= Mod system
We have started work on much better mod support within the game
All mods should be installed in your AppSaveFolder/PrisonArchitect/mods/
They will then show up in a new Mods interface (Main menu -> Extras -> Mods)
You can activate and deactivate as many mods at once as you wish
There are several types of mod:
Graphical / Presentation : Updates the graphics and sounds in the game
Translations : Translates the game into languages other than English
Scenarios : Full story driven chapters, similar to our Death Row introduction
Content : Adds items to the sandbox or changes the behaviour of items, eg Grants mods which add grants
All mods must have a manifest.txt which details the title, author, version etc
And mods should come with a thumbnail.png image which will act as a graphical preview
For a list of all existing mods: http://devwiki.introversion.co.uk/pa/index.php/Mods
For technical details on how to create a mod : http://devwiki.introversion.co.uk/pa/index.php/Modding
You must register your purchase to gain access to the wiki.
If you haven't registered yet, go here: http://www.introversion.co.uk/prisonarchitect/register
= Performance optimisations continued
The game now runs much faster, especially on Windows/PC
Lots of unneccesary memory copying has been optimised out. Makes a big difference on Windows particularly.
Long running prisons (100+ days) sometimes experienced extreme slowdown due to the list of all contraband
Fixed a bug that caused the building of foundations to become very slow and laggy on large maps
The lighting system has been multithreaded, freeing up much CPU time
Nb. The lighting system now updates at 20hz (previously 4hz), so changes in light happen quicker as well
= Staff exhaustion
All staff now become tired as they work
Their energy level is rendered as a green bar in their nameplate (only shown when less than 33%)
When they become exhausted they will stop work for a while to recover
You can now build a Staff Room, and exhausted staff will go there in preference
Staff resting in a Staff Room will recover energy much faster, and feel more rested
NOTE: Guard dogs still rest in the Kennels
- You will now receive a different federal grant for each category of prisoner:
Minimum security prisoner : $50 per day
Normal security prisoner : $100 per day
Maximum security prisoner : $150 per day
Note: Previously you received $100 per prisoner regardless of category
- New clock speed option : very fast. Runs the game at 5x speed. (Previous fastest speed was 2x)
- The Deployment view is now unlocked by the Chief.
You can then research Deployment to attach guards to stations, or Patrols to attach guards to patrols
This fixes the issue that you could unlock Patrols before you had access to the Deployment screen.
- You can now scroll by pushing the mouse to the edge of the screen
- The Contraband view now has a sub-toolbar with display options:
Dangers Shows all the locations around your prison that contraband could be stolen from
24 hours Shows all contraband confiscated in the last 24 hours
7 days Shows all contraband confiscated in the last 7 days
All time Shows all contraband confiscated in the history of your jail
In addition, all recovered contraband icons are colour coded:
Red = Weapon, Blue = tools, Green = narcotics
Several main menu items have been moved into a new Extras sub menu:
Names in the game
Steam workshop
Mods
Timelapse
Fixed: Many types of irrelevent equipment will no longer be smuggled into your prison
eg Mop, Rake, Hose, Leash etc
- Fixed: Power lines were rendered without colour once you'd built more than four power stations
- Fixed: Not all of the Complaints thought bubbles were displaying correctly
- Fixed: Some invalid jobs would appear at the top left of the map as a price