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[Prison Architect] ... DOT COM

EchoEcho ski-bapba-dapModerator mod
edited September 2012 in Games and Technology
So you can now buy your way into the alpha!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDDzSOS0vzc

Prison Architect is inspired by Theme Hospital, Dungeon Keeper and Dwarf Fortress, where you build and manage your prison, provide power and water to your facilities, manage your finance, deal with needs and requirements to keep your prison population under control, and ogle those hot sweaty bodies in the shower wait did I type that out loud

If you feel you have too much money, you can also get your mugshot in the game! This is why we will soon have a future with Notch running around in every damn game ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7hCerUHLEA

Alpha available now, $30 and up.

Less sucky OP to follow.

Echo on
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    MalkorMalkor Registered User regular
    This definitely looks like something I'd be interested in. Theme Hospital and Dungeon Keeper?

    I'm down!

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    TheKoolEagleTheKoolEagle Registered User regular
    oh jesus why did i look at this, now i must own it in all its buggy glory!

    honestly I love how the trailer pokes fun at the game being in alpha

    uNMAGLm.png Mon-Fri 8:30 PM CST - 11:30 PM CST
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    EchoEcho ski-bap ba-dapModerator mod
    Follow them on twitter. I love their bug of the day posts.

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    DrakeDrake Edgelord Trash Below the ecliptic plane.Registered User regular
    edited September 2012
    Yay! I always look forward to new stuff from Introversion.

    This is remarkably like an idea I had for a game, but since I'll most likely never make a game it's like they are doing it just for me!

    Drake on
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    EchoEcho ski-bap ba-dapModerator mod
    Oh, and I remembered this presentation where they talk about why they decided to scrap their other game and work on Prison Architect instead. Interesting stuff.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyKtNERXtdU

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    TheKoolEagleTheKoolEagle Registered User regular
    Drake wrote: »
    Yay! I always look forward to new stuff from Introversion.

    This is remarkably like an idea I had for a game, but since I'll most likely never make a game it's like they are doing it just for me!

    Its cool, Toady totally stole Dwarf fortress from me when I was like 10, after I read the hobbit I told myself it would be fucking awesome to make a game where you are a dwarf and you build a super awesome dwarf city in a mountain! Of course my version was also an mmo but I digress, it is awesome to have someone make a game you had an idea for (as long as you aren't currently developing it yourself)

    uNMAGLm.png Mon-Fri 8:30 PM CST - 11:30 PM CST
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    MetallikatMetallikat Registered User regular
    So, I want to throw my money at these guys, but PayPal.. won't let me. It literally won't accept my payment for some reason, and tells me to return to the merchant's website and try paying via a different method. That's the first time in my entire use of PayPal that I've ever had that happen.

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    DrakeDrake Edgelord Trash Below the ecliptic plane.Registered User regular
    For some reason beyond my understanding Paypal refuses my debit card. So fuck em.

    Also seeing that video saddens me that Subversion is being abandoned. I get why they had to do it, but man that's a great idea for a game.

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    wobblyheadedbobwobblyheadedbob Registered User regular
    edited September 2012
    Oh god I am totally tempted. I remember back in high school borrowing my step dad's credit card and buying Uplink. They sent a physical copy with that shiny black code card and the secret message inside the cd case or something?

    Anyway, I need impressions! How incomplete is it?

    wobblyheadedbob on
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    SurikoSuriko AustraliaRegistered User regular
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    wobblyheadedbobwobblyheadedbob Registered User regular
    Ah screw it. I bought it. I love management games and Dungeon Keeper. Downloading!

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    RizziRizzi Sydney, Australia.Registered User regular
    Heh, this looks pretty cool.
    Waiting for impressions before I buy it though.

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    TaminTamin Registered User regular
    Watched the video Echo posted. At the 17-minute mark, I paused it and thought about using that concept to make a Mission Impossible game. Imagine my surprise when I resumed it...

    I think he had two major problems.
    The first was giving the player direct control over the team, and apparently giving every team member the same toolbox. Spend all that time on an AI system and then giving the player direct control? Ew.

    The second was the scale - restricting an IMF team to a single city limits the locations you can feasibly visit and is a creative dead-end. That is, you're left thinking, "They can rob a bank, or ... a different bank?".

    Separate the toolbox into discrete skill sets. Set up classes that are good with certain skill sets. Have more classes unlocked as the game progresses (perhaps hiring people - a vision comes: a newspaper reporting on a scandal which provides the player the opportunity to recruit a model). I'd also give each recruit a personality, including traits like "adaptable" or "social", which allows them to respond to random events within the mission.

    The "game" is looking over blueprints, determining which gadgets are necessary, and assigning objectives to the AI-controlled team. Then you push a button and the game renders the mission as you've described it - I kind of see 5 (or "team-size") monitors, each showing a different team member as they try to complete their objective.

    Success of a mission is on a graded scale, with the higher ranks being reached by finding the best solution (fewest gadgets, best objective-team member match-up, no kills). I'd imagine an 'S' rank would provide something, but I'm drawing a blank on what.
    Maybe more interesting / harder missions. Permadeath, disavowing, and capturing are negative consequences for planning a mission badly.

    (I'm actually a huge fan of the original Mission Impossible. Does it show?)
    /mini-rant over

    ...

    Prison Architect looks cool.

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    LalaboxLalabox Registered User regular
    Introversion were working on a game like that, but then they saw monaco, and saw that someone else was doing it an a way that was a lot more enjoyable than what they were doing. Basically, they said that they couldn't make it so fun. But it was a team game all about heists.

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    MechMantisMechMantis Registered User regular
    I would have liked to see Subversion turn into a cyberpunk Thief game.

    But this looks pretty cool, too.

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    DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    Wait, is there a fantasy theme to this, or is it just going to depress the hell out of me with its theme based on the worst thing about America?

    What is this I don't even.
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    AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    I watched that 47 minute video. I will now be buying this game at a hugely inflated price.

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
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    BYToadyBYToady Registered User regular
    All I know is that I'm going to look for ways of flooding it all with lava.

    Battletag BYToady#1454
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    AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    BYToady wrote: »
    All I know is that I'm going to look for ways of flooding it all with lava.

    I'm really, REALLY hoping that the Blues Brothers will show up. Not to mention Frank Oz. You know, just one day, a beat up old Ford pulls up out front and one prisoner exits to have a heart-felt hug with another, while both are wearing shades.


    ... Yup. This game better offer the opportunity to recreate every great Prison movie/scene. Including The Rock. ESPECIALLY the Rock.

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
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    SurikoSuriko AustraliaRegistered User regular
    edited September 2012
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    Wait, is there a fantasy theme to this, or is it just going to depress the hell out of me with its theme based on the worst thing about America?

    Watch that long video, starting at 35:25. They address this.

    Basically they do plan to touch on the relevant issues, but it doesn't look like it's going to be a particuarly deep look at them. It's also told from a distinctly UK perspective, for what it's worth.

    Edit: Same sound designer as Defcon? Nice. I loved the music direction of that game.

    Suriko on
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    Mr RayMr Ray Sarcasm sphereRegistered User regular
    Gah, so many great games I want coming out soon, or in alpha or in beta but none actually out for really reals. I'm very much wary of the term "alpha" now, I think I'll wait until this can be reasonably called a beta at least.

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    BYToadyBYToady Registered User regular
    Maybe this game is secretly a program like FoldIT, using the massive processing potential of the public to produce the best, most efficient, most profitable prison ever.

    Battletag BYToady#1454
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    wobblyheadedbobwobblyheadedbob Registered User regular
    edited September 2012
    I have recorded my first Let's Play ever. For some reason Youtube put up a silent version of the video right after the normal one. So even though it says 40 mins long or so it is only half that. Being by first Let's Play I learned a few things and next time will definitely be better.

    wobblyheadedbob on
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    bamjobamjo Registered User regular
    Thanks for recording that, I'm looking forward to seeing more. I will probably have to get this game, it looks like too much fun. Does the alpha come with any kind of documentation or is it completely trial and error to figure out what to do?

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    BasilBasil Registered User regular
    edited September 2012
    Hyphen Architect looks pretty adorable.

    -Oh my gosh wobbly! Hahahaha! What happens at the end there is gold.

    Basil on
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    AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    Alpha just means that features aren't locked yet. Beta is features locked, final bug passes are being run.

    I have no problem with indy games being in alpha for a long time, as long as they are playable.


    Also: Reading the twitter account and coming across a shout-out to the "PA forums" confused the hell out of me.

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
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    wobblyheadedbobwobblyheadedbob Registered User regular
    bamjo wrote: »
    Thanks for recording that, I'm looking forward to seeing more. I will probably have to get this game, it looks like too much fun. Does the alpha come with any kind of documentation or is it completely trial and error to figure out what to do?

    It's pretty trial and error. There is a community wiki but it is in infancy. The annoying thing is that not all the items in the game work yet but it is not always obvious which ones or even what they're supposed to do when working correctly. Hopefully it'll come along quickly.


    Basil wrote: »
    Hyphen Architect looks pretty adorable.

    -Oh my gosh wobbly! Hahahaha! What happens at the end there is gold.

    Yeah, wait until you see part two. The shit hits the fan fairly quickly.

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    FoomyFoomy Registered User regular
    damn you @wobblyheadedbob I was going to hold off on buying this for a little bit, but your LP made it look good even in it's current state.

    now I have to go spend $30.

    Steam Profile: FoomyFooms
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    XaviarXaviar Registered User regular
    Wobbly.. If you haven't figured it out yet, the reason they keep building the walls funky in your kitchen and shower is because you are demolishing to make the doorway. Let them build all the walls first, then make the room, then just build the door right on top of the wall without demolishing anything.

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    FoomyFoomy Registered User regular
    edited September 2012
    Been playing the Alpha, it's fun but definitely buggy.

    It's going to be so very awesome in like 6-12 months as all the features are added, and the bugs are worked out.

    Foomy on
    Steam Profile: FoomyFooms
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    wobblyheadedbobwobblyheadedbob Registered User regular
    Xaviar wrote: »
    Wobbly.. If you haven't figured it out yet, the reason they keep building the walls funky in your kitchen and shower is because you are demolishing to make the doorway. Let them build all the walls first, then make the room, then just build the door right on top of the wall without demolishing anything.

    That makes sense. I'll probably fix that on my own time. Part two is all recorded and ready. Just got to encode and upload it. So that'll go up tonight after work.

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    bamjobamjo Registered User regular
    edited September 2012
    I broke down and bought this. I made a pretty good first fortress prison using the hard earned knowledge of others (thanks wobblyheadedbob!) and everything seemed to be going smoothly. Then I got called away from the computer, so I brought up the esc menu thinking that would pause the game. When I came back 2 more waves of prisoners had arrived, half my guards/workers/chefs were dead, and the dining hall was covered in blood... oops.

    Observations so far:
    When starting out fences are your friends. They don't cost anything (bug?) so you can secure a perimeter quickly and not worry about the cons legging it right away.

    I am loving how they made the building interface look like blueprints, especially how it shows the dimensions. It looks very nice and clean.

    I wish there was a combat log like in dwarf fortress, so that when the poo hits the fan you can go back and figure out exactly what happened, who stabbed who, etc.

    I encountered a bug where trucks would drop their cargo on the road and items would be marked as inaccessible, so workmen would just mill around doing nothing. An exit and reload fixed the problem.

    bamjo on
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    XaviarXaviar Registered User regular
    bamjo wrote: »
    I encountered a bug where trucks would drop their cargo on the road and items would be marked as inaccessible, so workmen would just mill around doing nothing. An exit and reload fixed the problem.
    I also had this problem. If there isn't too much stuff you can also just click on each individual item, and right click on receiving, and your workmen will hall the items to receiving, and then they'll use them whereever they are supposed to go.

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    Mr RayMr Ray Sarcasm sphereRegistered User regular
    Basil wrote: »
    Hyphen Architect looks pretty adorable.

    -Oh my gosh wobbly! Hahahaha! What happens at the end there is gold.

    Hmm, note to self, my holding cells will need to have four walls.

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    XaviarXaviar Registered User regular
    You may also want to make your holding cell a bit bigger.. In my first game, after I built up my initial bit, I added on an actual cell block with 15 cells, (had 16 prisoners at this point) and the next day they shipped in another 20.

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    wobblyheadedbobwobblyheadedbob Registered User regular
    Mr Ray wrote: »
    Basil wrote: »
    Hyphen Architect looks pretty adorable.

    -Oh my gosh wobbly! Hahahaha! What happens at the end there is gold.

    Hmm, note to self, my holding cells will need to have four walls.

    What? Useless overhead, that's what I say.


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    Gandalf_the_CrazedGandalf_the_Crazed Vigilo ConfidoRegistered User regular
    So I just played through the introduction to this.

    That...was depressing as hell.

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    wobblyheadedbobwobblyheadedbob Registered User regular
    edited September 2012
    Still messing with encoding and I don't know why it didn't upload in HD. But I'm tired and don't feel like tweaking it any more. Anyway here's Part 2!

    This was recorded almost directly after the first one so I haven't taken any of your suggestions yet. Next one will be recorded tomorrow and I have big plans. BIG PLANS!

    EDIT: Youtube is also still doing that thing where it uploads it normally then puts a silent version afterwards. :-/

    wobblyheadedbob on
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    BasilBasil Registered User regular
    This is hilarious. <3 Run little prisoners! Escape the evil guards!

    No, no prisoners, noooooo. Oh that had to hurt. Poor bastards.

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    FoomyFoomy Registered User regular
    edited September 2012
    so after playing a few games to try out different layouts, I'm finding that something like a prison camp style works the best.
    You cover the border of the map with a chain link fence, and then build separate buildings for each purpose, ie. a building with just cell blocks, one with just showers, one for a holding cell, etc.
    This way you don't run into as many problems with foundations getting wonky or bugged, it's easier to expand, and once you get the clone tool, if you need more of something you just copy the old building.

    Foomy on
    Steam Profile: FoomyFooms
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