Police Simulator: Patrol Officers News

[h3]Fellow officers,[/h3]
with the upcoming Traffic Management Update (the beta starts next week!), we're introducing a lot of AI Improvements with a focus on the overall behavior of NPVs (Non-Player-Vehicles).

As the team has put a lot of work into the AI Improvements, we want to show off some of the changes we made over the last few months. In short: NPVs will now react a lot smarter to sirens, they approach intersections better and their lane switching behavior is more advanced.

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In this video, you can see that we've blocked off the lane on the very left with one of our brand-new road barriers. The NPVs will understand it as a way to turn back and accept the need to take another route. In turn, this allows you to better work on, for example, accident sites, and resolve traffic jams.

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In this video, you can see how NPVs begin to drive slower once you have your blue lights turned on. They begin to drive faster once you turn them off again. A nice side effect: On wider streets, you can easier drive through the gaps between cars and react to their movements.

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NPVs now react a lot faster to your blipping and find a parking spot immediately. No need to drive around 100 blocks with them (and that always felt like an eternity).

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Here, you can see how far intersections are being blocked by your siren. They stand still until you have driven past them, which makes it easier to drive to the location you are required at.

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Speaking of intersections: NPVs which are very close to an intersection will not react directly to your siren and will try to make space so that you have a wider gap to drive through.

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They also clear the intersection if you have your siren enabled continuously, making sure that you have all the time and space in the world to reach your destination.

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If you disable the siren but keep the blue lights shining, the cars will begin to traverse the intersection.

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Let's get back to your road barriers: In this video, you can see how smooth NPVs react to blocked-off lanes. They spot the barrier and immediately move to a different lane.

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It's not just barriers, though! NPVs also react to cones and will switch to a different lane - if a different lane is available. Otherwise, they would turn around and find a different route.

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You're at full speed, crossing an intersection with sirens and blue lights enabled? Then, NPVs crossing an intersection as well will brake fast so that you won't crash into them.

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NPVs are smart enough not to brake and halt should you drive in a different direction than them, and will continue to drive their desired route.

[h2]What's inside The Traffic Management Update?[/h2]

The Traffic Management Update will release in Open Beta on May 31, 2022. If you want to learn more about everything that's inside, check out our recent blog post!

If you don't want to miss any news, make sure to catch all news regarding Police Simulator: Patrol Officers by following us everywhere:

• FACEBOOK
• TWITTER
• INSTAGRAM
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• TRELLO

https://store.steampowered.com/app/997010/Police_Simulator_Patrol_Officers/

[h3]Fellow officers,[/h3] Police Simulator: Patrol Officers is growing further and further each month – and after experiencing all the heights, it's now time to go back to the ground, straight to the streets of Brighton.

Welcome to The Traffic Management Update, coming to you in beta on May 31 – with the full update launching on June 28!

[h2]Get control over Traffic and NPCs![/h2]

As a patrol officer of the Brighton Police Department, one of the most important parts of your everyday shift concerns the safety of each driver and pedestrian.

Our arsenal chefs have worked tirelessly to stack up your equipment to ensure your success in fulfilling this duty. Now, we can present the fruits of their labor: We're pleased to announce that you can now find cones and barriers inside your trunk, helping you to close off and secure accident sites, entire streets or individual lanes!

YOU SHALL NOT PASS!



[h2]Just the right signals[/h2]

Physical barriers are fine - but why not issue verbal & gestural commands as well? With The Traffic Management Update, you receive a variety of options to use your magical hands!

You can now order...

• NPCs to stop and wait
  
• NPCs to walk to a different location and wait there
  
• NPCs to not use the sidewalk at all
  
• NPCs to turn around and use a different route
  
• NPVs to wait
  
• NPVs to turn around and use a different route
  

Show them who's in charge!



[h2]The Sound of Sirens[/h2]

With The Holding Cells Update, we've introduced our very first modding options - and wow, your creations are absolutely amazing! My entire hard drive has been flooded with your mods as I've downloaded and installed every single one of them.

Those of you who hoped for even more ways to mod the game, I got some good news for you! ELS Modding is now finally available and we've made it highly customizable.

First: You can adjust the ELS for both sirens and blipping. Second: You can adjust ALL lights on all patrol cars, including their frequency, color, and brightness. Third: You can also change the sounds.

By the way, you can already start working on your ELS mods! We've released a comprehensive guide and updated the official mod kit to get you started:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2808924041

[h2]Huge AI Improvements[/h2]

Together with the new traffic control features, we're also shipping a bunch of AI improvements. NPVs will now react a lot smarter to sirens, they approach intersections better, their lane switching behavior is more advanced – and NPCs behave more believable near patrol vehicles.

In addition, you can now customize the spawn/despawn radius of NPVs and NPCs as well as the general density of traffic and pedestrians.

[h2]Bug fixes, performance improvements & other new features[/h2]

Once again, the team put a huge focus on fixing a bunch of longstanding bugs and bringing the game up to an even higher standard (the sky is the limit!).

We also resolved a bunch of crashes, improved performance plus framerates across the board... and fleeing has become an arrest reason!



[h2]What else?[/h2]

That's it for now! Please look forward to the start of the beta next week (NEXT WEEK, YES, NEXT WEEK!) and share your thoughts with us in the comments down below :)

If you don't want to miss any news, make sure to catch all news regarding Police Simulator: Patrol Officers by following us everywhere:

• FACEBOOK
• TWITTER
• INSTAGRAM
• DISCORD
• TRELLO

https://store.steampowered.com/app/997010/Police_Simulator_Patrol_Officers/

[h3]Hello to our new recruits,[/h3]

The astragon Spring Sale has started and of course, our game is part of the sale as well!

For a limited time only, you can save 20% on Police Simulator: Patrol Officers and get access to the streets of Brighton at a discount.

This sale runs from May 10 until May 16 at 1pm CEST.

Police Simulator: Patrol Officers is even more fun as a co-op experience! If you're still looking for a partner, now's the perfect time to gift the game to a friend. Just do it!

Take a look at the store page for details!

And it's not just us! Other games from the astragon portfolio are also deeply discounted - with up to 80% off.

Check out our publisher page for details.

See you soon on your next shift,
Your Police Simulator Team


https://store.steampowered.com/app/997010

[h3]Fellow Officers,[/h3]
With the release of The Holding Cells Update, we've introduced the ability to create your very own custom mods for Police Simulator: Patrol Officers – and to download those made by other community members!

A bit over 90 mods have been uploaded to the Steam Workshop thus far and we've been absolutely amazed at the sheer efforts you put into them. Those liveries and uniforms... they are all great.

Today, we want to highlight some creations we've observed on the Steam Workshop and provide a special shoutout. Let's dive into them!

[h3]The Gotham City Skin Pack[/h3]
As the latest Batman movie has been released just a few weeks ago (with Robert Pattinson looking like an absolute hottie, can't deny that), it was clear someone will create a fitting skin pack. Welcome to Gotham City, everyone!
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2801945216
[h3]Boston Police Pack[/h3]
Some of you might know that the city of Brighton is based on Boston - so what could be better than some realistic liveries and uniforms?
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2791431291&searchtext=
[h3]Massachusetts State Police Skin[/h3]
Geography question: In which US state is Boston located? I hope you've been paying attention back then (I didn't, was more of a History person) as the correct answer is Massachusetts. Here's the fitting skin pack!
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2784024538&searchtext=
[h3]Metropolitan Police Uniform[/h3]
Yes, there is a Brighton in the UK as well. No, our Brighton is not the Brighton in the UK. But this skin is still inspired by the United Kingdom, more precisely by the Metropolitan Police. I had to look it up and apparently, it's the *actual* name of Scotland Yard... but who's even using the *actual* name, right?
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2793193175&searchtext=
[h3]Ghost Livery Pack[/h3]
Halloween is a few months away still, but we can already become... kind of spooky? This pack converts all patrol cars into ghosts, white and scary. Boo.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2784148210&searchtext=
[h3]NYPD - New York Police Department Clothes[/h3]
Ah... I love New York. Something about this city fascinates me, even if I've never been there myself. Thank god this uniform pack exists so that I can at least cosplay as a true NYPD police officer!
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2789542344&searchtext=
[h3]Los Angeles PD Pack[/h3]
Let's switch from the east coast to the west coast, from NYPD to LAPD. This skin pack is one of the most popular ones for a reason!
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2788219269
[h3]Brighton PD Supervisor[/h3]
Become the boss of your Police Department and upgrade your cars and uniforms. This changes the textures of the police cars to a silver-grey livery and adds a rank insignia to the officer uniforms, providing a 'Sergeant Rank' to all officers.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2785603062
[h3]The Cruiser Taxi[/h3]
It's time to go undercover! This pack makes your Cruiser patrol car look like your friendly neighborhood taxi from Brighton. Don't mind the siren at the top, though. It just provides... a certain flair.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2793541324&searchtext=
[h3]2D Templates[/h3]
We love how the community is helping each other out with ideas, guidance, and tutorials. This pack made by Rizaly provides some awesome 2D templates, focused on ambient occlusion, for you to create your very own skins! There's another one made by Zlatey which we can also highly recommend.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2792496764&searchtext=
Check out our Steam Workshop to take a look at all mods!

[h2]How to create your own mods[/h2]
We've created a comprehensive guide that explains how to create, test, and upload your mods! Check it out here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2778896763
In addition, we have created a video guide that shows the creation process for a mod. We highly recommend taking a look:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]Let's go on patrol![/h2]

If you haven't seen it already, a few weeks ago we released the very first episode of #ONPATROL, the official PS:PO show! If you want to learn more about the development of the game and receive some exclusive behind-the-scenes insights, we can only recommend taking a look:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/997010

[h3]Fellow officers,[/h3]

we hope you all had a great Easter! We're back from some days off as well and are now once again full at work, crafting the next update for Police Simulator: Patrol Officers.

In the meantime, to thank all of you for your continued support, we have prepared a huge giveaway full of awesome prices - and one lucky player can win them all! 👀

Included are a fantastic calendar, a stylish sports bag, high-quality coffee recommended by the Brighton Police Department, a cozy shirt, and much much more. You can take a look at all the awesome stuff down below! ⬇️

[h3]How to participate[/h3]

That's actually very easy! Just tell us in the comments of this post what your favorite feature in Police Simulator: Patrol Officers is and you'll automatically become part of the pool of potential winners.

If you want to increase your chances, you can also participate in the giveaway on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook.

Please take a look at the Terms & Conditions for further details.

Good luck everyone 👏