1. Regulators
  2. News

Regulators News

Try the latest build during PixElated festival!



Regulators! Grab your gear and suit up! a fresh new developer build is here for you to have some fun with.

This demo has a lot of changes and improvements since v0.0.62 and the biggest feature is that your "team" is now a "duo", I've been playtesting this format for some months now, and I feel like it simply improves the game in various areas:

- It removes a lot of chaos from the game area
- It allows the player to focus on their own movement instead of constantly looking at what the team is doing
- And it still saves the coolness of having this skillful buddy moving alongside you covering your back!

You'll also run into a much improved level-up system for your team mate, bigger variation of enemies (including possessed furniture), different level maps and improved map layouts overall.

So give the new demo a try and let me know what you think!

For those having a Steam key for the Play test build, all the character "abilities" have been changed and improved on. Removing all the "full-destruction"(cool, but mostly useless) abilities and replacing them with powers that can be used more strategically and in a tactical way.

I'm working towards a beta test phase, so if you like what you see in the demo, drop by on the Orangepixel discord where I'll be handing out the Steam Playtest keys over time!


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1892750/Regulator_City/

Go Regulate the city!

- Pascal aka Orangepixel

New Demo v0.0.62 is here - a LOT of progress!

Work on Regulator City continues, be it a bit quiet lately. But that's mostly because I was head down into the code and working on so many details and aspects of the game, that doing a demo update always felt like it would be outdated the next day!



But I'm happy to say that I finally got around to building a proper new demo build, and can't wait for you to take the game for a test-drive!

This is still not a completed game, pretty much everything keeps improving constantly, but you should get a good solid amount of fun from playing the latest version.



From the new mission-setup briefing and story, to the finer details of operating missions with your team backing you up, this demo should give you a nice sample of what the final game is heading towards when it releases later this year!

Don't forget to drop a wishlist and tell your friends!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1892750/Regulator_City/

Try Gauntlet of Power demo March 2024



Dungeoneers and Adventurers! Heroes of Loot: Gauntlet of Power just received a brand new demo for you to come and play for free!

This demo is one of the last ones before we release the actual game, so a perfect time to check it out and wishlist Gauntlet of Power:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2374320/Heroes_Of__Loot_Gauntlet_Of_Power/


PS: There is also a "closed" beta coming soon, for which you can sign-up over on the discord right now!

Demo 0.0.51 - Leaner and meaner!

Grab your gear, and get ready to be shipped out into Regulator City! The new public demo is here (v0.0.51) and it is the one you've been waiting for! The changes list is extremely long, so you might not want to go through all of those things, but don't worry, I can highlight some of the key changes while you grab and wishlist the demo on Steam!

I made many changes to the gameflow, this means an improved layout for the HQ building, but it also means the removing of the city-map view and only one mission per street (replacing the 3 missions per street). This all ensures better feeling of progress, and a smoother experience overall.



The money-system and somewhat forced Gear-shop are also removed from the game. Instead you will find cool upgrade-crates spread across the games, including some new weapon-unlock crates. You will always get a few extra gadgets when you return from a successful mission back in HQ.   The grabbing/collecting of dropped money always felt a bit of a distraction from the actual mission and action, and removing those features make the core game mechanics a lot more prominent and feeling better.

Another thing that got removed, or perhaps, replaced is the inventory screen. We now have a radial-select, as requested by various players, which allows you to grab (flash)grenades or other useful items a lot faster than browsing inventory screens. Still being tweaked and improved, but have a play with it!



Finally there is now a much more interesting level-up for your AI team members, statistics info for your team-members in the pause menu, a cool extraction event when you complete a mission, new airfield and hospital maps and various small improvements to other existing maps, and I'm probably forgetting a BUNCH of cool things from the new demo!

So grab the demo now , and take it for a spin!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1892750/Regulator_City/

Full changes list:

  • added: Implemented WIKI export for Orangepixel.net
  • added: Tutorial notebooks "shown" state now also saved
  • added: Extraction count down after mission completed
  • added: Change mouse cursor when performing tasks
  • added: floor lights
  • added: Radial button for inventory item select
  • added: Proper sound for melee-weapon swap
  • added: Go sign when Extraction Chopper is available
  • added: Gun/Item lockers
  • added: Player can now mount alternate default weapons in HQ
  • added: Copy+Paste to level editor
  • added: Mission/game progress statusbar
  • added: Spec sheet for items in HQ Lockers
  • added: New weapons: Squad-MK II and Squad-MK III and MachineGun MII
  • added: revert to holding "default weapons" when returning to HQ
  • added: show new weapon-unlocks pop-ups
  • added: Vault task now do-able with mouse
  • added: Tasks are now done in slow-motion instead of full-pause of action
  • added: Extraction chopper now always targets last building-door
  • added: Street graphical changes to show Ooze taking over
  • added: Squad Level-up notification popups
  • added: pre-generate mission list and mission-maps (spread uniqueness of locations)
  • added: Squad members now stay away from proximity bombs
  • added: Merchant shows path to General on tutorial-level
  • added: limit demo duration / mission count
  • added: Extra squad-heads for variation
  • added: Squad-statistics to Pause screen
  • added: Squad members now always have unique looks
  • added: Weapon-crates can be placed in level-editor
  • added: first Airfield map
  • added: First hospital map
  • changed: Door information dialog only shown when player near door
  • changed: Removed the city-view/mission map
  • changed: Streets now only have on mission
  • changed: Mission flow and code rewritten/redone
  • changed: redesigned HQ Layout and player start point
  • changed: blocked certain missions from happening in unsuited areas (vault in park for example)
  • changed: disabled "danger/stealth" meter
  • changed: Improved controller code seperation for UI and game controls
  • changed: optimised Verlet system
  • changed: Scrambler now needs to be held to use (not an active item)
  • changed: Removed infinite-ammo for default weapon
  • changed: Added Ammo-clip drops
  • changed: Redesigned HQ layout
  • changed: Optimised some squad-AI decision calls
  • changed: Pathfinding code optimisations
  • changed: Optimised squad-AI goal-decision making
  • changed: General in HQ starts further from Mission-computer
  • changed: Optimised Squad-AI decision delays and handling
  • changed: Disabled money system (testing)
  • changed: notification/pop-up system
  • changed: cleaned up pause screen and squad-stats
  • changed: Improved extraction event with slowmotion
  • fixed: HDMI/M1 resolution issues - setHdpiMode(Pixels)
  • fixed: blockade from tutorial-enemy wasn't fully working
  • fixed: Chopper shadow not correctly mirrored
  • fixed: vertical curtains items would cause weird blockades
  • fixed: Hard to get item spawns in Park missions
  • fixed: Blocked certain mission-areas from spawning on roof tops (Park, Airfield, etc)
  • fixed: upgrade prices are incorrect in new mission upgrade
  • fixed: street/rooftop art has black area at the bottom
  • fixed: crash caused by breach-doors
  • fixed: Squad will freeze once security alarms trigger
  • fixed: Squad has no AI-nodes in street view for hiding/navigating
  • fixed: screenshake default settings and handling (more subtle, framework upgrade)
  • fixed: Tasks can blink/fade on the screen while performing them
  • fixed: Disable HQ-building from mission-area's
  • fixed: Detonators ignore slow-motion from being in the detonation Task (so they always explode)
  • fixed: level-editor removing tiles doesn't remove floor-textures
  • fixed: Street-entry starts with Squad outside of the screen (no car/chopper moving in)

Bigger demo, more gameplay, and adding the missing rogue-like features!

When you start a project like Regulator City, there is a certain vision and idea of what you want the finished product to be like. Getting from that first idea to that vision is sometimes extremely easy and straightforward, but in the case of Regulator City it has been a massive path of many ups and downs.

So it's hard to describe the relieve and many other feelings that unleash the moment I noticed that Regulator City became that game I originally had in mind. A great mix between action, stealth, coolness of leading a team, and finally the rogue-like elements I try to put in all my games.

Before I dive into the specifics for this v0.0.50 demo update, PLEASE grab yourself a copy of the demo and make sure to wishlist the game, I can't wait for you to play it and enjoy it!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1892750/Regulator_City/

The list of changes is LONG, so there's no way I'm going to cover all of it in detail. The key changes for this demo, and the gameplay, are most certainly the implementation of a Game Over state - if you (the Alpha) dies, it is game over in a traditional rogue-like sense. This gives you some extra things to think about on how you go into the missions.



I also restructured and streamlined the way your squad is made available and how you can revive new squad members, AND your team members can now actually level-up and learn new skills!  This is a major difference in the gameplay, because you now WANT to keep your team members a live and help them out, so you don't have to replace them with a Level-1 grunt later on.

The way they learn skills will be improved in a later demo update, for now they will automatically get skills assigned as they level-up. This means that all the mission stuff is originally done by you as a player : place bombs, get intelligence, crack safe, etc. But over time your squad members will be able to take care of these things for you and much faster!

I also reworked all the interface things and cranked up the feedback to players to close to maximum! You will not miss out on important gameplay events happening!



So go check out the demo, it's a longer demo than before, you can now play 4 city blocks, so a lot more fun to be had. Come talk about it over on the Discord and don't be shy in dropping your ideas!

Here's the full list of changes and fixes, if you want to stay updated on these on a more daily and smaller version: there's now an automated update list being dropped in the Discord channel for the games I'm working on at the end of every work day! so come hang out!!

Full changes list:

  • added: item drop boxes to HQ on first run (gives you starting items)
  • added: mission icons in HUD have an effect when something gets completed
  • added: Slow-triggered enemy spawns, can be avoided by sneaking
  • added: Squad members now level up and improve their skills
  • added: DNA pods now used to upgrade the player (extra HP)
  • added: notification when a squad member dies
  • added: quick replay to game-over screen
  • added: Special power attention FX
  • added: some inventory items can now be "activated" per mission
  • added: Squad HP should restore when they level up
  • added: EMP-bombs to disrupt power at any point in the building for certain time
  • added: Items can now be depending on other items
  • added: Inventory shows if item needs another item (EMP needs Nightvision)
  • added: Previously shown mission-tutorial info now saved to player profile
  • added: item: Training manual - levels up all squad members
  • added: Squad skill to defuse mines
  • added: different voices are assigned when generating new team members
  • added: Squad members now have random faces
  • added: Enemy spawns during boss01 fight
  • added: item Blueprint, makes the whole map visible
  • added: item Field-Incubator to generate a new squad member
  • changed: cleaned up status bar
  • changed: Special powers charge faster
  • changed: increased item-box drops
  • changed: Medikits are instant use (and ignored if full HP)
  • changed: gear-shop spawns in direction of street-movement, not "behind" the player
  • changed: shop prices need to increase faster in missions
  • changed: Mission Failed (Alpha down) now equals a game-over
  • changed: Explosive-placement can now be learned by Squad members
  • changed: No new recruits until the whole city-block mission is cleared
  • changed: Increase demo size to 4 cityblocks
  • changed: Shop Prices kept increasing, while money drops don't.
  • changed: task title bar doesn't need team-member avatar anymore (team won't trigger it, only players)
  • changed: Made hostage-NPC more focussed on level-exit (cross long distance)
  • changed: Make it rain in cityblock 4
  • changed: decreased Ooze-hive spawns in early missions
  • changed: proper random pool for Store items
  • changed: Made hearing-aid an active item
  • changed: Some items like grenades now come per X amount at once
  • fixed: squad members won't open doors during a breach-able situation
  • fixed: can't revive members in Gear shop
  • fixed: AI moving to doors that are not really the best option at the time
  • fixed: Squad will also slash/attack Ooze-spawn blobs
  • fixed: GO sign on the street does a weird blink
  • fixed: boxes in HQ shouldn't spawn medikit on new game
  • fixed: Rope-spawned enemies not placed at correct spawn spot
  • fixed: Squad member is sometimes invisible (only shows shadow on floor)
  • fixed: boss fight has too much street-width
  • fixed: take-downs on street lands the enemies body "inside the buildings"
  • fixed: Level editor: cleared level would be seen as a usable-level
  • fixed: Incubation also resets life squad members
  • fixed: Level countdown now overlaps with mission icons
  • fixed: shop-item collision overlaps, player can touch 2 items at once
  • fixed: Player controller character also had double HP
  • fixed: dashing can sometimes dash through items/walls
  • fixed: squad-level digits are hard to read in HUD
  • fixed: Night-missions don't show night in open-areas in buildings
  • fixed: Picking up an active item resets the active state
  • fixed: Ooze critters bite, but don't seem to harm/hurt
  • fixed: saved NPC's in HQ don't say anything (do trigger a prompt)
  • fixed: removed "CPU" from power bar in Tutorial mode
  • fixed: Squad members don't seem to properly level up their skills
  • fixed: gaining a weapon while morphed, replaces the melee weapon
  • fixed: added some correction to camera-danger zone highlights