Introversion

Prison Architect Alpha 28

Alpha 28 has been released! Steam users will be automatically updated. Non-steam users can download the latest version from the builds page here:
http://www.prison-architect.com/builds.html

You need an active forum account to access the builds from our website. If you haven’t already done so, please register your game here to gain access to the builds, the private forums, the bug database and the wiki.
http://www.prison-architect.com/register

Here is our video demonstrating the new features:


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.


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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.

Wait, so if the driver dies, the truck will leave without anyone behind the wheel and the driver will be forced to turn into a zombie and walk home?

Looks like another great update, will be interesting to play in the weekend. Merry Christmas!

Thanks! Looks good.

This is the first Alpha to be released very early!

gpgekko wrote:

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.

Wait, so if the driver dies, the truck will leave without anyone behind the wheel and the driver will be forced to turn into a zombie and walk home?

Just like real life

Obviously there is a second driver sitting in the truck, and he's on the clock

Really like the deployment scheduler. One thing I think would really help the player would be showing the delta between the default deployment and any of your micromanaged deployments.

Using Chris's example in the video, if during deployment 1, you assign four additional guards to the canteen, you would have one guard icon with the normal color and four in the same green as the deployment 1 color to show that you have four more guards here during this particular deployment.

Similarly, if you had a scenario where you assign guards to a particular area during the default deployment, but during deployment 1 you remove some of those, the unassigned guard icons could be given like 50% opacity to show that while during this particular deployment they are unassigned, during the default deployment phase they're still here.

Obviously, you'd only show the delta from the default during the currently selected deployment (i.e. deployment 1), otherwise all of the icons would just clutter up the UI.

The 1 month/week thing, serious laugh there.

It's good to see the game more and more polished within each Alpha. I'm curious for what the future in this game is reserving to us, keep the good work.

And I hope you guys have a good Christmas this year and enjoy it as much as you can.

Thank you for this. However I would like something that would affect gameplay more to be released in next alpha.
I don't exactly know what, but something nice.

The guard deployment looks massively confusing but the truck driver thing is nice.

Thanks for the update guys! Hoping you feel better Chris.

Thanks for the update! Happy Holidays!

I was really surprised to see this update in my steam download queue earlier today, a happy surprise though when I realised that I would probably be in the game

Then I watched the release video and was even happier that a few of my wishes appeared to be implemented/fixed (specifically, the Laundry room and deployment scheduling)

Big thanks for the work you've put into the alpha (i've been a long-time fan of IV since Uplinks release (not steam)) and hope you guys have awesome christmas's....

just don't forget about the game over the festive period

Wait so.... if the truck driver is unconscious or dead, the second truck driver is just gonna leave him there?

Brutal.

Gamecool 10 wrote:Wait so.... if the truck driver is unconscious or dead, the second truck driver is just gonna leave him there?

Brutal.

Union regs, man. Can't risk a second driver once one has been taken out.

xander