Attention Citizens of New Citizen!

We've been hard at work on our first major update, and while we're pushing for its release as soon as possible, we want to give you a sneak peek into what's coming next. Please note, there may be unforeseen bugs which we will promptly address with post-release quick fixes and patches.

Expansion of the World:

Introducing a brand-new map that is 7 times larger than the current one.
Addition of new locations such as a correctional facility, a train yard for black-market activities, and a lumberyard with future job opportunities.
Construction of a comprehensive highway encircling the map, with exits leading to various areas and towns. "To illustrate the scale of the new map, the town in the bottom right, once the entire old map, now constitutes just a small area within this expansive new world."

Enhanced Infrastructure:

Installation of interactive locations like a town hall with a mayor's office and a courtroom, offering new gameplay dynamics.
Establishment of essential services including gun stores, a hospital, a major bank, and a motel for players to purchase rooms.
Development of a trailer park and an apartment complex with purchasable rooms, expanding housing options for citizens.

Community Interaction and Economy:

Opening of a new shopping market and incorporation of a lake to enhance the map's expansiveness, encouraging exploration and economic activity.
Introduction of AI-driven traffic and dynamic weather systems to create a more immersive and realistic world.
Implementation of a revamped chat system with two modes (OOC and ME channels) and a new !help command for improved communication among players.

Law Enforcement and Emergency Services AI:

Introduction of the first AI systems to New Citizen, starting with a comprehensive police mission system.
Players can now engage with AI traffic around the map; police officers can conduct traffic stops, interact with drivers, and perform tasks such as drug tests and breathalyzer tests.
Four initial police missions have been added: Active shooter, armed robbery, homicide body found, vandalism, and suspicious package found. These missions can be accessed via the police car laptop.
This update marks the beginning, with plans to expand AI roles to include paramedics and firefighters, enhancing emergency service gameplay with additional missions and interactions.

Aggressive AI:

Introducing the new mission system with a set of aggressive AI NPCs. These NPCs can be spawned with specific behaviors such as patrol, roam, attack, and aggressive patrol. Currently accessible via the two police missions—armed robbery and active shooter—these NPCs feature randomly generated appearances from a selection of 10 different types. They are equipped with either a shotgun or a rifle. While we have more work to perfect these NPCs, this update marks the first introduction of aggressive AI in New Citizen.

Vehicle Overhaul and Quality of Life Improvements:

Vehicles have undergone a massive overhaul with a new replication method aimed at solving latency input issues.
Introducing a HUD for vehicles, providing players with more information and enhancing the driving experience.
Functional headlights and brake lights have been added; activate them by pressing "L," adding realism and safety features to vehicle operations.

Gameplay Enhancements:

Introduction of a time, day, featuring a fully functional day-night cycle.
Addition of street lights that illuminate the world at night, enhancing visibility and ambiance.

User Interface and Interaction Improvements:

Update to the in-game map system with cleaner, easier-to-read markers for enhanced navigation.
Police missions require officers to use the map and postal code indicator on the HUD to locate and respond to calls, adding realism and complexity to law enforcement gameplay.
Overhaul of interaction mechanics with all interactable objects now using the "E" key and featuring on-screen widgets for clearer interactions. Multi-interaction objects like cars now have streamlined interaction lists.

User Experience Enhancements:

Redesign of the main menu and loading screen, with loading operations now running on a separate thread to prevent freezing and provide clarity during level transitions.

Optimization and Behind-the-Scenes Improvements:

We've significantly cleaned up the UE project, reducing its size by 45%. This optimization improves loading times and facilitates smoother collaboration among developers.
Our team has also been making ongoing improvements to backend systems to enhance performance and stability across all gameplay aspects. In addition to minimizing the project's file size, we've spent a substantial amount of time identifying performance bottlenecks. We've reduced all texture sizes to a maximum of 2k resolution (previously 4k) and optimized several critical materials, such as road and clothing materials, to ease performance issues.
One major performance setback we're facing involves our use of the ALS framework and MetaHumans, which utilize real-time retargeting—a less efficient method. Our next priority, assuming no prior bugs reappear after release and essential testing, is to replace the MetaHuman skeleton with the base ALS skeleton, eliminating the need for real-time retargeting. We estimate this change will significantly boost performance, improving FPS and resolving the issue where other players' movement animations appear laggy.
Our team has also spent many hours setting up essential debugging commands to help identify issues in our packaged builds. The video below demonstrates how we can now test each step of a system to find breaking points in our code. While this debugging approach is quite rudimentary, we previously lacked these print commands across all our systems.

The Plan Ahead:

We have decided to temporarily set aside our current roadmap to focus on addressing key issues within the project and adding content to enhance the fire rescue aspect of the gameplay loop. We've created a comprehensive list of priorities for our next update, and if all goes well without any major setbacks—such as issues with the new vehicle replication method—we should complete these tasks quickly.

Paramedic Gameplay:
The next update will feature the first implementation of the Bornwood Fire Rescue overhaul. Here's what you can expect: New paramedic uniform, Paramedic missions, Ambulance vehicle re-added.
We aim to include five paramedic missions designed for replayability. For instance, one mission might involve responding to a call for a potential cardiac arrest. Upon arrival and assessment, it might turn out to be an anxiety attack or an actual cardiac arrest. Players will need to ensure they have stocked their inventory with the correct medicines and equipment from the hospital to handle various scenarios. While a working stretcher is planned for the future, our immediate goal is to establish the base gameplay loop with these initial paramedic missions.

Civilian Gameplay:
We plan to introduce a criminal black market where players can buy and sell certain goods, along with more types of drugs that players can cultivate, manufacture, and sell. Additionally, we aim to implement more luxury vehicles and a simple garage system for storing player vehicles, though this may take longer due to previous complications. We also want to expand the general stores' inventory to create a more fulfilling item economy, moving beyond the current focus on weapons, ammo, and money.

Deciding What Comes Next:
Given the large scope of our project and the small size of our team, we must carefully prioritize our efforts, particularly regarding performance and optimization issues. When it comes to developing new content, we'll focus on areas the community finds most useful and fulfilling. We'll gather feedback through polls on our Discord and listen to our players' opinions on what parts of the game feel lackluster. While optimization is important, we recognize that content is key to a thriving player base. By balancing optimization with content development, we aim to create a more engaging game, attract more players, increase sales, and ultimately hire more talented developers to accelerate our progress.

Looking Forward:

Our primary focus with this update is to enhance gameplay mechanics, improve overall performance, and expand content to enrich your experience in New Citizen. Your feedback will be crucial as we refine these new systems and prepare for future updates.
Thank you for your continued support and patience as we strive to deliver an enriched gaming experience.

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‍Kind regards,
Specpixel Entertainment PTY LTD (New Citizen Team)