Hello all,

We've just launched the November update for Flashing Lights! We have introduced a whole range of new sirens, which you can choose to equip your vehicles with! Read on for the full update notes. New sirens have been a much requested feature from the community, so it's an exciting one for us to release.


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


The 2020 Steam Awards voting is now open! Flashing Lights is eligible for the Labor of Love Award. Take a look at the award description below and if you would like to nominate Flashing Lights, please do so here!

This game has been out for a while. The team is well past the debut of their creative baby, but being the good parents they are, these devs continue to nurture and support their creation. This game, to this day, is still getting new content after all these years.






New

- New sirens
- Siren controller added (Key 2 to turn on/off when in vehicle)
- Use buttons 3;4;5;6;7;8;9;0 for different sirens, when siren controller is turned on
- Loop sirens with one key (Default X)
- Q siren for fire trucks and large ambulance (default input G or Right Mouse button)
- Siren customization in vehicle menu, you can now change sirens for each slot
- Sirens and Q siren volume setting in Audio Settings Menu
- Auto-off siren option when getting out of car. Can be set in Vehicle Menu
- Sound effect for initializing traffic stop
- Hold down Horn for secondary siren to stop traffic. Works when emergency lights are on
- Input reset to support new siren slot buttons

Fixes

- Weapon wheel could be activated when in Settings Menus, breaking interaction
- Removed pumpkin road flares D:
- Horn now works while engine is off
- Fixed issue with two mouse cursors in vehicle menu
- Fixed voice chat volume resetting on each game load

We have some exciting updates arriving over the coming months, so keep your eyes peeled!

December: Optimised Map Release Part 1: Small map single player callouts + improved dispatch system based on community feedback

January: Optimised Map Release Part 2: Small map new multiplayer callouts + improved dispatch system based on community feedback

February: Optimised Map Release Part 3: Overhauled traffic AI + traffic will appear on the streets of the new small map.

March: Optimised Map Release Part 4: Fully functional enhanced and optimised new map. This will form the foundation of the ongoing game development.

Hello all,

Halloween is almost upon us! We like to celebrate the odd event in Flashing Lights with little touches, and this year's Halloween is no different. Usually, you're able to lay down flares at incident scenes to warn oncoming traffic at night time!

But it's Halloween, so of course, the road flares are now glowing pumpkins. Remember to play in night time mode and make use of the pumpkin flares this Halloween!





And, if you are yet to jump in, we're running a special 25% discount for a limited time:

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

The Flashing Lights October update is here! Today marks the first step in a newly optimised game experience. We are excited to take this journey with you all, and this is just the beginning.

Today we have released the first iteration of the new game map, accessible from the main menu. This is only a small area, and does not have traffic or people for you to interact with (plus no callouts), but it is just the beginning. The new world uses a tile-based loading system, which should help to address the performance issues many of you have been experiencing.

We're excited to hear your thoughts on this first iteration of the new map!

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

• New additional map (in the Main Menu, toggle the switch button to access the new map or go back to the original map to play the game with callouts), this is part of the new foundations for Flashing Lights
  
• New police and fire departments (work in progress)
  
• In the new map, EMS will now spawn together with the fire department
  
• Parking ticket mechanics added to the new map for cars illegally parked on the sidewalk
  
• Fuel system added to the new map
  
• Adjusted the environment and prop spawn radiuses in the game's Graphics Settings when playing on the new map, this utilises our new tile-based loading system. The higher the setting, the more of the world that loads in together, if you are experiencing issues with performance, reduce this number
  
• For the new map the Screen Space Reflection and Ambient Occlusion camera effects (Graphics Settings) have been adjusted for better looking visuals
  
• Moved project to Unity version 2018 LTS
  
• Road flares changed to pumpkins until November update

We have much more to come in the months ahead. Check out the details:

November: Sirens Customisation: Sirens selection plus manual vehicle siren controls.

December: Optimised Map Release Part 1: Small map single player callouts + improved dispatch system based on community feedback

January: Optimised Map Release Part 2: Small map new multiplayer callouts + improved dispatch system based on community feedback

February: Optimised Map Release Part 3: Overhauled traffic AI + traffic will appear on the streets of the new small map.

March: Optimised Map Release Part 4: Fully functional enhanced and optimised new map. This will form the foundation of the ongoing game development.

Thanks,
The Flashing Lights Team

Big changes are afoot in Flashing Lights. Behind the scenes this year we have been working on some changes to the foundations of the game. We are excited to roll these out over the coming months. We are moving the game map to a tile based loading system that will help us address the performance issues many players experience in the game.



In addition it will mean we can add better interiors to important buildings, and over time, develop a much bigger world for you all to explore.

This month we are excited to share with you the first step on this journey. In the new update, releasing by the end of October, you will be able to see the first version of the new map. This is only a small area, and does not have traffic or people for you to interact with (plus no callouts), but it is just the beginning. For now the new map will be available as an option in the main menu.



Over the coming months we will be adding a new and improved dispatch system and new traffic AI, before expanding the map and including new neighbourhoods for you to patrol.

We know that in the long run it will create a much more compelling experience for you all. We really appreciate all of your support so far, and are excited to share the new roadmap with you all.




October: Explorable Small Map First Look: Your first chance to explore the newly optimised map (no callouts or traffic). The first step in a newly optimised game experience.

November: Sirens Customisation: Sirens selection plus manual vehicle siren controls.

December: Optimised Map Release Part 1: Small map single player callouts + improved dispatch system based on community feedback

January: Optimised Map Release Part 2: Small map new multiplayer callouts + improved dispatch system based on community feedback

February: Optimised Map Release Part 3: Overhauled traffic AI + traffic will appear on the streets of the new small map.

March: Optimised Map Release Part 4: Fully functional enhanced and optimised new map. This will form the foundation of the ongoing game development.

We have some news for you today regarding the update which was planned for September, 'Background Work Part 1 - Open Beta'. Sadly we won't be getting the update out by the end of the month as we had hoped to. This update is a large undertaking, and as many of you already know, work on this update and beyond has been done in the background over the past months alongside the regular updates.

When a situation like this arises, we often have two choices:

1) Release the update even though we're not quite where we wanted to be
2) Hold back and give ourselves more time to improve upon the update

We've opted for option 2 - we feel this is the best option for you all even if it does sadly mean you'll have to wait a bit longer. Because of this, the September update, 'Background Work Part 1 - Open Beta' will now become the October update.

We will be getting this update onto the unstable branch as soon as we can in October, but we don't have an exact date yet. (If you wish to opt into the unstable branch, please join the Discord for more info) The update will now release to the public by the end of October.

Keep an eye out for news! Soon we'll be sharing your first look at the exciting new update, as well as the Q4 2020 roadmap.

Thank you,
The Flashing Lights Team

We're delighted to announce that in-game voice chat is here! You can now chat with your friends while playing Flashing Lights directly through the game. We've also added more text chat types - one for individual departments, and one for radio chatter. The ban option has also been improved so that the game now saves your list of banned players, preventing them from joining your server again after they've restarted.



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


New

• Voice chat push-to-talk added [Default key V] with colour coded pop-up icons
  
• Text chat type: team chat, type /t in front of message. (Example: /t Hello!)
  
• Text chat type: radio command, type /r in front of message (example: /r 600 is the best), text colour coded for each department
  
• Text chat /me command added (bold text)
  
• New menu for multiplayer commands when pressing Esc for Mute, Kick, Ban and Unban functions
  
• Multiplayer Ban command improved to now save list of banned players, preventing them from joining your sever again after restarting
  
• Voice chat volume option added in Audio Settings as a separate channel from game's master volume

Fixes

• Vehicle menu appearance tab should no longer get stuck
  
• Fixed freezing on faulty lights import/load
  
• Player Left message no longer displays when banned players try to re-join
  
• Fixed kicked and banned messages
  
• Footstep volume reduced
  
• Police charger car windows tint changed to defaults

See you next month for the September update!



Thanks,
The Flashing Lights Team

Hello all,

We're happy to announce that the vehicle lights colour and pattern customisation update is here! You can now design patterns and colours for vehicle lights - that includes all vehicles in the game, covering all departments. You can also import and export vehicle configurations, allowing you to share your creations and use those other players have created should they share them with you.




New

• Lights colour and patterns customisation introduced
  
• Game now spawns the last vehicle with the lighting setup that was used in a selected role
  
• Vehicle menu loads last lights configuration on the selected vehicle
  
• Ability to import/Export vehicle configurations (livery, lights setup, customised patterns, lights colours), in order to share and save your creations and use other players'. Available from the top right of the 'Select Vehicle' menu
  
• Option to import/export lightbar only, available from the top right corner of the 'Lights Customization' menu
  
• Lightbars have 3 default flashing patterns
  
• Lightbar menu shows model names

Fixes

• Lightbar menu now highlights the current model that is on the vehicle
  
• Party hat disabled D:
  
• Vic police car pushbar size adjusted
  
• Old lightbar added in options
  
• Right mouse button icon to rotate vehicle during customisation
  
• Spawning vehicle with no lights will revert to default setup

We hope you enjoy this update and have fun customising and sharing your vehicle light set ups! Flashing Lights has a couple of big updates coming up in August and September.



Thanks,
The Flashing Lights Team

Hello all,

We're sorry to say that we've had to move the public version of the July update back to next week. While the lights pattern and colour customisation is coming along nicely, it needs just a little more time in the oven. As developer Nils continues to polish the update for next week, there is a way that you can play an early version of the update right now if you wish to!




If you want to play an early in-development version of the update, you can do so via the unstable branch. Please join the Flashing Lights Discord if you haven't already and head to the #announcements channel for details on how to access the unstable version.



We're excited to get the update out to you all next week, and also continue our work towards the August and September updates.



Thank you again for your ongoing support!

The Flashing Lights Team

Hello all,

The day you’ve been waiting for has finally arrived. We’re excited to reveal the Q3 2020 roadmap, detailing our plans for July, August and September updates! We’ve been teasing the major background work that’s been in progress for some time now – and we’re glad to be able to give you your first look at the results of that work in September! Read on for more details.




In July, we’ll be expanding on the recently introduced vehicle lights customisation system. You can look forward to vehicle lights colour and pattern customisation this month.

We know how important multiplayer is to you – especially role play and spending time with friends. Which is why in August we’ll be adding in-game voice chat, and upgrading our in-game text chat with multiple channels.

In September, you’ll get your first look at some of the major background work that Nils has been carrying out alongside all of the new content and bug fixes. The goal of the background work, as we’ve stated before, is to improve the foundations of Flashing Lights.




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

We hope you're as excited about this roadmap as we are. See you at the next update!

Thanks,
The Flashing Lights Team

Hello all,

We've just launched a new patch, which fixes various bugs some of you have been running into regarding the new vehicle lights customisation system!


Fixes
- Fixed a saved lights set up bug that prevented further lights adjustments for police
- Saved lights set up could be loaded incorrectly when switching departments - this has been addressed
- Fixed livery menu displaying incorrect amount of options
- Vehicle menu buttons "Clear All" and "Default" could stop working - this has been fixed
- Fixed an issue where the fire ladder truck left side small cabin light tag was missing
- Fire ladder truck icons to use ladder removed while editing lights
- Traffic advisor now previews lighting when emergency lights are turned on in vehicle menu
- Traffic advisor light in-game no longer turns off together with emergency lights
- Vehicle menu mouse hover effect added for buttons
- Vehicle menu cursor rendering underneath UI fixed
- Added a memory clear when you enter/exit Vehicle Menu (Please report any crash or improvements)