Member Behind the Mod: Finkone

Police Radio is a modification for GTA V that enhances gameplay while playing LSPDFR.  It allows users to request coroner services, K9 assistance at traffic stops, check licence plates on vehicles and many other services that amplify the police simulator.  Finkone a member of the community since December 31, 2012, has worked on previous modifications not only in the GTA V universe but also in IV.  Some of his work includes Ticket Time, Backup Callout and even the simple Turn Tires modification all featured in the GTA IV download section of LCPDFR.

Q. Hello Finkone, when did you first really join the community?

A. I "officially" joined the community on 31 DEC 2012, however, I did lurk a lot before joining.

Q. Are there any other hobbies you enjoy in your free time away from LCPDFR?

A. My other hobbies - of course consist of learning to code (Self Taught),Shooting Firearms, going for runs, camping, and other man like stuff.  Gotta love them camp fires.

Q. What got you into “scripting”?

A. Well, I scripted for awhile, for other games, and for personal use.  If you want to know what got me into scripting for LCPDFR, I took a long break from it (just playing it).  When I came back, I saw people were still using the same scripts.  It felt stagnant and I didn't like seeing LCPDFR in that state.  All the big script guys just left, moved on, or disappeared.  I decided I wanted to step outside of Unity and other engines I've toyed with and make the big-boy leap into Windows Visual Studio.  LtFlash was a “MAJOR” part in getting me started when it came to modding for LCPDFR, and it's because of him that I kept going.  Once I got comfortable in the LCPDFR API / ScriptHook - it turned into this addiction.  I started small as I think everyone should, a simple stop sticks script.  Then I started to step things up and ended up making one of the larger scripts (TicketTime) - which most of the realistic (role playing) players loved.  

Q. How long have you been working on Police Radio?

A. Hmm, off hand (because i've been a bit lazy lately) I'd say since the release of LSPDFR 0.1.  Months.  At least 90 hours have been put into it here and there so far.  I don't keep track, it's just a rough estimate.

Q. What inspired you to create Police Radio?

A. PoliceHelper by Abraxas from LCPDFR inspired me to make Police Radio.  I loved PoliceHelper, and used it every game session I had.  It was that type of tool, that people just have to have, that I wanted to make and get out there in a timely manner.  I want LSPDFR to be the replacement for LCPDFR, and to do that it needed depth.  I didn't like the method that PoliceHelper was done as however - it was a phone.  I decided to make it in a more integrated approach, and wanted to keep it controller friendly, a Police Radio seemed more applicable in this situation.  It started out as a Plate Checker, which at the time I had no intentions of going further... then I got annoyed, when the chase was done, the shootout was over, or whatever for that given situation, that was it... because it bugged me so much I started coding a coroner right away, and Tow truck as well... before I knew it I was expanding on a simple script that  gained high demand within the community.  I listen to what everyone says in regards to it evolving - even the “negative nancys” - and just try to go forward from there.

Q. What was the biggest challenge you came across in development of Police Radio?

A. I'd say that currently the challenge I face with Police Radio is simply that it’s ever growing, and because of that, it's literally 8 or 9 mods that are stuffed into one mod.  Sometimes it can be hard to set the task for the day of what to improve.  Maybe someone reported a nasty little bug in Coroner, or I wanted to sit down and improve the GUI, or work on simply adding more and worry about polish later... all these things can be rough to balance in terms of keeping a mod moving forward, additionally people that don't read the ReadMe... *sad face*

Q. Are you working on any other projects?

A. I always keep a script I "toy with" on the side.  I've got several other large ideas and look forward to taking a break from Police Radio.  I might take  my first break from it soon, just a few months to make something else, and see what I can do on the creative side - but don't panic people, I'll always be updating it to work with LSPDFR/RageHook to the best of my ability.  At its heart, I'm not creating anything with Police Radio - I'm simply trying to make the most critical parts of PoliceHelper for GTA V/LSPDFR.  When people ask me if they can remake something I made in the past for LSPDFR, I don't mind, but I always reply with "It's one thing to know how to code, but another to be creative with that code." ... most the time they get insulted

Q. Lastly is there anyone you’d like to thank for the development of Police Radio?

A. The list is way too long to thank everyone.  There are a lot of people I'd like to thank.  MulleDK19, LMS, and of course Sam are at the top of that list.  Without the hard work of MulleDK19, and LMS in regards to RageHook, LSPDFR would just be a idea, beyond that - they have a very high skill level in coding, and are what makes LSPDFR possible... because we don't want something this complex running on the .NET thing out there.. ;)  I'd like to thank DCP1293, SteveTrackBoyz55, Jeff Favignano, and Bay Area Buggs.  People often ask why I pick reliable YouTubers to display my work, and for the most part it's opposite of the reasons they think of.  I rarely tell them how to use it, or what to do with it - and often I catch them complaining about how something works in their videos (Jeff towing cars with trailers attached, Buggs pissing off the K9 dog as a few examples), and this helps me adjust the code accordingly to make it handle more situations I didn't think about.  The testing group I use often invests a lot of time in playing with weak or broken code, which allows me to keep moving forward, while reading effective notes from them and making adjustments, so a LARGE thanks goes out to them.

Well that is all for the first issue of Member Behind the Mod.  I’d like to thank Finkone for taking the time for this interview, and I truly hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know Finkone and his Police Radio.  Next time you’re starting up LSPDFR be sure to give his modification a try!