Prison City News

As Hal Bruzer continues his infiltration into each of the eight security zones, he comes across an unusual, mechanized Warden--the MOD LOADER! Learn about this Warden's attacks before taking it on!


[h3]1. Missile Barrage![/h3]
Mod Loader's signature attack will be a barrage of six missiles launched into the air! These will drop one after the other in quick succession, so be sure to dodge them if you're on the ground or hanging on one of the horizontal pipelines!


You can also tell where each missile will land by noticing the incoming impact icons on the ground! You can even stun the Mod Loader with its own missiles landing on it! Use this opportunity to attack the angry pilot at the center!

[h3]2. Mechanized Leap![/h3]
Following every Missile Barrage will be one or two Mechanized Leaps! The Mod Loader will tuck its robotic legs together and jump really high! Watch out if you're hanging from the pipes, and time your jumps well to avoid being hit!


[h3]HINT: You Can Attack from Below![/h3]
This isn't an attack by the Warden, just us giving you a hint! Did you know you can attack the Mod Loader from underneath it? For those willing to take on a challenge, you can slide underneath the Mod Loader either when it stays still to fire off missiles, or after it leaps into the air!

Just...be sure not to get crushed by one of its mechanized legs or its body!


You can take on the Mod Loader deep in the Factory security zone of Prison City--available NOW!

Follow the Retroware publisher page to keep up-to-date with all our games, news, and more!

https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/retroware

[h3]1. Please introduce yourself and describe your role in Prison City's development.[/h3]

Christian: My name is Christian "Siz" Czmar. I've been on the QA team since the start of Prison City's development. I've since been promoted to Senior Game Tester and I'm the person responsible for finding and squashing all the bugs with Programancer, the lead developer.


[h3]2. What's it like, having played so many versions of Prison City, going from the earliest builds to the finished product now? And can you list a few memorable bugs that stood out to you across the builds you tested?[/h3]

Christian: It's pretty crazy to have spent so much time with a game like this. I have more hours with the Steam release than anyone on the planet, and that doesn't even take into account every build before we were up on Steam, and all the testing done on every version of the game for every console.

As for bugs, some of the most memorable would have to be Hal not respawning in boss rooms and just watching the boss hang out alone in the room. Another one that comes to mind is: If you fell from the highest areas of the second to last level and respawned, the game would do this slow crawl up on the side of the tower, until it finally reached Hal--the player character. It was pretty cinematic if you put the right music behind it.


[h3]3. Lots of people tend to think QA testing is just about playing games, nothing more. How would you describe the nature of your work and why QA testing is important in the development process as a whole?[/h3]

Christian: I mean, it is a lot of playing games--that isn't wrong, but you're only playing the game normally a few times. Once I've learned how to play a game at a high level, I spend the next several weeks of work acting like I have no idea what I'm doing. Every hole needs to be fallen into, and every wall needs to be run into. That's the simplest part, honestly; bugging and reporting is the trickier part. Once I find a problem, I need to tell Programancer what the exact conditions are that caused it. You'd be shocked how many problems only happen when you fall at the right speed and angle. The actual hardest part is knowing we won't find everything; there is always another obscure thing around the corner.


[h3]4. What's it like communicating with Programancer as you went through multiple builds of Prison City?[/h3]

Christian: Yo, I love Programancer. I was nervous at first reaching out to him. It's always hard to go to someone and say, "Hey, you did something wrong." Programancer always takes news well and he's always a pleasure to work through issues with, or just talk about the game. One of my favorite people to work with.


[h3]5. How do you think QA testing blends together with other game disciplines, like art, design, marketing, and writing?[/h3]

Christian: You need to be trying to keep in mind all the other disciplines in QA. If something is wrong with the art, game design, or even the writing, it's a part of my job to note something down and keep the relevant party aware of it. That's not just bugs and errors. If something is just not made well or coming across right in-game, that needs to be heard as well. The position blends in as the safety net for everything else.


[h3]6. Bonus: What are some recommendations you'd suggest to anyone thinking about getting into QA testing for a game studio? What might someone expect jumping into QA testing for the first time?[/h3]

Christian: I would highly suggest that you think about if you're someone who can self-motivate. Most times, there isn't one big thing you need to test; you are usually going out of your way to make up problems and then seeing if the issue has any truth to it. What if I pause here? What if I let this enemy live and continue moving? Does the respawn work in this situation? You need to be okay with the fact that some days you have nothing to show for your work, and that's a good thing. If it's hard to find problems, it means the team has been doing a good job.


Take on the Techno-Terrorists in Prison City--available NOW!

Follow the Retroware publisher page to stay up-to-date with all our games, news, and more!

https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/retroware

The Factory–a security zone home to monstrous machinations and a whole ton of FIRE! In addition to Techno-Terrorist guards, you’ll encounter even more when you begin your infiltration!


[h2]Chain Walls and Crawlers[/h2]
You’ll find plenty of chain walls lining the interior of the Factory. Hold on tight as you move from side to side or up and down. Watch out for the robo-spiders–aka Wall Crawlers–also moving about the chain walls, and be sure to eliminate them before they can fire their own projectiles!


[h2]Belts Upon Belts[/h2]
Conveyor belts transporting metal blocks, flammable barrels, and large crates can be seen across the security zone. At some points, you can choose to ride the belts forward, but beware the punch press machines that will seek to flatten Hal as he moves under them!


[h2]Pools of Lava[/h2]
As this is a Factory complex, you’ll want to stay away from slipping into one of the many pools of lava throughout the security zone. You’ll typically find these below or near conveyor belts, so you’ll want to approach these areas with caution!


[h2]The Mod Loader[/h2]
Deep within the Factory, you’ll find the Mod Loader Warden hiding in the shadows! Destroy this mechanized beast before it can wreak havoc on the outside!


Think you can survive through the Factory? Play through this and all of the security zones in Prison City–available NOW!

"When Doc Diver used Mistress Drosera to test Vine Sauce--his newest mutie juice--she transformed into a plant-controlling mutie."


[h2]Hiding and Seeking[/h2]
As a mutant with the power to control plants, vines and all kinds of natural greenery, Mistress Drosera makes use of the tunnels burrowed into the walls of her Warden room. When she manifests from one of the tunnels, Drosera will drop three lethal spores that can damage Hal. Pay attention to which tunnel she appears at, and be mindful of when her flower pretends to blossom!


[h2]Thorny Vines[/h2]
After appearing (or feigning an appearance), Drosera will call forth three large vines lined with thorns–two from the top and one from the central bottom–to scale either up or down the Warden room. Upon impacting a solid surface, the top petals will cause smaller fines to spring up, which can deal damage to Hal if he’s caught on one of the two platforms to the left or right!

Time your jumps as the vines get faster and faster, and be careful where you choose to land!


[h2]Dangerous Flowers[/h2]
During the fight, several wall flowers will spawn infrequently, which can add further disruption to Hal if they aren’t dealt with quickly. Attack the green and pink flowers before they can fully blossom to prevent them from releasing lethal spore bombs at Hal!


Think you can take on Mistress Drosera?

Hop into the Preserve security zone in Prison City–available NOW!

Note: If you would like to enjoy these bugs for yourself, I suggest holding off on updating until your curiosity is quenched.
Just make sure you read through the changelog to know the severity of the bug before you try to replicate it!

[h3]2023-9-8 (Post PAX West)[/h3]



[h3][Steam Specific][/h3]

• Auto-Cloud has been enabled- meaning your saves will be saved/loaded to the cloud. Note: Your settings are carried over with this file.
  

[h3][Gameplay Adjustments][/h3]

• You no longer fall off of hanging rails when you're at the edge of them.
  
• "Modern" mode now has "Respawn from Pits" on by default, as this is a "modern" feature to have.
  
• Pickups now appear over your head when you grab them. This may have a toggle in options in the future.
  
• Boss doors now show a "LOCK/OPEN" indicator that changes when you meet the requirements to open the door.
  
• Setting all of the bombs now plays a sound to let you know you can get to the boss.
  
• You can expedite the bomb placement animation by pressing or holding the Skip Dialog action button.
  
• The pause screen now has a "Resume" button, and will no longer accept inputs until the Up and Down buttons are in the neutral state. This should minimize the accidental "Return to Title" or "Level Select" presses that occur.
  --> An additional note on this: Localization may be rough on "Resume". This is mostly a stopgap until I can have localization for an "Are you Sure?" prompt on returning to title or level select. Spicy game dev tip for anyone interested! When dealing with multiple languages, it's hard to update things that require new strings.
  

[h3][Level Changes][/h3]
[h3][Train][/h3]

• Train/Intro level has some minor adjustments in Normal mode. Bomb mode is unchanged.
  
• Ground spike enemy in the room with the slide/rail segment has been removed. It was causing too many problems for people who didn't quite understand how grappling works, in that you don't need to time a press or hold the button while grappling.
  

[h3][Rooftops][/h3]

• There's a little platform to the right of the boss door in Normal mode. Too many people jumping over there thinking there's something there. (there's not until Bomb mode)
  
• Some background elements have been reduced in colors to prevent people from thinking they can interact with them.
  
• Caution indicators have been added to the spot to the right of where the contact is, because people kept jumping down there instead of using the ladder they have to pass just before that.
  

[h3][Cold Storage][/h3]

• Cold Storage level has an additional solid floor part in the upper right most room, so the player doesn't have to fight with ice to turn around and grab a ledge.
  
• Additionally, some Cold Storage enemy placement has been adjusted slightly.
  

[h3][Freeway][/h3]

• There is now a ladder to get back up from the first dropping freeway section to prevent backtracking if the player struggles with the hang bar platforming.
  
• The upper path of the room just past the boss door screen now has some freeway overhang that you have to slide under. This is to prevent an out-of-bounds glitch allowing the player to jump over the room transition trigger.
  
• You can now walk past the 2nd Toilet Tank segment, as the 1st one is build to be skipped if you're skilled. Having a solid wall trigger for the 2nd one didn't make sense.
  
• The rails over the 1st Toilet Tank have been reduced from 4 to 2.
  

[h3][General Bugfoolery][/h3]

• Fixed issue in the 2nd to last level where Jump Yoku Blocks would go out of sync if you jumped on a specific frame, causing them to either be ON or OFF, not mixed between the two, until the player dies or reloads the level.
  
• Fixed an issue where you can grab a wall you shouldn't be able to grab in Cold Storage
  

[h3][Upcoming/Planned Update Preview][/h3]

• Removing the tutorial tips from the Train level, and replacing it with an entire training segment on first run.
  --> This will be optional after first run, but will need to be started (and can be skipped) on a fresh game.
  --> The train will serve as a "use what you've learned" level.
  --> This is directly in response to hanging/grappling mechanics not being as clear as they should be, and players brute forcing their way through the train without fully understanding how grappling works. It's easy to assume the game is clunky vs realizing you only need to "hold grapple or up until you're grappling, then release the button" (instead of trying to time the press for some reason or holding the grapple/up button the whole time on a rail, which would be absurd)
  --> This may not be the specific change that happens, but it's the current thought.
  
• Select minigames directly from the level select if you've completed the level they belong to.
  --> Just select the level they're attached to and a new menu pops up! You can use this to get some extra lives/power chakram upgrades (on Easy) if you beat the minigame.
  --> As a result of this, new graphics have been made to support the minigame level cards~