Container Ships, Large Targets, Intel Teams - Devlog 04/08

The Early Access launch was a big success, and I'm very happy with the amount of players we got and the reception that the game has had. Despite some fairly serious bugs and glitches, especially during the first few days of launch, the game has around a 91% positive review rating on Steam. I'm grateful to everyone who has supported the game in this early stage, and I'm really excited to see where things go during Early Access. I started working on new content recently, alongside continued bugfixes, and this update will cover what I've done so far.

New Level - Container Ship

I've been promising this for a while. A long while. After one of the original playtests I put a poll in discord asking if people wanting to burglarise a container ship. They said yes, of course. Well next update it will be possible.

The ship is pretty huge, possibly a little too huge. I have had to scale down the number of containers on board, because it would get pretty tedious rifling through 500 shipping containers. Reducing the number also allows me to create corridors in between containers which is fun for stealthing about. Each container is randomised, currently with around 20 different possibilities for what's inside. This should give you plenty of variation, and I plan to add even more in future.

It's not just containers, though, the ship also contains everything else you'd expect to see on board. From crew quarters, to mess halls, to engine rooms. So even if you're unlucky with the containers there should still be plenty to steal. And for those of you who prefer kidnapping, there will be crewmates on board too.

I'm still working on the new level on stream, so stop by to see how it's coming along!

Large Target Goal

The steal marked item mission goal has always been very varied. Since any stealable in the level could be chosen as the target, you could be stealing a coffee mug or a car, and be getting paid the same amount either way. It also does not take into account whether your getaway has a high enough weight limit to steal the target.

To resolve these issues, I will split the marked item goal into small and large variants. The small item goal will pay less, but should be much easier. Going for a large item will give you more cash, but you're going to have a hard time getting it out. Both goals will also only select targets which are light enough for your getaway vehicle.

Intel Teams

Another issue the game has had for a while is progression. Currently you can just dive straight into casino heists right out of the gate, and fill your bike basket with enough gold bars to buy whatever you want. To fix this, I'm adding Intel Teams. An intel team gives you intel on missions of a certain type. To start, you'll be getting your intel from Kev and his mates, and it will only include suburban houses and bungalows. In order to get access to malls and mechanic's levels, you'll have to purchase the next intel team. The casino and container ship will be locked behind a third intel team.

This should force some better progression, and ensure that players play through the easier levels a bit more first, before moving on to harder ones. I am still balancing the prices, because I don't want players to get bored of the suburban levels before unlocking the new ones. If you have any thoughts, comment below how much money you think it should cost to unlock the mall/mechanics. The teams can also have different profit cuts which should help reduce the amount of money you can get from the more advanced missions.

And that's all for now! Thank you to all of the new patrons who have subscribed since launch. It's great to have so much support, and I hope this page can become its own little community.