My work took a bit of an unexpected turn this update cycle. I had been planning to focus on content for Uptown, but I ended up making a pivot. I realized that it was sometimes taking upwards of 20 seconds to load Uptown levels on my PC, which isn’t really acceptable. I’ve also heard reports of other people having difficulty loading the Uptown levels without crashing. The way the game loads new level data has remained mostly the same for the past couple of years, and I figured this would be a good opportunity to apply some new techniques I’d been wanting to use. These are partially implemented in Alpha 44, and as a result, load times between levels should be about 40%-50% faster. Right now, this new loading method ONLY takes place when going from one level to the next, not when restarting the game or beginning a new game. Also, it’s not fully implemented yet, I’ve still got more to do before the full range of my work is ready for public consumption. These new techniques will not only speed up load times, but make it more feasible for me to create large streaming worlds with this engine in the future (that’s a ways off, but I’m laying the groundwork right now). I’m also laying the groundwork for “level chunks” to be loaded in a new/better way, which will make a level editor more feasible in the future. I haven’t added a whole lot of new stuff to Uptown for this build, but I did extend the game to be playable through 5-2. I probably won’t have a ton of time to work on Uptown content for Alpha 45 either, given my continued work on level loading. So I’ll likely make 5-3 available in Alpha 46. Maybe. I dunno, we’ll see :D For this week's Fortnight Discussion, I'm going to do something a little different. I normally ask for ideas and suggestions on various areas of the game, but: Games Similar to Streets of Rogue.

Alpha 44

• Game is now playable through 5-2

• New Track “Floor 5-2 Gonna Bust a Blood Vessel” added to soundtrack owners’ libraries

• Fixed shadow for Loadout-O-Matic when it is facing West

• Fix for player 2’s Skill Bar text not appearing when player gained XP in coop mode

• More difficult for people to become stuck in Lockdown Walls

• Fix for EMP Grenades blowing holes in walls if they hit a Cop Bot or Killer Robot
• Fix for Oil Container subtracting 2 ammo per tile instead of 1

• Certain Cop Bots can now rob the player of “non-Uptown-approved” weapons
• Cop Bots’ security cam beam colors changed (yellow = Upper-Cruster check, purple = Drug/Alcohol check, Cyan = Weapon check)
• Fix for Addict trait for Investment Banker not appearing on Character Select screen
• Fix for player not gaining Upper Crusty when Possessing residents of Uptown
• Fix for player retaining Withdrawal and Feelin’ Good after depossessing from Investment Banker

• Fix for Cops sometimes not getting missions on a level

• Fix for early-floor Hooligans not spawning in Uptown prison cells

• Cop Bot no longer gets scared of people with Fair Game
• Fix for Office Drone and Clerk not getting Annoyed at people with Malodorous or Naked
• Clerks in Deportation Center do not get Annoyed at people with Suspicious, Malodorous or Naked
• Fix for Cops not being Aligned with custom characters with The Law
• When Comedian successfully tells a Joke to a Bouncer or Clerk at a Deportation Center, the effect is the same as if the Comedian had bribed them, so other people in the building will leave
• the player alone
• NPCs are better at using Flamethrower

• Modified “Promise I’ll Return It” text to clarify that it does not work with Pickpocket

• Load times between levels improved by around 40%-50%, primarily due to the points below
• Unity “scene” does not switch when player enters new levels, so certain elements like the interface are no longer regenerated
• Walls are now pooled instead of being generated fresh each level
• Higher frame rate during parts of the level load (though you won’t notice this)

• Updated Rewired plugin from 1.1.9.0 to 1.1.10.0

• Added a new and better method for loading level chunks into the game, though it’s not currently used yet
• Got another console version up and running. Still can’t say which one it is yet!

Alpha 44b

• Fix for issues with walls not always being solid
• Fixed issue with game going haywire upon Possessing people or turning into Werewolf
• Fix for game sometimes getting stuck on loading screen in coop mode
• Fix for Endless mode not looping properly

Alpha 44c

• Fix for certain disasters carrying over into the next level