[Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo floods

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[Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo floods

Postby aubergine18 » Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:20 am

I love automating aspects of my prison, that's what being an architect is all about, right? But when it comes to fires my hands are somewhat tied - it would be nice if there were a few extra features...

Fire assembly points

A new zone type to mark fire assembly points. Usually these would be outside buildings?

Smoke detector

This would produce a logic 1 when there is a fire in the area.

I could use this to trigger automated events.

Fire alarms: bell/klaxon and a (flashing red) siren light

Obviously I want to sound the alarm in affected areas, I'd connect my smoke detectors to these devices.

The bell/klaxon could be used to trigger evacuations to nearest applicable fire assembly point (if available) or otherwise send people fleeing away from the fire (unless there's a riot in which case someone will probably take the bell and use it as a weapon lol). Maybe this effect could be optional, so I could use the bell for other things (like waking up prisoners in the morning or denoting regime changes if linked up with a door servo).

The siren light would be primarily aesthetic. It's flash would be 1 second on, 1 second off so it's fairly unobtrusive. But it could provide a logic output based on it's flash so I can use it as some sort of crazy timer circuit (example: to toggle power on and off to a room so it's lights flash, just because).

Emergency lighting

Basically those green emergency exit lights for placing over doors. Would automatically light when power is removed, but can also be lit via sending in a logic 1.

Primarily aesthetic, but could be used to guide prisoners in event of fire? Seriously, I would love the challenge of setting up dynamic fire escape routes in my prison. It would be utterly nightmarish to achieve!

Servo valve

It would be nice if I could attach a door servo to a water valve :) This would allow me to turn off water to showers, toilet and certain appliances, while turning on water for sprinklers, or activating backup water supply to sprinklers, etc.

Side-use: Servo valves would also be useful for tackling dig escapes? Set a door timer to opened during sleep time, send its output in to a logic bridge to broadcast it, then have a pressure pad in cell toilet cubicles going to an AND-gate with the signal pulled from power cables... If prisoner steps on pressure pad at night, I close the servo valve in their cell and activate the flashing siren light outside their cell door *evil grin*. Do prisoners use toilet normally at night or only dig attempts? If they do use it normally, and the servo valve is closed because I thought it was potential dig escape, surely the toilet should overflow when flushed and fill their cell with poo water?

Pump & Power gen emit logic signal

If either of these devices are running, they should emit logic 1. If they are not running they should emit logic 0. It would be nice if capacitors did the same.

In addition, it would be nice if I could send in a logic signal to toggle a power gen or capacitor to turn on/off (can already do something similar with pump via power switch, but that approach won't work with power gen or capacitor).

This would make it much easier to implement backup pumps and generators.
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Re: [Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo fl

Postby Pogmothoin » Tue Jul 07, 2015 4:02 am

In principle this would be realistic, however in practice it isn't needed, seriously how many fires do you get?

I can't remember the last time I saw a fire in a prison that I didn't start myself by skilfully flooding a power station with water.

Nicely thought out post though.
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Re: [Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo fl

Postby aubergine18 » Tue Jul 07, 2015 10:23 am

Well, yes, I must admit I have a fair few shower rooms with power generators placed in the middle of them, but that's besides the point :D
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Re: [Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo fl

Postby likaboss » Wed Jul 08, 2015 7:46 am

Pogmothoin wrote:In principle this would be realistic, however in practice it isn't needed, seriously how many fires do you get?


Although prison architect doesn't have many fires, and it's realistic that way, all modern buildings are required to have a proper fire detection/alarm/evacuation system. Perhaps the fire evacuation system could be a grant of some kind?

The grant could be titled "Fire Evacuation Protocol," with about $20,000 as starting money and $10,000 as completion.

The grant would only be achieved when a path can be calculated from all cell blocks to the fire evacuation area, and when all cell blocks have a smoke detection/fire alarm system installed.

Just an idea XD
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Re: [Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo fl

Postby aubergine18 » Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:40 pm

I'm considering making a mod to add these features. Is there anyone reading this who's good at graphics willing to help?
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Re: [Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo fl

Postby isit » Mon Jul 13, 2015 9:37 am

Pogmothoin wrote:In principle this would be realistic, however in practice it isn't needed, seriously how many fires do you get?

I can't remember the last time I saw a fire in a prison that I didn't start myself by skilfully flooding a power station with water.

Nicely thought out post though.




I was the same way until my new 40 prisoner max sec block caught on fire from a lighter while I was off doing building. I didn't notice until the death counter began ticking.
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Re: [Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo fl

Postby Jailer » Mon Jul 13, 2015 12:36 pm

In general, alarm buttons for the guards would be nice - when pushed, guards within an x radius rush in to help out in a fight.
Behaviour could be something like:
- Guard engages fight with prisoner
- When health is under 25%, guard rushes to nearest alarm button to call for help.

Additional equipment needed would be 'Radio' - which could be unlocked in tech tree and picked up at security chief station...
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Re: [Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo fl

Postby aubergine18 » Mon Jul 13, 2015 12:45 pm

There is already a panic button in the Steam Workshop that works a bit like that: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... =318449188

With regards to radios, IMHO all guards should have them by default (there are already sound effects in the game for radio messages between guards). Should be fairly easy to implement, I'll see what I can do.

I now have a working smoke detector (well, specifically a fire detector) that outputs a logic signal when triggered. There are several such devices already in the Steam Workshop however they all suffer quite severe performance issues on bigger prisons so I've spent quite a lot of time optimising my detector to minimise CPU load. It has several realism features including flashing LED indicator, battery backup power, and audible alarm. The device can be connected to any wired device, for example: link to door servos to open doors along emergency escape routes.

Now that I have fairly well optimised coding patterns for things like logic gates, animation and sound, the klaxon alarm and flashing siren light should be trivial to implement (apart from the graphics which I suck at). Ideally all these devices could be connected in series, but due to bugs in the PA modding API it's unlikely that I'll be able to achieve that :(
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Re: [Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo fl

Postby Neddleson » Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:22 pm

+1 these features would be great but only really needed if the devs make fires occur in prisons more easily, e.g. accidental fires in the kitchen or a short-circuit in electrics, I think fires should be more of a genuine hazard within the game.
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Re: [Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo fl

Postby aubergine18 » Thu Jul 23, 2015 11:37 am

It's possible to make fires happen more often via a mod. Also many of the planned features (such as alarms, first aid, etc) will be useful in other contexts.

Progress update on the mod:
  • Smoke Detector – complete although some bugs in API prevent it from doing all the things I had planned.
  • Emergency Exit – unable to complete due to huge number of bugs in the API
  • Klaxon alarm – in final stages of testing; bugs in API prevent full feature set I'd hoped for
  • Warning lights – in final stages of testing; bugs in API prevent full feature set I'd hoped for
  • Fire Assembly Point – complete, but no API to scan for rooms so going to have to create some sort of object marker to go in it (this will also enable yards and other rooms to be used as fire assembly points if desired)
  • Assembly Point Marker – planning stage (current ponder: a wall sign?)
  • Door Exit Signs – pending
  • Fire Escape Route Signs (wall mounted) – pending
  • Water Valve Servo – too many bugs in API currently :(
  • Pump & Power Gen Enhancements – not tried yet, suspect bugs (particularly those relating to connections) will prevent me from making desired changes
  • Fire Control Cabinet – too many bugs in API to implement
  • First Aid Kit – pending

I'm really gutted about the emergency exit as it plays a big role in the most advanced feature I had planned for the mod: people fleeing fire would head to nearest (safe) fire exit. The main problems I'm having is that API relating to doors (particularly wired doors) is either missing, inaccessible or completely broken. In addition, I have no way of instructing staff/guards to avoid using the fire escape when there's not a fire.
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Re: [Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo fl

Postby rsdworker » Fri Jul 24, 2015 5:02 am

well i found way to tell prisoners and staff to not use - put locked servo on doors that is emergency exit - so put Not logic - and when alarm sounds - the signal sends to Not logic - its unlocks the servos that are locked so prisoners can evaucate quickly from that but downside is power cut - results the servos wouldnt get commands if its power down
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Re: [Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo fl

Postby likaboss » Fri Jul 24, 2015 5:19 am

Neddleson wrote:+1 these features would be great but only really needed if the devs make fires occur in prisons more easily, e.g. accidental fires in the kitchen or a short-circuit in electrics, I think fires should be more of a genuine hazard within the game.


Honestly, in real world prisons, fires don't happen that often. Frequent fires would just take away from the authenticity of the game.
Prison architect is not simcity, we really shouldn't be worrying about "environmental hazards." We should be thinking about riots, murders, and contraband, and currently the game is doing a great job making us focus on those aspects. It's realistic. It's fun.

I believe a fire alarm/evacuation system, should it be implemented in the game, be some sort of a governmental requirement. All modern buildings are required a fire evacuation system, even if fires are not that common. It should be implemented as a grant, so the government will pay you immense amounts of money if your prison has a proper fire evacuation protocol & infrastructure.
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Re: [Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo fl

Postby likaboss » Fri Jul 24, 2015 5:27 am

aubergine18 wrote:It's possible to make fires happen more often via a mod. Also many of the planned features (such as alarms, first aid, etc) will be useful in other contexts.

Progress update on the mod:
  • Smoke Detector – complete although some bugs in API prevent it from doing all the things I had planned.
  • Emergency Exit – unable to complete due to huge number of bugs in the API
  • Klaxon alarm – in final stages of testing; bugs in API prevent full feature set I'd hoped for
  • Warning lights – in final stages of testing; bugs in API prevent full feature set I'd hoped for
  • Fire Assembly Point – complete, but no API to scan for rooms so going to have to create some sort of object marker to go in it (this will also enable yards and other rooms to be used as fire assembly points if desired)
  • Assembly Point Marker – planning stage (current ponder: a wall sign?)
  • Door Exit Signs – pending
  • Fire Escape Route Signs (wall mounted) – pending
  • Water Valve Servo – too many bugs in API currently :(
  • Pump & Power Gen Enhancements – not tried yet, suspect bugs (particularly those relating to connections) will prevent me from making desired changes
  • Fire Control Cabinet – too many bugs in API to implement
  • First Aid Kit – pending

I'm really gutted about the emergency exit as it plays a big role in the most advanced feature I had planned for the mod: people fleeing fire would head to nearest (safe) fire exit. The main problems I'm having is that API relating to doors (particularly wired doors) is either missing, inaccessible or completely broken. In addition, I have no way of instructing staff/guards to avoid using the fire escape when there's not a fire.


I'm not familiar at all with the API stuff, but some ideas in case they might help:
1. Perhaps fire escapes could be locked down (as if they were manually locked down) but not show the red no entry sign, so it looks like the staff avoid using the door, rather than it being locked?
2. Instead of actually trying to make the fire escape doors open automatically in case of a fire, you could just make players manually connect the doors to the smoke detectors. Perhaps the fire escape doors could require door servos, or they could have built-in servos.
Fantastic job so far, I'm really looking forward to this mod!
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Re: [Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo fl

Postby aubergine18 » Fri Jul 24, 2015 12:45 pm

rsdworker wrote:well i found way to tell prisoners and staff to not use - put locked servo on doors that is emergency exit - so put Not logic - and when alarm sounds - the signal sends to Not logic - its unlocks the servos that are locked so prisoners can evaucate quickly from that but downside is power cut - results the servos wouldnt get commands if its power down


Th "NOT servo" might stop the door opening, but the AI will still try and route people via that door IIRC. So you'll get a queue of people stood at door expecting to get through it?
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Re: [Suggestion] Smoke detect/fire alarms/servo valve/poo fl

Postby aubergine18 » Fri Jul 24, 2015 12:50 pm

likaboss wrote:Honestly, in real world prisons, fires don't happen that often. Frequent fires would just take away from the authenticity of the game.


In real prisons legendary prisoners don't punch their way through solitary doors and kill a bunch of armed guards with a spatula. It's a game, not a real world prison.

likaboss wrote:Prison architect is not simcity, we really shouldn't be worrying about "environmental hazards." We should be thinking about riots, murders, and contraband, and currently the game is doing a great job making us focus on those aspects. It's realistic. It's fun.

I believe a fire alarm/evacuation system, should it be implemented in the game, be some sort of a governmental requirement. All modern buildings are required a fire evacuation system, even if fires are not that common. It should be implemented as a grant, so the government will pay you immense amounts of money if your prison has a proper fire evacuation protocol & infrastructure.


You seem to contradict the first paragraph with the second paragraph, basically "We should not implement environmental stuff, but we should have environmental stuff implemented in the game, because the game is not simcity." Um, wat?

I also have a load of grants written - the grants API is surprisingly reliable. :) My idea is that the fire safety stuff would be added in phases. For example, a few fire extinguishers, then some smoke alarms, then fire escape routes / policies, eventually ending up with things like fire control cabinets in security rooms that automate fire response (even calling outside fire services if possible). Eventually I want to get to stage where the warden could get his prison health and safety accredited and receive some big bonus (not sure what yet).

likaboss wrote:I'm not familiar at all with the API stuff, but some ideas in case they might help:
1. Perhaps fire escapes could be locked down (as if they were manually locked down) but not show the red no entry sign, so it looks like the staff avoid using the door, rather than it being locked?
2. Instead of actually trying to make the fire escape doors open automatically in case of a fire, you could just make players manually connect the doors to the smoke detectors. Perhaps the fire escape doors could require door servos, or they could have built-in servos.
Fantastic job so far, I'm really looking forward to this mod!


1. I tried that approach but sadly the this.mode property of custom doors (particularly wired doors) is broken. Also there's no way from a mod to remove the no entry sign that the game adds to doors.

2. I was thinking of that but for me the doors should be openable even without a servo. Ideally I want them to behave similar to normal doors (anyone can just "push the bar" to open the exit). This is where I ran in to all sorts of issues with the API as it doesn't provide any way for a scripted door object to interact with either the pathfinding or the entity objects that might want to go through the door :( I tried setting the "DontAvoid" property of the door to 'false' to see if that would help, but problem is then that in a fire people will still avoid the door (there's no way to update the property at runtime as it's not exposed by the API).

Ideally I wish that IV would start converting their existing objects to internal mods, that way the game devs would see just how much is missing/broken in the object scripting and modding API.
Last edited by aubergine18 on Fri Jul 24, 2015 1:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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