Greetings, beloved citizens!
We’ve been hard at work, building, furnishing and tuning the nameless town under the Giant’s gaze. The city grows, expands in all dimensions, and the Law grows with it. And the time has come for us to share more details about the ongoing development. A lot has been added, remade and improved, so take a deep breath. But don’t blink.
Structure and Order
Streets now stretch in all directions – navigation can get complicated. So, to make exploration more directed, we’ve split the game into 3 acts, each unlocking a new part of town and its own ways to escape. The environment will also change, and Militsioner’s character develops throughout – each attempt you play as a new nameless criminal. And as more parolees flee the scene – HE grows weary. He can’t help taking it personally. 
If you participated in the public playtest last year, you are already familiar with the suburban train. Today we introduce you to another way out of the town.
The Funicular
Unlike trains, operating on a strict schedule, the funicular courses freely back and forth during the day. And Smoker got a job – he’s driving it now! He isn’t too concerned about your criminal record, and wouldn’t mind helping you, but… There’s no other way to put it, he’s a coward. The Giant’s gaze makes him shake in absolute dread. The ethics of disobeying the Law’s orders concern him much less, than the thought of the punishment to come. He can be more cooperative, you just need to get him out of the Giant’s sight. Which is tricky, considering how the city can fit in the palm of HIS hand. 
Although – why even bother with the driver? This man is clearly too much to deal with. Maybe speak directly to the management. Surely, the Boss must be more helpful. You know what’s the best way to reintegrate yourself into society? Getting a job. And the funicular administration is happy to oblige. A couple of small errands done, and you get yourself an employee badge. Nothing warms one’s heart quite like the sense of belonging to a collective.
But there is another prize at the office. A beautiful, alluring wood and glass case with a maintenance key inside. A free pass through the funicular’s back door. A one-way ticket out of this town. Of course nobody will give it to you, it’s not needed for your line of work, not to mention that everyone knows who you are, even if they play dumb in your presence. But the office closes eventually, and it’s pretty quiet outside of work hours. It would be a shame if somebody snuck in and stole the important key.
And there is also one more way to get in and, subsequently, out. You see, the funicular travels to the high mountains. Why waste time with station security, and why not try your hand in trainhopping? We’ll leave the details of this method in the dark. Of course there are safety concerns, but we’re sure you’ll figure it out somehow. 
Freedom Below
A lot of effort went into level design – specifically, the sewers. As you might remember from Open Playtest, they were a safe haven from HIS wrath. But, a single room is hardly a sewer system, isn’t it? This is why we’re expanding on their purpose: sewers now stretch throughout the town, offering safe passage between districts and their own puzzles and secrets. One of their sights is a new shop, run by your best (and only) Friend. Being an ambassador of free trade, he buys everything you bring and sells items you won’t find on the surface - for good reason, his wares are illegal. For example, would you be interested in buying an alibi? Kill, steal, surpass – one shady paper and you’re good to go.
Make Up Your Mind
Feedback we got from the Open Playtest showed that some of the testers often got lost - which is fair. The game used to present you with the whole area and its many options without providing directions: you can do anything, but what things would you want to do?
We already mentioned the Mind Map in our previous progress report, and now we’re expanding on it. It still represents a tree of paths you can take, but now it is more closely tied to the gameplay. For example, if the opportunity presents itself and you’ve stumbled upon something useful – it will be highlighted, so that you know it’d be worth exploring further. 
Additionally, you can now track paths you want to follow. Objectives will be highlighted and markers will appear in the world to help you orient yourself in these streets. It’s completely optional, but may prove convenient when you need to find your way to the funicular office from the other side of town.
Ins and Outs
Visually, the town also improved! We put a lot of time into apartment interiors to make them more lived-in and functional. This includes your own flat featured in the new intro. We’ll leave the intro itself in the dark, for now let’s just say it has a more proper due process.
While the houses were intended to be somewhat cozy (yet a bit forlorn), government buildings are the opposite. Funicular administration is hostile in nature, incorporating elements of brutalism and monumentalism of Soviet architecture - well, as monumental as a town in the middle of nowhere can be.
Technicalities
And, of course, many of the changes we made stay behind the scenes. New animations, assets, reworked physics, UI, character “voices”, new interactions and many, many more. To list them all would take a lot of text, so here’s a little appetizer.
We’ve reworked the clothes of the giant policeman and his animations. They are now much smoother and more consistent, just how a weary colossus should move. He also can lean over the town, to inspect incidents closer. It’s an unnerving sight, to be honest.
And when he’s tired or just dissociating, he now rests on a mountain nearby, trying to get some rest from his work. It’s hardly comfortable, but better than nothing. Which is also your cue that he might not be as vigilant when laying down like this…
We've made a lot of progress in the last months, and there is more to come in the future. Our next big milestone is the public Steam demo – no solid dates yet, but stay tuned for the news! Here’s some behind-the-scenes screenshots as an appetizer.
This marks the end of our report. We’ve still got a lot to show you, but we’ll leave some for later. Meanwhile, don’t forget to wishlist Militsioner! HE would be pleased.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1373530/Militsioner/
Until next time, beloved citizens!
Tallboys & CRITICAL REFLEX
