Hey there folks, it's been a minute! Today I've got some SOR2 updates, a survey for anyone who wants to take it, and a new patch with 30+ fixes. As always, please post your comments, questions and suggestions in the comments below, and I'll try to answer what I can!

Sequel News

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2165810/Streets_of_Rogue_2/ In case you missed the announcement late last year, Streets of Rogue 2's Steam page is up! Be sure to wishlist, it really helps us out!

Survey

My publisher tinyBuild created a survey to help us learn more about just who the heck plays this game and what's important to you in a sequel. It's real quick and painless (no seriously!), so if you've got a few minutes to spare we'd really appreciate the feedback!

Check out the Survey!

Progress

Here are just a few of the things I've been working on since the last update:

• Country-Wide Road System - While roads have existed in SOR2 for a long time now, it's only recently that I've solidified the system for connecting all of the major locations in the world. The game features 2-lane roads, 4-lane roads, nice roads, crappy roads, paved roads, dirt roads, and literally 60+ types of unique intersections (yeah we went a little nuts with that). And of course, AI capable of traversing these roads and getting to their destinations, and (mostly) not getting into horrific accidents and traffic jams.
• Weather System - Rain, wind, heat waves, and more are now possible. No weatherman/weatherwoman character class... yet :p
• Events System - The game has the capability of causing random events to happen to the player. This is based on factors such as the player's standing in the world with various factions, location, and physical status amongst other things. Think of it like the AI director in Left 4 Dead. If you have any suggestions for random events, please post them in the comments below, I'd love to hear them! (To clarify what comprises an "event" as there's been some confusion: It could be literally anything from running across a house full of bears at the side of the road while driving to having a meteor land nearby your location. And normal things too.)
• Sound effects work - A big chunk of sound effects from the original game have been updated. In addition, a new system has been put into place to handle ambient sound, which varies based on the player's location, time of day, and other factors. Other cool features have been added as well, such as outside sounds being drowned out when you're indoors. It feels really awesome to be sitting in a cozy home listening to the muted rush of traffic outside.
• Soundtrack news - A new composer for Streets of Rogue 2 has been found: Megan McDuffee, who's quickly becoming a household name thanks to her awesome work on the River City Girls OSTs, in addition to a bunch of other game soundtracks. Be sure to give her a follow and check out her stuff! (To reiterate why SOR1 composer Craig wasn't able to return this time, sadly a contract-related issue unrelated to me or tinyBuild prevented him from taking the job. However, he's been a great help in providing guidance for the new OST's potential direction.)
• Pyrotechnics - For effects like explosions and fire, the original game tended to use simple particle effects comprised of a bunch of multi-colored squares moving in simple patterns. This time around, we've got actual animations! Yay bigger budget!
• "Lesser" NPCs - Up until fairly recently, every NPC in the would was considered "important", and their actions throughout the day would be tracked to varying degrees. In order to fill out the game world and make it feel more alive, I've added large numbers other NPCs living out their lives. That's not to say that these NPCs can't later be flagged as "important" based on the player's interactions with them. But mostly, they exist to add flavor to the world. For example, a city during the daytime will be bustling with lots of random NPCs, who will largely clear out and go elsewhere when night falls. There's a really really complicated system in place for spawning these NPCs, and their presence should feel really natural once I do some tweaking!
• Animated trailer - This isn't really related to the game's development in and of itself, but I've been involved in the creation of a fully animated trailer for the game! It's looking super cool, so stay tuned in the coming months, because I can't wait for this thing to drop.

Screenshots??

Sadly I didn't have the time to get any new screenshots together for today (and it doesn't help that my artist Thomas and I are very picky about what we release!), but for those of you who don't follow my on Twitter, here's a li'l screenshot from last Halloween you may have missed! I know, super old -- apologies, we'll try to get some more shots together in the coming months. There's also an animated version here.

WHEN???

No release date news yet, sorry! For my previous postings about Streets of Rogue 2's development, check out my recent news updates. And also be sure to check out the FAQ found in the SOR2 Steam Forum.

Version 98

Streets of Rogue gets a brand new update. Nearly four years since its 1.0 release and I'm still getting plenty of bug reports. Keep 'em coming and maybe we can make it to magical 100 mark! Graphics

• Fix for Cannibal having normal eyes when appearing on quest sheet
• Fix for NPCs sometimes appearing to fall down a hole after being gibbed
• Fix for NPCs with dark skin having dark hair even if their character class (notably Goon) called for them to have wild hair colors

UI / Controls

• Fix for custom characters' original traits sometimes appearing at the bottom left of the screen when restarting a multiplayer game
• Fix for players sometimes losing control of their character while interacting with another player if that player quits the multiplayer game
• Using a special ability cancels a rapid-fire weapon being used

Items

• Fix for cases where Musician could give Bodyguard an "error" item as a reward
• Musician has a much lower chance of not having a reward item available for the player
• Fix for Scientist and Thief not receiving items for completing their Big Quest if their inventory is full
• Land Mine explodes when hit by moving objects instead of being knocked back

Status Effects / Traits / Special Abilities

• Bite and Cannibalize can be canceled by pressing the Cancel button (right click or gamepad cancel)
• Certain starting traits are no longer removed from custom characters when they enter mechs
• Fix for NPCs mind-controlled by the player not always being able to knock on locked doors
• Player cannot Possess invader NPCs spawned for Goon's Big Quest or VIP in Assassin's Big Quest due to this being capable of breaking the quest
• Fix for issues occurring if ShapeShifter is holding down the Special Ability button when they Depossess their host
• Fix for player not being able to teleport if they Mind Control the NPCs trying to mug them
• Fix for multiplayer client not always being able to teleport after becoming friendly/loyal/aligned with mobsters

Combat

• Ghost Gibber can be used on Werewolf NPCs who have not yet transformed

Artificial Intelligence

• Fix for NPCs not always caring if you open restricted doors owned by them
• Fix for NPCs sometimes believing themselves to be in the midst of a fight when first spawning
• Killer Robot does not scare other types of robots
• Fix for questgivers going from Submissive to Friendly after the player turns in a quest
• Aligned, Loyal and Submissive NPCs do not immediately turn Hostile when being bitten
• Fix for Mech Suit showing as "Friendly" if the player starts with Charismatic, and other similar bugs
• Fix for player gaining electability when asking doctors to give blood or administer a blood bag, even if the doctor refuses
• Fix for cases where Office Drone would not increase player's electability when offered motivation
• Fix for Musician telling player to stay away from their turntables even if they were too far away to see the player interacting
• Fix for player's followers becoming non-interactable if told to attack NPCs and objects behind a red laser
• Cops will no longer become hostile toward property owners who destroy their own property or pick up their own items, including when the player is possessing someone with Shapeshifter
• Mind Controlling someone will cause them to stop speaking their current line of dialogue
• Mobsters will stop mugging the player if one of their gang becomes friendly/loyal/aligned with the player

Text

• Added new font for Russian language (thanks Abbysssal!) The old font can be accessed by selecting Settings -> Gameplay -> Font Selection -> Variant

Tutorial

• Fix for rare cases where Bouncer in tutorial could be knocked through a wall

Multiplayer

• Fix for Assassins that appear when player has debt not having weapons when targeting client
• Fix for Assassins that appear when player has debt only appearing for one level when targeting client
• Fix for the "Find Game" feature allowing players to find games by typing the game's password

[ 2023-04-06 22:25:19 CET ] [ Original post ]