[p]Your intergalactic espionage mission is kicking into overdrive… And as every lifeform knows, efficiency is key! Let’s buckle up for automation! This means less chores, higher sales, and more time to run extremely invasive human research. [/p][p] [/p][p]Watching so many of you play Roadside Research has been an absolute blast (especially with over 400,000 copies sold in just the first month of Early Access)! Thanks to your support, we’ve already been able to improve the game so much in such a short time and seeing it featured in this month's Steam Top Releases truly feels out of this world. [/p][p] [/p]

What’s new: Summary of the automation update

[p]As promised, the update will include lots of features that you have been asking for! Plus, the new partial automation will pump up the fun especially for solo and duo players (you can turn these upgrades on and off anytime).[/p][p] [/p]

Here are the highlights:

• [p]The new "Automatic Surface Scrubber” cleaning robot helps you keep your gas station orderly and goop-free!
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• [p]Customers can now pay for their groceries at the new self-scan cash register, though assistance from a superior lifeform like you may still be required. [/p][p][/p]
• [p]A new self-service pump upgrade can now be unlocked. Observe as humans struggle with basic liquid transfer protocols. [/p][p][/p]

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Patch notes for the 1st major update – March 19th

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New content:

• [p]Added a cleaning robot as an automation to keep your gas station tidy. It cleans goop, dirt, toilets, the cash register and the pumps! This little robot might break down from time to time and it's up to you to fix it. Buy it for Research Points and select it in the construction menu! [/p]
• [p]Added a self-scan cash register placeable as an automation check-out for customers in your store. Occasionally, there will be some low IQ humans that will need help scanning their items. [/p]
• [p]Added an unlockable, automated gas pump to let the machine tank for the customers. The upgrade is placed automatically on the pumps and services both sides of the pump. You can turn it on and off anytime! [/p]
• [p]Added 12 new products and 1 new shelf type. Humans desire frozen things! We think they will love these processed food abominations! [/p]
• [p]Added an extra shop expansion (more storage options coming soon)! [/p]
• [p]New poster decorations [/p]
• [p]New plant decorations [/p]
• [p]Various bug fixes [/p]

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Improvements and fixes based on community requests:

• [p]Made the bounds for the shelves smaller. [/p]
• [p]Added the functionality to edit prices for all products at once on the alien screen. [/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the lid of the replicator machine did not close for clients. [/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where a pump customer would not get out of the car. [/p]
• [p]Added value ramping to movement with joystick input. [/p]
• [p]Added the ability to transfer items between boxes. [/p]
• [p]Fixed some pants and tops having the same name on the customization screen. [/p]
• [p]The camera can now be rotated while emoting. [/p]
• [p]Emotes can be cancelled. [/p]
• [p]Added the option to turn off or change upscalers. [/p]
• [p]Added the option to change resolution scaling (upscaler quality levels). [/p]
• [p]Added the option to turn off or change Anti-Aliasing. [/p]
• [p]Clearer indication when fuel is empty. [/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the store would not open if it was opened by the client. [/p]

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The agents got a bit of rework too, to make it clearer what they are doing and why they are doing it:

• [p]Agents' behavior now always follows the current suspicion level. [/p]
• [p]If an interrogation is ongoing, it will stop the moment the hunt level is reached, and agents will start hunting you. [/p]
• [p]No more instant interrogation when something suspicious is discovered (unless the increase in suspicion triggered the interrogation level). [/p]
• [p]Knocking over an agent increases the suspicion to max instead of just triggering a hunt manually. [/p]
• [p]Failing an interrogation increases the suspicion to max instead of just making the interrogator hunt the interrogated player. [/p]
• [p]If an interrogation is successful, the suspicion decrease only applies when they leave. [/p]
• [p]New notification appears when suspicion increases while agents are visiting, explaining what caused it. [/p]

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Other fixes:

• [p]All fridges now complete the “Goop best served cold” quest, not just the small fridge. [/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where agent music would not stop when returning to the main menu. [/p]
• [p]Added death and respawn musical queue sounds. [/p]
• [p]NPCs will now get hit by cars as well (haha)! [/p]
• [p]Added cosmetic delivery boxes to the truck when multiple boxes are ordered. [/p]
• [p]Dirt is now visible at the pumps. [/p]
• [p]Added highlights to the selected gas type on the gas pumps both on the screen and the buttons. [/p]
• [p]Optimized the way custom masks are saved. [/p]
• [p]Added ambient music to be present in the game. [/p]
• [p]Added slider to control ambient music separately from the radio. [/p]
• [p]Agents now spawn with a tool in hand linked to their level of alertness. [/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where moving suspicion reducing alien tech immediately affected the suspicion stat. [/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where not all clients would hear the bonk SFX when throwing items at NPCs. [/p]
• [p]Updated alien placeable images in the construction menu to feature a green background. [/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where trash would spawn in the air and keep falling through the ground. [/p]
• [p]Changed the way NPCs move in queues to make them rotate to the cash register, rather than looking at the doorway. [/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where the shop basket UI wouldn’t properly reset when the delivery truck left. [/p]
• [p]Made placeable objects spawn facing the closest cardinal direction. [/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the replication animation of the Replicator machine can only be observed by one user at a time. [/p]
• [p]Tweaked the satisfaction bubble. [/p]
• [p]Restructured the layout of the upgrade tree to fit the new unlocks. [/p]
• [p]Fixed missing triangle in NPCs head. [/p]
• [p]Fixed the missing sound from notifications, as well as their animation not playing every time. [/p]
• [p]No more suspicion decreases during agent raids. [/p]
• [p]Delivery truck doors now open correctly for the client in case of late joining. [/p]
• [p]…and many more… [/p]

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Extra: Upgraded connectivity

[p]To decrease lag and connectivity issues, we add more STUN/ NAT servers to our infrastructure. This means perfectly timed agent-stunning and zero excuses. [/p][p] [/p][p] [/p]

What’s coming next?

[p]We are carefully monitoring all transmissions about the game as this helps us figure out our next steps in making it even better! Your feedback has been very helpful, and we appreciate every idea, forum post, and review. Based on this, here are some features that are already on our radar and currently being addressed: [/p]

• [p]Crossplay: as this one is very high in demand, we’re already working on implementing it! [/p]
• [p]More alien stuff: there’s more to alien life than goopin’ all day and all night! More alien-related actions and items are in the making. [/p]

[p] [/p][p]As you can see on the roadmap, we have been able to update the game faster than we initially calculated! Plus, there are still lots of other fun extras are scheduled to further upgrade our totally legitimate gas station into a top-tier human research lab. [/p][p] [/p][p]How do you like the update and what automation are you going to add first? Let us know on Discord! [/p]