Hey everyone,

I'm very excited to announce that the cartel update (v0.4.0) is now available to test on the beta branch! Very sorry that this took longer than expected! It's been a hectic month, and I massively underestimated the amount of work required to get this update done. I've also been simultaneously working on getting the game ready for official Steam Deck support + console port later this year.

Additions

• Added the Benzies family - a powerful rival cartel in Hyland Point. You will first encounter them once you have unlocked a few customers in Westville. Interactions with them include:

  • Cartel-player deals (while truced)

  • Ambushes

  • Dealer robbings

  • Dead drop theft

  • Cartel-customer deals

• Added new purchasable property - Hyland Manor. Keep in mind that the Benzies family storyline must be completed before this can be purchased.

• Added new vehicle 'Hotbox'.

• Added pump shotgun.

• Added shotgun shell.

• Added 'close buzzcut' hairstyle.

• Added 'Tony' hairstyle

• Added 'long slicked back' hairstyle.

• Added 'setgravitymultiplier' command.

• Added 'setregionunlocked' command.

• Added 'forcesleep' command.

• Added some more loading screen hints.

Tweaks/Improvements

• Changed how you unlock new regions. Each region now has a 'cartel influence' level associated with it. You must reduce this influence to a certain level before you can progress to the next region.

• In multiplayer, you can view the dialogue of other players talking to NPCs.

• Deals are now cancelled when the assigned dealer is dead/unconscious.

• Unconscious NPCs who drop into the ocean are now killed.

• Dead/unconscious NPCs can now be pickpocketed.

• You can now pickpocket police.

• If you attack a customer, they will not order from you for 72 hours.

• Tweaks the braking properties of all vehicles.

• Non-police NPCs can now use ranged weapons.

• Police and NPCs in combat will now sometimes predict future target position instead of pathing directly to the target.

• Tweaked flashlight brightness.

• Refactored a number of minor scripts.

Bug fixes

• Fixed various mislabellings in employee tutorial quests.

• Fixed two light beams being visible when the flashlight is equipped.

• Fixed scuffed NPC ragdoll LODs/culling.

• Fixed some missing walls at Hyland Medical.

• Fixed third-person recoil animation for the M1911 and Revolver.

• Fixed the networth calculator algorithm not factoring in some item quantities.

• Fixed vehicle impacts doing too much damage to NPCs.

• Fixed some missing fonts.

Thanks for your patience, everyone. For future updates, I'm only going to announce a release date once I'm certain I'll actually be able to deliver on time. I've been in a self-inflicted crunch for the past couple of weeks, which has probably compromised my productivity and motivation quite a bit. Going forward, I'm going to try to keep in mind that early access is a marathon, not a sprint. The final quality of the game is what really matters, and I intend to deliver on that to the absolute best of my ability.

Cheers,

Tyler