POSTAL 4: No Regerts News

Hey POSTAL Fans!

Wow, has it been 8 weeks already since the last update? Well, we can at least make up for that somewhat by making it a rather meaty one for you to sink your teeth into by bringing you new content, performance improvements and a slew of bug fixes.

This update introduces a new mode of transport - The Go Kart! Introduced later in the game, it gives players the option of a faster mode of transport to zip around the map in, running over bystanders as they go.

Speaking of bystanders, we’ve continued to work on improving them in this update. Homeowners now correctly react to the player barging into their homes, we’ve added a ton more variation to their appearance and animations, and we’ve implemented better AI response to the environment. We’ve also improved much of the animal AI. There’s more work and fine turning to come in future updates, but this is a significant step forward nonetheless.

The iconic Scissors weapon has made a return! It’s - in our humble opinion - much better and more fun to use than the scissors in POSTAL 2. Enjoy running with scissors!

We’ve fixed up a ton of bugs, including many of the ones mentioned in TotallyPointlessTV’s excellent P4 review you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX5LcqW-66U Another thing he mentions in this video (and you guys have often mentioned) is exploration is sometimes not rewarded, and we’ve been working on putting that right in this update, and will continue to do so in future updates.

The push to improve performance continues. We’ve chopped another 5 gigs off the install size, significantly reduced system ram usage and improved frametimes further. We’ve also been combatting framerate hitching, and have now vastly improved situations where the game would start to slow down over longer play sessions.

This update has been a long time coming, mostly due to work on performance needing us to rethink how some things were implemented, but we endeavor to have another update out in November to coincide with Running with Scissors 25th anniversary. We’ll also be adding Trading cards and all that goes with them at that time, too.

We hope you'll enjoy this update and thank you for your continuous support!



GO Kart! The Mobility Megastore is releasing their new vehicle to the public! Available from Wednesday, this non-handicap accessible Kart will be available to rent for just $100! "Why hobble? When you can GO!"





Scissors! The long awaited Scissors are back! Throw 'em around regularly, old-school style or try the new alt-fire kunai throw!





Better models for destroyed cars!

Phone customization options! You can now change the phone muzak as well as the Krotchy Tip notification sounds

Phone Kiosk! This is where you will be buying custom muzak and notification sounds for your sexy Scrotorola phone



A lot more NPC clothing variation!

Exchange Vendors! Throughout Edensin, you’ll notice a bunch of new exchange vendors which will allow you to exchange various items for cash



Chance for dogs to pee on corpses!

Better Police Helicopter explosion effects



More NPC behavior schedules throughout the maps!

More NPC walk cycles! To help add more variation to our NPCs, you’ll now notice them use different animations for walking

Begging state and NPCs screaming correctly when set on fire!

New camera animations for firearms!

Added Riot Cops in helicopter drops!

POSTAL Movie skin! The Zack Outfit has been added as Krotchy Doll collector reward





Further general performance improvements

Reduced the frequency and severity of stuttering

Reduced the install size footprint by another 5gb

Reduced system RAM usage

Adjusted steering speed on vehicles for better handling

Optimized the explodable Propane tanks and barrels

Improved collision of various assets

Improved the behavior of Police and Heat Assault sequence

Improved performance of destructible cars

Improvements to kick behavior: Camera shake added for the kick hitting someone

Improved NPC weapon / health balancing. Added Tan and Riot Cops to spawners as week goes on

Tweaked camera shakes for firearms in order to improve the feel of our weapons

Implemented animation blending between hip and aimed firing animations

Added a lot of new world textures (Posters, murals, adboards, etc.)

Revised the behavior and look of the ammo slot on the Weapon Wheel

Improved various UI elements for better controller support

Changes to the Kunny Island errand (Destroying power boxes as well as disabling them will trigger hostiles)

Improved the look of the Money item and the models to make them less generic

Fixed various broken textures on models

Lowered the physics impulse imparted by the Mallet

Implemented improvements to the iron sights to make them more prominent and readable when aiming

Animal behavior (Cats not collecting Catnip properly, Dog sometimes not reacting to Dog Treats)

Improved collision of a great amount of models

Improved the icons of doll collectibles

Made more doors destructible

Sledgehammer and Mallet now more reliably applied physics impulse on hit

Sped up the head throw animation

Improved Fire and Begging dialog

Improved the behavior of throwable heads

Added more items throughout Edensin in order to reward exploration more

Improved the look of Krotchy’s Tip notification




Framerate dropping greatly when looking at emissive lights if the Post-Processing setting was set to 'High' or 'Ultra'

Hardrock and Mercs not moving in the Mall

Mercenaries not having weapons in the Mall

Frozen NPCs in El Plago cutscene

Weapon chest in Police Station being difficult to interact with

Gates during the Treasure Hunter errand sometimes blocking player

The wind sounds skipping sometimes

Various jank during Vote For Governor errand

Cutscenes being slowed down by Catnip

Tickets not appearing correctly on new cars

Certain doors being very difficult to kick

Ammo types not being remembered on save game

Uphill slope animations

Inconsistent material footstep sounds for several road materials

Plushies cutting themselves off during talking

Dogs not playing fetch with heads of ALL NPC types

An issue with NPCs herding in one place when using interest points

Animals not reacting to getting hit correctly

A ton of mapping bugs such as certain models being too small, inaccessible pickups, broken textures and so on

NPCs spawning in a cluster in Suburban area

Big bride in between the Suburbs and Prison tile popping up out of nowhere

Players being able to fall through floor around the central security hub pillar

Petition, Spray Paint Can and a few others not working properly with the Black hole backpack upgrade active

Immigrants in Border Smuggler errand only getting on the slingshot when aiming down and sometimes getting stuck until killed

A bug that could trigger when going through a zap-zone whilst on a Scooter

Sledgehammer and Mallet projectiles not having Catnip support

Dismembered heads jittering for a short moment when playing fetch with a dog

Removed redundant "Cop" subtitles from PayFine cinematic

Monday Beggar Sign reappearing in Dude's inventory under certain circumstances

...

Here it is folks, the first major performance update in a long while.



This update addresses the base framerate that should see the game running better in all situations. Many more performance updates are on the way, but we feel this is significant enough an improvement that it’s worth releasing what we have so far. Pushka has been fantastic to work with in helping us sort this mess out, and things will only get better from here as they help us optimize for the console ports.

While this update does not include any new content, there is plenty on the way - including two new weapons and an all new Vehicle. Watch this space!

Patch notes:

• Significant performance improvements
  
• Fix for level transition crash AP2Bot::ReportLooksTick()
  
• NPCs no longer konga line into buildings like the arcade and are spread out a bit better
  
• Added some additional checks to turn off the catnip effects after the player becomes Cat Dude
  
• Sledgehammer and Mallet now more reliably applies physics impulse on hit
  
• Lowered the physics impulse imparted by the Mallet from testing values
  
• Fixed the Sledgehammer and Mallet projectiles not having Catnip support
  
• Fixed the Sledgehammer not imparting physics impulse sometimes
  
• Implemented Vitamin X support for the Sledgehammer and Mallet
  

Steam build Number:1.0.9

Hotfix #1 Update

This is a fix for the issues with Blackhole backpacks breaking weapons.

It’s a long time coming (and for that we sincerely apologize) but here is a massive content update for your enjoyment!

Before we go any further - this is not the promised upcoming first major performance update. We still have some kinks to work out with that, but we’re really close, and you won’t have long to wait for it. We did consider holding off this update a bit longer to incorporate the performance updates too - but some many of you are rightfully starting to get worried due to how long it’s been since the last update, so we wanted to put your mind at rest and prove we’re still hard at work.

With that out of the way, let's talk about some highlighted new features in this update. The headlining feature is not one, but TWO new weapons! The iconic Sledge hammer makes a return along side the all new 'Ass Mallet'! We also have Police reinforcements rappelling from helicopters! Until you shoot them down, that is. You can now buy permits that allow you to carry weapons with complete legal impunity!

Another focus of ours has been working on bringing back of some features from POSTAL 2 that were noticeably absent from POSTAL 4… such as hate groups! No longer will your violence against various factions have no consequences later in the game. Remember how in P2 it was possible to drop and piss on a doughnut, only to see a cop later pick it up and eat it, throwing up violently as a result? Well you can now do that in P4, too! We’ve also implemented the ability to play fetch with dogs using severed heads.

Oh, and we've reduced the size of the build by a further 5gbs for good measure.

This is a big update so there is a lot more to chew on, check out the full list below.

Again, our apologies for the delay in getting this update out as we restructured to work with a console porting studio in order to start on the major performance improvements, but with that all ironed out we can get back to a more frequent update schedule.




Helicopters! Another type of Police reinforcements will now start spawning from helicopters. They are also destructible!



Texts App! Hints and Game Tips will now be displayed and saved in its own app on your Phone!



Sledgehammer and Rubber Mallet!



Hate Groups!
As the Dude goes about his errands, he makes plenty of enemies along the way. Any Group he has offended will now recognize him and attack him in the open world.



Improved Going POSTAL Challenges! You will now have an option to replay a challenge after completing it

Collectible Tiered Rewards! We’ve overhauled the system for earning rewards after collecting the doll collectibles. Now, after collecting 10/30/50 of each doll, the rewards will be redeemable in the new ‘REWARD’ vending machines as opposed to spawning in crates in Anu’s Inn



Police Station confiscation mechanic! After getting arrested, your stuff will now get confiscated by Police. You’ll need to retrieve your possessions from the security rooms

Random chance for Dogs to pee!

Vending Machine improvements! Current number of items / ammo will be shown on the screen as well as the max inventory capacity



‘Max Capacity’ marker for pickups! An indicator will appear over pickups that will let you know you’ve reached the max capacity

More clothing variations for NPCs!

Inventory upgrades! You will now be able to purchase two backpacks in Vending Machines. One will double your inventory space, the second will remove the space limitation completely

New Animals! Cows, Sheep, Chickens, Goats and Pigs will now appear in certain areas of Edensin

NPCs grabbing pickups off the ground!

Very Hard difficulty setting!

Pissing blood when you get shot in the dick while urinating!



Donut pickup! Just like in P2, you will be able to pee on one and have an unfortunate NPC pick one up and eat it. Ew

Reworked Doll collectibles! You will now have an option to sell the collected dolls at vendor stands spread throughout the maps

Nitro Upgrade for Scooters in Scooter Stations! For an extra fee, you will be able to purchase a Nitro add-on for your scooter. You can also buy a Nitro item which is a bit more expensive but will give you an option to use it on any bystander Scooter you might have rudely stolen or just any you find laying around



New vehicle models! We replaced the old car meshes with new, better looking models



Working fireworks stand next to the Polling Station!



Max Capacity indicator! It will appear over pickups that you can’t pick up due to the capacity limit being reached on that particular item

Beret hat for Wipe Militants to better differentiate them between regular NPCs!

Three new Going POSTAL Challenges! ‘Crypto Hater’ challenge in Riverside, ‘Scoot Scoot Motherfuckers’ challenge in the Prison tile and ’Elite Sniper’ in the Mexico side

Dynamic animation system that controls the animations of the face depending on the sound! This will make the NPCs look less doll-like and more expressive

Animal crowds (Rats, Cockroaches) to various areas in the game. You will notice rats and cockroaches spawn in bunches mostly in dirty / unkempt places

Playing fetch with dogs! Now, you can use NPCs heads to have some fun with dogs



Per-day dynamic bystander weapon spawn system! As each day passes, more bystanders will have weapons

Permits! You can now buy certain permits which will grant you extra conveniences, primarily when open carrying weapons in front of others. These are permanent status boosts that remain in effect until the end of the game. Note that using these weapons improperly will still incur the wrath of the law!



Extremely Small Weapons Permit - Lets you flop your dick around with complete legal impunity!

Small Side Arms Permit – Allows the player to open carry weapons like the Pistol and Revolver without worry of alarming fellow citizens or getting arrested by law enforcement.

Large Weapons Permit – Allows the player to open carry weapons like the Shotgun, Machine Gun, AK-47, and Hunting Rifle.

Heavy Weapons Permit – Allows the player to open carry weapons like the Rocket Launcher.

Exotic Weapons Permit – Allows the player to carry the really odd stuff with impunity.




Reduced the overall size of the game on your harddrive by 5gb from the last update, and down 10gb since 1.0.

Spike boss fight. Added charge attack

Improved the Vitamin X kick sounds

Improved Prison errand: Level design changes, new tutorial section. Added pawns to fight in the Prisons Central Hub after the first 2 lockdown codes

NPCs will now react to all dead body parts

Updated Historic train textures

Improved the Flare Gun ammo pickup model

Visual and Gameplay improvements in Industrial tile

Added a Music Instrument store in Commercial tile

Going POSTAL Challenges and Doll Collectibles are now displayed on the side quest section of the Phone menu

Properly set up weapon and item orders in weapon and inventory wheels

Improved houses in Commercial tile around the cul-de-sac area

Delayed combat start added for Bosses which will prevent them from landing cheap shots after cutscenes

‘Mall Closed’ signs will only appear on Tuesday

Changed some camera angles during the Animal Catcher cutscene to account for the new Van model

Melee weapons now use an input queue system for swings and charging swings

Optimized plenty of textures

Improved Spray Paint speed

Polished up the Sniper and FOURnicator animations

Completing the Animal Catcher errand in a violent way will now spawn hostile dogs

Improved the Police Station building exterior and interior in Mexico side

Improved Police Helmet model for higher level cops

Changed the Kevlar / SiC Armor icons in Vending Machines so that they don’t use the same icons as HUD

Added some railroad connections between tiles

Reduced the install size from ~32gb to ~25gb





MikeJ Estate audio reverb

Various items not having drop sounds

NPCs sometimes walking cross-legged on slopes

Bystanders falling out of the world sometimes during level loading

Homeowners getting stuck in an endless loop of reacting to the Dude home invader

Few assets missing textures

Janky terrain near the Fire Station

Clicking on some errands on Tuesday not creating the right path for you

Reverb staying the same as the mall reverb after exiting mall mission

Rampage hint disappearing too quickly

Broken severed hand in Tag Turf intro

Bad deformation to the dude's wrist during plago intro cutscene while wearing costumes with no sleeves

Pay Fine cutscene playing twice if getting the cutscene by going to jail

Various crashes

Broken Tomb Raiders, and other AI issues on exiting cutscenes

Subtitles not appearing during Zack Ward Dude playthroughs

Wrong subtitles appearing in certain cases

NPCs not following player on stairs in Wipe Compound and Prison

Some misaligned Shotgun third-person animations

NPCs sometimes panicking instantly during combat

Hey all!

Hope you’ve all been enjoying POSTAL Brain Damaged! No doubt having finished that game - you are eagerly awaiting the next big update for POSTAL 4!

This update will take longer to get out but for good reason. Last month, Pushka - a console porting studio - joined us internally to help us get the game into better shape performance wise as we continue to add content and polish up the game. This process required us to move over to a custom version of Unreal 4.27, which meant we have to adapt the way we work. The engine change also introduced some regressions that we’re currently working on fixing. We seem to be back up to full speed now and will work towards getting a new update out, but in the meantime, here is a small slice of what you can expect from 1.0.8 when it releases!

Here are just some of the things you can expect to see in the next update:

Helicopters! Another type of reinforcements will now start spawning if you start causing major havoc. They are also destructible!



Two new weapons - The Sledgehammer and Rubber Mallet! The classic Sledgehammer is back, ready for bovine insertion, and who knows where the rubber mallet will end up…







Hate Groups! A notable missing feature from P2 returns to P4! Now you’ll have to better watch your back while going about your daily business as groups that you’ve upset come after you!



Nitro Upgrade for Scooters in Scooter Stations! For an extra fee, you will be able to purchase a Nitro add-on for your scooter. You can also buy a Nitro item which is a bit more expensive but will give you an option to use it on any bystander Scooter you might have rudely stolen or just any you find laying around Edensin. The effectiveness of the Nitro itself was improved as well, you'll have more of it to burn through and it will also regenarate faster.



Three new Going POSTAL Challenges! ‘Crypto Hater’ challenge in Riverside, ‘Scoot Scoot Motherfuckers’ challenge in the Prison tile and ’Elite Sniper’ in the Mexico side.

Dynamic animation system that controls the animations of the face depending on the sound! This will make the NPCs look less doll-like and more expressive.

New Animals! Cows, Sheep, Chickens, Goats and Pigs will now appear in certain areas of Edensin.

Donut pickup! Just like in P2, you will be able to pee on a dropped donut and have an unfortunate NPC pick one up and eat it. Ew

Inventory upgrades! As we continue to monitor and respond to your threads on our forums, one of the most commonly mentioned things that you guys were unhappy with is the limited inventory space in P4. When the next update goes live, you will be able to purchase two types of backpacks from vending machines. One will double your inventory space and second will remove the limiation completely, so that you can hoard as many health pipes as you desire!





Although it might not quite make the next update, we are currently also working on a weapon which you have requested so many times, we had to bring it back. The Scissors! I don't want to ruin the surprise and tell you exactly how they are going to work, but rest assured, they will be fun to use! :)



The actual changelog will be more extensive as it includes a lot of fixes, quality of life or just general improvements to the existing mechanics or errands, but we hope this dev log will make you excited for the upcoming update.

Thank you all for your continued support!

Running With Scissors Team

---

As a final note, if you didn't get a chance to pick up one of our other cool games, now's a good chance to check them out as we are taking part in Steam's Summer Sale with those amazing deals!