ROUGH JUSTICE: ’84 DEVLOG

We’ve been busy these past few weeks and we have another devlog for you showcasing the new features and mechanics that we’re currently implementing. 

CONTRACT COUNT

For now, we have settled on having 3 Tier 1, 3 Tier 2, and 3 Tier 3 security contracts when the game starts. This will indubitably change for the demo, but for testing purposes, it’s a great benchmark to assess the overall difficulty of the various tiers. As we went over in our last video, contract tiers indicate the difficulty level of the tier. 1 being easy, 2 being moderate and 3 being hard.

TIER DIFFERENTIATION

One of the major changes in regards to contract tiers, especially with this new update, is that Tier 1 contracts auto-repopulate. This gives the player the opportunity to always have something to do, even though it may be low level. 

In order to take on Tier 2 & 3 contracts after the initial batch is completed (or have been removed, for lack of inaction on the player’s part) you’ll have to purchase more. 

This can presently be done in the Agency. You will have to pay, either using money or reputation to unlock batches of contracts. Once you have gained enough reputation you can unlock Night Shift contracts.

DAILY CONTRACTS

Don’t want to “pay to play”? No worries, we got you covered. As mentioned, only a certain number of contracts are available at the start of the game, once the Tier 2 and Tier 3 are gone, you’ll have to purchase new ones, and only have Tier 1 contracts available. 

Fresh contracts spawn at 6 am, 9 pm auto spawning stops.

MORAL DECISION CONTRACTS

We’re very excited about this new change! We have started to add moral decision contracts. Initially, they may seem like any other normal contract, in which your agents are required to do either a stat roll or a puzzle, but the player is then presented with a binary choice of how to proceed. These unique contracts have a percentage chance of dropping coveted intel points. 

24/7 CONTRACTS

This is a new type of contract that we’ve added since the last update. In total there are 20 24/7 contracts and on any given day 3 of them will be on the map. These contracts can be repeated ad nauseum throughout the day. They are very direct contracts and the goal or rather challenge, be it a puzzle or a stat roll is clearly indicated in the contract title.

The purpose of these contracts is for players to at least be able to do something with their agents and hopefully earn a bit of money. These contracts are not lucrative, but they are a steady constant throughout the day. 

CONTRACT TIER COLOR

Each contract tier has an associated color now. This may or may not change, however we feel as if it is a quality of life mechanic that allows you to easily see the overview of the presently available contract tiers. 

EQUIPMENT DURING DECISION

This has been a feature that many people have requested which we have now since implemented. Previously when making a decision you were presented with two options, and you would see which stat would be involved in the decision, however you were unable to click on the gear that the agent presently had. With this added mechanic, the choice is a lot more obvious. 

REPUTATION LOSS

When you fail a contract not only do you lose money but you also lose reputation now, at least for Tier 2 and Tier 3 contracts. The logic behind losing money is the overhead costs ensued by your agent’s inability to successfully complete the contract, requiring the client to get someone else to do it. The loss of reputation is simply an added malus, as failing contracts does not put your agency in good standing. 

• Reputation loss implemented for failed contracts
• Range of potential minimum/maximum for gain or loss implemented

SHOP

Implemented warning/confirmation screen

Tier indication of shop item

AGENTS

• Can now refresh the list of currently available agents for the cost of 1 reputation.
• Can now unlock next tier agents
• Agent Cards now show Agent Tiers.
•  Hirable agents pool increased from 3 -> 5.
• Agent Roster Slots increased from 3-5
• Refreshing returning hirable agents doesn’t refresh gear, they keep their old gear.

AGENCY

• Office slider menu re-implemented.
• Hire new agents
• Unlock new contracts

ECONOMY

The 3rd pass for economy balancing has been completed, this includes the cost of:

• Agents
• Gear
• Agent Tiers

CHEAT CODES

In order to speed up the testing and bug fixing at this present stage, as well as to work on the balancing, we have implemented cheat codes. Whether or not we accidentally forget to remove them for our initial public build remains to be seen, however having this extra feature has allowed us to make significant progress with testing and balancing so far.

 INFORMANTS

We are currently working on the implementation of informants. Informants provide the player with daily goals that the player can aim for. These are not required, however, if informant directives are met within the allocated time frame, then the player reaps the rewards provided by the informant. 

This will also eventually be used for story progression. One key feature that we are aiming for is no forced story progression. Story elements – or as they are referred to in-game as “Operations” will be shown in a similar fashion as to standardized directives from informants. The player can choose when to do them.

WRAP-UP

These are just some of the many mechanics that we’re currently working on. So, thanks for watching and make sure to wishlist Rough Justice:’84 and join our discord to stay up to date on our development progress.