Welcome to the 3rd in our series of monthly newsletters dedicated entirely to community creations and contributions to Ready or Not; this week, we’ll focus on popular, well-made, and unique mods to augment your gameplay!
Community Spotlight – Mods of the Month
1.) Mount Threshold Research Center by Vegriv
Following hot on the heels of our last mod newsletters shoutout of the Fairfax Residence, this time, we’d like to show off the beautiful recreation of another iconic SWAT 4 map! Mount Threshold comes off strong with claustrophobic rooms and halls, tense gunfights across side-halls, and jam-packed laboratories accented with clean textures and unique suspect skins!
2.) US Marshal Special Service Group by Taereus [Uploaded by VastGameMaster]
Lowering our scope slightly, we had a clean skin made by Taereus showing off a law enforcement unit that doesn’t get a lot of representation in popular media. The clean camo pattern and Marshal iconography show the SSG in all its glory.
3.) Ready or Not - Half Life Alyx Combine Voice Mod by eckojay2192
The last of our monthly top three is a mod produced by eckojay that takes the voice lines from the iconic Half-Life series newest installment, Half Life Alyx, and applies them to our officers. All that is really missing is a skin mod; thankfully, one is available on the Nexus as well!
Showing some love for a universe that I love quite a bit, we have a set of configurable SWAT skins that rep the iconography of the SCP Foundation and their bespoke tactical units, Mobile Task Forces
Going forward, we can’t wait to see what else the community brings to the table as we update the game and give modders more functionality to play with and improve their own works.
Outside of our drops, you can find more of this wonderful content here: https://discord.gg/TjyfbXTU28 or https://www.nexusmods.com/readyornot/
If you'd like to help us test new content on the Supporter exclusive experimental branch, provide us with your game feedback, and keep up with the Supporter community, you can become a Supporter at www.voidinteractive.net or at our Steam store page.
Welcome to the 34th edition of our biweekly development update! In this briefing, we're going to take a look at some of the concept art our team has put together for Ready or Not's characters. This is their first step en route to being fully integrated suspects and civilians within the game's levels.
Going forward we’re also going to be changing how we update the community on upcoming patches and how we announce dates to ensure that, at a minimum, we never have to delay an update ever again. In the process of getting the AI rework and the new maps to Supporter Edition users for testing, we announced a timetable which hindsight now tells us was a little over-optimistic as we had to delay the release a few times.
In the future, definite timeframes will not be made public unless we are 100% sure we can deliver on that date, which will hopefully amount to smaller lead times between announcement and update.
Scumbags and Security Guards
Our first character in the spotlight is none other than the charming George Brixley, the prime suspect of our as-of-now unseen level of Agency. Above: Mr. Brixley with his tools of the trade. For perfect touch-ups with a smile that could rot.
Greasy, smug, unkempt. Any number of words could be mustered to describe George Brixley. Except, perhaps, for 'wholesome'. His exploitative work at the Agency makes him and the fruits of his labor a top priority for police to bring down, but he won't be alone. And he certainly won't be unprepared. The next character concept we have to show off can be found at Data Center, the level featured in our last newsletter. Above: The data they're guarding is more valuable than gold. They sure dress like it.
The MindJot security team is well-trained, professional, and equipped with bleeding edge gear. They're well compensated to ensure that their clients' information, no matter what it may be, is safeguarded from any threat. This is their territory; tread carefully. Lastly, we want to take a look at some concepts of a few characters that we've kept under wraps until now. We're very excited to show off -- 8,15,13,5 Above: Wake up. Remember. Your country needs you.
There is not an End. Every road converges upon You, every bloom becomes Us. Listen to Them. Listen. Breathe. Above: You're not a hero. Not a King. Not a God. Just mulch for us all.
Where has it gotten you, this heaven-scorned fury? The blood seeps through you. Your eyes blinded by viscera. You're disgusting. You don't have to be this way. You don't have to be this way. You can be more. the pus blooms, Our roots take hold. a Throne for Our vaunted Sepulchre. may we All claim it. Don't let go. It's too late, now. You remember. Take hold. Fight for Us. The Lost.
Conclusion 7 15 2 0 18 9 15 2 2
This concludes our 34th biweekly briefing. Make sure to tune in next time for more development news.
If you'd like to help us test new content on the Supporter exclusive experimental branch, provide us with your game feedback, and keep up with the Supporter community, you can become a Supporter at www.voidinteractive.net or at our Steam store page.
- “Valley of The Dolls” — Valley - Out of whitebox into final art — will likely be receiving smaller improvements and a destruction pass in the future - Most characters are still being worked on by art teams - “Neon Tomb” — Club - Out of whitebox into final art - Civilians are still being worked on by art teams - 3 NEW Whitebox Maps
- “A Lethal Obsession” — Ridgeline - “A former USIA analyst has a warrant for his arrest over the suspected murder of five police officers in Makade County, Greater Los Suenos. Gerard Scott, 55, waited out the front of East Makade Police Department with a loaded mini-14 after setting a car alight on the street in front of the department. He then shot at officers while they attempted to extinguish the alighted vehicle. Witnesses on the street reported his vehicle as he drove away.”
- “Relapse” — Hospital - “Retaliating for the actions of the [REDACTED] shooting, remnants of “the Hand” go after the lone surviving active shooter, now placed under police supervision in the Coastal Grove Medical Center ICU.”
- “The Spider” — Agency - “Seized data-center assets point to the owner operating in one of the poorest neighborhoods: The Row. SWAT have been deployed to serve a search warrant on the Brixley Talent Time to assist with investigations into an illicit pornography ring.” - Cloth physics added to certain levels - Curtains, Beads, Plastic Covers will now be able to be interacted with and walked through. - Clothing on AI - LSPD SWAT Officers - New t-shirt variations added to SWAT — this is available for Swan, King, and Alabama. - Ranger Green swat uniform variations added to all LSPD officer types. - SWAT heads will no longer be floating in place — they have undershirts now! - IR strobes and reflective patches added to SWAT uniforms and helmets - New helmets added with improved detail and modeling - New night-vision goggle mesh added - SWAT Anti-Stab vests added to game with variations - New Vehicles - Cars can now be interacted with in many ways: side mirrors can be shot off, glass can be broken and shot through, airbags can be deployed and tyres can be shot out, lowering the car slightly. - Vehicles are safest behind the wheels of the car and the engine block. - Multiple new vehicle types have been added, such as: - Debanco Truck - LSPD Cruisers (two variations) - LS Private Ambulance - Various sedans, trucks, and vans - Destructible props - Lamps, water cooler, vending machines, chip bags, glass bottles, plates, arcade machine, fire extinguisher, and balloons can all be shot and destroyed (and many more!) - Environmental storytelling — the world of Los Suenos is slowly being introduced to the gameplay environment, with lots to learn about the city itself, the history of this alternate United States, as well as the inhabitants within each mission environment. This can be seen mostly on: - Gas - Valley - Meth - Penthouse - Club - Dealer (WIP)
Updated
- Flashlights - New flashlights are brighter with a wider cone and no longer use the IES system. - Lockable status on various doors (some doors shouldn’t be lockable) - Civilians in active shooter run to spawn once they are in sight of the player (and within a safe place). They will get arrested automatically
Fixed
- Fix roster spawner not spawning the minimum required AI count specified from the config, resulting in spawning more/less than the specified amount - Fix ragdolls having no inertia when killed, some guns will influence the AI ragdoll directionally depending on where they were shot. - Fix an issue where non-lockable doors would become locked - Fix spawn chance reducing the number of AI in the level instead of changing where they're more likely to spawn - Fix infinite loop crash when spawning AI for more MaxSuspects/Civilians than a level has spawners - Multiple crash fixes and quality of life improvements
Gameplay
New
- Restrain dead/ragdoll AI - After reporting, players can restrain dead or faking AI that are in a downed state. - Blood splatter when explosive vest explodes + improved particle effects - Gore (explosive vests only, first pass) - Electronic doors (with keycards) - Keycards spawn in areas of the level. This is usually outside or within knox boxes on the premises. - Electronic doors will sound an alarm if breached without a keycard to activate the door, and can not be lockpicked. - Armor (SAPI) Plates - Small Arms Protective Insert plates stop rounds from killing the player, and are broken into three different types: Kevlar, Ceramic and Steel**. These increase in protective ability, respectively, but also in weight.** - Armor plates will affect your acceleration and deceleration speed. Your top speed will always be the same as other players, but you will not be as maneuverable. - Armor plates can also be isolated to different parts of the plate carrier depending on what is needed: - Front Only - Front & Back - Front, Back and Side - Tap-switching items (press the same key to equip to a different item in a group) - For example you can now cycle grenades by tapping the grenade key
Improved
- AI can now blend more cleanly from a ragdoll state into being active, standing up, or being arrested. - Grenade throw arc has been adjusted to be more intuitive - Paired interaction weapon holsters and transitions. Weapon will always be holstered first before playing a paired interaction (arresting, carrying, etc.) - Laser pointers now maintain visibility over distance
Updated
- Traps are typically pre-placed in a level vs. AI placing them when a level starts for a better gameplay experience. - ROE updates: - Authorized use of force when AI is in cover - Authorized use of force when AI is drawing or picking up a weapon - Authorized use of force when AI is melee attacking - Authorized use of force against explosive vest suspects - Authorized use of force when AI is playing dead - Unauthorized use of force when AI is committing suicide (less lethal recommended) - Unauthorized use of force when AI is hiding or exiting a hiding spot (Cover Landmarks) - Unauthorized use of force when AI is getting up from a ragdoll state - Unauthorized use of force when lethally damaging/killing unaware or suspicious AI - Unauthorized use of force when an AI has not heard a yell from swat before being lethally damaged/killed - Fixes to C2 breach not being considered unauthorized use of force against unaware AI - Reduced arm recoil nerf for players (to minimize noodly arms!) - Increased grenade trap damage - Increased bomb vest damage - Wait for AI to get down after surrendering before showing the arrest UI prompt
Fixed
- Fix grenade getting stuck on obstacles sometimes - Fix a rare bug where reporting a target would crash the game - Fix zipcuff and multitool locking up the player when held in hand while arresting characters - Fix issue where one hitscan would sometimes apply multiple instances of damage to the same character - Fix blood impact effects playing multiple times for a single impact - Fix grenade throw arc becoming more off-centered the higher the throw angle - Fix an issue where a penalty would not be given to unaware AI. (Shot in back, killed by a C2 door breach, etc.)
Graphics
New
- Car materials — Cars now use a car paint shader which simulates accurate reflections on vehicles. This has been applied to most vehicles in the gameplay environment. - Bullet impact decals now spawn on glass — reinforced glass will show a small impact point, and window panes will also reflect this change.
Fixed
- Fix incorrect orientation of decals - Fix scaling of all bulletproof glass decal mesh impacts
AI
General
New
- Cover Landmarks. Suspect and Civilian AI now have the ability to take cover/hide at certain objects in the world. Under beds, closets, tables, etc. - Injured movement animation set for AI — suspects and civilians when injured below a certain level of health will begin to limp away. - Tactical movement animations added to relevant AI — this is visible on Valley, Penthouse, and Farm, to name a few.
Improved
- Movement gait transitions so the AI are not always in a run state
Updated
- AI Morale formula/logic - Civilian morale now has its own dedicated slot — this can be tweaked to suit AI on different levels for all you modders out there!
Fixed
- Fix AI not being able to see through breakable glass - Fix AI focusing on stale/old focal points resulting in incorrect rotations - Fix a rare bug causing AI not being able to surrender after multiple yells and stuns - Fix loadout not being able to equip on AI sometimes - Fix AI not attaching their equipped weapons back to their hands properly - Fix weapons not being detached from AI after being thrown - Fix a rare bug causing AI not to shoot - Fix out of memory crash when trying to equip items on AI - AI inventory bug fixes - Fix AI opening door whilst arrested
SWAT
Improved
- Swat movement animations - Increased Swat AI accuracy
Updated
- Swat engagement updates - SWAT must yell at least once at a target before firing a weapon, unless threatened
Fixed
- Fix not being able to command swat to pick up evidence by looking at it - Fix player taking damage from SWAT team during engagements with suspects - Fix swat always engaging non-threatening AI
Suspects
New
- Suspect Dynamic Cover System. Suspects will now utilize the environment around them to take cover against incoming threats. This involves: - Taking low cover when there is nothing to stand up behind - Peaking out under low cover if there’s no way to peek while standing - Blindfiring - Peeking (or “checking” for threats) - Returning fire with accuracy - Position switching and traversal - Suspect Fake Death - Suspects will lie down on the floor as if they are dead. Players will be able to report them, as if they were actually dead. They are not discernible from truly “dead” suspects in any way. - Suspect Suicide & Fake Suicide - This has a chance to be triggered when morale hits 0.0 on some suspects. - Suspect Armor - Suspects will utilize armor the same way players can, and have different types depending on their preparedness. - World building - Smoking cigarettes - Urinating - Selfie/Texting - Admiring Art - Drug Production - Sitting - Knife and Explosive vest suspect ambush attack logic - Knife and Explosive vest-wearing threats will hide in places out of sight and attack the player when they’re close, particularly if they’re moving around loudly - Bone targeting. Suspects now target various bones on their target’s body, instead of just aiming for the head every time. The more they engage a target the more accurate they’ll become, eventually targeting the head. This period of time varies based on suspect skill level. - AI morale gain per weapon shot
Improved
- Melee and Unarmed combat behavior. Suspects in melee mode are now more cautious than before. They will determine when to stun the enemy or run to cover depending on the current situation - Melee to armed combat behavior. Suspects will now determine when to stun the enemy and run to pick up a weapon. - Suspects can now pick up dropped weapons vs. only being able to draw a new gun out of their underpants every time. - Improve AI melee hit detection. It is now animation accurate instead of being scripted, so you can dodge punches, technically!
Updated
- Increased suspect lethality (increased damage and accuracy) - Replaced Tec9 from fake surrender weapon spawn pool with G19
Fixed
- Fix an issue where suspects would constantly raise and lower their gun forever - Fix suspects placing traps clipping their body through the door - Fix suspects placing traps on a floor below them lol - Fix suspects standing still and not moving sometimes - Fix suspects not shooting whilst moving sometimes - Fix suspects not going into low ready when colliding with geometry - Fix knocked out suspects being spammed with multiple 'pickup item’ requests - Fix suspects holding no gun whilst in the aim pose - Fix knife suspects performing a knife surrender when their target is behind them - Fix explosive vest suspects not behaving correctly at times - Fix explosive vest suspects running past you without detonating the explosive vest - Fix an issue where an AI could not successfully reload a weapon - Fix suspects reloading while stunned - Fix suspects being frozen after hearing a door kick
Settings
Removed
- Decal density option (was causing issue with decal art not being visible), this has now been replaced with a “decal fade” option that allows players to control the distance at which world decals fade. The lower the number, the better the performance. Things may not look as pretty, though!
HUD
New
- Display who friendly fired/team killed when displaying the penalty
Performance
Fixed
- Fix performance issue in loadout menu
Networking
Improved
- Grenade replication performance
Removed
- Host Migration
Fixed
- Fix client crashes on modded maps due to door replication - Fix chemlight deployment not working when crouched (on clients) - Fix delay with grenade projectiles (on clients) - Fixed AI hesitation issues (on clients) - Fix players not being able to push around characters as a client - Fix AI arrest animations on clients not matching up with the player’s arrest animations - Fixed ragdoll pop (on clients) - Fix ragdoll on clients not being able to exit the ragdoll state - Fix breakable glass desync - Fix shotgun infinite reload (on clients) - Fix an issue where clients were not aware that a paired interaction was playing - Fix an issue where after arresting an AI on high latency clients, the AI would be seen as surrendered and not arrested
Weapons/Gear/Items
New
- Players - B1301 - HRT Entryman Shotgun variant for Supporters - MP5A3 - MP5/10mm - MP9 - PFC9 - HRT G19 - Suspects - M249 - AR-15 - Ammo Type Slots - Tactical Device Slots - Grenade Slots - Laser, IR pointer to M92X - Item physics hit sound when colliding geometry - Magazine/Grenade/Tactical device count now determined by new slots system
Updated
- Grenade projectiles only kills on first impact, not on ricochets - Greatly buff SA58 damage - Unified damage values of weapons with same calibers - Lowered recoil for VKS - NVG now uses PVS-31 NT mesh - Tweaked SCAR-L RPM - Tweaked sawn-off shotgun spread pattern - Damage values for various weapons
Removed
- TAC700 - Obsolete attachments from MP5
Fixed
- Fix beanbag shotgun applying damage multiple times - Fix and issue causing projectiles to collide with SWAT collision capsule - Fix UMP45 Red dot Alignment - Fix HK416 and BRN180 not having a high ready third person pose
Animation
New
- Distance matching for players and AI - Turn In Place for players and AI - Stride Warping for players and AI - SWAT movement animations - Tactical moveset for suspects - Injured moveset for suspects
Improved
- Disable IK when in ragdoll to prevents legs clipping through geometry
Fixed
- Fix no root motion on some surrender exit animations - Fix a bug that could cause no skeleton update if an AI was playing an animation while being made relevant - Fix legs glitching with the ground when playing a getup animation after finishing ragdoll - Convert unarmed standing hit reactions to fullbody, instead of upperbody. Fixes AI leg movement while stunned - Fix suspect one handed melee being broken due to bad additives - Fix hit reaction animations breaking due to bad additives
Physics
Improved
- Weapon throw physics
Updated
- Adjust ragdoll physics
Fixed
- Fix physics props affecting swat AI movement
Scoring
- 'No Officers Injured' is now 'No Officers Dead’
UI/UX
New
- Loadout UI overhaul - The loadout UI now allows players to customize their weapons and edit their load-outs from one single menu. Players will still have to go to the mirror in the lobby to change uniforms (for now) - Quartermaster UI has been merged with the Loadout UI - “Armor and Ammunition” tab added - Players can control their plate coverage, armor material, body armor type, munition slot balance, and ammunition types from within this menu - Players can now change ammotypes in weapons by having their primary or secondary drawn and then by pressing the corresponding primary or secondary “key” again.
VO
New
- Meth Biker - Male Hotel Guest - Male Club Civilian - Laurie Bower (Penthouse) - Penthouse Suspect - Club Suspect - New Male Civilian
Updated
- Revamped idle dialogue system for suspects / civilians, lines now fire in a palindrome style - Naming convention changed for character reactions (Pepper, Stun, etc) - Re-added previously omitted dialogue - Tons of assorted audio cleaning to existing / updated lines - Updated stun voiceline reactions
SFX
New
- Tons of new additional footstep sounds (Boot, Barefoot, Heel) - New interior reflections for all weapons - New armor impact SFX - New shrubbery SFX (most bushes should go shhhhhhhh when walking through them now) - New bodyfall SFX - New sonic crack / whizzby SFX - New ziptie SFX - New destructible item SFX - New cloth physics interaction SFX (PVC curtain, cloth, beads) - New bullet impact SFX (car impacts, water) - New footstep bullet casings SFX - New electronic door SFX - New radio ads that can be played from a bunch of sound sources - Many levels now play subtle sounds at doorways for better interior / exterior transitions
Updated
- Many sounds now consider occlusion for better spatial awareness - Increase footstep volume for better spatial awareness of enemies - Footstep foley trigger revamp (water splash step, etc) fires for much better playback, and tons of tweaks to all of these sounds - Flashbang optimized and tweaked for better overall sound - Tweak gunshot volume over distance - Tweak gunshot EQ so gunfire behind player is more obvious - Tweak weapon foley ducking so it isn't drowned out by gunfire as much - Tweaks to weapon foley volumes - Subtle feedback now plays when player goes to fire an empty weapon - Backend revamp for reverb for much better consistency, reverb should no longer stop playing in certain areas - Updated HRTF EQing for sounds that use it for better spatial awareness - Certain distant sounds now have echo applied for better spatial awareness - Distance tweaks for tons of sounds (so they can be heard further / closer, etc) - Certain animations should now trigger sounds for better awareness - Cuffed alive characters now use a shuffle sound when moving instead of a footstep - Tweak reverbs for most sounds - Tweak timings of gun foley (reloads, etc) for certain weapons - Tweak sound balance when shooting during an explosion - Tweak bass on SWAT voices - Volume bump to player voice - Updated SWAT metal footstep for most metal surfaces to be more pleasing - Bodyfalls and weapon drops now consider surfaces and should play surface-according sounds in most instances
Fixed
- Tons (...tons. Like, tons. It's disgusting) of optimizations to many sounds and overall sound mix, both level specific and general - Fix instances of pops / bad loops on tons of sounds - Fix issue where certain sidearms used incorrect sounds when firing - Fix issue where adjusting certain volume sliders would lower the overall volume for other sounds - Fix issue where certain footsteps would fire incorrectly for certain surfaces - Fix sound blowing out / peaking during explosions - Fix issue where certain gunshots duck the mix too intensely - NPC voices now locked to NPC head to fix voices floating if ragdolled - Fix instances of UI sounds continuing to play silently for an extended duration of time - Fix Foley and Voice audio not following the skeletal mesh
Level-Specific:
Lobby:
- Fix certain sound potentially cutting out
Gas:
- Added tons of footstep foley areas (puddle, glass, etc) - Interior diagetic music is now persistent - Interior diagetic music now plays more dynamically depending on where the player is - Tweaks to exterior ambience for better overall sound - Additional ambience added throughout level - Fix instances of duplicated sounds in certain game modes
Hotel:
- Hotel lobby no longer sounds so... pleasant :) - Added carpet sploshing sound around sprinklers - Added additional footstep foley triggers around level - Backend updates to sound triggers for better flow - Backend ambience update for bomb threat mode - Optimize placement of many sounds
Meth:
- Tweaked ambience to better match updated visuals - Additional detailing added throughout level - Ambience changing now smoother - Fix instance of corrupted sound - Fix instances of sounds not playing outdoors
Port:
- Tweaks to ambiences for better overall flow - Additional detailing throughout level - Fix instances of certain ambiences playing where they shouldn't - Fix instance of a certain sound having a teeny tiny audible range
Dealer:
- Added underpass sound - Added a bunch of additional ambience and tweaked existing ambience to match updated visuals - Tweaks to garage rock EQ for much better overall sound - Tweaks to ambiences for better spatial awareness - Fix instances of sound duplication - Fix issue where barrel fire could suddenly stop near spawn
Farm:
- Updated adjustment of reverbs for certain areas - Fix instances of rock foley triggering over and over again
Penthouse:
- Added additional detailing to match updated visuals - TV news now pseudo-propagates around the corner, can be heard throughout the room - Fix TV news not sounding quite right when listening at certain angles
Club:
- Added updated sauna diagetic music - Added tons of footstep foley areas (puddle, glass, etc) - Club music now uses simple occlusion behaviour with doors - Added sound detailing throughout level
Fast Food:
- Added various shrubbery triggers around level - Adjust trigger areas for ambiences for smoother transitions - Fix instances where certain sounds would retrigger in smaller side restaurant
Valley:
- Added new diagetic music throughout level - Tons of additional ambience added throughout level
Ridgeline:
- Added base ambience to level
Hospital:
- Added base ambience to level
Agency:
- Added base ambience to level
Music
New
- Valley OST - Ridgeline OST
Updated
- Tweaks to existing music timelines for better flow / overall sit in mix
Lobby
- Fixed players not re-spawning in lobby when dying
Hotel
New
- World building points (First floor only)
Meth
New
- Environment art overhaul - Laundromat art and layout overhaul - Main house interior art and prop placement overhaul - Tunnel art and layout overhaul - Tunnel is now a lot tighter with more spaces for threats to hide in - Garage entrance to the underground tunnels added - Lighting overhaul - Tent house interior overhaul - New characters — we’ve added a “mudman”. Go find him. - Crystal Meth evidence improvement to look more realistic based off of first-hand experience (perp caught with possession)!
Updated
- Add missing doorways
Fixed
- AI Spawns sometimes spawning outside of the level
Dealer
New
- World building points
Updated
- Exterior environment art overhaul - Interior environment art overhaul
Gas
Updated
- Level Art overhaul - Gas diner area has been improved with bullet-resistant layered glass, entrance to the breakroom has been removed from the dining space - Gas sales floor has been improved with a new layout and many more destructible items - Gas exterior now features Downtown Los Suenos, populated with signs, buildings, and a small crowd watching the chaos unfold from afar
Port
New
- World building points
Removed
- Knife suspects — suspects on this mission are supposed to be high-level threats, therefore knives will lower the overall difficulty threshold too much.
Farm
Fixed
- Fix nav modifier cutting off path in the tunnels
Penthouse
New
- Penthouse suspects and civilians (two civilians still pending rigging)
Updated
- Major environment art and worldbuilding update - Reduced fog intensity - TV now displays video feed
Fixed
- Fix nav modifier cutting off path in the tunnels If you'd like to help us test new content on the Supporter exclusive experimental branch, provide us with your game feedback, and keep up with all the activity and play testing events occurring within the Ready or Not Alpha, you can become a Supporter at www.voidinteractive.net or at our Steam store page.
Since the release of the Supporter branch, the Dev team has pushed over 500 internal fixes with all of the feedback we received from the Supporter Edition owners to bring the cleaned-up version of the update to everyone! With that being said we here at VOID Interactive are very excited to ship out the latest build of Ready or Not for all players!
To celebrate, we’ve also prepared a beautiful trailer showing off the tweaks to Barisa Cove, some beautiful shots of NEON, and even a special guest at the very end that some of you that are well versed in the tactical shooter genre may recognize.
If you'd like to help us test new content on the Supporter exclusive experimental branch, provide us with your game feedback, and keep up with the Supporter community, you can become a Supporter at www.voidinteractive.net or at our Steam store page.
Welcome to the 33rd edition of our biweekly development update! Before we dive into this briefing, we want to let you know that Ready or Not is now available for 10% off during the length of the Steam Summer Sale, its first ever discount Be sure to tell your friends before you continue this briefing, where we’ll be taking the first ever look at Data Center, a new level still in its early stages of development.
An Endless Stream of Data
Data Center sees the Los Suenos Police Department raiding the offices and server rooms of a shady tech company. The search for sensitive information related to an active case is a race against the clock, requiring the player to overcome a series of secured doors and on-site security guards.
Above: A very early look at the exterior and surroundings of the map, Data Center. Above: A collection of tens of thousands of files, all tucked away in the mountainside.
Data Center's interior combines a series of open spaces utilized by the staff, and claustrophobic, tight stacks of servers with little space to maneuver.
Above: Watch your fire. Those vending machines aren't cheap, you know.
Above: A state of the art kitchen. Only the finest for the company's employees.
Above: The amount of dirty secrets and dollar signs stored on these machines is staggering.
Above: Be careful. Everything in this room is valuable and delicate to boot.
While Data Center is still in the early gray box stages, there's a ton of depth already on display and much more to be added. Our level designers, artists, and story writers are all hard at work putting it together. We look forward to sharing more with you in the future!
Conclusion
This concludes our 33rd biweekly briefing, taking a first look at one of Ready or Not's future levels, Data Center! Make sure to tune in next time for more development news.
If you'd like to help us test new content on the Supporter exclusive experimental branch, provide us with your game feedback, and keep up with the Supporter community, you can become a Supporter at www.voidinteractive.net or at our Steam store page.
We’re going to be bringing all of our Officers, both current and prospective, something that will hopefully be a quite pleasant surprise. We’re joining together with our friends at Valve to bring you a tidy 10% off sale on both of the Standard and Supporter Editions!
Welcome to the 2nd in our series of monthly newsletters dedicated entirely to community creations and contributions to Ready or Not. This time we’ll be focusing on some pieces that didn’t make the cut for the Art Contest and those that came before and after!
Listed is no particular order, let us begin!
Community Spotlight – Mods of the Month
1.) Starting strong, we’ve got a fantastic pixel representation of Ready or Not’s arsenal brought to us by Hash. The high level of quality of these pieces would very much not be out of place in a pixelated Ready or Not!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hashashaaaa
2.) The next piece is one brought to us by Rennn, bringing to life the terror of being jumpped by a very well placed criminal and the following panic as the team struggles to reorganize and deal with the threat. Sadly this piece received a criminally low amount of votes due to its late entry.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ilobeste
3.) Finally we end with the highest scoring piece from the Art Contests public vote, presented to us by LesterDem. A piece parodying the iconic teaser image for the movie John Wick 2.
Editors Choice
4.) Just after the contest I came across piece that’d be a shame not to share, we’ve got an image brought to us by Cannon Fodder who sadly missed the art contest's submission date. A humorous exchange between two ex Law Enforcement Officials.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/us_cannonfodder
Closing
Thank you to everyone that participated in our first ever community art contest, and for the positive reception from everyone that voted and gave feedback. Without all of you such events would not be possible and we hope that it will be the first of many. Going forward we can’t wait to see what else the community brings to the table as we continue on into the future. If you'd like to help us test new content on the Supporter exclusive experimental branch, provide us with your game feedback, and keep up with all the activity and play testing events occurring within the Ready or Not Alpha, you can become a Supporter at www.voidinteractive.net or at our Steam store page.
Keep your feet on the ground and pen in your hand. Community Management Team
The Largest Supporter Edition Content Update Yet
Attention Officers!
We’re happy to finally bring the supporters one of our biggest updates yet!
The update brings substantial changes to our AI cover system, new weapons, a mountain of bug fixes, the semi-final version of the Valley of Dolls map, and so much more!
It’s been a long time coming but we very much hope the wait was worth it, as of the posting of this announcement the patch will be live for Supporters with the public branch coming when more issues are worked out and tested by the Supporters.
Without further ado, lets get right into the longest patch notes yet!
General
New
<*>“Valley of The Dolls” — Valley Map
Out of whitebox into final art — will likely be receiving smaller improvements and a destruction pass in the future
Most characters are still being worked on by art teams
<*>“Neon Tomb” — Club Map
Out of whitebox into final art
Civilians are still being worked on by art teams
<*>3 NEW Whitebox Maps
Ridgeline
“A former USIA analyst has a warrant for his arrest over the suspected murder of five police officers in Makade County, Greater Los Suenos. Gerard Scott, 55, waited out the front of East Makade Police Department with a loaded mini-14 after setting a car alight on the street in front of the department. He then shot at officers while they attempted to extinguish the alighted vehicle. Witnesses on the street reported his vehicle as he drove away.”
Hospital
“Retaliating for the actions of the [REDACTED] shooting, remnants of “the Hand” go after the lone surviving active shooter, now placed under police supervision in the Coastal Grove Medical Center ICU.”
Agency
“Seized data-center assets point to the owner operating in one of the poorest neighborhoods: The Row. SWAT have been deployed to serve a search warrant on the Brixley Talent Time to assist with investigations into an illicit pornography ring.”
<*>Cloth physics added to certain levels
Curtains, Beads, Plastic Covers will now be able to be interacted with and walked through.
Clothing on AI
<*>LSPD SWAT Officers
New t-shirt variations added to SWAT — this is available for Swan, King, and Alabama.
Ranger Green swat uniform variations added to all LSPD officer types.
SWAT heads will no longer be floating in place — they have undershirts now!
IR strobes and reflective patches added to SWAT uniforms and helmets
New helmets added with improved detail and modeling
New night-vision goggle mesh added
SWAT Anti-Stab vests added to game with variations
<*>New Vehicles
Cars can now be interacted with in many ways: side mirrors can be shot off, glass can be broken and shot through, airbags can be deployed and tyres can be shot out, lowering the car slightly.
Vehicles are safest behind the wheels of the car and the engine block.
Multiple new vehicle types have been added, such as:
Debanco Truck
LSPD Cruisers (two variations)
LS Private Ambulance
Various sedans, trucks, and vans
<*>Destructible props
Lamps, water cooler, vending machines, chip bags, glass bottles, plates, arcade machine, fire extinguisher, and balloons can all be shot and destroyed (and many more!)
<*>Environmental storytelling — the world of Los Suenos is slowly being introduced to the gameplay environment, with lots to learn about the city itself, the history of this alternate United States, as well as the inhabitants within each mission environment. This can be seen mostly on:
Gas
Valley
Meth
Penthouse
Club
Dealer (WIP)
Updated
Flashlights
New flashlights are brighter with a wider cone and no longer use the IES system.
Lockable status on various doors (some doors shouldn’t be lockable)
Civilians in active shooter run to spawn once they are in sight of the player (and within a safe place). They will get arrested automatically
Fixed
Fix roster spawner not spawning the minimum required AI count specified from the config, resulting in spawning more/less than the specified amount
Fix ragdolls having no inertia when killed, some guns will influence the AI ragdoll directionally depending on where they were shot.
Fix an issue where non-lockable doors would become locked
Fix spawn chance reducing the number of AI in the level instead of changing where they're more likely to spawn
Fix infinite loop crash when spawning AI for more MaxSuspects/Civilians than a level has spawners
Multiple crash fixes and quality of life improvements
Gameplay
New
Restrain dead/ragdoll AI
After reporting, players can restrain dead or faking AI that are in a downed state.
Blood splatter when explosive vest explodes + improved particle effects
Gore (explosive vests only, first pass)
Electronic doors (with keycards)
Keycards spawn in areas of the level. This is usually outside or within knox boxes on the premises.
Electronic doors will sound an alarm if breached without a keycard to activate the door, and can not be lockpicked.
Armor (SAPI) Plates
Small Arms Protective Insert plates stop rounds from killing the player, and are broken into three different types: Kevlar, Ceramic and Steel. These increase in protective ability, respectively, but also in weight.
Armor plates will affect your acceleration and deceleration speed. Your top speed will always be the same as other players, but you will not be as maneuverable.
Armor plates can also be isolated to different parts of the plate carrier depending on what is needed:
Front Only
Front & Back
Front, Back and Side
Tap-switching items (press the same key to equip to a different item in a group)
For example you can now cycle grenades by tapping the grenade key
Improved
AI can now blend more cleanly from a ragdoll state into being active, standing up, or being arrested.
Grenade throw arc has been adjusted to be more intuitive
Paired interaction weapon holsters and transitions. Weapon will always be holstered first before playing a paired interaction (arresting, carrying, etc.)
Laser pointers now maintain visibility over distance
Updated
Traps are typically pre-placed in a level vs. AI placing them when a level starts for a better gameplay experience.
ROE updates:
Authorized use of force when AI is in cover
Authorized use of force when AI is drawing or picking up a weapon
Authorized use of force when AI is melee attacking
Authorized use of force against explosive vest suspects
Authorized use of force when AI is playing dead
Unauthorized use of force when AI is committing suicide (less lethal recommended)
Unauthorized use of force when AI is hiding or exiting a hiding spot (Cover Landmarks)
Unauthorized use of force when AI is getting up from a ragdoll state
Unauthorized use of force when lethally damaging/killing unaware or suspicious AI
Unauthorized use of force when an AI has not heard a yell from swat before being lethally damaged/killed
Fixes to C2 breach not being considered unauthorized use of force against unaware AI
Reduced arm recoil nerf for players (to minimize noodly arms!)
Increased grenade trap damage
Increased bomb vest damage
Wait for AI to get down after surrendering before showing the arrest UI prompt
Fixed
Fix grenade getting stuck on obstacles sometimes
Fix a rare bug where reporting a target would crash the game
Fix zipcuff and multitool locking up the player when held in hand while arresting characters
Fix issue where one hitscan would sometimes apply multiple instances of damage to the same character
Fix blood impact effects playing multiple times for a single impact
Fix grenade throw arc becoming more off-centered the higher the throw angle
Fix an issue where a penalty would not be given to unaware AI. (Shot in back, killed by a C2 door breach, etc.)
Graphics
New
Car materials — Cars now use a car paint shader which simulates accurate reflections on vehicles. This has been applied to most vehicles in the gameplay environment.
Bullet impact decals now spawn on glass — reinforced glass will show a small impact point, and window panes will also reflect this change.
Fixed
Fix incorrect orientation of decals
Fix scaling of all bulletproof glass decal mesh impacts
AI
General
New
Cover Landmarks. Suspect and Civilian AI now have the ability to take cover/hide at certain objects in the world. Under beds, closets, tables, etc.
Injured movement animation set for AI — suspects and civilians when injured below a certain level of health will begin to limp away.
Tactical movement animations added to relevant AI — this is visible on Valley, Penthouse, and Farm, to name a few.
Improved
Movement gait transitions so the AI are not always in a run state
Updated
AI Morale formula/logic
Civilian morale now has its own dedicated slot — this can be tweaked to suit AI on different levels for all you modders out there!
Fixed
Fix AI not being able to see through breakable glass
Fix AI focusing on stale/old focal points resulting in incorrect rotations
Fix a rare bug causing AI not being able to surrender after multiple yells and stuns
Fix loadout not being able to equip on AI sometimes
Fix AI not attaching their equipped weapons back to their hands properly
Fix weapons not being detached from AI after being thrown
Fix a rare bug causing AI not to shoot
Fix out of memory crash when trying to equip items on AI
AI inventory bug fixes
Fix AI opening door whilst arrested
SWAT
Improved
Swat movement animations
Increased Swat AI accuracy
Updated
Swat engagement updates
SWAT must yell at least once at a target before firing a weapon, unless threatened
Fixed
Fix not being able to command swat to pick up evidence by looking at it
Fix player taking damage from SWAT team during engagements with suspects
Fix swat always engaging non-threatening AI
Suspects
New
<*>Suspect Dynamic Cover System. Suspects will now utilize the environment around them to take cover against incoming threats. This involves:
Taking low cover when there is nothing to stand up behind
Peaking out under low cover if there’s no way to peek while standing
Blindfiring
Peeking (or “checking” for threats)
Returning fire with accuracy
Position switching and traversal
<*>Suspect Fake Death
Suspects will lie down on the floor as if they are dead. Players will be able to report them, as if they were actually dead. They are not discernible from truly “dead” suspects in any way.
<*>Suspect Suicide & Fake Suicide
This has a chance to be triggered when morale hits 0.0 on some suspects.
<*>Suspect Armor
Suspects will utilize armor the same way players can, and have different types depending on their preparedness.
<*>World building
Smoking cigarettes
Urinating
Selfie/Texting
Admiring Art
Drug Production
Sitting
<*>Knife and Explosive vest suspect ambush attack logic
Knife and Explosive vest-wearing threats will hide in places out of sight and attack the player when they’re close, particularly if they’re moving around loudly
Bone targeting. Suspects now target various bones on their target’s body, instead of just aiming for the head every time. The more they engage a target the more accurate they’ll become, eventually targeting the head. This period of time varies based on suspect skill level.
AI morale gain per weapon shot
Improved
Melee and Unarmed combat behavior. Suspects in melee mode are now more cautious than before. They will determine when to stun the enemy or run to cover depending on the current situation
Melee to armed combat behavior. Suspects will now determine when to stun the enemy and run to pick up a weapon.
Suspects can now pick up dropped weapons vs. only being able to draw a new gun out of their underpants every time.
Improve AI melee hit detection. It is now animation accurate instead of being scripted, so you can dodge punches, technically!
Updated
Increased suspect lethality (increased damage and accuracy)
Replaced Tec9 from fake surrender weapon spawn pool with G19
Fixed
Fix an issue where suspects would constantly raise and lower their gun forever
Fix suspects placing traps clipping their body through the door
Fix suspects placing traps on a floor below them lol
Fix suspects standing still and not moving sometimes
Fix suspects not shooting whilst moving sometimes
Fix suspects not going into low ready when colliding with geometry
Fix knocked out suspects being spammed with multiple 'pickup item’ requests
Fix suspects holding no gun whilst in the aim pose
Fix knife suspects performing a knife surrender when their target is behind them
Fix explosive vest suspects not behaving correctly at times
Fix explosive vest suspects running past you without detonating the explosive vest
Fix an issue where an AI could not successfully reload a weapon
Fix suspects reloading while stunned
Fix suspects being frozen after hearing a door kick
Settings
Removed
Decal density option (was causing issue with decal art not being visible), this has now been replaced with a “decal fade” option that allows players to control the distance at which world decals fade. The lower the number, the better the performance. Things may not look as pretty, though!
HUD
New
Display who friendly fired/team killed when displaying the penalty
Performance
Fixed
Fix performance issue in loadout menu
Networking
Improved
Grenade replication performance
Removed
Host Migration
Fixed
Fix client crashes on modded maps due to door replication
Fix chemlight deployment not working when crouched (on clients)
Fix delay with grenade projectiles (on clients)
Fixed AI hesitation issues (on clients)
Fix players not being able to push around characters as a client
Fix AI arrest animations on clients not matching up with the player’s arrest animations
Fixed ragdoll pop (on clients)
Fix ragdoll on clients not being able to exit the ragdoll state
Fix breakable glass desync
Fix shotgun infinite reload (on clients)
Fix an issue where clients were not aware that a paired interaction was playing
Fix an issue where after arresting an AI on high latency clients, the AI would be seen as surrendered and not arrested
Weapons/Gear/Items
New
Players
B1301 HRT Entryman Shotgun
MP5A3/MP510mm
MP9
PFC9
HRT G19
Suspects
M249
AR-15
Ammo Type Slots
Tactical Device Slots
Grenade Slots
Laser, IR pointer to M92X
Item physics hit sound when colliding geometry
Magazine/Grenade/Tactical device count now determined by new slots system
Updated
Grenade projectiles only kills on first impact, not on ricochets
Greatly buff SA58 damage
Unified damage values of weapons with same calibers
Lowered recoil for VKS
NVG now uses PVS-31 NT mesh
Tweaked SCAR-L RPM
Tweaked sawn-off shotgun spread pattern
Damage values for various weapons
Removed
TAC700
Obsolete attachments from MP5
Fixed
Fix beanbag shotgun applying damage multiple times
Fix and issue causing projectiles to collide with SWAT collision capsule
Fix UMP45 Red dot Alignment
Fix an issue causing spread to occasionally go perfectly horizontal or vertical
Fix HK416 not having a high ready third person pose
Animation
New
Distance matching for players and AI
Turn In Place for players and AI
Stride Warping for players and AI
Swat movement animations
Tactical moveset for suspects
Injured moveset for suspects
Improved
Disable IK when in ragdoll to prevents legs clipping through geometry
Fixed
Fix no root motion on some surrender exit animations
Fix a bug that could cause no skeleton update if an AI was playing an animation while being made relevant
Fix legs glitching with the ground when playing a getup animation after finishing ragdoll
Convert unarmed standing hit reactions to fullbody, instead of upperbody. Fixes AI leg movement while stunned
Fix suspect one handed melee being broken due to bad additives
Fix hit reaction animations breaking due to bad additives
Physics
Improved
Weapon throw physics
Updated
Adjust ragdoll physics
Fixed
Fix physics props affecting swat AI movement
Scoring
'No Officers Injured' is now 'No Officers Dead’
UI/UX
New
Loadout UI overhaul
The loadout UI now allows players to customize their weapons and edit their load-outs from one single menu. Players will still have to go to the mirror in the lobby to change uniforms (for now)
Quartermaster UI has been merged with the Loadout UI
“Armor and Ammunition” tab added
Players can control their SAPI coverage, armor material, body armor type, munition slot balance, and ammunition types from within this menu
Players can now change ammotypes in weapons by having their primary or secondary drawn and then by pressing the corresponding primary or secondary “key” again.
VO
New
Meth Biker
Male Hotel Guest
Male Club Civilian
Laurie Bower (Penthouse)
Penthouse Suspect
Club Suspect
New Male Civilian
Updated
Revamped idle dialogue system for suspects / civilians, lines now fire in a palindrome style
Naming convention changed for character reactions (Pepper, Stun, etc)
Re-added previously omitted dialogue
Tons of assorted audio cleaning to existing / updated lines
Updated stun voiceline reactions
SFX
New
Tons of new additional footstep sounds (Boot, Barefoot, Heel)
New interior reflections for all weapons
New armor impact SFX
New shrubbery SFX (most bushes should go shhhhhhhh when walking through them now)
New bodyfall SFX
New sonic crack / whizzby SFX
New ziptie SFX
New destructible item SFX
New cloth physics interaction SFX (PVC curtain, cloth, beads)
New bullet impact SFX (car impacts, water)
New footstep bullet casings SFX
New electronic door SFX
New radio ads that can be played from a bunch of sound sources
Many levels now play subtle sounds at doorways for better interior / exterior transitions
Updated
Many sounds now consider occlusion for better spatial awareness
Increase footstep volume for better spatial awareness of enemies
Footstep foley trigger revamp (water splash step, etc) fires for much better playback, and tons of tweaks to all of these sounds
Flashbang optimized and tweaked for better overall sound
Tweak gunshot volume over distance
Tweak gunshot EQ so gunfire behind player is more obvious
Tweak weapon foley ducking so it isn't drowned out by gunfire as much
Tweaks to weapon foley volumes
Subtle feedback now plays when player goes to fire an empty weapon
Backend revamp for reverb for much better consistency, reverb should no longer stop playing in certain areas
Updated HRTF EQing for sounds that use it for better spatial awareness
Certain distant sounds now have echo applied for better spatial awareness
Distance tweaks for tons of sounds (so they can be heard further / closer, etc)
Certain animations should now trigger sounds for better awareness
Cuffed alive characters now use a shuffle sound when moving instead of a footstep
Tweak reverbs for most sounds
Tweak timings of gun foley (reloads, etc) for certain weapons
Tweak sound balance when shooting during an explosion
Tweak bass on SWAT voices
Volume bump to player voice
Updated SWAT metal footstep for most metal surfaces to be more pleasing
Bodyfalls and weapon drops now consider surfaces and should play surface-according sounds in most instances
Fixed
Tons (...tons. Like, tons. It's disgusting) of optimizations to many sounds and overall sound mix, both level specific and general
Fix instances of pops / bad loops on tons of sounds
Fix issue where certain sidearms used incorrect sounds when firing
Fix issue where adjusting certain volume sliders would lower the overall volume for other sounds
Fix issue where certain footsteps would fire incorrectly for certain surfaces
Fix sound blowing out / peaking during explosions
Fix issue where certain gunshots duck the mix too intensely
NPC voices now locked to NPC head to fix voices floating if ragdolled
Fix instances of UI sounds continuing to play silently for an extended duration of time
Fix Foley and Voice audio not following the skeletal mesh
Level-Specific:
Lobby:
Fix certain sound potentially cutting out
Gas:
Added tons of footstep foley areas (puddle, glass, etc)
Interior diagetic music is now persistent
Interior diagetic music now plays more dynamically depending on where the player is
Tweaks to exterior ambience for better overall sound
Additional ambience added throughout level
Fix instances of duplicated sounds in certain game modes
Hotel:
Hotel lobby no longer sounds so... pleasant :)
Added carpet sploshing sound around sprinklers
Added additional footstep foley triggers around level
Backend updates to sound triggers for better flow
Backend ambience update for bomb threat mode
Optimize placement of many sounds
Meth:
Tweaked ambience to better match updated visuals
Additional detailing added throughout level
Ambience changing now smoother
Fix instance of corrupted sound
Fix instances of sounds not playing outdoors
Port:
Tweaks to ambiences for better overall flow
Additional detailing throughout level
Fix instances of certain ambiences playing where they shouldn't
Fix instance of a certain sound having a teeny tiny audible range
Dealer:
Added underpass sound
Added a bunch of additional ambience and tweaked existing ambience to match updated visuals
Tweaks to garage rock EQ for much better overall sound
Tweaks to ambiences for better spatial awareness
Fix instances of sound duplication
Fix issue where barrel fire could suddenly stop near spawn
Farm:
Updated adjustment of reverbs for certain areas
Fix instances of rock foley triggering over and over again
Penthouse:
Added additional detailing to match updated visuals
TV news now pseudo-propagates around the corner, can be heard throughout the room
Fix TV news not sounding quite right when listening at certain angles
Club:
Added updated sauna diagetic music
Added tons of footstep foley areas (puddle, glass, etc)
Club music now uses simple occlusion behaviour with doors
Added sound detailing throughout level
Fast Food:
Added various shrubbery triggers around level
Adjust trigger areas for ambiences for smoother transitions
Fix instances where certain sounds would retrigger in smaller side restaurant
Valley:
Added new diagetic music throughout level
Tons of additional ambience added throughout level
Ridgeline:
Added base ambience to level
Hospital:
Added base ambience to level
Agency:
Added base ambience to level
Music
New
Valley OST
Ridgeline OST
Updated
Tweaks to existing music timelines for better flow / overall sit in mix
Lobby
Fixed players not re-spawning in lobby when dying
Hotel
New
World building points (First floor only)
Meth
New
Environment art overhaul
Laundromat art overhaul
Main house interior art overhaul
Tunnel art overhaul
Garage entrance to the underground tunnels
Lighting overhaul
Tent house interior overhaul
New characters — we’ve added a “mudman”. Go find him.
Crystal Meth evidence improvement to look more realistic based off of first-hand experience (perp caught with possession)!
Updated
Add missing doorways
Fixed
AI Spawns sometimes spawning outside of the level
Dealer
New
World building points
Updated
Exterior environment art overhaul
Interior environment art overhaul
Gas
Updated
Level Art overhaul
Gas diner area
Price tags to gas service station area
Port
New
World building points
Removed
Knife suspects
Farm
Fixed
Fix nav modifier cutting off path in the tunnels
Penthouse
New
Penthouse suspects and civilians (two civilians still pending rigging)
Updated
Environment Art update
Reduced fog intensity
TV now displays video feed
Min civilian count set to 6
Fixed
Fix nav modifier cutting off path in the tunnels
Conclusion
We’re glad to bring you the largest update yet and hope that it was worth the wait! We cant wait to bring it to the public branch as well for everyone once it is fully ready!
If you'd like to chat about the update, join our Discord!
Welcome to the 32nd edition of our biweekly development update! This time around we're going to explore elements of environmental storytelling in the game, breathing life and adding detail to the world of Ready or Not.
Los Suenos is a city in decline. Widespread poverty and homelessness, skyrocketing crime rates, and a lack of municipal support are just some of the issues facing the local population. There is an aura of desperation and hopelessness across the city, and the symptoms and results of this can be found throughout the game's levels.
Without further ado, let's explore the everyday realities of Los Suenans....
A Stagnant, Halted Place
The 4U gas station has been hit hard by Los Suenos' woes. The city officials' refusal to budge on wage increases has led to a now 40 week long strike by sanitation workers. Garbage is piling up in the streets, and its nauseating stench lingers wherever you go.
Above: They've stopped trying to maintain it. Why bother?
Above: Trash ends up wherever there's space. No one's paid to pick it up.
As if things weren't bad enough, a robbery gone wrong turns into a hostage situation inside the gas station. An armed civilian tried to put a stop to things early, but being a hero doesn't always pan out.
Above: He should have known better. Luck wasn't on his side; in this city, is it ever?
Above: A failure to eject at the worst possible time.
It's no surprise people are driven to crime. With the worn down DeBanco security services protesting for safer working conditions amidst a string of robberies, there's no one to transport money for the banks. No one to refill the ATMs.
Above: We can't even access the money that we have. What the hell can we do?
Above: Just a machine that mocks us. What's it good for?
Throughout Los Suenos, you'll be able to see broader signs of the city's struggles through its media outlets. Whether it's over radio, TV broadcasts, or newspaper publications, everyone's looking for answers that no one seems to have. A series of magazines in the game's levels help to flesh out this story.
Above: A little bit of history for one of America's most storied, and now downtrodden cities.
Above: Trouble across the border. Tensions boiling over. Who's going to fix this?
Above: Even the affluent are starting to feel the pain. The rats spread like a plague.
This is just a taste of what you can expect from Ready or Not's environmental storytelling, as we strive to make the world come alive and include as much detail as we can in every level to contribute to the world that we've built. You'll see more and more added with continued updates to the game, so be on the lookout!
Conclusion
This concludes our 32nd biweekly newsletter, focusing on the various story beats located in the game's levels. Please tune in next time for even more development news, and keep an eye out on our social media!
If you'd like to help us test new content on the Supporter exclusive experimental branch, provide us with your game feedback, and keep up with all the activity and play testing events occurring within the Ready or Not Alpha, you can become a Supporter at www.voidinteractive.net or at our Steam store page.
Keep your feet on the ground. Community Management Department
Status Report on the Next Content Update
To the Ready or Not Community,
We are excited to get the new content update in your hands as it is our biggest one yet! At this time, we're putting the finishing touches on the bevy of new mechanics being added into the game so that they're fully playable and testable for our community. As soon as it’s ready, we will be deploying the update to our experimental testing branch for Supporters to experience and help us find any major issues before public release.
It's been a long wait, but we're ready and excited to share some of what you can expect this month. Our team has put together a 6 minute video showing off the overhaul to the game's A.I., specifically new suspect behaviors and the built-from-scratch cover system they utilize. We are confident that these new mechanics will add significant depth and replayability to Ready or Not.
