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Alpha 28 for Prison Architect was released today. The devs behind the game take a 25 minute long look at the changes made to the game.
Merry Christmas everyone! It's been a short month but we've managed to cram a lot into the time.
User Interface improvements
We have begun to move various interface elements around, and improve other elements,
in an effort to bring the user interface up to Version 1.0 quality.
- New toolbar top left of screen, incorporating Todo/Research/Grading/Main Menu
- Objectives/todo window improved, incorporated into new toolbar
- Topbar "Bank Balance" tooltip now shows recent transactions
- Search box added to Rooms toolbar, and Objects toolbar. Use this to filter the list of icons.
- Greyed out items in the main toolbar now have a greyed out caption as well
- In the main toolbar, "Contraband" has been renamed to "Intelligence"
- Contraband "supply & demand" report has been moved to the "Intelligence" toolbar
- Informants list interface tweaked, should fill less of the screen
Sector targetting continued
- New toolbar button : Logistics.
Allows the user to control Food distribution and Laundry distribution.
"Jobs" button moved from Deployment to Logistics.
- Laundrettes will target all nearby cell blocks automatically.
Every cell block has at least one Laundry servicing it, and every Laundry services at least one cell block.
The system will do its best to make laundries target other sectors of the same security zone, so that prisoners can do the work.
Can manually override the targetting from the Laundry Distribution screen.
Deployment Scheduling tool
You can now change the schedule of guard deployment, and guard patrols, at any hour of the day.
Use this to place more guards in the canteen at lunch time, for example.
- Requires new unlock : Micromanagement
- Click on the timeline at any hour to cycle the current schedule. White is the base schedule.
- You can drag the current time left and right, and change the schedule at any time of the day.
- Patrol icons for guards/dogs/armed guards now enlarge when selected
Truck drivers
Many large prisons suffer from a blocked delivery lane, with materials/prisoners/food etc trapped and unusable.
To combat this, all delivery trucks now come with a driver, who will helpfully spawn when the truck stops.
He will help unload the deliveries and load garbage and exports.
The truck can't leave until he returns.
However if he dies or falls unconcious whilst doing his job, or takes too long to return (>1 hour),
the truck will leave without him and he will be forced to walk home.
Mod changes
Direct mapping of WorldObject variables to Lua variables via Lua metatables.
Allows access and assignment of object properties without the need of complicated function calls (GetProperty/SetProperty)
All variables can now be access via object tables in Lua, such as the "this" table for the scripted object.
Eg: this.pos.x = 10
this.damage = 0
- The Needs system of a prisoner can now be accessed in lua: "this.Needs.Bowels = 1" etc
- The Status Effect systems of a prisoner can also be scripted: "this.StatusEffects.suppressed = 1"
Game Balance
- Escape tunnels now quite a bit less frequent
- Prisoners now more likely to change into a clean uniform, if one is available
- Ironing now takes twice as long
- New research : MicroManagement
Unlocks many of these newly added advanced features:
- Deployment scheduling
- Reform program manual scheduling
- Canteen logistics
- Laundry logistics
Bug fixes
- Fixed : Require at least one informant active to see throw ins determined by phone tap
- Fixed : If there is no infirmary, doctors will now hang out in the delivery area rather than wandering
the prison. This probably isn't the fix many of you were hoping for, but this is a prison,
not a hospital. Doctors don't randomly wander the halls searching for people to heal in prison.
- 0000140: [Control & User Interface] Some objects can be built multiple times in the same location (square) (Icepick) - resolved.
- 0007023: [Gameplay] Fridge error (Icepick) - resolved.
- 0006752: [AI & Behaviour] Multiple hearse waiting for bugged prisoner (Chris) - resolved.
- 0001311: [Other] When all laundry baskets leave the laundry, room requirements are no longer met. (Icepick) - resolved.
- 0000251: [AI & Behaviour] Guard set on a patrol route ignore people attempt to escape (Icepick) - resolved.
- 0006964: [Gameplay] All dirty laundry disappears when put into laundry basket. (lim_ak) - resolved.
User Interface improvements
We have begun to move various interface elements around, and improve other elements,
in an effort to bring the user interface up to Version 1.0 quality.
- New toolbar top left of screen, incorporating Todo/Research/Grading/Main Menu
- Objectives/todo window improved, incorporated into new toolbar
- Topbar "Bank Balance" tooltip now shows recent transactions
- Search box added to Rooms toolbar, and Objects toolbar. Use this to filter the list of icons.
- Greyed out items in the main toolbar now have a greyed out caption as well
- In the main toolbar, "Contraband" has been renamed to "Intelligence"
- Contraband "supply & demand" report has been moved to the "Intelligence" toolbar
- Informants list interface tweaked, should fill less of the screen
Sector targetting continued
- New toolbar button : Logistics.
Allows the user to control Food distribution and Laundry distribution.
"Jobs" button moved from Deployment to Logistics.
- Laundrettes will target all nearby cell blocks automatically.
Every cell block has at least one Laundry servicing it, and every Laundry services at least one cell block.
The system will do its best to make laundries target other sectors of the same security zone, so that prisoners can do the work.
Can manually override the targetting from the Laundry Distribution screen.
Deployment Scheduling tool
You can now change the schedule of guard deployment, and guard patrols, at any hour of the day.
Use this to place more guards in the canteen at lunch time, for example.
- Requires new unlock : Micromanagement
- Click on the timeline at any hour to cycle the current schedule. White is the base schedule.
- You can drag the current time left and right, and change the schedule at any time of the day.
- Patrol icons for guards/dogs/armed guards now enlarge when selected
Truck drivers
Many large prisons suffer from a blocked delivery lane, with materials/prisoners/food etc trapped and unusable.
To combat this, all delivery trucks now come with a driver, who will helpfully spawn when the truck stops.
He will help unload the deliveries and load garbage and exports.
The truck can't leave until he returns.
However if he dies or falls unconcious whilst doing his job, or takes too long to return (>1 hour),
the truck will leave without him and he will be forced to walk home.
Mod changes
Direct mapping of WorldObject variables to Lua variables via Lua metatables.
Allows access and assignment of object properties without the need of complicated function calls (GetProperty/SetProperty)
All variables can now be access via object tables in Lua, such as the "this" table for the scripted object.
Eg: this.pos.x = 10
this.damage = 0
- The Needs system of a prisoner can now be accessed in lua: "this.Needs.Bowels = 1" etc
- The Status Effect systems of a prisoner can also be scripted: "this.StatusEffects.suppressed = 1"
Game Balance
- Escape tunnels now quite a bit less frequent
- Prisoners now more likely to change into a clean uniform, if one is available
- Ironing now takes twice as long
- New research : MicroManagement
Unlocks many of these newly added advanced features:
- Deployment scheduling
- Reform program manual scheduling
- Canteen logistics
- Laundry logistics
Bug fixes
- Fixed : Require at least one informant active to see throw ins determined by phone tap
- Fixed : If there is no infirmary, doctors will now hang out in the delivery area rather than wandering
the prison. This probably isn't the fix many of you were hoping for, but this is a prison,
not a hospital. Doctors don't randomly wander the halls searching for people to heal in prison.
- 0000140: [Control & User Interface] Some objects can be built multiple times in the same location (square) (Icepick) - resolved.
- 0007023: [Gameplay] Fridge error (Icepick) - resolved.
- 0006752: [AI & Behaviour] Multiple hearse waiting for bugged prisoner (Chris) - resolved.
- 0001311: [Other] When all laundry baskets leave the laundry, room requirements are no longer met. (Icepick) - resolved.
- 0000251: [AI & Behaviour] Guard set on a patrol route ignore people attempt to escape (Icepick) - resolved.
- 0006964: [Gameplay] All dirty laundry disappears when put into laundry basket. (lim_ak) - resolved.