Read the full patch notes further below to see all of the bug fixes, improvements, and new features included in this update.
First of all, thank you for bearing with us over the past few months since our last patch. A lot has been happening behind the scenes on Responding, and while not all of that work is immediately visible in this update, it is laying the groundwork for a much faster pace of development going forward.
Our team is growing
In our last development update, we shared that we had welcomed two new developers to the team: a 3D/environmental artist and an animator.
Since then, we've officially onboarded five more developers, bringing the Responding team to eight people, including our lead developer, DySands.
Our newest team members include:
An environmental artist focusing on procedural systems for level design
An audio designer
A technical animator
A programmer with a background in physics engineering
A 3D modeler
And we don't intend to stop there. We want to continue expanding the team where it makes sense, allowing us to bring more skills and expertise into Responding and ultimately make the game the best it can be.
Watch our development update
We've put together a short video covering this update and giving you a look at what we've been working on behind the scenes, including our growing development team, new AI systems, character customization, environments, rendering improvements, and our new character locomotion system.
For those who want to dive deeper into the changes, we've included more information and the full changelog below.
A new development workflow
We've spent a significant amount of time over the past few months restructuring how we develop Responding.
With the team growing, we moved the project onto a dedicated server and established a new workflow that allows everyone to work from the same project and access the same assets.
This gives our developers the ability to work more effectively across their respective areas of expertise, while allowing changes and improvements to make their way into the project much more efficiently.
A lot of this work isn't particularly exciting to show in a game update, but it is one of the most important changes we've made to our development process.
Unreal Engine 5.7
We've also upgraded Responding to Unreal Engine 5.7.
The new engine version brings a number of bug fixes and improvements that we're already beginning to take advantage of, while also giving us access to several technologies that we can experiment with as development continues.
This includes improvements to procedural generation, which we plan to use to help populate our map with more environmental detail.
We've also gained access to Unreal Engine's MegaLights system. We're still evaluating whether this technology makes sense for Responding, as performance remains one of our highest priorities and we're not interested in adding technology simply for the sake of it.
The upgrade also gives us access to Substrate, as well as further improvements to Lumen and geometry streaming, giving us more tools to improve both visual quality and performance as we continue developing the game.
Customization
We've added the first implementation of character customization to Responding.
Currently, the available options are fairly limited. You can choose between a shirt and jacket and toggle your police hat on or off.
This is primarily the foundation for a much larger customization system. Over time, we plan to add significantly more clothing and accessory options, so expect this system to grow across future updates.
We're also planning to introduce citation board customization.
This will allow you to apply different citation bars above your badge, ranging from general commemorative and remembrance bars to bars earned through future in-game achievements.
We'll also be adding exclusive citation bar designs for each of our pre-Steam supporter tiers.
Environment
One of the areas our environmental and 3D artists have been working on is modular shop interiors and their associated props.
Ground-level shop interiors serve two purposes: they help make our world feel more detailed and believable, while also giving us locations that can be used for future callouts and interactive features.
The example below is our fictional commercial café chain, Exploitabrew.
The modular interior system being developed for this café can also be used as the foundation for many other common interiors, including convenience stores, banks, restaurants, commercial stores, and more.
This allows us to create a wider variety of usable interiors without having to build every location completely from scratch.
Procedural Street Clutter & Environmental Updates
With the addition of our new environmental artist specializing in procedural systems, we've also begun developing procedural street clutter systems.
The goal is to make it much easier to populate our streets with litter, trash, roadside props, and other environmental details that help bring more life and realism to our recreation of New York.
The system is still in its early stages and is far from complete, but even at this stage you can already see the potential impact it can have on future environmental updates across both our existing and future map locations.
Full Changelog of the 0.854 Update
Below you'll find the complete list of changes, fixes, and additions included in this update.
New Gameplay & Callouts
Added a new Robbery callout.
Added a new Drug Transaction callout.
Callouts can now spawn with a scripted vehicle, allowing predetermined vehicles or the closest suitable vehicle to be assigned to involved AI.
Added control over the close and far spawn distances for each callout, allowing scenarios to be tuned for better performance and to prevent them from spawning in view of the player.
Developed the first iteration of AI post generation. Posts generate contextually relevant positions that can be queried based on conditions such as distance, line of sight and whether the position is behind the target. These will be used for tactical scenarios as well as guarding evidence and locations.
Improved AI navigation so AI can now enter buildings. Backup units will now walk into apartments and buildings to assist the player.
Added a new gunshot system, currently in its first iteration.
Added a new siren and airhorn system, along with improved sound samples.
AI Behavior & Navigation
Improved the AI Smart Move system to prevent AI from getting stuck when they are outside of the navigation mesh.
Fixed several issues with vehicle AI navigation getting stuck.
Fixed a vehicle AI follow issue that could cause vehicles to overlap their target or stop calculating movement when the target speed was zero or close to zero.
Added filtering to AI task interruption logic so units tasked with backing up another unit will not abandon their task to engage a threat perceived while travelling to the destination.
Fixed an issue where AI roles were not properly updating on the behavior component, resulting in stale behavior.
Fixed an issue where the AI weapon firing timer could stop when the weapon was still holstered before the firing event was called.
Adjusted unholster behavior. When an item is holster-ready, holding the item selection button will now also unholster it.
When a suspect is uncuffed while on the ground, they will now properly stand back up after the cuffs are removed.
Added a safety check when dropping weapons to help prevent a rare issue where weapons would fail to drop.
Fixed a fatal crash caused by AI interacting with a Smart Object.
Ensured responding emergency vehicles are promoted to actors when necessary so they can use navigation logic to reach the scene.
Fixed an issue where an AI-controlled vehicle would continue moving after the AI exited the vehicle; vehicles now come to a complete stop.
Vehicle AI & Traffic
Fixed several issues with vehicle AI navigation and following.
Fixed a traffic-light intersection issue where traffic lights on opposite ends of an intersection could incorrectly turn green at the same time.
Reduced bullet damage.
Fixed an issue where items stored in the trunk would simulate collision when the trunk was opened.
Fixed issues with the storage crate hiding when opening the trunk.
Fixed the traffic and parking density sliders, including issues with their minimum values.
Player Interaction & Police Systems
Fixed DAS not being displayed when entering a vehicle in first-person.
Improved DAS incident and report information so the closest address is always displayed.
Overhauled the settings system, utilizing new systems for tracking and saving player settings.
Added player control over spawn locations, with options to:
Always start at the locker room.
Only start at the locker room the first time.
Never start at the locker room.
Added a different method of displaying points of interest on the map UI. Important locations such as police precincts can now remain permanently visible.
Added rudimentary character clothing customization, with the last customization stored in the save game.
Added a new citation holder and badge. This is still a work in progress.
Added rotation control to the camera when focusing on a point.
Vehicle customization can now only be exited using the right mouse button.
Fixed the driver's license date of birth display.
DAS & Citation Improvements
Optimized the DAS penal code system so the penal code list is only populated when required, rather than by default.
Increased the sort order of the penal code list to help resolve a rare issue where violations could not be selected.
Visuals, Audio & Presentation
Changed the global reverb volume to provide more late reflections.
Integrated Disney Burley shaders.
Changed the project's color space to AGX instead of the default Unreal color space.
Improved decals so they now fade on the X and Y axes in addition to the Z axis.
Refactored textures for Voss Discovery and baked additional high-poly details.
Fixed several HLOD issues, including terrain using an excessively low LOD during HLOD generation.
Engine & Performance
Updated the project to Unreal Engine 5.7.4.
Added optimizations to the DAS penal code system by avoiding unnecessary list population.
Improved gurney behavior so it uses the pushing character's location when no suitable ground position can be found.
Additional Fixes & Polish
Fixed a bug where a door index mismatch could prevent doors from opening or closing correctly.
Fixed issues with AI vehicles not fully stopping after their AI exited.
Fixed various smaller vehicle, AI and interaction issues discovered during development.