Police Simulator: Patrol Officers News

[p][/p][p]Fellow Officers, [/p][p]We're excited to announce the launch of our first Open Beta, now available on Steam!  [/p][p]This Open Beta is your opportunity to get early access to the upcoming patch, help us identify possible new bugs, and test potential new features before the final release. [/p][p][/p][p]How can I access the Open Beta?  [/p][p]Joining the Open Beta is quick and easy: [/p]

1. [p]Open Steam and go to your Library [/p]
2. [p]Right-click on Police Simulator: Patrol Officers [/p]
3. [p]Click Properties [/p]
4. [p]Select the Betas tab [/p]
5. [p]Choose "Open_Beta" from the dropdown list [/p]

[p]Steam will now download a small update. Once complete, you’re in! 
 
But wait, how do i get back? [/p]

1. [p]Simply follow the same steps and Choose “None” and you should patch back! [/p]

[p]How do I know it worked?  [/p][p]When you launch the game, you’ll see: [/p]

• [p]A ribbon in the top-right corner labeled Open Beta [/p]

• [p]A notice in the main menu informing you that crossplay is disabled [/p]

[p][/p][p]Please note: Multiplayer is still available, but only with other Steam users who are also in the Open Beta branch.  [/p][p]How do I report bugs and give feedback? [/p][p]If you encounter any issues, please share them in the #police-beta-chat channel on Discord. [/p][p]The more detailed your report, the better: [/p]

• [p]What happened? [/p]

• [p]What did you expect? [/p]

• [p]How did it happen? [/p]

• [p]Was it in singleplayer or multiplayer? [/p]

• [p]Screenshots or short videos are a huge help! [/p]

• [p]If the games crashes for example, we would also be happy to get your crashlog and/or savegame but we can help to figure this out!  [/p]

[p]And now Officers, [/p][p]Now, let’s take a look at the full changelog for this first Open Beta version: [/p][p][/p][p]Changelog – Update 18.0 Open Beta 1 [/p]

• [p]Added new freely floating camera mode [/p]

• [p] This feature is available via Settings > Game > Camera > Looking Direction [/p]

• [p]Added new illegal items and drug states [/p]

• [p]New Drugs, New Items and much more! [/p]

• [p]Added NPCs entering the tow truck when their car gets towed [/p]

• [p]As the Tow Truck is about to leave, the NPC should enter it and drive off! [/p]

• [p]Added option to skip conversations [/p]

• [p]By pressing \[Space] you can skip the VO! [/p]

• [p]Adjusted light setup for police cars [/p]

• [p]Lights are now brighter and more visible, especially at day but also at night! 
  [/p]
• [p]Bug Fixed most common incorrectly assigned CPs [/p]

• [p]Bug Fixed issue where district highlight loses focus when hovering [/p]

• [p]Bug Fixed glass refraction artifacts in the precinct [/p]

• [p]Bug Fixed blinkers activating while holding the key to change gadgets [/p]

• [p]Removed floating lamps in the city [/p]

• [p]Bug Fixed city billboards overlapping incorrectly [/p]

• [p]Bug Fixed cancel tow truck/arrest transport animations playing twice [/p]

• [p]Minor styling adjustment to avoid clipping in ID widget [/p]

• [p]Bug Fixed visual artifacts on damaged cars [/p]

• [p]Bug Fixed issue where unmarked gadgets were unavailable in the garage [/p]

• [p]Bug Fixed NPCs attempting to enter non-existent vehicles [/p]

• [p]Reduced slowdown effect caused by lane-specific speed limits [/p]

• [p]Bug Fixed issue where callout acceptance/decline didn’t work as the button assignment to switching gadgets was overlapping [/p]

• [p]Bug Fixed issue where players could change each other’s cosmetics and gadgets in the garage [/p]

• [p]Bug Fixed crash when client changes gadgets of the host’s vehicle [/p]

• [p]Bug Fixed visual artifacts around characters standing parallel to glass [/p]

• [p]Bug Fixed trunk animations not playing fully on some vehicles [/p]

• [p]Bug Fixed several crashes, especially involving ambulances on scene [/p]

• [p]Further minor Bug fixes and performance improvements that are not mentioned in here! [/p]

[p][/p][p]Thanks for testing – and keep the reports coming! 💙 
Your Police Simulator Team [/p][p] [/p][p] [/p]

[p][/p][p]Fellow Officers,[/p][p]our team is currently hard at work on the next big update: The Quality-of-Life Update, currently scheduled to be released at the end of July – with an Open Beta launching earlier.[/p][p]Today, we want to share a quick update about the current state of development, how things are progressing, and a first look at some of the work we have already finished.[/p][p]Let's take a closer look![/p][p][/p][h3]More Convenience[/h3][p]
As we have previously announced, the next update is centered around making your overall gameplay experience smoother, more convenient, and more reliable.[/p][p]Over the past few months, we've conducted several community surveys to better understand how we can improve the game in various aspects - from minor inconveniences to major revisions. Thank you so much for your participation![/p][p]One of the features being introduced with The Quality-of-Life Update is the ability to finally skip conversations – so you won't have to listen to citizens complaining that their fine is too expensive when you're in a rush. Based on our own experience… well, this will speed up things quite a bit.[/p][p]We’re also resolving several issues on the Highway: Vehicles will no longer spawn in front of accidents and some graphical issues with trees and grass will be improved. In addition, multiple crashes related to Assistance Vehicles have been fixed to ensure greater game stability – and we'll enable the option to switch to a free rotating camera on foot![/p][p]Further improvements are still in progress, and we will announce more details shortly before release. [/p][p][/p][h3]Code of Conduct Points[/h3][p]
We’re also refactoring the entire Conduct Points Systems to allow for greater reliability in the future. This way, we want to ensure no unintended loss of Conduct Points can happen anymore as this has previously been the case under a few circumstances. The team is currently still busy working on the overhaul, but we’re already very optimistic about the improvements!

[/p][h3]What’s in your bag?[/h3][p][/p][p][/p][p]Apparently, a new supermarket has opened and the citizens of Brighton will carry around multiple new items inside their bags – no worries, they’re still addicted to good-ol’ damp raisins. The screenshot above shows just a few of them! [/p][p]What about Ninja Stars? Previously, we have announced that they will finally be classified as an illegal item. That is indeed still the intention, but work on the underlying system still needs a little bit more time. At this moment, we’re still not completely confident that they will make it into the next update – but hopefully soon afterwards![/p][p] [/p][h3]Brighter Lights[/h3][p][/p][p]You all  love the new blue-and-red lights, but want to have them even brighter? No worries, we’ve put some touches on the entire system to improve the lighting – primarily concerning the front lights. [/p][p][/p][h3]What about spotlights?[/h3][p]
In one of the most recent updates, we have temporarily removed the spotlights on all patrol cars as we plan to ship them as a proper gadget in the future. This way, you can enable them during your shift independently from the Matrix Sign and also have an additional customization option.[/p][p]However, we’re currently not confident enough that we will be able to ship the spotlights as a gadget just in time for The Quality-of-Life Update. As we still need to put some finishing touches on them, we currently estimate that they will ship a little bit later – but definitely as soon as possible.

[/p][h3]No more stranded NPCs[/h3][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]
After you helped a fellow citizen who’s involved in a car accident, previously it would result in their car being towed and them becoming, well, stranded. As a service-oriented Police Department, we could not longer tolerate this and instructed our Tow Trucks to take care of the citizens – by providing them with a passenger ride out of courtesy.[/p][p]The video above shows the new mechanic in action – which will become especially useful on the Highway![/p][p][/p][h3]A new Patrol Car[/h3][p][/p][p][/p][p]We heard your feedback loud and clear: A new patrol car is coming, available as an optional paid DLC and for free to everyone who owns the brand-new Season Pass![/p][p]Say hello to the Adventurer Police Vehicle, resembling one of the most popular and common police vehicles in the United States. Whether you're patrolling the streets of Brighton or going offroad in the wider state of Franklin, the APV offers a truly unique experience.[/p][p][/p][h3]Even more options![/h3][p][/p][p][/p][p]We’re also pleased to expand the Catpaw Skin Collection with four additional liveries – this time inspired by New York, Georgia, Los Angeles and West Virginia – and once again created in close collaboration with ricobrzenska and Kittyraww who provided some fantastic support![/p][p]These beautiful skins will be included for free with The Quality-of-Life Update inside the garage. Above, you can see them being lined up on the parking lot of our development build – the implementation only happened a few moments ago 😉[/p][p][/p][h3]Some final words[/h3][p][/p][p]Next to general gameplay improvements, we’re also highly focused on once again fixing as many bugs as possible. Our team is currently still busy tackling dozens of bugs while our QA is already verifying claimed fixes in parallel. More details will follow closer to release![/p][p]Please keep reporting issues that you encounter, the more detailed and reproducible the problems are the easier they are for us to address.[/p][p]Our experienced group of community beta testers will also been given early access to the development build very soon, and they are already providing a lot of feedback towards the final version. For the first time in almost two years, there will also be a public beta again: Very soon, all of you will be granted access to the latest build on a dedicated beta branch. You can find more information about that in our last blog post.[/p][p]Thank you so much for your support and we hope you’re already excited for The Quality-of-Life Update when it launches this July![/p][p][/p][p]Your Police Simulator Team[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]The Steam Summer Sale is here! 🏝️ But it's not just the temperatures outside that are rising, our deals are blazing-hot too – and throughout the entire astragon portfolio, you can save up to 90%! 🔥[/p][p]
From now until July 10th, you can also get to know the work of a police officer at a discounted price: Save 50% on Police Simulator: Patrol Officers![/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]You already own the Main Game, but still haven't explored the Highway Expansion? Then get it now with an amazing discount![/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Wanna go straight to the complete package? The Ultimate Duty Edition includes everything we ever released for Police Simulator. Yes, everything.[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]COMING 2025: Seafarer: The Ship Sim and Firefighting Simulator: Ignite will propell the simulation genre to new heights![/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink] [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink] [/p][p]You may also want to check out the other discounted games from our fantastic astragon library: [/p]

• [p] Construction Simulator - 50% off[/p]
• [p] Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop – 50% off[/p]
• [p] Firefighting Simulator: The Squad – 50% off[/p]
• [p] Tram Simulator Urban Transit – 40% off[/p]
• [p] Railroads Online – 50% off [/p]

[p]➡️ Check out the entire Summer Sale for more details and a full overview![/p]

[p][/p][p]Fellow Officers,[/p][p]We’re currently working hard on the next update, tentatively titled ‘The Quality-of-Life Update’. Whilst we’ll be sharing details about the exact content very soon, we’re excited to announce the return of Open Betas on Steam today – starting with the next update! 🎉[/p][p]Each Open Beta will launch up to two weeks before the planned release of the full update, allowing all of you to take an early look at the new content, improvements, and fixes. This way, we can collect your feedback much earlier to ensure we can incorporate as much as possible for the full release – allowing us to deliver smoother, more polished updates.[/p][p][/p][h3]Who will be able to join the Open Beta?[/h3][p]Everyone who owns Police Simulator on Steam! Sadly, we won’t be able to perform any kind of beta on other platforms.[/p][p][/p][h3]Besides content, will there be any differences to the normal branch?[/h3][p]Yes: Due to the version difference between the beta and the normal branches, crossplay between Steam & Xbox will not work when playing in the beta branch. However, general multiplayer between two Steam players who are both on the beta branch will continue to function.[/p][p]Please note that the beta branch is always subject to potential instability issues.[/p][p][/p][h3]How will I be able to join the Open Beta?[/h3][p]We've made the process as easy as possible to include you, the community, early on during the development of the game. Once the next update enters Open Beta, you just need to perform the following steps to join:[/p]

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

[p]To switch back to the ‘normal’ version of the game, just repeat these steps again – but instead of selecting 'Public Beta', you just select 'None'. Easy.[/p][p][/p][h3]How will I be able to provide feedback?[/h3][p]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.[/p][p][/p][h3]When will the next update launch?[/h3][p]The Quality-of-Life Update is currently scheduled to be released in July! Obviously, the first Open Beta starts 1-2 weeks prior. Stay tuned for more details coming your way very soon :)[/p][p][/p][p]Your Police Simulator Team[/p][p][/p][p]Make sure to follow our socials to not miss anything:[/p][p]Discord TikTok X (Twitter) Instagram Facebook[/p]

Fellow Officers,

Following the release of Hotfixes 1 and 2, we're continuing our efforts to improve Patch 17 with a third Hotfix. This update addresses additional community-reported bugs and focuses on further improving overall stability and game experience.

We're actively monitoring your feedback and continue working on additional fixes, content updates, and quality-of-life improvements in the weeks and months ahead.

Here’s what’s included in Hotfix 3:

[h2]Changelog – Update 17.0, Hotfix #3[/h2]

• Multiple minor bug fixes for improved overall stability
  
• Several crash fixes across all platforms
  
• Temporary removal of spotlights (they will return in a future update as a dedicated gadget including the functionality to turn them on and off)
  
• Fixed an issue with items vanishing from the trunk
  
• Fixed an issue with vehicle trunks not opening correctly
  
• Resolved a bug where the arrestee van could get stuck
  
• Fixed a multiplayer bug affecting PlayStation players
  
• Preparing for an exclusive sticker set for Xbox and Microsoft Store players
  
• Adjusted speeder behavior on the highway to improve balance
  
• Initial preparations for the upcoming Steam-exclusive public beta feature – more details coming soon!