Developer diaries #9 - A behind the scenes

After the last release, we actually kicked back and relaxed for a few months. After 2.5 relaxed months, during which work on the modification was completely paused, we finally rolled up our sleeves again at the end of March / beginning of April.

First, two quick disclaimers:

• Teasers & Details: We have already announced some of the new features and changes on Instagram. We will, of course, cover them here as well, but this blog post dives much deeper into the technical details.
• The New Map: To take the wind out of your sails right away—our new map is far from finished and will therefore not be part of the upcoming update. However, a dedicated developer blog and matching teasers are already in the works.

Hydraulic Spreaders: A Step Backward or Realism?

Since the teaser for the hydraulic spreaders, some of you have wondered how this change came about. Some even called it a "step backward" because the tools previously appeared to operate electrically.

In reality, however, this is absolutely not the case and was never our intention. The plan to implement a realistic hydraulic system for the spreaders existed years ago—even back in the Wuppertal days. Back then, the feature was never fully programmed and was extremely bug-prone. We have now picked the concept back up, completely rewrote it, and successfully integrated it.

Looking Ahead: We are currently checking whether it is technically feasible to cut multiple people out of a vehicle at the same time and target individual doors, rather than interacting with the entire vehicle wreck as a whole.

Overhauled Water Logic & Performance Boost

In the background, we have completely turned the water calculation inside out. Through targeted optimizations, we were able to cut out about half of all calculations (#Performance).

• Real Values: Hose flow rates and the actual pump capacities of the vehicles are now correctly factored into the calculation.
• Focus on the Pump Operator: Pump management is now controlled by the operator rather than the vehicle itself. This means the vehicle no longer locks up rigidly. The pump operator can take their time dealing with the hose reels and removing them from the vehicle before starting the pumps.

New Ways of Sourcing Water

• Drafting from Open Water: You can now use the Tankers (TLF/GTLF) to draft water directly from open bodies of water via an A-hose. Simply drive within 4 meters of the water and let the tanker deploy the hose. The Civil Defence Engine (LF KatS) also shares this logic.
• Underground Cisterns: There is a new water source in the game. These underground tanks are primarily intended to refill Tankers (TLF/GTLF). The cisterns can be refilled by the fire department and, in some cases, by the municipal utilities.

Music & Concerts: A Dynamic Event

^{A quick disclaimer beforehand: Anyone who wants to get upset about AI-generated music at this point is welcome to transfer a five-figure sum to our donation account. We will immediately use it to hire a real band! 😉}

The topic of sound naturally didn’t pass us by. In addition to a revised version of our soundtrack, we focused primarily on the concerts on the maps.

Previously, this was a rigid mission: everything escalated instantly, and a massive traffic jam ensued because it felt like all emergency resources had to deploy at the exact same time. Now, the concert starts as a dynamic event right from the beginning. In this mission, your primary focus is on securing the scene. While our fictional punk rock band "Hydrant58" plays their songs, you, as the incident commander, must regularly check on things yourself.

Just like in real life, the situation can flip at any moment. A total of 40 different scenarios can occur randomly—ranging from drunk or violent individuals, thefts, and suspicious packages, to small fires that can rapidly develop into major blazes.

New Event Variants

To keep missions from becoming too predictable in the future, we have built in a new feature for you: event variants. Many missions now have different scenarios that are randomly selected when the alarm goes off. A simple traffic accident will no longer always look the same; one time only two cars collide, while the next time a third vehicle might be involved.

Larger incidents, such as a bus accident, also vary dynamically: sometimes there are two involved vehicles, other times just the bus. The number of casualties is no longer predictable. One call might involve five patients, while another could leave you treating ten or more.

We have currently implemented this feature for about 50 missions as a test run. In the future, you will have to prepare for more surprises upon arriving at the scene!

The New Launcher: Slimmer, More Stable, Better

In addition to the mod itself, we decided last year to redevelop the launcher from scratch. Our main focus was on addressing two massive points of criticism:

• File Size: Just under 120 MB for a tool that basically only downloads a ZIP file was definitely too much. We managed to reduce the size to a slim 11 MB.
• Connection Drops: Anyone playing on Wi-Fi or with an unstable connection knows this issue. Especially with slow internet, it was extremely frustrating when the download fails at 90% and you had to start all over again.

The problem is solved: The new launcher splits all required packages into 50 MB chunks and downloads them one after the other. If the connection drops or your PC crashes, it resumes exactly where it left off the next time it starts. In addition, the installation layout is now much cleaner, and proper logging helps us find errors faster if something goes wrong.

API, Control Center, Discord & Website Integrated Together

For most of you, the API is an invisible background construct: if it runs, everything is fine—if not, you can't play. We have completely restructured the API over the last few weeks and fully integrated it into our website architecture, switching from Node.js to PHP. For us, this means better visualization options on the website, easier access to interesting data, and simply one less system that we have to maintain separately.

There have also been massive overhauls under the hood of the Control Center (Leitstelle). We no longer rely on a single, rigid backend, but on a completely new architecture consisting of a connector and several workers. The huge advantage for you: updates are now possible live at runtime! Running dispatch games do not need to be ended or aborted for background adjustments anymore.

Furthermore, a new plugin for the website software is now active. While previously only the dispatch frontend was integrated with minimal authentication, the entire database is now seamlessly integrated. This allows for more in-depth statistics, a session search, and much more. Back in April, we also completely adapted the design of the dispatch center to match the website, so everything now feels cohesive.

Our Discord moderation team often complained that there were no convenient ways to report messages or users. Therefore, a few months ago, we integrated a "Report User/Message" command on the Discord server (accessible via right-click -> Apps). In the meantime, the corresponding backend is now live on our website: just click on your user profile and go to "Discord". There you can report users, view your history, communicate directly with the responsible moderator, and even attach screenshots as evidence.

That’s All for Now!

As you can see, a lot has happened in the background over the last few months—even if you might not always see it immediately in the game at first glance. We continue to put a lot of heart and soul into the project and hope that you enjoy the upcoming innovations and the noticeable performance and stability improvements just as much as we did developing them.

• Soundtrack for the wait: To sweeten the wait for the update a bit, why not listen to our revised soundtrack? You can find it in full length right now on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
• Speaking of waiting: The wait is almost over! Tomorrow, we will officially announce the release date for the upcoming update! 🔥

Thank you for your massive support, your patience, and your constant feedback!

See you tomorrow,
Your Emergency Lüdenscheid Team