Alpha 37 - Even More Downtown Work

Suuuup.

This will be the last update that I’ll be dedicating to Downtown for the time being. At some point, I’ll circle back around to it, much like I plan on doing for the other levels. For the next update, I’ll be switching gears to focus on bug fixes and balance. Not particularly glamorous, but it’s been awhile since I did any real housekeeping, and I’ve amassed a rather enormous pile of bugs to fix thanks in large part to reports from you fine folks.

For those that enjoyed last week’s Zombie disaster: Yes, the Zombie disaster will still appear in-game randomly. Also, check out the new “Zombies Ate My Game Balance” mutator, which adds zombies to every level.

This week’s Fortnight Discussion: Clerks. They’re a new character in the game. How should they function?

Alpha 37

New Stuff

Levels

• Game is now playable through 4-3

Music

• New Track “Floor 4-3 Heavy Wheezing on the Dancefloor”, also added to soundtrack owners’ libraries

Mutators

• Zombies Ate My Game Balance

Non-Playable Characters

• Musician
• Clerk

Environments

• Holes may appear in place of Canals sometimes
• Arcade
• Ice Rink

Objects

• Jukebox
• Power Box
• Turntables functionality

Achievements

• Downtown Diva achievement can be earned

Everything Else

Localization

• Updated Simplified Chinese translations
• Added a Fan Translation fix for languages that use special characters such as Japanese to prevent characters from appearing too small in certain spots on the interface. To implement the fix, see the updated “How To Make Translations.txt” file.

Characters

• Upper-Crusters may travel with their own personal Slaves
• It is now possible to offer Slaves to Mobsters when they mug you
• Fix for Slaves blowing up after falling down a hole
• Fix for “Sign Up to Fight” button sometimes appearing multiple times on multiplayer client

Graphics

• Fix for Arrested people having the wrong head sprite
• Fixed cases where NPCs might not animate properly if they were on the screen when the game was started
• NPCs point their guns directly at their opponent rather than simply pointing in the direction they’re facing
• Changed graphics for Train slightly
• Fix for instances where a person could remain highlighted white after being attacked and flashing
• Fix for cases where Bridges across canals appeared to be facing the wrong direction on multiplayer client
• City Park transition tiles (i.e. parks within Downtown) have been modified to be more organic

Playfield Objects

• Potential fix for objects sometimes becoming non-interactable on multiplayer client
• Fix for Manholes spawning too close to the level entrance
• Lamps can be affected by EMP Grenades
• Fix for not being able to use Alarm Buttons when you have other people in your party
• Fix for Alarm Button dialogue not appearing on multiplayer client
• Metal Detector turns off when Arena battle starts
• Fix for Alarm Button not causing Supercop to spawn when destroyed by fire
• Fix for Saw Blade continuing to make noise after being shut down
• Fix for objects taking a second to be destroyed on multiplayer client when shot by shotgun

Items

• Fix for EMP Grenade making certain objects non-functional when they were not classified as being electronic
• Jock NPCs no longer carry nonexistent “Baseball” item
• Fix for “Remove w/Slave Helmet Remover” button appearing twice if player has more than one
• Fix for thrown items being capable of hitting people hidden in Bushes or Manholes

Mutators

• Rogue Vision is now included in the pool of potential Daily Run mutators
• Fix for player being able to choose “Create A Mutator” button

Level Generation

• Office Drone has been replaced with Clerk in a bunch of spots
• Buildings can potentially have two Bouncers now
• Power Boxes may appear in random spots on levels, typically guarded by police
• Jukeboxes have been added to certain buildings

Artificial Intelligence

• Added Ice Skating behavior
• Fix for police getting angry if player attacks Zombies
• Zombies no longer wait outside of doors when their opponent is on the other side like other NPCs do, because they are stupid zombies
• All store owners and Guards in Mall get annoyed with Suspicious or Malodorous characters
• People at the Arena cheer during fights, and when a fight is over
• Fix for Supercops not investigating the player’s location upon spawning if they were too far away from the player
• NPCs are less likely to walk directly on Train and Mine Cart Tracks, particularly when they are not in combat
• Cops and Supercops are now Loyal to Upper-Crusters
• Mobsters will not bug the player for money if they are fighting other people
• Mobsters will not bug the player for money if they use the Alarm Button to call a Supercop
• NPCs no longer stop for a split second if the player interacts with them but the NPC does not have context buttons
• If the player interacts with someone traveling in a gang (i.e. Mobsters), the other gang members will stop and wait for the interaction to finish
• If a Slave has one owner and that owner begins to flee, the Slave will follow to avoid having their helmet blow up due to the distance
• Fix for NPCs not being more careful about accidentally shooting their allies in the back
• Fix for NPCs not getting angry if the player used the Shotgun on owned objects

Other

• Created new Free version of the game for itch.io and GameJolt

Internal

• Did a bunch of work on a “Chinese Government Approved” Chinese version of the game

Alpha 37b