Fellow Officers,
one of the most anticipated additions to Police Simulator is coming soon: Introducing The Self-Defense Update, launching September 17 across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox!
This update contains:
🔫 Gun Usage
🔦 Spotlights as Gadgets
🔊 Radio Chatter in the background
🔄️ Swapping Uniforms in the Trunk
... and more!
Even better: The Open Beta starts... now! Let's take a closer look 👇
How do I join the Open Beta?
But first, let's get the most important details out of your way: You want to try out the update before it releases? No worries, it's incredibly simple to join:
Open Steam and go to your Library
Right-click on Police Simulator: Patrol Officers
Click Properties
Select the Betas tab
Choose "Open_Beta" from the dropdown list
Steam will now download the update. Once complete, you’re in! Afterwards, you can download the game to try out Update 19.0!
If you encounter any issues, please share them in the #police-beta-chat channel on our Discord. You can also use our dedicated Beta Forums.
What's included in The Self-Defense Update?
Well, the name of the update delivers all the fun already: We're finally introducing Gun Usage!
In a recent blog post, we already explained the functionality in quite some detail. If you haven't had the chance to look into it, here's a comprehensive rundown!
Right from the very beginning, we envisioned the use of a service weapon as a method of last resort. After all, the officers working in the Brighton Police Department have sworn to serve all citizens – fairly, in alignment with the law, and with justice.
Currently, the service weapon can only be used in a very narrow scope. For example, you are allowed to draw and aim it at car thieves to force them to surrender. Other scenarios usually require different means, such as the stun gun or a swift tackle. Even just aiming at a citizen with your weapon will cause the loss of Conduct Points. In any case, you’ve never been allowed to shoot your weapon.
With Update 19.0, a new level of danger arrives that actually requires the use of your gun, turning it into an useful tool inside your arsenal. Yes, indeed, you’re even allowed to shoot it! The use of your hand gun comes into play once all other forms of de-escalation have been exhausted. Let's explain!
When you approach a criminal, their level of danger is constantly influenced by a randomizer. This may cause some citizens to flee, carry an illegal weapon in their inventory, or trigger other variables. Now, every criminal has a chance to be spawned as a particularly dangerous criminal – leading to a handgun in their inventory and them turning into an armed criminal. The City of Brighton is becoming way more dangerous!
This can happen at any point where a criminal NPC would usually decide to flee: if the randomizer determines that they are at a high criminal level, they may draw their weapon – otherwise, they simply start fleeing. This means: A car thief, a drug dealer, even a wanted NPC can turn into someone drawing a handgun, which will require you to draw your own weapon in return! But they may also just flee, which only requires lighter measures instead.
When an armed criminal draws a weapon, you will be notified by the game – and immediate action must be taken. The NPC will be marked with an outline, indicating the current level of threat:
Yellow Outline: You're aiming at the armed criminal who has drawn their gun. You will now demand them to surrender. If they comply, they will drop their weapon, lie down, and you can handcuff them. If not, you are not yet allowed to shoot – doing so will not end the shift but will cause the loss of CP. It can take some time for the NPC to surrender as they might verbally resist.
Red Outline: The armed criminal refuses to surrender and is now an active threat. You are now allowed to shoot! The criminal has a chance to shoot at the player – but doesn't have to. After every shot you take, they may either turn into an injured NPC or drop their weapon and surrender. If the armed criminal is injured, first aid must be administered and an ambulance must be called for further proceedings.
Please note that you can deactivate the outline in the settings!
As described, you can also be shot by the armed criminal! After a maximum of three hits, you will become critically injured and your shift will automatically end as you need to recover. Act fast and decisively to protect yourself and everyone else!
In addition, the citizens of Brighton may now carry a Concealed Weapons Permit with them. This allows a citizen to actually carry a weapon instead of the previous note that was visible on their ID.
Even more great features!
We're also introducing several other great new features which you have been recommending for a while! One of them is the re-implementation of spotlights – but this time, they're a proper gadget. This means, you can equip them to any car and use them throughout your shift through the gadget wheel, instead of being limited to the Matrix Sign.
We're also implementing Radio Chatter that will be audible in the background of your patrol car. This way, we're providing more ambience and immersion, making the world feel much more alive.
You're outside the precinct but still want to swap your uniform? No problem – this is now possible right from the trunk of your patrol car as a handy shortcut! First, you'll need to choose a pre-set of individual uniforms but afterwards, they're selectable as a set from your trunk!
There’s also a new way to remove vehicles from the street by calling for backup, you’re now able to arrest injured NPCs before they’re taken by EMS, and other helpful changes.
Coming September 17: The Accident Skin Pack!
Stay visible, stay ready – with the Accident Pack, coming September 17! This DLC has everything you need to handle accident scenes confidently. Included are reflective clothing, an optional orange lightbar for your police car, the Multipurpose Responder Vehicle equipped with a bigger trunk for transporting more tools, and police vehicle skins that indicate you're taking care of the accident response.
The Accident Pack will be released as a paid DLC and will be included for free in the Season Pass. If you haven't checked it out yet, we recommend doing so as it's by far the best deal if you want to be prepared for additional content we will release later this year:
Also coming: Three beautiful Uniform Packs!
Bring the style of the US Police Officers to your next shift! We're introducing three absolutely iconic Uniform Pack DLC, each containing a set of different uniforms inspired by actual police forces from the United States.
The East Coast Police Uniform Pack contains 5 uniforms from New York City, New Hampshire, and Fairfax County.
The South Atlantic Police Uniform Pack contains 6 uniforms from Florida, Georgia, and West Virginia.
The Western Police Uniform Pack contains 6 uniforms from Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Austin.
Please note that the Uniform Packs are not part of the Season Pass and must be purchased separately. However, we have created a bundle that will contain all three packs at a discounted price.
The Uniform Packs will also release September 17!
Some final words
That’s all for now, jump into the Open Beta today, and let us know what you think! Thank you so much for your support and stay tuned for what’s next! 💙
And that said, here are today's patch notes:
Changelog – Update 19.0 (Beta)
New Features, Improvements & Content
Added Self-Defense
Added Gun Usage by NPCs
Added Spotlights as Gadgets
Added a feature to change Uniforms from the Patrol Car Trunk
Added additional permits and new weapons
Added radio chatter inside the patrol cars
Bug Fixes
Gameplay
Fixed uniform settings reverting to default after restarting and continuing shift
Stability & Performance
Fixed game momentarily freezing upon entering any shift before resuming normally
NPC & NPV
Fixed injured witnesses in crime scenes can not be interviewed
Fixed Medics trying to walk into slightly injured NPCs
Fixed arrest transport officer not entering the Police Station to retrieve arrested NPC
Fixed arrest transport officer not walking back to their vehicle
Patrol Cars & Gadgets
Fixed blipping uses same sequence as ELS
Graphics & Game World
Fixed towing animation when NPC is handcuffed while vehicle is towed
Fixed dashboard reflections in some cars during first person
Fixed several issues with grass on Highway
Fixed various visual glitches
UI
Adjusted the camera within the garage when changing Stickers to allow for a better preview
Changed Ninja Stars to Throwing Stars
Your Police Simulator Team
Changed depots in open_beta branch