fix for Addict trait for Investment Banker not appearing on Character Select screen
  
• Fix for player not gaining Upper Crusty when Possessing residents of Uptown
  
• Fix for player retaining Withdrawal and Feelin’ Good after depossessing from Investment Banker

Missions

• Fix for Cops sometimes not getting missions on a level

Level Generation

• Fix for early-floor Hooligans not spawning in Uptown prison cells

Artificial Intelligence

• Cop Bot no longer gets scared of people with Fair Game
  
• Fix for Office Drone and Clerk not getting Annoyed at people with Malodorous or Naked
  
• Clerks in Deportation Center do not get Annoyed at people with Suspicious, Malodorous or Naked
  
• Fix for Cops not being Aligned with custom characters with The Law
  
• When Comedian successfully tells a Joke to a Bouncer or Clerk at a Deportation Center, the effect is the same as if the Comedian had bribed them, so other people in the building will leave
• the player alone
  
• NPCs are better at using Flamethrower

Text

• Modified “Promise I’ll Return It” text to clarify that it does not work with Pickpocket

Performance

• Load times between levels improved by around 40%-50%, primarily due to the points below
  
• Unity “scene” does not switch when player enters new levels, so certain elements like the interface are no longer regenerated
  
• Walls are now pooled instead of being generated fresh each level
  
• Higher frame rate during parts of the level load (though you won’t notice this)

Other

• Updated Rewired plugin from 1.1.9.0 to 1.1.10.0

Internal

• Added a new and better method for loading level chunks into the game, though it’s not currently used yet
  
• Got another console version up and running. Still can’t say which one it is yet!

• Fix for issues with walls not always being solid
  
• Fixed issue with game going haywire upon Possessing people or turning into Werewolf
  
• Fix for game sometimes getting stuck on loading screen in coop mode
  
• Fix for Endless mode not looping properly

• Fix for certain disasters carrying over into the next level

• Fix for Safe Combinations and Keys sometimes not appearing in online multiplayer games, and other various related weirdness, such as destroying computers not unlocking doors and safes, and turrets not being connected to cameras
  
• Fix for elements of Missions screen remaining after level ended
  
• Potential fix for rare bug where players start a level with no items
  
• Fix for walls and objects appearing too dark when Lighting is set to None
  
• Added preventative measures to ensure lockdowns can’t last more than 40 seconds at a time
  
• Music for level 1-1 and 1-2 has been altered slightly (soundtrack files included) to remove high-pitched effects from the tracks that were making some players insane
  
• Expanded Gas collider radius slightly
  
• (For real this time) Fix for Oil Container taking 2 ammo per tile instead of 1

• Fix for crash that could occur at 100% loaded if game was out of protips to display
  
• Fix for crash that could occur at 62% loaded if something was spawned out of bounds of the gameplay area
  
• Fix for traps like Crushers and floor switches appearing out of bounds of their building

Level 5 is finally here! Well, partially! As of right now, Uptown is still very much in development. Actually, none of the game’s levels are really “finished” by any stretch, but Uptown especially! A bunch of the new Uptown 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 5-1 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.

(Astute readers may recognize that the preceding paragraph is nearly identical to my “Downtown Level v1” update)

This week’s Fortnight Discussion: Mission Types. What sort of missions would you like to see in the game, and what sort of variations would you like to see in existing missions?


Levels

• Game is now playable through 5-1

Music

• New Track “Floor 5-1 I'm Too Arousing For My Turtleneck” added to soundtrack owners’ libraries

Achievements

• Unlock Elevator Access - Uptown

Art

• New wall and floor art for Uptown levels

Non-Playable Characters

• Cop Bot

Environments

• Gated Community
  
• Mansion
  
• Uptown House
  
• Bathhouse
  
• “Zoo” (features zombies, cannibals, and those filthy, uncouth Slum Dwellers)
  
• Private Club
  
• Deportation Center
  
• Confiscation Center
  
• Police Outpost
  
• New Bank varieties
  
• New Music Hall varieties
  
• New Mall varieties
  
• New City Park varieties

Objects

• Lockdown Wall (barricades that go up when Uptown goes into Lockdown)

Environments

• Fixed a hole in one of the Hideout buildings not being the correct size

Graphics

• Internal fixes to characters’ facial features, hats etc. are determined, could potentially fix a few small things
  
• Fix for swimming NPCs on multiplayer client not appearing to be underwater at the start of a game

Playfield Objects

• Certain doors have been given “Panic Room” behavior for particular buildings like Mansions
  
• Fix for Ghosts and Holograms being poisoned by Slime Puddles
  
• Fix for player sometimes being teleported behind vending machines and trash cans

Items

• Items that were missing from Item Teleporter were now available
  
• Fix for Thief NPCs being able to steal quest items from player

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Investment Banker NPCs do not start with Addict

Level Generation

• Fix for cases where buildings may not have been generated at proper difficulty levels on higher floors

Artificial Intelligence

• Supercops are no longer Aligned with player cops, they are Friendly instead
  
• Supercops will enter private property to investigate noises
  
• Clerk in Deportation Center can be paid off
  
• Fix for Goons sometimes not patrolling correctly
  
• Fix for people sometimes observing Shelves against walls from the wrong side of the wall
  
• Non-owners no longer take interest in objects outside of the building that they occupy, such as Air Conditioners
  
• Fix for NPCs sometimes having difficulty navigating Crushers
  
• Fixed pathfinding issues directly after an NPC jumps out of water
  
• Fix for player not being able to ask Slaves to leave town after they are freed
  
• Player can ask Slaves to leave town when they are in captivity, but they will always refuse due to the fact that their helmet would blow up
  
• When player pays a bouncer, not all NPC owners in the building will become Friendly -- only the ones that would have become angry with the player immediately upon seeing them

Multiplayer

• Potential fix for multiplayer issue where host can enter the game as the incorrect player and start at the bottom-left corner of the map
  
• Removed /teleport function from multiplayer games, this was meant to help with issues in earlier builds

• Fix for quests sometimes not appearing properly when due to reward item not being chosen
  
• Fix for music not looping properly in 5-1
  
• Cop Bots can be killed by EMP Grenades
  
• Fix for gamepad players not being able to properly target a position to make their followers stand guard
  
• Fix for Investment Banker dropping items that were never programmed into the game
  
• Fix for cases where NPCs would still attempt to attack the player while in different “lockdown zones”
  
• Fair Game and Charismatic traits cancel each other out properly
  
• Improvements to when Lockdown is triggered
  
• Fix for cases where player could teleport behind fences in new buildings
  
• Clerks say dialogue all the time when the player interacts
  
• Fix for audience members laughing at NPC Comedian’s jokes when they have Hearing Blocked
  
• Added door to Gorilla cage in one of the Zoos that should have been there
  
• Fix for player being able to lose a mission at the start of the game to free a Cannibal from the Zoo
  
• Fix for followers from previous levels not transforming into Zombie properly
  
• Fix for particle effects attached to people sometimes appearing at the incorrect angle
  
• If one of the players is a Cop, you will not receive missions that take place in Police Stations
  
• (For real this time) Fix for player sometimes being teleported behind vending machines and trash cans
  
• Fix for player not being able to command followers to stand guard on top of hidden objects
  
• Cop Bots no longer flee when their health gets low
  
• Fix for player’s head not appearing properly as Ghost when player chooses the new Cop Bot head for their custom character
  
• When players add custom characters to bottom row of character select screen, shadows no longer appear behind the characters
  
• Fix for Trash Cans sometimes spawning next to level border near City Parks
  
• Players who Can’t Speak English can still comply with Cop Bots

• Fix for Can't Speak English not working properly as a result of a change in 43b

• Fix for lighting appearing weird at non-16:9 resolutions as a result of some internal screwing-around I did for console versions in 43c

Level 5 is finally here! Well, partially! As of right now, Uptown is still very much in development. Actually, none of the game’s levels are really “finished” by any stretch, but Uptown especially! A bunch of the new Uptown 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 5-1 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.

(Astute readers may recognize that the preceding paragraph is nearly identical to my “Downtown Level v1” update)

This week’s Fortnight Discussion: Mission Types. What sort of missions would you like to see in the game, and what sort of variations would you like to see in existing missions?


Levels

• Game is now playable through 5-1

Music

• New Track “Floor 5-1 I'm Too Arousing For My Turtleneck” added to soundtrack owners’ libraries

Achievements

• Unlock Elevator Access - Uptown

Art

• New wall and floor art for Uptown levels

Non-Playable Characters

• Cop Bot

Environments

• Gated Community
  
• Mansion
  
• Uptown House
  
• Bathhouse
  
• “Zoo” (features zombies, cannibals, and those filthy, uncouth Slum Dwellers)
  
• Private Club
  
• Deportation Center
  
• Confiscation Center
  
• Police Outpost
  
• New Bank varieties
  
• New Music Hall varieties
  
• New Mall varieties
  
• New City Park varieties

Objects

• Lockdown Wall (barricades that go up when Uptown goes into Lockdown)

Environments

• Fixed a hole in one of the Hideout buildings not being the correct size

Graphics

• Internal fixes to characters’ facial features, hats etc. are determined, could potentially fix a few small things
  
• Fix for swimming NPCs on multiplayer client not appearing to be underwater at the start of a game

Playfield Objects

• Certain doors have been given “Panic Room” behavior for particular buildings like Mansions
  
• Fix for Ghosts and Holograms being poisoned by Slime Puddles
  
• Fix for player sometimes being teleported behind vending machines and trash cans

Items

• Items that were missing from Item Teleporter were now available
  
• Fix for Thief NPCs being able to steal quest items from player

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Investment Banker NPCs do not start with Addict

Level Generation

• Fix for cases where buildings may not have been generated at proper difficulty levels on higher floors

Artificial Intelligence

• Supercops are no longer Aligned with player cops, they are Friendly instead
  
• Supercops will enter private property to investigate noises
  
• Clerk in Deportation Center can be paid off
  
• Fix for Goons sometimes not patrolling correctly
  
• Fix for people sometimes observing Shelves against walls from the wrong side of the wall
  
• Non-owners no longer take interest in objects outside of the building that they occupy, such as Air Conditioners
  
• Fix for NPCs sometimes having difficulty navigating Crushers
  
• Fixed pathfinding issues directly after an NPC jumps out of water
  
• Fix for player not being able to ask Slaves to leave town after they are freed
  
• Player can ask Slaves to leave town when they are in captivity, but they will always refuse due to the fact that their helmet would blow up
  
• When player pays a bouncer, not all NPC owners in the building will become Friendly -- only the ones that would have become angry with the player immediately upon seeing them

Multiplayer

• Potential fix for multiplayer issue where host can enter the game as the incorrect player and start at the bottom-left corner of the map
  
• Removed /teleport function from multiplayer games, this was meant to help with issues in earlier builds

• Fix for quests sometimes not appearing properly when due to reward item not being chosen
  
• Fix for music not looping properly in 5-1
  
• Cop Bots can be killed by EMP Grenades
  
• Fix for gamepad players not being able to properly target a position to make their followers stand guard
  
• Fix for Investment Banker dropping items that were never programmed into the game
  
• Fix for cases where NPCs would still attempt to attack the player while in different “lockdown zones”
  
• Fair Game and Charismatic traits cancel each other out properly
  
• Improvements to when Lockdown is triggered
  
• Fix for cases where player could teleport behind fences in new buildings
  
• Clerks say dialogue all the time when the player interacts
  
• Fix for audience members laughing at NPC Comedian’s jokes when they have Hearing Blocked
  
• Added door to Gorilla cage in one of the Zoos that should have been there
  
• Fix for player being able to lose a mission at the start of the game to free a Cannibal from the Zoo
  
• Fix for followers from previous levels not transforming into Zombie properly
  
• Fix for particle effects attached to people sometimes appearing at the incorrect angle
  
• If one of the players is a Cop, you will not receive missions that take place in Police Stations
  
• (For real this time) Fix for player sometimes being teleported behind vending machines and trash cans
  
• Fix for player not being able to command followers to stand guard on top of hidden objects
  
• Cop Bots no longer flee when their health gets low
  
• Fix for player’s head not appearing properly as Ghost when player chooses the new Cop Bot head for their custom character
  
• When players add custom characters to bottom row of character select screen, shadows no longer appear behind the characters
  
• Fix for Trash Cans sometimes spawning next to level border near City Parks
  
• Players who Can’t Speak English can still comply with Cop Bots

• Fix for Can't Speak English not working properly as a result of a change in 43b

• Fix for lighting appearing weird at non-16:9 resolutions as a result of some internal screwing-around I did for console versions in 43c

Just a small update this week with some bug fixes. I’ve mostly been working on stuff for Level 5, the first version of which should be playable in the January 25th update if all goes well.

Also, Streets of Rogue will be at PAX South this weekend! I won’t be there (hopefully I’ll find time to come to one of these shows in the near future), but say hello to the tinyBuild crew!

This week’s Fortnight Discussion: The Home Base. What would you like to see there?

UI / Controls

• On the LAN screen, client IP address is automatically detected
  
• Fix for camera sometimes not focusing in the correct spot when interacting with objects in three- or four-player mode when only one player is alive
  
• Fix for camera focusing on wrong player in three- or four-player mode when the only living player chooses a throwable item
  
• Fix for second target image that appears when aiming on gamepad with guns/throwables appearing too dark in split-screen modes
  
• Fix for game freezing when starting Daily Run after turning Fan Translations on
  
• Fix for Twitch voting sometimes ending early before votes were cast in online multiplayer mode
  
• Fix for charge-up attacks being cancelled on freeze frames

Characters

• Supercop speed reduced from 4 to 3

Graphics

• Fix for NPCs’ bodies and arms sometimes looking weird for a bit after teleportation

Playfield Objects

• Fix for steel doors not blocking explosions properly
  
• Fix for Loadout-O-Matics sometimes not getting items properly after loading saved games
  
• Fix for line-of-sight issues when two objects are directly adjacent to one another, including explosions occasionally not hitting objects they were supposed to
  
• Potential fix for player falling into trap door and then spawning on an adjacent trap door, causing a loop of falls. Same goes for Manholes.

Items

• Potential fix for items sometimes not appearing on multiplayer client

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Fix for instances where the player could not use Camouflage despite not being in NPCs’ vision
  
• Fix for NPCs not always being Zombified when hit with melee attacks from multiplayer clients
  
• Fix for player being able to hack Killer Robot after its death, which could cause interface errors

Level Generation

• Better randomization of level start and end points
  
• Fix for NPCs in gas-spewing buildings sometimes starting without a Gas Mask

Artificial Intelligence

• Fix for Supercops sometimes getting stuck near the Police Box and not disappearing
  
• Fix for some instances where NPCs would pause to let Fire Spewers finish when the fire was blocked by a wall

Text

• Added proper description for Perfumorous

Other

• Created new Show Floor version of the game for PAX

Just a small update this week with some bug fixes. I’ve mostly been working on stuff for Level 5, the first version of which should be playable in the January 25th update if all goes well.

Also, Streets of Rogue will be at PAX South this weekend! I won’t be there (hopefully I’ll find time to come to one of these shows in the near future), but say hello to the tinyBuild crew!

This week’s Fortnight Discussion: The Home Base. What would you like to see there?

UI / Controls

• On the LAN screen, client IP address is automatically detected
  
• Fix for camera sometimes not focusing in the correct spot when interacting with objects in three- or four-player mode when only one player is alive
  
• Fix for camera focusing on wrong player in three- or four-player mode when the only living player chooses a throwable item
  
• Fix for second target image that appears when aiming on gamepad with guns/throwables appearing too dark in split-screen modes
  
• Fix for game freezing when starting Daily Run after turning Fan Translations on
  
• Fix for Twitch voting sometimes ending early before votes were cast in online multiplayer mode
  
• Fix for charge-up attacks being cancelled on freeze frames

Characters

• Supercop speed reduced from 4 to 3

Graphics

• Fix for NPCs’ bodies and arms sometimes looking weird for a bit after teleportation

Playfield Objects

• Fix for steel doors not blocking explosions properly
  
• Fix for Loadout-O-Matics sometimes not getting items properly after loading saved games
  
• Fix for line-of-sight issues when two objects are directly adjacent to one another, including explosions occasionally not hitting objects they were supposed to
  
• Potential fix for player falling into trap door and then spawning on an adjacent trap door, causing a loop of falls. Same goes for Manholes.

Items

• Potential fix for items sometimes not appearing on multiplayer client

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Fix for instances where the player could not use Camouflage despite not being in NPCs’ vision
  
• Fix for NPCs not always being Zombified when hit with melee attacks from multiplayer clients
  
• Fix for player being able to hack Killer Robot after its death, which could cause interface errors

Level Generation

• Better randomization of level start and end points
  
• Fix for NPCs in gas-spewing buildings sometimes starting without a Gas Mask

Artificial Intelligence

• Fix for Supercops sometimes getting stuck near the Police Box and not disappearing
  
• Fix for some instances where NPCs would pause to let Fire Spewers finish when the fire was blocked by a wall

Text

• Added proper description for Perfumorous

Other

• Created new Show Floor version of the game for PAX

THAAAAAANKS for a great 2017!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYp8thBMPZk
Hate reading? Watch this preview in video form!

However, 2017 can absolutely go tongue-bathe a gorilla, because 2018 is set to be an even bigger year for Streets of Rogue. This game has been in development for 4 years, and despite some gray hairs and the atrophy of every single part of my body, I'm still going strong!


First off, please don't take this list as gospel -- these are GOALS and not absolute plans or promises, so keep in mind that I can't guarantee for certain that all of these things are going to happen. If you look at my list from last year, my plans don't completely match up with my accomplishments. But, I like to be transparent about the game’s progress, so here ya go.

This list is me saying "Yeah I think I can probably get this done, but hopefully I don't get a flesh eating virus or an especially bad stomach ache or something that just really puts a dent in my plans." For those that don’t know, I (Matt) am the only person working on this game full-time. So yes, a stomach ache could actually have that effect on productivity.

The current plan is for Streets of Rogue to exit Early Access at some point in the summer of 2018, depending on how I feel about the game’s state at that point. But what does 1.0 actually entail? Basically, the game will be playable from beginning to end, and will contain enough content that I consider it a complete experience where no major part of the core game feels undercooked. However, I will not be ceasing development once the game has launched. Much like Binding of Isaac and other games of its ilk, Streets of Rogue could always benefit from more content. As a developer, I'll probably never be satisfied with it.

The final major level variety in the game, spanning floors 5-1 to 5-3. I'm working on this right now. You can throw me suggestions in this thread.

What form will this take? Who knows???... no seriously, I'm still not sure. I should probably get on that. Again, there was a forum discussion about this awhile back.


Long-time Streets of Rogue players will recognize the "Big Quests" space from the Character Select and Map screens. Each character class will be getting their own personalized mission spanning the whole game. It's not too late to contribute to that discussion either.

Streets of Rogue's missions tend to be on the basic side, and that's the way I want to keep things. Most RPG missions boil down to "go here, kill a thing, steal a thing, escort a Wild Thistle Boar, protect a thing", and a few more. Developers gussy these up with flavor text and such, but the actual activities that the player completes are usually pretty similar. Streets of Rogue's missions leave out much of that flavor in the interest of streamlining and avoiding repetition. However, there is plenty of room for additional variety in Streets of Rogue's framework. For example, there's no reason that "flip 3 switches" missions have to appear so often. Those switches could be swapped out for destructible objects or something else. Just one wholly unexciting example. I'll be looking further into this.

There is too much repetition in building layouts right now. That needs to change.

There aren't enough of them. I hate that. Seriously, it's one of my biggest pet peeves when playing through the game to see the same disasters over and over again. So, I'm gonna add more. There was an awesome Fortnight Discussion awhile back with plenty of great ideas, so I'll have no shortage of material to work with.

I still have plenty of ideas on how to make the 5 different level varieties more unique and varied from one another. Expect to see plenty of changes both large and small.

The selection of items in the game has been somewhat stagnant since the game entered Early Access. While there are loads of items available, I have a HUGE and growing list of items that I could potentially add to the game. These generally don't take very long to add in comparison to other pieces of content, it's just that "item variety" hasn't been an area of the game that I've felt has been half-baked in the way that other areas were. So, it hasn't gotten a lot of my attention. This will change, though it may not be until post-1.0 that I have the chance to REALLY start adding some crazy variety.

You can never have enough of these! NEVER!


I will definitely get some more playable characters in the game before it hits 1.0. Eventually, I want to get ALL of those slots you see on the Character Select screen filled.

In one of my Fortnight Discussions awhile ago, I asked for suggestions on NPC behaviors. It's something I've been wanting to work on for awhile, and hopefully I'll get the opportunity in the coming months.

I love these, and I want to add some more. They change up the gameplay a lot, and they're typically not very hard to implement. Well, except for Rogue Vision. In terms of bugs caused, that was the "Shapeshifter" of mutators.

Yes, I know, you should get an achievement for killing the Killer Robot. Other stuff too. I'm on it.


What secrets? Who said there'd be secrets???

I've got some ideas. Customization and expansion of the home base are possibilities. It's often hard to justify putting too much time into this when other more pressing areas of the game need my attention, but it's on my radar.

I've been tinkering with this off and on, and will likely require a good bit of experimentation and player feedback before I'm satisfied with it. Basically, the biggest challenge is finding a way to effectively score the game without players exploiting it to death. It'll likely be measured by XP and time taken in a level, and possibly other factors. This may or may not hit before 1.0 as I haven't seen a lot of demand for it, but we'll see.

Fixing bugs and making balance changes is a never-ending process. This is especially true when you have as many disparate systems interacting with each other as Streets of Rogue does. I spent a pretty large chunk of 2017 on this stuff, and while there's plenty more to do (especially on the online multiplayer side), I hope to spend less time in 2018 whittling down my bug and balance lists.

This has never really been a priority of mine because, well... I'd rather work on things that actually affect the gameplay. But, I do recognize that people have bigger expectations of a completed game than the extremely basic looking work that I've done. So I'll try to improve things a bit pre-1.0. Hopefully. Well, if I have the time. We'll see?


If all goes well, Streets of Rogue will be available on multiple consoles at some point this year. "But won't this take away from development time on the PC version???" While it's difficult to say exactly how much time will be required of me, I will say that I already have the game up and running nicely on one of the major consoles, as a result of my optimization efforts last year. There is always potential for me to hit a snag or three, but porting Unity games to new consoles is not rocket science. Hair-pullingly frustrating at times, but doable. A second port is in development at tinyBuild right now. Could there be a third? I don't think I'm supposed to talk officially about which consoles the game is coming to yet, so let's just say Jaguar, Vectrex and Gizmondo for the time being.

This will most likely happen post-1.0. Time permitting, I'd like to have something or other in sooner, but I also don't want to make any definite promises just yet regarding timing or the specifics of what sort of modding would be available. Clearly there is demand for this.

If you tried to read my list of things I want to implement into Streets of Rogue, you wouldn't be able to make it to the end. This is because you'd definitely die before you finished it. If it wasn't obvious, what I'm trying to say is, it's really long.

Yeah I should probably do this at some point after 1.0 launch.


I know how much you kids love loot boxes, so for $6.99 real world dollars, you will receive a crate full of wonderful goodies! These will most likely be cigarette lighters and rocks and maybe a codpiece or something, so as not to unbalance the game too much, as game design ethics are very important to me! Monetization! User acquisition! Business things! Since I know someone out there is going to take this seriously, let me state very clearly that

---> HOLY CRAP I'M KIDDING <---

Keep sending bug reports and suggestions through the forums, Discord, Twitter, and the in-game form. Feedback from y'all has been incredibly crucial in making the game what it is today, and I'm always very appreciative of your efforts. Also, be sure to tell your friends about the game. While Streets of Rogue has been great success so far, it's still somewhat "under the radar" in most of the spots where I get my game-related news. If your grandma and her bridge group don't know about Streets of Rogue by the end of this year, that's a problem! So spread the word!

---

That's about it, happy 2018 everyone! Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puKRMGGUHMY

THAAAAAANKS for a great 2017!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYp8thBMPZk
Hate reading? Watch this preview in video form!

However, 2017 can absolutely go tongue-bathe a gorilla, because 2018 is set to be an even bigger year for Streets of Rogue. This game has been in development for 4 years, and despite some gray hairs and the atrophy of every single part of my body, I'm still going strong!


First off, please don't take this list as gospel -- these are GOALS and not absolute plans or promises, so keep in mind that I can't guarantee for certain that all of these things are going to happen. If you look at my list from last year, my plans don't completely match up with my accomplishments. But, I like to be transparent about the game’s progress, so here ya go.

This list is me saying "Yeah I think I can probably get this done, but hopefully I don't get a flesh eating virus or an especially bad stomach ache or something that just really puts a dent in my plans." For those that don’t know, I (Matt) am the only person working on this game full-time. So yes, a stomach ache could actually have that effect on productivity.

The current plan is for Streets of Rogue to exit Early Access at some point in the summer of 2018, depending on how I feel about the game’s state at that point. But what does 1.0 actually entail? Basically, the game will be playable from beginning to end, and will contain enough content that I consider it a complete experience where no major part of the core game feels undercooked. However, I will not be ceasing development once the game has launched. Much like Binding of Isaac and other games of its ilk, Streets of Rogue could always benefit from more content. As a developer, I'll probably never be satisfied with it.

The final major level variety in the game, spanning floors 5-1 to 5-3. I'm working on this right now. You can throw me suggestions in this thread.

What form will this take? Who knows???... no seriously, I'm still not sure. I should probably get on that. Again, there was a forum discussion about this awhile back.


Long-time Streets of Rogue players will recognize the "Big Quests" space from the Character Select and Map screens. Each character class will be getting their own personalized mission spanning the whole game. It's not too late to contribute to that discussion either.

Streets of Rogue's missions tend to be on the basic side, and that's the way I want to keep things. Most RPG missions boil down to "go here, kill a thing, steal a thing, escort a Wild Thistle Boar, protect a thing", and a few more. Developers gussy these up with flavor text and such, but the actual activities that the player completes are usually pretty similar. Streets of Rogue's missions leave out much of that flavor in the interest of streamlining and avoiding repetition. However, there is plenty of room for additional variety in Streets of Rogue's framework. For example, there's no reason that "flip 3 switches" missions have to appear so often. Those switches could be swapped out for destructible objects or something else. Just one wholly unexciting example. I'll be looking further into this.

There is too much repetition in building layouts right now. That needs to change.

There aren't enough of them. I hate that. Seriously, it's one of my biggest pet peeves when playing through the game to see the same disasters over and over again. So, I'm gonna add more. There was an awesome Fortnight Discussion awhile back with plenty of great ideas, so I'll have no shortage of material to work with.

I still have plenty of ideas on how to make the 5 different level varieties more unique and varied from one another. Expect to see plenty of changes both large and small.

The selection of items in the game has been somewhat stagnant since the game entered Early Access. While there are loads of items available, I have a HUGE and growing list of items that I could potentially add to the game. These generally don't take very long to add in comparison to other pieces of content, it's just that "item variety" hasn't been an area of the game that I've felt has been half-baked in the way that other areas were. So, it hasn't gotten a lot of my attention. This will change, though it may not be until post-1.0 that I have the chance to REALLY start adding some crazy variety.

You can never have enough of these! NEVER!


I will definitely get some more playable characters in the game before it hits 1.0. Eventually, I want to get ALL of those slots you see on the Character Select screen filled.

In one of my Fortnight Discussions awhile ago, I asked for suggestions on NPC behaviors. It's something I've been wanting to work on for awhile, and hopefully I'll get the opportunity in the coming months.

I love these, and I want to add some more. They change up the gameplay a lot, and they're typically not very hard to implement. Well, except for Rogue Vision. In terms of bugs caused, that was the "Shapeshifter" of mutators.

Yes, I know, you should get an achievement for killing the Killer Robot. Other stuff too. I'm on it.


What secrets? Who said there'd be secrets???

I've got some ideas. Customization and expansion of the home base are possibilities. It's often hard to justify putting too much time into this when other more pressing areas of the game need my attention, but it's on my radar.

I've been tinkering with this off and on, and will likely require a good bit of experimentation and player feedback before I'm satisfied with it. Basically, the biggest challenge is finding a way to effectively score the game without players exploiting it to death. It'll likely be measured by XP and time taken in a level, and possibly other factors. This may or may not hit before 1.0 as I haven't seen a lot of demand for it, but we'll see.

Fixing bugs and making balance changes is a never-ending process. This is especially true when you have as many disparate systems interacting with each other as Streets of Rogue does. I spent a pretty large chunk of 2017 on this stuff, and while there's plenty more to do (especially on the online multiplayer side), I hope to spend less time in 2018 whittling down my bug and balance lists.

This has never really been a priority of mine because, well... I'd rather work on things that actually affect the gameplay. But, I do recognize that people have bigger expectations of a completed game than the extremely basic looking work that I've done. So I'll try to improve things a bit pre-1.0. Hopefully. Well, if I have the time. We'll see?


If all goes well, Streets of Rogue will be available on multiple consoles at some point this year. "But won't this take away from development time on the PC version???" While it's difficult to say exactly how much time will be required of me, I will say that I already have the game up and running nicely on one of the major consoles, as a result of my optimization efforts last year. There is always potential for me to hit a snag or three, but porting Unity games to new consoles is not rocket science. Hair-pullingly frustrating at times, but doable. A second port is in development at tinyBuild right now. Could there be a third? I don't think I'm supposed to talk officially about which consoles the game is coming to yet, so let's just say Jaguar, Vectrex and Gizmondo for the time being.

This will most likely happen post-1.0. Time permitting, I'd like to have something or other in sooner, but I also don't want to make any definite promises just yet regarding timing or the specifics of what sort of modding would be available. Clearly there is demand for this.

If you tried to read my list of things I want to implement into Streets of Rogue, you wouldn't be able to make it to the end. This is because you'd definitely die before you finished it. If it wasn't obvious, what I'm trying to say is, it's really long.

Yeah I should probably do this at some point after 1.0 launch.


I know how much you kids love loot boxes, so for $6.99 real world dollars, you will receive a crate full of wonderful goodies! These will most likely be cigarette lighters and rocks and maybe a codpiece or something, so as not to unbalance the game too much, as game design ethics are very important to me! Monetization! User acquisition! Business things! Since I know someone out there is going to take this seriously, let me state very clearly that

---> HOLY CRAP I'M KIDDING <---

Keep sending bug reports and suggestions through the forums, Discord, Twitter, and the in-game form. Feedback from y'all has been incredibly crucial in making the game what it is today, and I'm always very appreciative of your efforts. Also, be sure to tell your friends about the game. While Streets of Rogue has been great success so far, it's still somewhat "under the radar" in most of the spots where I get my game-related news. If your grandma and her bridge group don't know about Streets of Rogue by the end of this year, that's a problem! So spread the word!

---

That's about it, happy 2018 everyone! Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puKRMGGUHMY