First of all, we'd like to say thank you so much to all of you who have taken the time to play our new demo!

We've really appreciated all of your kind words, feedback, and continuing enthusiasm for The Precinct. Thanks to your bug reports and feedback, we've been able to implement a few small fixes and quality of life changes to our demo.

Here are the patch notes for the demo update [build number 12729]:

• Fixes for Ultrawide resolutions for handbook & callout complete panel
  
• Fix for PS4 controller allowing accelerate/brake on stick
  
• Fix for some high end PCs defaulting to Low Quality
  
• Fix for FPS cap behaviour when the game is paused and Vsync is disabled
  
• Split Vsync and FPS cap options in graphics menu
  
• Hard coded default quality presets for popular graphics cards
  
• Adjusted void used in interiors
  
• Removed some world chunks of west island from the build (so some sneaky "hackers" can no longer access the whole map)

If you haven't done it already already, we'd really appreciate it if you could leave a review for our demo store page (shown below), post any bugs you've found in the Steam Forum or our Discord, and let us know your honest feedback.

All of this will go towards helping us improve the final game!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2893830/The_Precinct_Demo

Want to keep up-to-date with the latest police reports?

Then don’t forget to wishlist The Precinct, join our Discord server, and follow us on social media at @theprecinctgame 🚨

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The Chief is requesting immediate back-up!

We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve launched our first public demo as part of Next Fest!


We’ve also hosted a brand new pre-recorded livestream. Check it out now on our store page to see Officer Matt take down criminals in Averno City.


https://store.steampowered.com/app/490110/The_Precinct/


To celebrate the release of our Next Fest demo, we’ll be running a giveaway to win an exclusive Averno City Police Badge and a free copy of The Precinct on launch! Read more about how to enter our Next Fest giveaway here[gleam.io].



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Look what we found lying around in the evidence room: a key and a badge.

[gleam.io]

*Terms and conditions apply[gleam.io]. However, the eligibility for the Competition is only for those who are 18 years and above of age as of the date of entry. To enter the Competition you must be a resident of North America and Europe (excluding Russia and Ukraine). This Competition is not open to all residents Worldwide. We may ask you to submit proof of your eligibility to the Competition. The Competition is void where prohibited by law. Employees, independent contractors, interns, officers, directors, and agents of Kwalee Ltd. (the “Sponsor“) their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, suppliers and their immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of each are not eligible to participate in the Competition. The Competition is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/490110/The_Precinct/


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Crime is running rampant in Averno City! Do you have what it takes to stop these criminals and uncover the mystery of your father’s death?

It’s time for you to hit the crime-riddled streets of Averno City, because we’ve released our first public demo as part of Next Fest!

A love letter to classic cop movies, The Precinct combines police sim detail with action sandbox spectacle. Patrol the streets and respond to callouts to fight criminals petty and powerful. Choose your own tactics in thrilling chases and shootouts. Feel the shifting power struggles of Averno's gangs in a living city full of procedurally generated crimes, from parking infractions to bank heists, street racing to drug deals.


But what if you want to go into our demo with some intel first?


After all, forewarned is forearmed!


That’s why we’ve prepared this pre-recorded livestream, where you’ll get to watch Officer Matt tackle the criminals of Averno City and see what to do (or what not to do!) before you jump into the demo.


Try out our latest demo here 👇


https://store.steampowered.com/app/490110/The_Precinct/


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We sat down with Gavin Harrison[x.com], one of The Precinct's composers, to discuss the music in-game and how he got inspired to create such an impressive 80s inspired soundtrack.


https://store.steampowered.com/app/490110/The_Precinct/


I’ve always had an interest in music, from the days of sitting as a young child at my grandparents out of tune upright piano, through to playing guitar and keyboards (probably badly!) in many different pub bands in my late teens. I guess like all creative pursuits it was, and still is, something I feel compelled to do. I worked quite a few different jobs through my twenties, mostly admin-based but I was always writing music in the background, before finally being able to devote myself fully to composition and sound design in my early thirties - it’s never too late to start!


I’m generally self-taught in terms of playing the piano and guitar, along with the theory. I did however study music GCSE followed by music A-Level, which certainly when I studied was very much based in the classical sphere. I quite enjoyed delving into the compositional styles though and especially learning about some of the rules imposed on music of the time - and the effects of breaking them. Following on from A-Levels I went to a regional college to do an HND in music technology, of which I completed a year before heading to Australia!


Weirdly I’m not sure I can pinpoint an exact moment! I was always into the more electronic-based side of things when it came to music, being a fan of scores and albums by Vangelis and Jean Michel Jarre. In fact, I taught myself a fair amount from several Jarre songbooks! I do remember always reading the equipment listed within the album cover that had been used and wanting to own these fantastic machines that made the sounds I enjoyed.


I can! It was a Juno 106 which I bought around 12 years ago and I’m pleased to say I still use it currently.


That’s a tough one, it changes from day to day/project to project. I think in terms of sheer enjoyment it’s probably either the Roland SH101 or the Oberheim OB-Xa. I also have some vintage outboard and quite enjoy using the Eventide H3000 - you never know quite what sound is going to come out of it!


Lots! The main one being are they going to turn on and then work as they are meant to - though of course isn’t that part of the fun?! I’d say with synths, other than the aforementioned actually turning on, the main issue is making sure they are in tune before doing any recording. Also, some don’t have MIDI, which is something that allows them to connect easier to a computer for sequencing and playback. That being said, I tend to favour playing in live where I can - they are real instruments and as such I try and treat them that way. Other issues can be things like heat, again it can affect the tuning and something like the Prophet 5 which is over 40 years old doesn’t have the most efficient power supply, I’m always a bit concerned it may catch fire…

One of the other challenges is recall. Some of the older synths have no ability to store sounds, so you either have to make a note of all the settings you’ve used or make sure you don’t use that synth for any other sounds for the duration of writing a track. For this reason, I do tend to demo up sounds entirely in the box then once a track idea is approved, I’ll record all the sounds using the vintage gear.


I want to say varied but that feels a bit broad! I think like any career in any field there are various challenges along the way. From first starting out and having to establish yourself, to finding consistent work on interesting projects and then later on to balancing work as a freelancer with family life - all whilst maintaining a high quality in your work. I know it’s cliche, but I count myself lucky every day that I get to do what I do and consider myself fortunate to have worked with some great creative people.


Staying original, meeting deadlines and paying the mortgage! Seriously though, I think maintaining creative energy can sometimes be hard and one challenge, particularly when freelancing, is knowing how and when to take a break to recharge.


Having a piece recorded by an orchestra at Abbey Road has to be up there as a career highlight! Otherwise, I genuinely feel like reaching the end of a project successfully each time is always an achievement. It doesn’t matter how big or how small, doing work you’re proud of AND meeting a deadline is always something to be celebrated.


I tend to find these days this depends entirely on what my eldest is playing at the time! Currently, there’s a fair bit of Super Mario Maker 2 being played, plus he’s enjoying the original Sonic games - which suits me as I’ve discovered I’ve still got most of the muscle memory from when I originally played them!



I’ve thought this one over for a while and genuinely can’t pick three…some of my best gaming moments have come playing with friends, does that make them my favourite? I’m not sure…I’m going to pass!

About the project so far

I’m not sure it’s ever possible to compare projects, you’re generally working with different people each time, with different ways of working and each project has individual needs. That being said I’ve worked with Fallen Tree Games before and so I think we have a good established working relationship which I hope makes things run smoothly - it certainly does from my side.


I began by creating a playlist of songs I wanted to use as a basis for inspiration for The Precinct. I then took this list to the team and we chatted through each track and what elements would work and what perhaps might not fit so well in terms of the mood and atmosphere they were going for. There were also some pieces of music that had already been licensed for the game and I was able to use these as a good basis for the world we were created, after all my tracks have to work with what’s already there. Generally, I’m pulling elements from things like Miami Vice, Bladerunner, Beverly Hills Cop and even some John Carpenter - so quite the mix! However, it’s all about exactly what elements you’re pulling from each reference, for example, we’re not in a setting like Bladerunner in terms of space but I think there is a similar noir element.

The other thing I always try and keep in mind is whilst we are looking for the synthwave-styled sound, the track production still needs to sound current.


I think there’s a bit of both. I have a clear idea of perhaps the type of sounds or elements I want to use, but at the same time if a track takes off in a different direction and is still working then you’ve got to go with the idea regardless. Sometimes a song will have a clear path in terms of its arrangement, sometimes you’ll need to run through loads of different ideas to hit the one that works. That can be the fun part, turning on an old effects unit and jamming some synth lines or guitar parts through it, playing around with some settings and seeing what happens!

Generally, once I’ve got the initial arrangement of the song down and most of the ideas in, I tend to not work on it for a period of time so I can come back to it with fresh ears. Sometimes I end up deleting whole sections when I do work on a track again, or coming up with completely different parts. Ultimately I find that for me the only thing that makes a track stop evolving and being finished is a deadline - which is why I like having them!


That’s an easy one - writing in a style I enjoy and using ALL the synths! As mentioned before, there are also a lot of vintage outboard effects being used across all the tracks too which has been fantastic to do. I’m well aware that the quality of in-the-box synths and effects are superb, but there’s just something more hands-on and fun about using the real thing…

The Precinct is definitely a world with an aesthetic I’ve enjoyed writing for so far, the only downside has been not being able to write as much music as I have ideas for!


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We sat down with our Character Portrait Artist and asked the hard-hitting questions. Read on to find out about their creative career, their challenges, and what makes them tick.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/490110/The_Precinct/


When did you know that you wanted to pursue a creative career?

I've always liked drawing manga characters since I was a teenager and I also played a bit with 3dMax when I was 14 out of curiosity but nothing serious. So I already knew I wanted to work with something creative after high school.


Did you study art at university or college? Or are you self-taught?

As there were no good specific courses for drawing or 3D areas here in Belo Horizonte, I ended up choosing to study graphic design in college and maybe focus on illustration. During the course I took some separate classes related to animation, industrial design and fashion drawing (Croquis), that's when I was introduced to Photoshop and digital drawing. The classes were very weak in terms of depth of content, so I started researching and studying outside, using YouTube and some workshops that I bought on Gumroad. While I was still in college I made some digital portraits of my friends and teachers and I ended up growing my Instagram[www.instagram.com]. I decided to drop out of college because I was already receiving many requests for my work globally and decided to focus more as an independent portrait artist.

Describe what your career has been like so far?

I've had ups and downs in my career, but today I'm at a blessed point so to speak, where I can't even fulfil all the portrait orders I receive. However, as I see my career as still growing, I'm moving into other areas like concept design and character design, and I hope to be recognized in these areas as well.

What challenges have you faced as a game artist?

Working in the gaming area is really cool, especially because I'm a gamer, but it can be very difficult sometimes and the biggest challenge is delivering exactly what investors and publishers have in mind. I've done some work for Ubisoft in the past and unfortunately, the projects were terminated. Sometimes you work on a project that won't even be released or that stops midway and that's really frustrating.

What types of games do you like to play in your free time?

To be honest I play triple-A games most of my free time. Fighting games, fps, MMO/RPGs, such as Street Fighter 6, Valorant, Dragon's Dogma...etc. But I also play some indie games if they appeal to me. So I really hope to play The Precinct at launch, because it reminds me a little of the GTA2 that I played a long time ago. But in The Precinct we have the chance to play as police officers, which seems like an interesting perspective.

What has it been like so far working on The Precinct?

Working on The Precinct has been great and it's incredible to be part of this project, the guys Joe and Lewis are very attentive and I learned a lot from them. I just have to say thank you and I really hope to play this game.


What direction did you want to go down when creating the character art for The Precinct?

We wanted a representation of the characters that was a nod to our influences (movies, TV shows, even graphic novels), but remained grounded and somewhat realistic. We scoured the internet to find someone who was available, could work fast, and could work in a consistent style, one that would complement the environment art.

Why did you choose this direction?

Our in-game art style is fairly grounded and realistic, and the character art should work in tandem with this, whilst not trying to be photo-realistic. A great example of this is the character illustrations on the GTA loading screens. We were aiming for something similar, but our own ‘take’ on it.

Have you always had a clear idea of what each character was going to look like? Or has it changed and shifted over time?

Like many aspects of this game, that has evolved over time, and there has been a certain level of iteration as the script has been written and the voice-overs recorded. Sometimes we have a sprite that we give to the actor, and say ‘What would their voice be’, and sometimes it’s the other way around; we ask Arthur to render the character in a way that suits the voice and story characterisation. Kelly (your partner) is a good example of this: in his first rendering, he was a bit tougher and meaner looking, but as the story progressed, and the character was fleshed out, he became much more of a sympathetic character, with a laid-back attitude. We asked Arthur to take another swing at the portrait, and loved the result!

After working for so long on the project, are there any characters that you are particularly excited to see brought to life?

Nick and Kelly, are the two main ones that we were keen to see realised (Nick features heavily in the key art, so it’s great to see him looking so good - both heroic, but also a little vulnerable!), but it’s also great to see some of the strong, independent women in the story come to life, both cops and baddies! There are also some terrific gang members to be enjoyed too! “Razor” in particular is chefs kiss!


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After much consideration, we've decided to go back to the academy for some extra training before we hit the streets of Averno City.

While our initial release date was scheduled for August 15th, we've made the difficult but necessary decision to delay our release until Fall 2024. We're very sorry for any disappointment that this delay may cause, but we promise that we didn't take this decision lightly. Please read on to find out more about why we've made this decision.

The Precinct is being made by us at Fallen Tree Games, a small studio consisting of just 5 people. It's been a real challenge so far to create a game as complex as The Precinct; a challenge that we have enjoyed but one that has come with many obstacles. Our aim has always been to create the best version of The Precinct possible. We want to deliver an immersive and engaging gameplay experience of the highest quality possible with our resources.

After much consideration by both us and the team at our publisher Kwalee, we all decided that this would not be possible by August 15th based on the time we have left, which is why we have reluctantly delayed the release of The Precinct to Fall 2024.

This additional time will allow us to fine-tune the gameplay, fix any remaining bugs, and provide the seamless gameplay experience that we set out to create when we first started working on The Precinct.

We know that a lot of you were looking forward to our August release date and we are deeply sorry for the disappointment this delay announcement will undoubtedly cause. We are extremely grateful for your patience, continued support, and enthusiasm.

We’re excited to announce that we'll be showcasing a playable demo of The Precinct at BitSummit this year!

BitSummit is being hosted at Miyako Messe in Kyoto from Friday July 19th until Sunday July 21st.


https://store.steampowered.com/app/490110/The_Precinct/


You are Officer Nick Cordell Jr. As a rookie beat cop fresh out of the Academy, you’re on the front line of defence for Averno’s citizens. Dive into a world of thrilling car chases, procedurally-generated crimes, and a healthy dose of 1980s noir as you protect the populace and solve the mystery of your father’s murder in the line of duty.

If you’re at the event, come find us on the Kwalee stand to chat with our team and see if you have what it takes to keep the streets of Averno City safe.

If you want to get a better idea of what The Precinct has to offer, check out our Day in Averno trailer here 👇



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https://store.steampowered.com/app/490110/The_Precinct/

You are Officer Nick Cordell Jr. As a rookie beat cop fresh out of the Academy, you’re on the front line of defence for Averno’s citizens. Dive into a world of thrilling car chases, procedurally-generated crimes, and a healthy dose of 1980s noir as you protect the populace and solve the mystery of your father’s murder in the line of duty.


The Precinct combines police sim detail with action sandbox spectacle. Patrol the streets and respond to callouts to fight criminals petty and powerful. Choose your own tactics in thrilling chases and shootouts. Feel the shifting power struggles of Averno's gangs in a living city full of procedurally generated crimes, from parking infractions to bank heists, street racing to drug deals.

We’re excited to send all of you rookies out on the beat and watch the crime rate drop in Averno City.


If you’re interested in knowing more about The Precinct, don’t forget to check out our Developer Diaries! In them, we’ve discussed the inspiration behind the game itself, Averno City, the ACPD, and gangs around the city.



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