Hey everyone! 👋
As promised, I’m sticking to my commitment to bring you more frequent updates on how development is progressing! I really want to keep you in the loop as I keep building and polishing the game.
Please don't hesitate to leave a comment down below if you have any ideas, suggestions, or modifications you’d love to see added or tweaked! I’m listening closely to your input and will do my best to incorporate your feedback directly into the game.
Here is everything I’ve been working on over the past few weeks!
TV Broadcast News Between Nights
I've added a news anchor on TV who delivers updates between nights!
Instead of plain text on a black screen, a animated journalist now broadcasts live news to make the experience more immersive.
As you progress night by night through your playthrough, these broadcasts will report on ongoing world events, providing fresh lore and context on how the city is evolving.
Dynamic Traffic, Anti-Gridlock & Hit Squads
Road Graph System
I’ve fully integrated vehicle support onto a hand-placed node graph system.
Navigation & Priorities: Each road segment is controlled by intersection managers that dynamically enable or disable node connections to enforce rules like yielding to the right, respecting traffic lights, or giving way to the tramway. It also temporarily locks down car lanes to let the tram pass cleanly.
Pedestrian Safety (or lack thereof): Vehicles adapt their speed to yield to pedestrians, but if they don't have enough room to brake in time, pedestrians can get run over.
Armed Hit Squads
Background Events: On Tier 1 (ghetto) maps, hit squad encounters are a regular hazard. A vehicle pulls up, and armed gunmen jump out with AKs targeting specific NPCs hanging out at the bottom of buildings.
Targeting the Player: Hit squads don't just go after random NPCs! If you make powerful enemies throughout your playthrough, a hit squad can be sent specifically to hunt you down.
Merciless Tactics: Squad members aim specifically for their targets, though collateral damage is common. If the target gets too far from their vehicle, they will pull back, get back in their car, and escape.
Unforgiving AI: If a driver gets back into the car, they will wait roughly 5 seconds before speeding off, even if that means leaving their own crew member behind! Abandoned squad members have to flee on foot and face incoming police forces on their own.
Deadlock Resolution System
I’ve been tackling annoying edge cases with the traffic system.
At times, cars would block each other, creating a massive traffic jam that completely trapped the tramway.
So I built an anti-gridlock / deadlock resolution system to handle this. If a freeze is detected, cars are forced to resolve the blockage and move through to clear the road so the tramway can freely resume its route.
Smarter Crosswalkers
Pedestrians are now significantly smarter when navigating the streets around public transport.
Instead of blindly walking forward and getting wiped out by incoming trams, pedestrians now actively stop at the edge of the tramway tracks and wait for the tram to safely pass before resuming their path.
But if they're in a hurry, they will ignore incoming trams...
Police Interventions & Bystander Snitching
Police Interventions
Police officers now actively patrol, investigate, and enforce the law.
Patrol Arrival & ID Checks: When alerted, police officers arrive in patrol cars, hop out, and sweep the surrounding search zone in formation to conduct ID checks.
Fleeing the Scene: If you see them coming, you can run away! As long as you escape far enough outside their search perimeter, they will find nothing and leave empty-handed.
Bystanders Calling The Police
Witnesses to any street fight will react to the chaos and dial the cops. If someone starts snitching, you have a short window to knock them out or stop them before the call goes through. You can detect them thanks to a HUGE red arrow above their head, and by a dinstinct animation where you see them using their phone.
Government Relations & Systemic Profiling
Systemic Profiling & Bias: Officers hold individual traits and biases. A racist officer will prioritize checking targets from minority groups. To mirror real-world dynamics, I integrated statistics reported by Amnesty International and the UN to drive these occurrence rates, directly impacting how police interact with you depending on your character’s ethnicity.
Standing: Getting arrested directly degrades your standing with the government, so keep an eye on your reputation before picking fights in public.
More NPC Clothes
Suit vests, dress shirts and ties have been added to the male NPC model.
More are incoming!
Thank you so much for reading and supporting my solo development journey!
Thanks to all of you dropping comments in the devnotes!
Don't hesiste to drop your thoughts, feature requests, or feedback in the comments below, I read all of them!
And if you haven't yet, don't forget to add Physio to your Steam Wishlist!