Major Update #2 - Hard Mode, Endless Mode, Resource Slider, Return to Vehicle
Greetings, Operators!
A new Major Update for Riot Operator is up on the Default branch. We continue our mission of improving the game based on your feedback. This time we are adding some additional options that improve the game's replayability. While it's not possible for us to add the "play on any real map" feature, we hope that you will have fun with the new modes. Let's check all the new things coming your way!
Hard Mode and Endless Mode
Hard Mode was added to the game.
Endless Mode was added to the game.
When starting a new scenario, you can now select a Hard Mode. Hard Mode scenarios have separate medals and include the following modifiers:
NPC spawn is increased by around 30%,
The cooldown between incidents is decreased by 20%,
Damage to the player is increased by 100%.
Endless Mode on the other hand allows the player to continue playing after the Main Objective is finished. What's important - the Main Objective won't repeat itself once it's over. So the player can only interact with the side objectives and keep on buying new squads, tools, and vehicles.
Other Changes
A new Embark option has been added to Squads. Clicking on Embark (or pressing the "1" hotkey button) will cause the Squad to automatically go back to their last vehicle.
A new Resource Slider has been added to the game. Change your starting Money and set it between 0 and 100,000, to make the game harder or easier (or simply more fun due to a bigger number of squads).
A new option for changing the Camera angle has been added. Press the Middle Mouse Button to rotate the Camera to your liking.
The Pathfinding algorithm has been updated to ensure that the units (especially Vehicles) are more likely to stick to the roads.
The Pathfinding algorithm has been updated to ensure that the units won't get stuck in between buildings when going to their desired location.
An issue with white clouds at maximum zoom-out affecting the visibility has been fixed.
An issue with the vehicles doing excessive drifts when turning has been fixed.
An issue with icons being affected by the bloom effect has been fixed.
An issue with London music sometimes overlapping two tracks over each other has been fixed.
Other stability changes have been introduced in order to ensure that the game will work without major performance drops with all the additional squads that the player can recruit due to Resource Slider and Endless Mode being introduced.
We hope that you will have fun with all the new changes in Major Update #2! If you haven't played the game yet, we also want to inform you, that we have just launched the highest up-to-date -30% discount on Riot Operator.
Thank you for being with us and for all the recent kind words of encouragement. We are very happy to see that despite the rocky launch, there are still players who are invested in the game and willing to provide us with feedback. We hope that you will have a lovely Christmas season and a Happy New Year!
A new Major Update #1 is now available on the Default branch! We have been analyzing your reviews and surveys to see which changes we can implement first. We have seen some mentions that the game is too blue and that the visual side of the game isn't very appealing. That's why we have decided to overhaul the visuals. You can compare the results below:
Previous Version:
Current Version:
Other than that we have decided to focus on improving the efficiency of the units and their tools and making them cheaper, due to several requests in this area. We hope that all those changes will make Riot Operator a more enjoyable experience for you. A full list of changes can be found below.
Changelog
Visual Improvements
Several materials have been reworked in order to make the game look better,
Post Processing settings have been reworked in order to make the game look better,
Minimap Colors were modified for better readability,
Minimap Icons were updated for better readability.
Balance
The cost of a single Police Unit has been reduced from 1000 to 750,
The cost of a single Paramedic Unit has been reduced from 3000 to 2000,
The Police's arrest action has been made global for all the Police units, regardless of itemization.
The cooldown for the Police's arrest action has been removed. Instead of reducing the cooldown, handcuffs will now affect the squad's handcuffing speed,
The Paramedics' incident detection range has been increased by 200% to ensure better responsiveness,
The Tear Gas range has been increased by 100%,
The Water Cannon Truck and Tear Gas Gun have been reworked to have a small chance of triggering the flee action when used on the Rioters,
All the starting units have been reworked to include Vehicles in their squads.
UI
An option to quickly wear items by double-clicking on them in the Shop has been added,
An option to multi-deselect units using shift has been added,
Selecting multiple units has been reworked to allow the usage of the actions that the selected squads have,
A new "baton" icon has been added for the Police units that got aggressive due to low stress level,
Minimap icons for the player-controlled units have been updated.
Localization
New lines were added to the Tutorial to explain some features more clearly.
Fixes
An issue that prevented the Players from overwriting a save when reaching a maximum save capacity has been fixed,
An issue with squad formations getting stuck in the crowd when not intended has been solved,
An issue with some texts containing errors has been fixed,
An issue with the visuals of the map's edge not displaying correctly has been fixed,
An issue that could've resulted in the player getting stuck in the Tutorial has been fixed,
An issue that could've resulted in some text lines getting skipped when not intended in the Tutorial has been fixed.
Community Items
Obtainable Steam Cards have been added,
Obtainable Emojis have been added,
Obtainable Badges have been added,
Obtainable Profile Backgrounds have been added.
New Demo
A new Demo for the Riot Operator is now available on Steam. It includes the tutorial and a single mission (London). If you weren't certain about buying Riot Operators due to the latest reviews, you can now test the newest iteration of the game (including all the newest changes mentioned above) for free.
Survey and your Feedback
If you have any further requests regarding the new features or changes that you would like to see in the game, please let us know in the comments below the announcement or via the in-game Survey. At the same time, we want to thank you for all the Feedback that you are sending our way. We know that you care about the game and it's important for us to ensure that we will do our best to improve as many things as possible.
We hope that this newest build will make your experience more enjoyable. Have fun!
Best regards, Beta 2 Games Team
Update 1.0.1 - New mission order + all missions unlocked
Greetings, Operators!
Thank you, everyone, for giving Riot Operator a chance. We are aware that many of you have expected more from this game. So at the beginning, we want to address this subject directly.
Many of you have hoped for this game to be a sequel to 911 Operator or 112 Operator games. But the truth is, those games - while still indie - were made by a much bigger team, Jutsu Games. The team that is currently developing Infection Free Zone. Riot Operator was developed by the Beta 2 Games team, a much smaller studio based in Brazil, that has much smaller experience in creating PC games.
Of course, we understand that in your eyes this does not justify us in any way. Because at the end of the day, what you care about most is being able to play a good game. That's why we only want to ask for one thing. For your patience. We will do our best to improve the Riot Operator as much as we can over the upcoming updates.
Update 1.0.1
In this quick update, we are introducing two important changes:
Mission order has been rearranged to ensure a better gaming experience. Some players have reported that there was too much healing in the Hong Kong mission, while they want to enjoy some police action from the get-go.
All the missions have been unlocked and made available from the very beginning. It's now up to you to decide in which order you want to tackle the missions and complete them all.
Next Steps
Of course, this is just the beginning. After the weekend, we will be gathering all the feedback we have received via reviews, surveys, and bug reports. We will do our best to analyze your suggestions and remarks and decide which changes are the most crucial and important to introduce first.
Thank you for sharing all your issues with us. Knowing the exact things that you find dissatisfying makes this hard work easier for us. If you still haven't shared your feedback with us, we would appreciate sending it via the in-game Survey.
Best regards, Riot Operator Team
Riot Operator has just released! Available now on Steam!
Greetings, Operator!
Riot Operator is now available on Steam! You can buy the game with a time-limited -10% launch discount. The game is also available in the bundles listed below. Enjoy the game!
We did our best to get rid of as many issues reported throughout the Closed Beta as possible. We are proud of all the work that has been put into the game, but we are aware that players are using vastly different setups and it's very hard to make the game 100% bug-free. That's why want to ask you to report your feedback to us:
via in-game Bug Reporter if you encounter any bugs,
via Survey in the Main Menu if you want to share some longer feedback about the game with us.
This approach will allow us to solve all the issues much faster and prepare the necessary changes for the upcoming updates in a timely manner.
A few gameplay tips
We want to share a few gameplay tips with you if you find the game challenging:
Always remember about the correct placement of your units.
Try to save as many wounded as possible. Casualties will impact your reputation negatively in a big way.
Don't forget to spend the additional money you acquire when finishing events and side-events throughout the Mission.
If the map is huge and the events occur all over the place - prioritize getting vehicles.
Experiment with different equipment setups for your squads. Multiple items of the same kind will make the abilities of your squad stronger, reduce their cooldown, or increase their range/area of effect.
If you lost the Scenario, analyze which units were needed the most and focus on prioritizing/upgrading them during the next attempt.
And of course, what is most important - have fun! We hope that you will have as much fun with our game, as we had when developing it for the past few years. It was a great journey and we can't wait to see your reception. Let us know how you feel about the game in the comments. We are reading them all!
Best regards, Riot Operator Team
Riot Operator release date has been announced!
Greetings, Operators!
Closed Beta tests are officially over. We have gathered all your feedback and analyzed the most important issues and points that were brought to our attention. We have shortened the Scanerios and made the gameplay a bit more dynamic by increasing the number of side missions as the Scenario continues. We have fixed some commonly reported bugs and now testing the last improvements. The wait is finally over.
Launch date
We are excited to let you know that Riot Operator will launch on Steam on October 25, 2024, during the Games Operators Publisher Sale. The game will be available with a -10% time-limited launch discount. The long-time fans of our titles can also expect an additional discount through the bundles. More info about that coming upon launch!
What to expect upon launch?
Unique mixture of RTS and simulation gameplay,
3 main types of units - Police, Medics and Firefighters,
8 different Scenarios taking place in cities across the world: Hong Kong, Warsaw, London, Berlin, Brasilia, Atlanta, Paris, and Washington D.C.,
Our dedication to follow your feedback. We don't plan to stop the development upon the release. We will closely observe all the surveys and bug reports coming our way to introduce the necessary changes and bug fixes.
Thank you for following the Riot Operator's announcements for these past few years. We are extremely happy to be finally releasing the game. It was a long development and we hope that you will enjoy what we have prepared for you!
Best regards, Beta 2 Games Team
Closed Beta sign-ups are now open!
Greetings, Operators!
Today we have a pleasant surprise for you! We're thrilled to announce that closed beta sign-ups are officially live! Join us and dive into the action, explore new content, and help us shape the game before the official launch. Sign up today and join an exclusive group of players who will get early access, provide feedback, and make this game the best it can be!
Closed Beta sign-ups
To join the closed beta, it's crucial to complete the sign-up survey available HERE. We hope to start sending Beta Steam Keys around a week after this announcement. Thank you for your participation!
Feedback
Once the Closed Beta is live, we will start collecting feedback. Expect another survey from us, this time focused on the game's features and content. Your responses are very important to us and are the basis of all changes to the game before's official launch.
Thank you for your support!
Best regards, Beta 2 Games Team
Development Status Update #8 - Advanced Police Vehicles
Greetings, Operators!
Today we are proud to show you two new vehicles that are joining the police forces - the Riot Truck and the Water Cannon Truck! While the basic Police Car has only two slots for the police staff and limited usability, those two new advanced vehicles provide additional power if you can afford them.
Riot Truck
Riot Trucks have two significant advantages over the basic Police Car:
An ability to transport a full police squad consisting of 5 members,
A special frontal construction that allows them to move faster through the crowds of protesters.
When every second matters, the Riot Truck can help you with getting your Police Units to where they are needed the most. Check how the Riot Trucks perform in the videos below:
Water Cannon Truck
Water Cannon Truck doesn't allow to transport the whole Police Squad, but its strength lies elsewhere. Water Cannon Truck will help you control large groups of aggressive protesters marching at you. While very strong, it also has a significant cost. Always ensure that your Water Cannon Truck is exactly where it's needed.
https://youtu.be/BfwqYEa6Wus What do you think about those two newest additions? Share your feedback with us!
Best regards, Beta 2 Games Team
Development Status Update #7 - New UI
Greetings, Operators!
Riot Operator is getting closer and closer to the final version of the game that we wanted to create since the beginning. Right now, we are introducing a number of changes, while also focusing on four core areas that are mandatory for us in order to release the Riot Operator on Steam.
Our current goals
The four core areas for Riot Operator that we focus on during the development at the moment:
New User Interface
Save System
Having 8 balanced scenarios on different cities worldwide, each with unique gameplay
Rebalancing the Riot Dispersing mechanics to make it more engaging for the player
New UI
We are happy to let you know that the new UI is ready! Some of you, who have played the game during the demo festival, might remember the old "grayish" color scheme that we have used for a long time. But we have finally added the UI that is more in line with the initial trailer for Riot Operator. You can watch what the new UI looks like in the videos below. Let us know what you think about it!
Mission Select
Shop Panel
Best regards, Beta 2 Games Team
Development Status Update #6 - New Scenarios
Greetings, Operators!
Today we want to share some positive news with you! Riot Operator has reached the Alpha Stage of development! Our small team is working tirelessly to bring you Riot Operator as quickly as we can. We know that you can't wait to play the game and we are doing our best!
Development Update - Alpha Stage
We are extremely happy to reach this huge milestone. Most of the mechanics are set up and we are focusing on things like balance and polishing now. It's also very important for us to bring more content to the game. While we won't be able to release the game in 2023, we certainly aim to launch Riot Operator in 2024.
We will also try to share the closed beta with you somewhere in the Q1 or Q2 of the next year! Applications will be opened via Google Forms and we hope to gather at least much feedback from you, as we did last time during the demo. But more about this in the upcoming announcements.
New Scenarios
Right now, we are working on adding more scenarios to the game. We have almost 4 scenarios ready and we are polishing them, ensuring that the gameplay is varied on each map. You already had a chance to play on the Warsaw map during the demo, but can you guess which two other huge European cities are we working on at the moment?
City 1:
City 2:
Let's see if you can get them right! Every screenshot includes a landmark, which should make the guessing easier.
Best regards, Riot Operator Team
Riot Operator - Post Demo Update
Greetings, Operators!
The dust has settled and we finally have a moment to summarize the last Steam Next Fest that we have joined with Riot Operator. First of all - a huge thank you to everyone who played the game during the event. We are glad that so many players gave Riot Operator a chance. What's also very inspiring - the reception of the game is also better than ever.
Steam Next Fest Summary
Before we launched the demo for the Steam Next Fest, we did a quick closed test with a limited group of fans. We have received a lot of honest feedback and a lot of issues were brought to our attention. We started tackling them one by one, focusing on the areas that were mentioned most frequently.
This approach has brought us some great results. While the game is still in progress, we are happy to let you know, that basically all the areas were rated higher after the Steam Next Fest. To summarize some stats from the survey for you:
While the visual and audio side of the game is meant to be minimalistic, we will see what we can do about improving these areas. Other than that, we were surprised to notice that:
Riot Dispersing, while often rated as a mechanic that requires further improvements, was also considered the most enjoyable element of the game,
A huge majority of players (88%) have declared that the game's setting is non-controversial,
The reputation system, GUI, and color schemes were not understandable enough for players.
Next Steps
What now? We will keep on working hard on Riot Operator. While we are aware that the development is taking longer than expected, we still want to deliver a fine gaming experience your way. Right now, we mainly focus on:
Implementation of other scenarios,
Improvements in the Riot Dispersing system,
Improvements to the Path Finding,
Changes to the GUI and the color schemes,
Bug Fixing.
Thank you once again for your ongoing support. We will keep on doing our best so you find Riot Operator a satisfying gaming experience at launch.
