LSPDFR 0.4 - Ambience

This is the fifth and final part of our LSPDFR 0.4 Preview Series.  Not caught up yet?  Check out the rest of this series here: https://www.lcpdfr.com/forums/forum/880-news-updates/

 

One of the things we like most about developing new versions of LSPDFR is that with each version we have the opportunity not only to work on major new features, but also the smaller details that our mods have come to be known for over the years.  Of course, 0.4 is no different in this regard and a lot has obviously changed since the early days of LSPDFR, offering us with a bunch of new ways to focus our attention to detail.

 

More Realism

 

Getting straight to the point, a significant change that we're making in 0.4 relates to how the player is perceived within the game's world.  Now, while this obviously isn't a sexy, new, video-worthy showstopper of a feature, it is nonetheless an important development behind-the-scenes - one that we think, despite its subtlety, will have a positive impact on your gameplay.

 

In 0.4, you'll notice that while on duty, other characters within the world will treat and react to you differently.  As GTA V was never a game about being a cop, it's easily understandable that when you quite simplistically do become a cop - while keeping the underlying theme of the game - there's going to be things that don't feel quite right.  You might notice, for example, that other characters within the world are overly aggressive towards you, itching for a fight at the slightest confrontation, or sometimes in the absence of any confrontation at all.  Conversely, the opposite is often true where the most banal or routine encounter can send people hurrying away in abject panic.  Both of these reactions are problematic as people generally don't just spontaneously approach a cop and proceed to cuss them out, nor do they begin hysterically fleeing at the sight of a stun gun. 

 

 

Stun gun hysteria and stampedes no longer, LSPDFR 0.4 introduces more 'contemporary' reactions, like everyone summoning their inner videographer.

 

These adjustments to the game's core apply in a number of other cases too, of course.  We thought it was pretty unlikely that the typical reaction to a police officer standing in front of someone's car would be for the driver to flip them off, and then - as if that wasn't enough - to then run them over for good measure.  Likewise, it was always pretty ridiculous that you can't enter another police officer's car as a passenger without them freaking out and thinking that you're trying to steal it.  All of these behaviors have been adjusted, and we think that you'll feel far more like an actual cop within the world - rather than just a retired bank robber dressing up with a badge.

 

And yes, while there are a number of mods out there that can help to mitigate many of the scenarios I've described above, they don't really offer a comprehensive and consistent solution simply due to technical restraints.  Our changes are at a much lower level and offer us a higher degree of control on a per-character basis.  This is great for flexibility and performance, and we think you'll really notice the difference when out and about on patrols.

 

New Interaction Menu

 

Sticking with the topic of small detail, increasing the level of interaction in LSPDFR is something that's very important to us - especially with the new focus on character in LSPDFR 0.4.  Indeed, we previously showed off a number of new interaction options that will be available during vehicle pursuits, but we've also taken the time to make big improvements to the more general Interaction Menu, offering you most of the features currently available in GTA Online, but with an LSPDFR twist.  Among the changes to the Interaction Menu are "quality of life" improvements like being able to quickly waypoint the nearest police station, as well as additions like new dialogue, actions and the ability to set your character's mood.

 

Similarly, you can now also change the way that your character walks, but it doesn't quite stop there as in keeping with the general idea we outlined above of making the game feel more suited towards being a cop, there's a special "Cop" walk style that not only makes your character walk around like an officer, but also completely replaces their generic "idle" animations - subtle movements that your character makes while stationary - with more appropriate police styled ones.

 

 

The more feature-complete Interaction Menu in LSPDFR 0.4 enhances your control, allowing for greater immersion.

 

Additionally, we've carried over this level of detail to the Police Radio options too, replacing the static animation that currently plays in this menu with a number of different options that can be cycled between instead, including a nifty new LAPD style handheld radio (as well as the option to play no animation at all).  Again, this is a small detail, but we hope that the enhanced level of immersion will be welcomed - especially if playing as an FIB Agent and communicating via an earpiece instead of a shoulder mic, for example.

 

 

New technology in LSPDFR 0.4 produces incredibly lifelike scenes - you can freely move while using the police radio without any animation issues like arms being locked in place, etc.

 

Finally, still on the topic of detail, we've topped things off by adding a proper police flashlight to LSPDFR 0.4.  Yes, we know that there's a bunch of ways to use a flashlight currently whether it be the vanilla one that looks like it's straight out of a horror movie, or through other mods which suffer from animation problems, but ours is a little different.

 

Already alluded to in the first preview we gave of LSPDFR 0.4, our flashlight is properly held above the head and can be used both by the player and other NPC officers.  It doesn't affect player movement, and you can freely walk, run, sprint, etc. while still holding the light.  If enabled, equipping it is a seamless process too - simply select the flashlight from the weapon wheel and LSPDFR will take care of the rest.

 

 

The new flashlight in LSPDFR 0.4 tops off our efforts to bring more immersion and realism to the mod.

 

Ambient Crime

 

In our previous post detailing some of the technology behind LSPDFR 0.4, we mentioned that we had added Scenarios to 0.4 - scripted events that could take place during pursuits and traffic stops.  Similarly, we also noted that 0.4 introduces a new Crime System, capable of actually recognizing crimes that take place in the game world and providing functionality for the player to get involved by reporting these.   Expanding upon this idea, we wanted to make sure that we fully realised the ambient world that Grand Theft Auto V provides, and to do this we've manipulated a couple of lesser-used features within the original game.

 

In the normal game, the player will sometimes be confronted by other characters within the world as a result of the agitation system built into the game which allows NPCs to insult or shove the player, for example.  In LSPDFR 0.4, as a result of some research by @LMS,  we've now been able to implement the same system, but for NPCs instead.  This means that NPCs can become agitated with each other, begin trading insults, get into angry shouting matches, or eventually, physical confrontations.  Plus, as these are actually 'legitimate' game events, other characters nearby will react appropriately, which also ties in really nicely with the Crime System and provides the player with something other to do than respond to dispatches or pull over vehicles - there's now hopefully much more actually happening within the world and consequently, more things for the player to notice while on patrol.

 

 

Manipulating the game's agitation system results in a much richer world - seen here are two NPCs engaging in a spontaneous confrontation.

 

Note that screenshots show LSPDFR player and non-player-characters wearing some outfits from EUP - which is entirely optional - special thanks to @Alex_Ashfold for his collaboration with us and for providing a development copy of EUP 8.0.

 

Thanks for reading the preview.  We appreciate your patience as we put the finishing touches on LSPDFR 0.4 and hope to have more news soon.

With every update, the hype intensifies further. It's so awesome reading about all these improvements the team have made - thank you for all the effort and hard work you've put into this, I'm pretty sure we'll be blown away by the end results. 😮