Flashing Lights News

Hello all,

Firstly, we want to say thank you very much for your patience. We apologise for the delay on this update, and really do appreciate the support.

Today's update brings traffic and pedestrians to the new map. Traffic AI has been revamped for the new map. We've also added new destructible props (news, mail and fuse boxes) and new static street props (fences, street lights, lanterns, larger fuse boxes).



Also on the new map, we've improved physics for clients in multiplayer - for instance, if you join another's game you will now be able to make contact with other vehicles. Additionally we've done some optimisation work for the new map, which should reduce the feel of lag for some of you - this is making use of a new technique which predicts where players will go in multiplayer ahead of time in order to reduce the feel of lag.

Read on for the full patch notes!





https://store.steampowered.com/app/605740



New (updates in New Map only):
- Improved traffic spawning system
- Vehicle traffic added with new path and driving system
- NPC traffic pit maneuver and collision sync with client side players
- Pedestrians added
- Improved waypoint system for traffic and pedestrians
- Player vehicle multiplayer prediction for more accurate position and rotation
- Working traffic lights
- NPC traffic stop now has potential to become a chase
- Spike strips now work with new traffic
- Traffic stops on foot ported from old map
- If NPC traffic (not in chase) get hit by spike strips or fail to load waypoints now will stop and turn on hazard lights. Police player then can access them as traffic stop with Traffic Vest or activating it from police car
- Towing mechanics ported to new map (Tow traffic and parked cars)
- New destructible props (News, Mail and Fuse boxes, Trash bins)
- New static street props (Benches, Fences, Street lights, Lanterns, larger Fuse boxes)
- More street props and areas around the city
- New optimized traffic lights models
- MDT vehicle scan
- Request Tow (despawn) for NPC car

Fixes
- Cones obstacle adjustments to be better noticed by AI traffic
- Suspects going on top of police department doorways while grabbed
- Pedestrian/Suspect no longer teleport back to last position for multiplayer client players when using Grab
- Pedestrian walk animations sync fix on client side
- Player vehicle physics update
- Player vehicles now carve around obstacles sooner when they are stationary, pedestrians look for way around
- Floating parked cars adjusted
- Added colliders to low poly buildings, stops from driving through in case the map still loading
- Project rendering settings update (depending on hardware potential performance increase)

Thank you all again for your support!
The Flashing Lights team

Hello all,

Sadly we have had to move the March update back a little. We need a bit more time on the update, which will include pedestrians and revamped traffic AI for the new map, and now plan to release the update within the next few weeks.

However, we may be releasing early unstable versions of the update ahead of the public release - if you are interested in playing any potential early versions of the update, please join the Discord and keep an eye out for announcements there.

We understand that the delay is frustrating and disappointing for some of you, and it's never our intention to frustrate anybody. That said, we want to prioritise quality rather than pushing out the update prematurely.

We also have some new teaser screenshots to share, to help tide you over until the update!



Above you can see some brand new props which will be added to the new map in this update... and some can be knocked over when driving too (news, mail and fuse boxes). Also added will be more static street props (fences, street lights, lanterns and larger fuse boxes).

Thanks for the support,
The Flashing Lights Team

Hello all,

Thank you all for your continued support. Flashing Lights wouldn’t be where it is today without your help. Today we want to reveal what’s planned for the next five months! But first, we want to highlight and give you a heads up on a couple things.

From March onwards we are moving to bi-monthly updates. To make sure we bring you updates of the upmost quality, going forward we will be dedicating more time to each update, allowing us to bring the quality to a standard we believe you will appreciate.

In July the new and expanded map will be replacing the original map. We will be removing the original map in July, as the new map will then be on par in terms of functionality and content (while also of course being better optimised than the original).

March

• New map foundations complete; Featuring pedestrians & revamped traffic AI
  

This month’s update will deliver pedestrians and revamped traffic AI to the new map, marking the point where the new map is functionally complete.



May

• Callouts for EMS & Fire on new map
  
• New vehicle & overhauled siren sounds for both maps
  

In May we will be adding EMS and fire callouts to the new map. And for both the new and original map, we will be adding a much requested new vehicle, and overhauling the siren sound effects. This will also be the last update for the original map before it is removed in the July update.



July

• New Map Expansion; The new and expanded map will replace the original city.
  
• Callouts for all services to launch the new map.
  
• Greek, Hungarian, Norwegian and Slovak support
  
• Multiple existing languages reworked and updated
  

In July we will be completing the transition from the original map to the new and expanded one. We will also be adding callouts for all services to the new map, and introducing support for Greek, Hungarian, Norwegian and Slovak. At this point, the old map will be removed.



We look forward to these updates and what lies beyond, and we hope you do too.

See you at the end of the month for the March update!

Hello all,

The update which was planned for the end of February has now been merged with the March update.

By the end of March we'll release an update which brings an overhauled traffic system to the new map. This update will also introduce pedestrians onto the new map. This will mark the point where the new map is fully functional, and will serve as a basis for ongoing development.



We apologise for the delay, but we believe it's what's best for the game. We'd rather release a better update later on as opposed to prematurely releasing one we're not happy with.

We'll have a new roadmap to announce soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that! We also hope you enjoy the little teaser images for the March update throughout this post.



Thank you for all of your support as always!

The Flashing Lights Team

Hello all,

We have just released the January 2021 update for Flashing Lights! We have an updated callout dispatch system for multiplayer calls on the new map. We also have new dumpster fire callouts for the fire department.



If you are yet to try Flashing Lights, now is a great time to jump in, with new updates being released regularly.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/605740



New (Updates for the New Map)
- Updated dispatch now has multiplayer support
- Dispatch supports multiple calls at the same time across departments
- CAD update to join/leave missions now in active calls tab
- Calls now end after timeout if no players are responding
- New Dumpster Fire callouts for Fire Department [ID 2001]
- New garbage dumpster models around the city
- Bus stop models around the city
- Power Off button now appears on every screen on the in-vehicle computer
- Mission complete UI pop-up now shows when the call is cleared, but does not issue any points. Points are now given for player actions in missions only
- Another suspect registration point added at the back entrance of the Police Station
- Added info icons on vehicle HUD for computer input [Left Shift] and extra lights input [P]

Fixes
- Random fire callouts could previously spawn with no fire (New map)
- Shop owner's walk animation fixed when items are returned
- Time it takes to extinguish fires is now faster (New map)
- Fire Tanker truck's rooftop lightbar scale increased
- Fire Ladder truck's doors do not disappear in the distance anymore
- Christmas hat removed :'(



We have further exciting updates coming over the next couple of months:

February: Optimised Map Release Part 3: Overhauled traffic AI + traffic will appear on the streets of the new small map.

March: Optimised Map Release Part 4: Fully functional enhanced and optimised new map. This will form the foundation of the ongoing game development.