New Citizen is a modern-themed roleplay adventure game set in a vast open world. The game focuses mainly on the player, creating an environment that feels alive and that is constantly moving.
We’ve dedicated approximately three years to crafting this game, with a primary emphasis on establishing a robust foundation for the core framework. Everything, except for art, animation, VFX, and sounds, has been meticulously developed from scratch. Our custom-built interaction/inventory/weapons/core-framework is entirely crafted in-house, utilizing our plugin within the game engine. Although our ambitious project is still a work in progress, I wanted to share a post here to gather opinions on the current state of the project. Our plan is to launch an alpha build on Steam in 2024, marking the commencement of early access. This initial release will serve as a bare-bones base game, laying the groundwork for the exciting journey ahead.
Invite your friends & expand our community →https://discord.gg/NPhbFVSmpd
I have rarely seen modern themed RP games but this looks uniquely fun to experience. I also took a peak at your steam page and “100 players per server” sounds wildly chaotic and full of potential for genuine enjoyment. Do you plan on posting any gameplay to showcase more of how a players actions can have consequences?
PS: “The virtual American dream” goes way to hard and was a great outro for this trailer
When you talk about how to play the game, you mention like 5 options (swat, criminal, doctor or firefighter or farmer). I was like: is that all? Or should a sentence “or hundreds of other possible roles” be there?
Trying to live virutal “american” dream is demotivating. US sucks…
Hey @PresumptivePanda,
Thanks for taking interest in our project, yes we plan on posting more however you can check out our old dev-blog we posted that showcases some of our systems we made, and thanks I appreciate the compliment
It’s actually a cinematic concept trailer, not meant to display gameplay. Its primary objective is to illuminate our project concept in a cinematic manner, providing awareness about our vision
Thank you! Our approach involves starting small and gradually expanding over time. We aim to avoid overhyping the project to prevent disappointment. Please note that features like SWAT and firefighter won’t be available until later stages.
Because the art is not unique, I’d think you’d do better to show this custom system that you’ve crafted, because that’s what will make your game unique and show that you’re not just rigging up cinematics from marketplace assets.
Upon its release, here’s what you can anticipate from New Citizen’s debut on Steam’s early access platform:
A comprehensive economic system featuring “cash” and “bank balance” as the primary legal forms of currency.
Diverse job opportunities, including roles such as Police, Paramedic, Mayor, Judge, Prison Guard, and Unemployed individuals.
Assortment of police vehicles equipped with a functional ELS (emergency lighting system)
Rich player-to-player interactions fostering immersion and social engagement.
In-depth physical and virtual inventory system, seamlessly integrated with an interaction mechanism.
Advanced array of Firearms/Weapons for a realistic gameplay experience.
A variety of vehicles to navigate the expansive open-world environment.
Robust administration system with gamemaster capabilities, ensuring smooth gameplay management.
Real Estate functionality enabling property transactions, sales, and personalized pricing.
Custom-built programming infrastructure utilizing C++ systems and engine plugins, minimizing reliance on external marketplace assets (except for 3D assets, character animations, sound effects, and select VFX particle effects).
Unique user interfaces meticulously crafted by our dedicated team.
Enhanced vehicle physics for realistic driving experiences (utilizing marketplace assets).
Synchronized player progress and data encompassing Inventory, job roles, cash, bank balance, bank history, staff level, and real estate.
Availability of dedicated servers, allowing players to rent or self-host, with publicly accessible files on Steam; server customization facilitated through a provided config file.
Built-in in-game bug reporting mechanism for efficient issue resolution.
Character identity system ensuring a fresh character/identity for each server.
ATM system for checking bank balance, withdrawing/depositing cash, transferring funds between player accounts, and viewing transaction history.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) incorporating proximity voice chat and government job-specific radios utilizing long-range frequencies.
Upon a Citizen’s initial entry into the server, we initiate a cinematic sequence. This sequence unfolds with the Citizen soaring into the town aboard an airplane, touching down at the airport. As the cinematic concludes, your screen transitions to black, marking the commencement of your gameplay. You find yourself standing at the town’s bus stop, greeted by a “Message of the Day” screen that extends a warm welcome to the player.
This is a piece of feedback that I offer in hope it will be helpful:
My guess is that you are “traditional animation” people, not “game development” people.
I’ve seen many, many, projects built this way, and I’ve participated in some early on, until I realized they all have one thing in common: They don’t succeed.
Players don’t want to see “game entry cinematics.”
Players want to play a game.
Thank you for your feedback; it’s truly appreciated! As game developers, we value all input from our community. Currently, animation is an area where we’re striving to improve, and your insights are invaluable in this regard.
Regarding our approach, we’ve made a conscious decision to steer clear of crowdfunding and pre-orders. Instead, we’re self-funding our game, allowing us the freedom to focus on creating the best possible experience without financial pressure. While sales and profits would certainly accelerate our progress, we’re committed to the long-term development of our game.
I understand your point about game entry cinematics versus gameplay. Our intention is to create a dynamic sandbox game that evolves over time based on player feedback. If you haven’t already, I invite you to explore the other video links I’ve shared, which showcase the diverse aspects of our game beyond just cinematics.
Thank you again for your feedback and support as we continue to refine and enhance our project.
This project has been very fun to look into and catch up on. I personally enjoy games like the one that you are making. Life simulators like this just make it easy to take a break from being yourself for a little bit all while having fun with current/new friends.
What are the customization plans for the future to help the players in the game feel unique to their own experience, if I may ask?
Thanks a bunch! It’s always been a fantastic way to unwind and experience life from various angles within a little virtual world.
Regarding our future plans for customization, we’ve got a couple of key ideas in mind:
These are all on the horizon, but our immediate focus is ensuring the core game is rock solid before diving into these.
Introducing a character creator menu, allowing players to craft their own unique avatars right from the get-go.
Implementing clothing stores, so players can pick out their own outfits and maybe even explore cool extras like tattoos.
We’ve already got a real estate system up and running, but we’re keen on adding a furniture feature down the line. Picture players decking out their homes with personalized interiors, from furniture to wall paints and wallpapers.
Modding is something we’re really excited about, but that’s a post-early access endeavor. We’re committed to making it happen though, as it’s what’ll truly elevate the project.
I’d love to get your take on where we’re at with the project. Any suggestions, whether it’s about our marketing approach or our wiki, would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much for your reply! I understand the priority of the core game focus 100%. I’m really looking forward to seeing how more of the game play develops. With the options that you have on the horizon it already shows that you have a great head on your shoulders moving forward with this project.
As far as where you’re at on the project, I think your steps that you’ve taken since first posting with us is stunning. It is a small start, but you are taking things in great stride. At the moment, your marketing strategy is a big hit for me and I know a few other friends of mine who would be interested based on your current showcase. Your dev-blog and gameplay videos are as thorough as they can be which I appreciate wholeheartedly. I like being able to see the development and watch some gameplay testing even if I’m unable to test it myself. It helps me personally understand the intricacies of the game a little easier as you continue to grow.
At this moment there are no strong critiques that I have as you’ve been very thorough with your details and improvement. Anything I would have had critiques on in the past were handled through further development of the game.
Hey @The_M0ss_Man,
Absolutely, I’m always available for a chat. Thanks for your kind words! We’re excited to share our ideas and visions for the project with everyone over time, and there will be plenty of updates after the alpha release.
If you’re interested, I’d like to extend an invitation to join our testing team. Even though we’re nearing release, the testing team will continue to evaluate the latest build on a dedicated branch on Steam, helping us fine-tune the game. Of course, I understand if you’re busy as well.
I would love to join the testing team, but unfortunately with work and real life keeping me a tad busy my free time is a little limited. I do apologize and am sorrowful that I cannot aid in the testing of this game. However, I wish you the best of luck with your already delightful testers and cannot wait to see what comes next!
It will be refreshing to see such a game that takes what the community has to say into account. I can only wait in anticipation for the release and support you all from the sidelines!
Totally understand, no worries! Time flies, right? No need to apologize, I figured you might be tied up. Thanks for the kind words, and I’m with you on the community feedback front—I believe the game will only get better with time!
Our approach involves starting small and gradually expanding over time. We aim to avoid overhyping the project to prevent disappointment. Please note that features like SWAT and firefighter won’t be available until later stages.
