Police Simulator: Patrol Officers News

[h3]Fellow officers,[/h3]
a bit more than a week has passed since the release of Police Simulator: Patrol Officers – and what a week it has been! For the entire period of time, we have been observing your feedback continuously, chatting with you on every platform imaginable, and planning our next steps. As we speak, our entire development team is hard at work on further bug fixes, new content, and overall improvements to the game.

Hungry for new stuff, aren't you? It's time to change that! Today, we can finally reveal that the very first package – The Background Check Update – is coming to the game on July 13th!

[h2]Introducing: The Background Check Update[/h2]

Melting Pot, the very first and historic district in the game, had already much to offer. Now, it's time to embrace modernity instead: Say hello to Downtown!

The Downtown district is the heart of the city of Brighton. Skyscrapers are lined up here one after the other and create an impressive skyline. The district consists of five neighborhoods in total: Callahan, Callahan Financial Sector, Chester, Baytown, and Conway. A little further out, you will find wide-open spaces... and the large Conway Stadium! The symmetrical street layout is a testament to the district's youth.

We are also introducing a new addition to your vehicle fleet, waiting for you on the parking lot: The Gladiator 6! This SUV is perfectly suited for your next car patrol and will greatly enhance the enjoyment of all future shifts.

Last but not least: Say hello to the brand-new board computer! As part of your car, it allows you to perform a background check on any suspects you may come across after you have checked their IDs, license plates, insurances, and other stuff. Of course, you can also use the board computer to learn more about the vehicle itself. By the way: Should you currently be on foot, you can also use the board computer as it is directly integrated into your police computer.

The Background Check Update will launch officially on July 13th – but starting today, you can try out all the content already as part of our Open Beta!

[h2]How do I enter the Open Beta?[/h2]

We've made the process as easy as possible to include you, the community, early on during the development of the game. To join the Open Beta, you only need to perform the following steps:

1. Right-click on Police Simulator: Patrol Officers in your Steam library.
   
2. Select 'Properties' in the menu.
   
3. Select 'Betas' in the sidebar on the left.
   
4. Select 'Beta' in the drop-down menu and confirm your decision to switch to that branch.
   
5. An update should now start - you are now officially part of the Open Beta!
   

IMPORTANT: Please, please keep in mind that the save games created on the stable build and the save games created on the beta build might not be compatible with each other - which can lead to problems. If you plan to switch you should make sure that you backup your save file beforehand. You can find your save file at the following location:

C:\\Users\\”USER”\\AppData\\Local\\Boston\\Saved\\SaveGames You can find these more easily by typing %localappdata% into Windows search.

Everyone can test the beta extensively and provide feedback on its features, balancing, and bugs. Feel free to send us your impressions on Discord, in the Steam Beta forums and on our Socials.


[h2]ICYMI: A new patch is out now on the stable branch![/h2]

Today, we're launching the beta - but of course, that's not all we're currently working on. In addition, we've released a new patch with version number 1.0.2 for the stable branch as well on Friday – including a bunch of balancing changes, fixes, and adjustments... all based on your feedback.

Here are the highlights from the patch:

• Adjusted chances for broken windshields, underglow lights, accidents, and other events
  
• The Cruiser car now unlocks with 3 Duty Stars instead of 5. The car, once unlocked, is now available in all areas for car patrol shifts.
  
• Fixed CP loss for towed cars
  
• Fixed Arrests based on positive DUI tests in traffic stops are often flagged as unjustified
  

For the full list of changes, please check out the complete patch notes.

Note: All of these changes are also included in the Beta branch.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/997010?snr=1_2108_9__2107

[h2]Changelog - Hotfix Update 1.0.3[/h2]

Gameplay

• Fixed "ignore red light" message being displayed before crossing the line on the traffic light
  

Player Police Car & NPVs

• Fixed damage & light state reset of the player car after shift ended or when starting a new one
  
• Fixed cruiser spawn for historic downtown being too close to lantern and leading to instant damage when entering the vehicle
  
• Adjusted traffic vehicle (NPV) acceleration to be more realistic
  

[h3]Fellow officers,[/h3]
we've just released the Hotfix Update 1.0.2 for Police Simulator: Patrol Officers. It includes a bunch of balancing changes, bug fixes, and overall improvements - all based on your incredible feedback!

You can find the full changelog down below.

In addition, we're pleased to announce that on Monday (that's June 28, 2021), the Open Beta for the Background Check Update will start! It will be open to all players and we will provide you with clear instructions on how to enter the very same day.

Please lookout for more details coming to you on Monday.

We wish you an amazing weekend,
Your Police Simulator Team

[h2]Changelog - Hotfix Update 1.0.2[/h2]

Progression

• Added 3 SP for justified search and frisking on vehicles and pedestrians. Previous value was 0.
  
• Cruiser is now unlocked with 3 Duty Stars instead of 5. The car, once unlocked, is available in all areas for car patrol shifts.
  

Gameplay

• Set the Casual Mode as default
  
• Radar Gun is now more efficient to use, as minimum measurement time is reduced from 2.0 to 0.5
  
• Car Patrols vs Foot Patrol shift chances updated from 50:50 to 60:40 respectively
  
• Increased FPV height of camera by 10 for utility for better view
  
• Reduced chances of vehicles driving with broken windshield from 8% to 3%
  
• Underglow Light chances reduced from 3% to 1%
  
• Chances for dynamic accidents have been increased by a bit, from min 3% & max 10% across recklessness levels to new values of min 5% & max 15% across different levels
  
• Adjusted CP loss for unjustified towed car
  
• Fixed unjustified handcuffing, illegal items
  
• Fixed arrests based on positive DUI tests in traffic stops, that were often flagged as unjustified
  

Save Games

• Fixed an issue that prohibited the creation of a save game, leading to loss of progression
  
• Added savegame status to escape menu
  
• Added a popup error whenever the savegame system failed to save to disk
  
• In the escape menu, the last time a save game was created is now displayed
  

Crashes

• Fixed title crash when the player returns to main menu
  
• Fixed title crashes when photographing accident evidence
  
• Fixed crash when photographing in accident
  
• Fixed a crash while managing an accident
  
• Fixed tutorial system crash caused by invalid data
  
• Fixed tutorial system crash when transitioning game flow states
  
• Fixed a crash caused by failure to find the encounter when trying to spawn intuition feedback
  

Police Car & NPVs

• Improved Driving: Improved acceleration after engine start, improved general handling, increased feel of weight
  
• Adjusted the time required to pace NPVs reduced from 4.5s to 2s
  
• Reworked how Stop Signs and Red Lights player violations evaluate player location
  
• Fixed drivers in accidents not using correct exit waypoints and therefore blocking another lane
  
• Fixed vehicles being towed killing the player by disabling collision while being loaded onto the truck
  
• Adjusted all NPV physics assets to improve physics collisions in accidents
  

Sounds

• Slightly adjusted vehicle sound for utility and Cruiser
  
• Fixed dispatch not stopping to shout at the player when shift is over and when already in debrief / game over / shift selection (GET BACK TO THE PRECINCT, NOW!!!)
• Feedback VO from dispatcher after shift over is now 5 min instead of 1 min
  

Localization & Texts

• Mention of unlocking patrol car at the end of all neighborhood unlocks has been taken out from the unlock pop-up for neighborhoods
  
• Tutorial now correctly displays 'Pull Over Sign' instead of 'Ladle'
  
• Fixed a couple of handbook and background check text overflows caused by very long strings in German localization
  

UI

• Fixed compass UI overlapping pacing UI
  

Miscellaneous

• Fixed players getting stuck in object for the most common objects
  
• Rebuilt some level LODs
  
• Fixed no key binding control in settings for the Focus Mode
  
• Fixed a bug where the player was stuck in the shift selection after continuing a career last saved in the district selection
  
• Fixed the animation of medics and arrest backup officers when escorting NPCs
  
• Fixed most (or all) flying cars in accidents and improved dynamic accident positioning
  

[h3]Fellow officers,[/h3]
so many of you have started patrolling through the streets of Brighton already, while others continue to enjoy the amazing gameplay videos of our beloved content creators. Work as a police officer isn't always easy, and the knowledge about all the technical details in order to act lawfully isn't always easy to grasp.

If you are not a native English speaker (and can not understand German or Chinese either), some things might therefore be difficult to understand. We've listened to your feedback carefully and have therefore begun working on additional languages, making the game more accessible in the process!

[h2]Which languages are coming?[/h2]

We've looked at the most frequently asked languages and have therefore selected the following ones as our initial batch:

• French
  
• Italian
  
• Spanish
  
• Turkish
  
• Polish
  
• Brazilian Portuguese
  
• Russian
  
• Korean
  
• Japanese
  

[h2]Awesome! When will they release?[/h2]

We are currently aiming to speedrun the process and hope to introduce them to the game with THE NIGHTSHIFT WITH FRIENDS UPDATE, currently scheduled for Early Q3 2021. Of course, this is all subject to change (we're in Early Access, after all!) so that it might take longer - but we will tell you should that be the case. Right now, we're pretty optimistic!

[h2]Press F for other languages?[/h2]

While the languages listed above are the ones we plan to localize officially, others are currently not part of our evaluation. However, we do plan to offer community translations - meaning, that we put up the original text on a platform and letting you, the community, take part in the translation process. This approach makes it possible - if the demand is high enough - to localize the game into less frequently spoken languages as well!

PSA: Voiceovers will stay in German and English. Only written text will be localized to the new languages.

[h2]Why can you offer these languages now? Why not from the start?[/h2]

In Early Access, we plan to update the game quite with a high frequency which means that with every update, new stuff plus changes on existing texts would have to be localized into all languages.

Initially, we thought that this would incredibly hinder our rapid development process. However, we have started to reshuffle it a bit so that hopefully all works out in the end. Let's pray together!

[h2]What else are you working on?[/h2]

At the moment, we are in the process of preparing the beta of THE BACKGROUND CHECK UPDATE, coming to the game (most likely) next week with a full release in early July. It will introduce a new district, a new car, and the board computer!

In addition, we are highly focused on minimizing the number of crashes and improve the overall stability of the game. Also, we are currently evaluating ways to adjust the balancing - meaning that you might be able to unlock stuff earlier. Of course, bug and localization fixes are also high up on our list.

You can follow our development process on our official Trello board which we update regularly. In addition, you can chat with the community on all our socials:

• FACEBOOK
• TWITTER
• INSTAGRAM
• DISCORD

https://store.steampowered.com/app/997010?snr=1_2108_9__2107

[h2]Changelog - Hotfix Update 1.0.1[/h2]

• Fixed a fatal crash while managing an accident
  

[h2]Some additional words from the team[/h2]

Thank you so much for your incredible feedback in the last few hours. Also, it's awesome to see how you guys interact with each other and provide everyone with useful help and tips - that's how real police work looks like!

We've just released a hotfix (version 1.0.1) to tackle the most severe issue you guys mentioned: A fatal crash, happening frequently at accidents.

Of course, we're already working on additional updates! There are other reasons for crashes we haven't quite found yet. That's why we need a lot more help from you! If you experience a crash, please head over to the following folder:

C: -> Users -> YOURUSERNAME -> AppData -> Local -> Boston -> Saved -> Crashes

You can quickly move to the AppData folder by searching in Windows for %localappdata%.

...and then send us the crashlog!

You can do that by contact us on our official Discord (best way is to send it to a Community Manager) or upload the file to Google Drive / Dropbox / etc and post the link in the comments below.

Thank you so much from the entire team!