Prison Architect by Introversion

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Island Dog
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Island Dog »

Thanks. I have k-9 patrols inside but I'll try putting them on the outside and see how that goes.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Kelric »

Really annoying thing: Having a perimeter wall setup on the second tile in around the entire border (because you can't build on the first tile), then having a tunnel show up on that first tile when someone escapes. You can't fill in that first tile afterward! ARGH!

Anyway, how does time based deployment work? The concept is easy, but I can't figure out how to assign people. I certainly don't need a guard patrolling the canteen during Sleep time, but I want him there the rest of the day. He sure would be useful during my nightly shakedowns if I can figure this out (as would the guy in the workshop, and yard, and infirmary...)
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Rip »

Kelric wrote:Really annoying thing: Having a perimeter wall setup on the second tile in around the entire border (because you can't build on the first tile), then having a tunnel show up on that first tile when someone escapes. You can't fill in that first tile afterward! ARGH!

Anyway, how does time based deployment work? The concept is easy, but I can't figure out how to assign people. I certainly don't need a guard patrolling the canteen during Sleep time, but I want him there the rest of the day. He sure would be useful during my nightly shakedowns if I can figure this out (as would the guy in the workshop, and yard, and infirmary...)
Yes it works although it isn't obvious. They do some examples in the latest Alpha video.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Paingod »

I'm enjoying the game for the most part, but am struggling with a 'perfect' setup.

I keep taking in Medium Security prisoners and for the most part they stay nice and calm, but I sometimes get a big brawl and a mess. Some problems I've run into and don't know how to correct...
  • There's no tutorial to guide you through the first essential steps. I only discovered Grants accidentally after days of playing, and had to re-play the Death Row intro to observe how some rooms are designed to function. Since I had no idea there were Grants and had no idea I could shut down intake flow, I was drowning rapidly each time I played.
  • Doctors are time consuming and tedious to force them to pass through a cellblock to heal everyone. They do heal people within 10 squares, as expected... but I'd really really like some way to get them to patrol or respond to medical emergencies.
  • The Doctor issue would be a non-issue if I didn't have inmates who keep getting hurt. I've got them on lockdown for fighting, and 6 of them keep getting injured even though they're by themselves in their cells.
  • I invested in a big workshop, but have a staggering 2 prisoners who can work in it. To boot, the inmates are not making License plates, but instead they're making planks. I can't find a way to change it to plates to meet the Grant requirement.
  • Being able to stop the flow of inmates makes it far too easy to just ride out the game and it looses challenge. Leaving the flow on makes it impossible to keep up with the intake.
  • There is a staggering amount of contraband, and prisoners get pissy when you search them. The two put together cause too many headaches. I've installed Metal Detectors on the cafeteria doors, Visitor area, and Workshop - and still in a recent shakedown I discovered a friggin' power drill in someone's cell...
  • I want a way to automate things like searching every box and package that comes into the delivery area. I've got guards who just wander around there, and I can't hover there to constantly repeat search orders.
  • Prisoners will 'sneak' through Staff Only doors sometimes. While they comically run out to "freedom" and discover the entire lot is covered by a fence, I'd love to know why my staff are letting inmates out there.
  • The default lockdown and solitary times seemed really flimsy, so I cranked them up to a day for the worst offenses. I have absolutely no idea if this makes things better or worse.
Rip wrote:Yes it works although it isn't obvious. They do some examples in the latest Alpha video.
Very helpful. Thank you!

After seeing that video, it's clear I'm a n00b. I was using the Road Gate as the main entrance to my prison. Using it to block the road is a much more elegant solution and I love the way it looks.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Rip »

Paingod wrote:I'm enjoying the game for the most part, but am struggling with a 'perfect' setup.

I keep taking in Medium Security prisoners and for the most part they stay nice and calm, but I sometimes get a big brawl and a mess. Some problems I've run into and don't know how to correct...
  • There's no tutorial to guide you through the first essential steps. I only discovered Grants accidentally after days of playing, and had to re-play the Death Row intro to observe how some rooms are designed to function. Since I had no idea there were Grants and had no idea I could shut down intake flow, I was drowning rapidly each time I played.
Yea this is key. I shut off flow the second I start and only open it when I have beds available. I even start with minsec inmates until I unlook the tech I need and build the infrastructure to deal with riskier prisoners.
[*]Doctors are time consuming and tedious to force them to pass through a cellblock to heal everyone. They do heal people within 10 squares, as expected... but I'd really really like some way to get them to patrol or respond to medical emergencies.
[*]The Doctor issue would be a non-issue if I didn't have inmates who keep getting hurt. I've got them on lockdown for fighting, and 6 of them keep getting injured even though they're by themselves in their cells.
I think they will do something on this at some point. That being said I haven't tried it but saw one prisone that had the solitary cells where you had to go through the infirmary to reach them. Most of the time when someone is hurt they will end up in the infirmary so I suspect that would get them healed during that time.

Bigger issue to solve is why they are becoming disruptive and doing bad things. How are their needs? Min and mormal sec prisoners will typically behave if they have needs well met and are properly supervised. Of course that assumes that you don't allow rampant contraband and drug/alcohol use.
[*]I invested in a big workshop, but have a staggering 2 prisoners who can work in it. To boot, the inmates are not making License plates, but instead they're making planks. I can't find a way to change it to plates to meet the Grant requirement.

It takes some time for people to get trained for the workshop. If you have long enough work hours you can manually setup multiple classes a day. They will saw logs as long as any are available. Once all logs are gone sheet metal will be purchased for making license plates. Make sure you have an export area zoned over by deliveries and garbage. That way if there are a lot of extra logs they will get sold without being processed.

In the end wood makes better money than plates anyway, but you have to get the plates grant done before you can even start making beds.
[*]Being able to stop the flow of inmates makes it far too easy to just ride out the game and it looses challenge. Leaving the flow on makes it impossible to keep up with the intake.

I don't care for the challenge of constant flow. The challenge should really be IMHO to process prisoners through the system as safely as possible while lowering the recidivism as much as possible.
[*]There is a staggering amount of contraband, and prisoners get pissy when you search them. The two put together cause too many headaches. I've installed Metal Detectors on the cafeteria doors, Visitor area, and Workshop - and still in a recent shakedown I discovered a friggin' power drill in someone's cell...
First thing is make it so it is impossible to bring anything or anyone into your prison without going through a scanner. Even the staff doors in my kitchen that leads to deliveries get scanned. No need to search items unless they set off a detector. In the same light make absolutely sure there is always a dog patrol around deliveries, that will catch the stuff the detectors won't.

Second thing keep in mind that contraband can be thrown over the perimeter. this is the biggest reason I start my game with a perimeter fence that will be upgraded to a perimeter wall as I progress. Second make it so that any outside areas within throwing distance of the perimeter are staff only. The only occasion my prisoner have to get anywhere near the perimeter is in the deliveries are WHEN I decide to let them there. I usually keep that staff only as well but sometimes things like uniforms won't get picked up right unless you allow prisoners out there.
[*]I want a way to automate things like searching every box and package that comes into the delivery area. I've got guards who just wander around there, and I can't hover there to constantly repeat search orders.
No need dog patrol and detectors at every entrance will handle screening out contraband.
[*]Prisoners will 'sneak' through Staff Only doors sometimes. While they comically run out to "freedom" and discover the entire lot is covered by a fence, I'd love to know why my staff are letting inmates out there.
Zone the area on the other side of the door as staff only and they shouldn't let them through. If the area on both sides of the door allows inmates there is no reason not to let them through.
[*]The default lockdown and solitary times seemed really flimsy, so I cranked them up to a day for the worst offenses. I have absolutely no idea if this makes things better or worse.[/list]
I adjust mine as well. Mostly to make sure that more offenses result in a person/cell search but I did increase some punishments slightly. Note if you have a particularly unruly convict you can manually punish them with some really long stints in solitary.
Rip wrote:Yes it works although it isn't obvious. They do some examples in the latest Alpha video.
Very helpful. Thank you!

After seeing that video, it's clear I'm a n00b. I was using the Road Gate as the main entrance to my prison. Using it to block the road is a much more elegant solution and I love the way it looks.
Glad it helped. I like to put a gate across the road on the top and bottom and then put another two gates just above and below the deliveries/garbage/exports area. Then lock the edge gates open. Makes it much easier until you have remote control and guards have to open the gates. Remote control is always one of my first research priorities though. I loathe having guards rushing around opening doors. Once you can start slapping servos on all the doors/gates life becomes far more manageable.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Citizen »

I'm waiting for some AI enhancements to the prisoners. I purchased at something like alpha 7 so things are a little stale for me. I feel like they are adding lots of cool stuff, but prisoners are just too easy to manage and or lockdown for 23 hours a day. I want to see them be a little more cunning and be more violent towards each other - maybe even develop grudges toward particular guards...gang implementation...idk...stuff like that.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Rip »

Citizen wrote:I'm waiting for some AI enhancements to the prisoners. I purchased at something like alpha 7 so things are a little stale for me. I feel like they are adding lots of cool stuff, but prisoners are just too easy to manage and or lockdown for 23 hours a day. I want to see them be a little more cunning and be more violent towards each other - maybe even develop grudges toward particular guards...gang implementation...idk...stuff like that.
They have somewhat. Some of the real badass prisoners can run you ragged.

They have a prison on the steam workshop called AAA management. Load that guy up and try to make it a few days without any prisoners killing each other. That thing is full of some really difficult guys. The prison is pretty well designed to, it is just that there are so many really violent guys in there.

Playing from the start it is hard to get that many super tough guys. It takes a while but that prison will give you an idea of how tough it can get after taking in maxsec guys for a really long time.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Paingod »

Rip wrote:Some of the real badass prisoners can run you ragged.
I had one of those once - got into two or three fights in less than a day. Somehow he died in solitary that night.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Paingod »

Thanks to the miracles of shutting off intake and grants, I have a prison capable of holding 70 inmates and am at 0% capacity... :?

I did discover, though I doubt I'm the first, a less expensive way to build cells. It requires more planning and gets fiddly at edges and hallways, but saves a lot on concrete walls to make the cells themselves.
Spoiler:
Using the Foundation tool, I build my first cell section. Once it's done, I add a second section, and so on. If I had built these six cells with a single perimeter wall and then filled it in with concrete walls, it would cost twice as much.Image

By using more foundations, I can join together multiple cell blocks to create a single larger cell block that's considered one "building" - and I also get to choose not to place Foundations in order to leave a space "outside" - so I've bisected the larger cell block into two equal ones, which means a "Search Cell Block" command doesn't hit 60 cells at once, but instead 30.

To make a hallway, I simply extend the Foundation over three spaces from one side of the cell block to create a new outer edge of another cell block or the outer edge of the facility.
I'm curious to see how big I can get my prison without any inmates at all (and without cheesing the logging industry, except to have Forestry running while I continue to build - I have no plans to let it run overnight while I sleep and collect cash for doing nothing).
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Kelric »

Paingod wrote:[*]There is a staggering amount of contraband, and prisoners get pissy when you search them. The two put together cause too many headaches. I've installed Metal Detectors on the cafeteria doors, Visitor area, and Workshop - and still in a recent shakedown I discovered a friggin' power drill in someone's cell...
Maybe I have been extraordinarily lucky, but I run a Shakedown search every single night and the prisoners are okay with it. I wait until right after they go to sleep and then search the whole prison. It also seems like a good time to summon informants to an office to get more data from them. By the time everyone wakes up the informants are back in their cells, the contraband is gone, people are in solitary, and showers / bathrooms / breakfast put the guys back in a good mood.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Paingod »

Kelric wrote:
Paingod wrote:[*]There is a staggering amount of contraband, and prisoners get pissy when you search them. The two put together cause too many headaches. I've installed Metal Detectors on the cafeteria doors, Visitor area, and Workshop - and still in a recent shakedown I discovered a friggin' power drill in someone's cell...
Maybe I have been extraordinarily lucky, but I run a Shakedown search every single night and the prisoners are okay with it. I wait until right after they go to sleep and then search the whole prison. It also seems like a good time to summon informants to an office to get more data from them. By the time everyone wakes up the informants are back in their cells, the contraband is gone, people are in solitary, and showers / bathrooms / breakfast put the guys back in a good mood.
Yeah - I don't do shakedowns, but I do search cell blocks each day now while everyone's out in the Yard or eating. My problem was being a dick about it ... "Tough shit, bud. This is jail. I'm going to need you to squat and cough now." ... as someone who worked in a jail for a while, we were never sneaky about searches and it was never fun for inmates. That's just how jail is. Now I have to avoid hurting this murderous precious little snowflake's feelings by pulling his raisin mead out of the toilet with him watching.

I got up to 110 prisoners in a stable manner and discovered I could sell my jail. I did and it sent me to a new map with $470,000 to start. I've gone nuts and plan to make a new jail that can house over 200. I think my cell block design should work. I've got it broken into four blocks, each holding 40 inmates. I discovered that if an interior floor touches multiple doors, each is lumped into one cell block. By using "outside" space between the blocks, but covering it over with concrete tiles, it looks interior but doesn't spread. So 4 blocks, 40 inmates in each. It's made of three rows of 16 cells (each being 2x3), and in the middle of the middle row I've carved out a spot of a large shower with entrances on each side. These cell blocks are the corners, and in the middle is the utility, laundry, & medical for each side. Dead center, top to bottom, is a common area, classroom, security center, yard, canteen, and kitchen with staff room. It's a mammoth facility, and my Large lot can hold two identical versions of it with space to spare for Max security and Protected segregation and all the extras like a tree farm, workshop, morgue, etc... I plan on just starting out with Mediums this round and will build a max/supermax prison for my next trip.

I've learned to keep every area within 10m of the outside world clear of inmates and/or surrounded by walls and "Staff Only" zones. I catch almost all the contraband coming in using a series of dog searches and metal detectors, and the bulk of what I was finding is coming from 'security holes' where I hadn't locked something down enough and inmates were ballsie enough to walk all the way out to my front gate to cross the road and pick up a cell phone someone had tossed over to him.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Paingod »

I find the game interesting and fun in a fairly Zen way - it's not stressful once you understand the mechanics and methods to use.

I've gone as far as 196 (221 cap) inmates and everything was running smooth. I let in a handful of Max prisoners as a test in their own corner of my jail and they were well behaved and didn't cause problems despite having terrible traits like Cop Killer and being in jail for Murder, Murder, and Murder. The bulk of my income is due to my workshop, with jail expenses only just breaking even from prisoner income.

Unfortunately, it seems that there's little challenge left once you can build a prison with $900,000 in starting capital. Bigger, better, more expensive, and more lucrative - but mechanically identical to smaller scales. I'm probably done with this for a while and will come back as new things are added.

I suppose my tips for new players in the Alpha 28 build would be:
Spoiler:
  • Extensively use the Planning tool before ever laying a single brick. Freeze the game and plot it all out. Look at minimum room sizes as you plan. There is no benefit for exceeding the minimum room size unless it's just a matter of squeezing in more furnishings or pleasing aesthetics. I tend to give my Warden a larger office than anyone else "just because".
  • Make extensive use of the Grants feature, along with turning on/off inmate intake. I prefer to build my prison according to grants allowed and then only let in inmates once I've exhuasted all available non-inmate Grants.
  • Grants & Intake are accessed by clicking the Reports button in the bottom-right corner of the screen or by clicking the top-most section where you'll see your finances and inmate populations.
  • You can remove and re-designate the initial Delivery and Garbage locations. I do this because they're not where I'd want them after I start planning, but they're most efficient to keep next to your entrance.
  • I frequently run out of space in Deliveries while building extensively, and have never had more than a handful of trash bags to throw away at once. Accordingly, I designate a larger Deliveries area and a smaller Garbage one.
  • A Cell Block is designated as an area that has interior floors connecting cell doors without being interrupted by doors or outside terrain. I build so I can search a single block easily. I use rows of housing and then cap one of the the halls with a double-wide door while leaving the lower end untouched, creating a sort of "UUU" effect. All the cell doors in the U's are linked to form one block.
  • My best, most functional prison design puts a Yard in the center of four corners of housing, with the middle areas designated for power, water, laundry, medical, solitary, classrooms, common rooms, kitchen, and canteen. Each corner was a mirror of the others and contained 40 2x3 cells and one shower room with 40 heads in it.
  • I funnel every inmate through one of four hallways into the yard, which leads to the canteen. Every one of these 5 entrances has a pair of metal detectors on it. I also use metal detectors on the entrances to the prison as well as the visitation area, the workshop, and the medical bay. Littering your prison with metal detectors is expensive up-front, but costs less than lots of guards and catches a lot of weapons, tools, and luxuries without trying.
  • Make no "outside" areas within 10m of the outer wall. If there's anything considered "outside" in that space, contraband will be thrown into it and picked up. If you need an area outside, section it off with doors and make it Staff Only.
  • Kitchens contain some of the worst weapons that could be smuggled out. I don't bother using inmate labor for these.
  • Kitchens don't need to be right next to a canteen, but it makes it more efficient. You can also have more than one kitchen servicing a single canteen, so it can be broken up if space needs dictate it.
  • Cleaning closets contain poisons and broom handles, and again, I don't let my inmates take on the tasks of cleaners.
  • The workshop contains an array of nasty weapons and tools, but a metal detector will catch most of it (except for clubs and wooden pickaxes).
  • With 200 Medium security inmates, I had 50 regular guards, 15 dog handlers, and 6 armed guards. This worked for me, but is costly.
    • The regular guards are the only ones who'll run to open doors and make good eyes and ears for patrols through cell blocks.
    • The dog handlers make excellent companions to metal detectors and I path their patrols through heavily trafficked hallways and around my perimeter fence to detect digging.
    • The armed guards suppress inmates and are great for patrolling high-density areas like the Yard and Canteen.
  • Guards of all kinds will need to rest periodically. This means you need spares to replace them when they go on break. Of my 50 guards, around 20 were always available to respond for searching and moving prisoners.
  • Check inmate needs and adjust schedules accordingly. By observing when their needs peak, you can adjust the schedule to keep them pretty well satisfied.
  • As mentioned above by Kelric, it seems the best time to do a Shakedown is just after the inmates go to bed. By the time morning rolls around, they've calmed down and are mostly over it. This prevents large numbers of them from getting angry and attacking guards all at once.
  • Unlock the Intelligence screens to help identify these inmates early and use Confidential Informants to find who's a target for attacks.
  • CI's are obtained by finding inmates in Solitary who want out and are willing to trade in information. When you're on the Intelligence screen, you can see the known traits for all inmates. This will include the temporary trait of "Possible Informant" - to recruit them, click on the inmate and go to their Experience tab. There will be a button to recruit them. They'll tell you where contraband is hidden, when scheduled drops will happen, and who's in line for a stabbing and should be protected.
  • It's not nice, but you can sort of force-recruit CI's by sending someone to Solitary deliberately for 24 hours and waiting for him to crack. Some prisoners are tougher than others and won't crack.
  • Build a segregation area immediately to keep Snitches, Ex-Law Enforcement, and Instigators in. These will probably be in a ratio of 40 to 1 at the most, so the space doesn't need to be large. With 200 prisoners, I had 5 in protective custody. I prefer to give inmates in Segregation all of their own amenities - laundry, kitchen, canteen, yard, shower, solitary cells (maybe 2), common room, classroom, infirmary - all on small scales and all contained inside one area they never leave.
  • Be sure to build a cell block & amenities for inmates that decide they want to step up their game. It's not much fun to discover 8 of 200 Medium security inmates are really "Maximum Security" quality and have nowhere to put them.
  • Having an inmate pass through the Yard or any other outside space counts towards their Freedom need. This can keep them happy longer than if they had to hunt it down.
  • Prisoner's needs are rated by ++++ signs. The larger the ++++++ streak is, the higher the need. If the need is in CAPS, they're stressed about it. A BOWELS or BLADDER need means your inmate is about to shit and/or piss himself. While comical, this does make a large mess.
  • If a need is listed in green, it's currently being satisfied.
  • It seems that being stressed about anything distracts their attention while working on Reform projects. Try and make sure they go into these programs as satisfied as possible to increase their odds of success. You can either schedule their day around the Reform tasks' schedules, or reschedule Reform projects for times when inmates seem happiest (after having showered, eaten, played, and used the bathroom).
  • I had a real problem with inmates pissing their pants while working long hours in my Workshop - until I added a few bathroom stalls.
  • If an inmate OD's on drugs, get them to an Infirmary immediately or they'll die.
  • Never ask yourself how someone can manage to smuggle a set of gardening sheers or a power drill into a prison through visitation. Just don't.
Last edited by Paingod on Wed Jan 28, 2015 2:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by naednek »

I guess I'm still doing something wrong because I keep getting fights like it's a bunch of brats in a preschool
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Rip »

Paingod wrote:I find the game interesting and fun in a fairly Zen way - it's not stressful once you understand the mechanics and methods to use.

I've gone as far as 196 (221 cap) inmates and everything was running smooth. I let in a handful of Max prisoners as a test in their own corner of my jail and they were well behaved and didn't cause problems despite having terrible traits like Cop Killer and being in jail for Murder, Murder, and Murder. The bulk of my income is due to my workshop, with jail expenses only just breaking even from prisoner income.

Unfortunately, it seems that there's little challenge left once you can build a prison with $900,000 in starting capital. Bigger, better, more expensive, and more lucrative - but mechanically identical to smaller scales. I'm probably done with this for a while and will come back as new things are added.

I suppose my tips for new players in the Alpha 28 build would be:
Spoiler:
  • Extensively use the Planning tool before ever laying a single brick. Freeze the game and plot it all out. Look at minimum room sizes as you plan. There is no benefit for exceeding the minimum room size unless it's just a matter of squeezing in more furnishings or pleasing aesthetics. I tend to give my Warden a larger office than anyone else "just because".
  • Make extensive use of the Grants feature, along with turning on/off inmate intake. I prefer to build my prison according to grants allowed and then only let in inmates once I've exhuasted all available non-inmate Grants.
  • Grants & Intake are accessed by clicking the Reports button in the bottom-right corner of the screen or by clicking the top-most section where you'll see your finances and inmate populations.
  • You can remove and re-designate the initial Delivery and Garbage locations. I do this because they're not where I'd want them after I start planning, but they're most efficient to keep next to your entrance.
  • I frequently run out of space in Deliveries while building extensively, and have never had more than a handful of trash bags to throw away at once. Accordingly, I designate a larger Deliveries area and a smaller Garbage one.
  • A Cell Block is designated as an area that has interior floors connecting cell doors without being interrupted by doors or outside terrain. I build so I can search a single block easily. I use rows of housing and then cap one of the the halls with a double-wide door while leaving the lower end untouched, creating a sort of "UUU" effect. All the cell doors in the U's are linked to form one block.
  • My best, most functional prison design puts a Yard in the center of four corners of housing, with the middle areas designated for power, water, laundry, medical, solitary, classrooms, common rooms, kitchen, and canteen. Each corner was a mirror of the others and contained 40 2x3 cells and one shower room with 40 heads in it.
  • I funnel every inmate through one of four hallways into the yard, which leads to the canteen. Every one of these 5 entrances has a pair of metal detectors on it. I also use metal detectors on the entrances to the prison as well as the visitation area, the workshop, and the medical bay. Littering your prison with metal detectors is expensive up-front, but costs less than lots of guards and catches a lot of weapons, tools, and luxuries without trying.
  • Make no "outside" areas within 10m of the outer wall. If there's anything considered "outside" in that space, contraband will be thrown into it and picked up. If you need an area outside, section it off with doors and make it Staff Only.
  • Kitchens contain some of the worst weapons that could be smuggled out. I don't bother using inmate labor for these.
  • Kitchens don't need to be right next to a canteen, but it makes it more efficient. You can also have more than one kitchen servicing a single canteen, so it can be broken up if space needs dictate it.
  • Cleaning closets contain poisons and broom handles, and again, I don't let my inmates take on the tasks of cleaners.
  • The workshop contains an array of nasty weapons and tools, but a metal detector will catch most of it (except for clubs and wooden pickaxes).
  • With 200 Medium security inmates, I had 50 regular guards, 15 dog handlers, and 6 armed guards. This worked for me, but is costly.
    • The regular guards are the only ones who'll run to open doors and make good eyes and ears for patrols through cell blocks.
    • The dog handlers make excellent companions to metal detectors and I path their patrols through heavily trafficked hallways and around my perimeter fence to detect digging.
    • The armed guards suppress inmates and are great for patrolling high-density areas like the Yard and Canteen.
  • Guards of all kinds will need to rest periodically. This means you need spares to replace them when they go on break. Of my 50 guards, around 20 were always available to respond for searching and moving prisoners.
  • Check inmate needs and adjust schedules accordingly. By observing when their needs peak, you can adjust the schedule to keep them pretty well satisfied.
  • As mentioned above by Kelric, it seems the best time to do a Shakedown is just after the inmates go to bed. By the time morning rolls around, they've calmed down and are mostly over it. This prevents large numbers of them from getting angry and attacking guards all at once.
  • Unlock the Intelligence screens to help identify these inmates early and use Confidential Informants to find who's a target for attacks.
  • CI's are obtained by finding inmates in Solitary who want out and are willing to trade in information. When you're on the Intelligence screen, you can see the known traits for all inmates. This will include the temporary trait of "Possible Informant" - to recruit them, click on the inmate and go to their Experience tab. There will be a button to recruit them. They'll tell you where contraband is hidden, when scheduled drops will happen, and who's in line for a stabbing and should be protected.
  • It's not nice, but you can sort of force-recruit CI's by sending someone to Solitary deliberately for 24 hours and waiting for him to crack. Some prisoners are tougher than others and won't crack.
  • Build a segregation area immediately to keep Snitches, Ex-Law Enforcement, and Instigators in. These will probably be in a ratio of 40 to 1 at the most, so the space doesn't need to be large. With 200 prisoners, I had 5 in protective custody. I prefer to give inmates in Segregation all of their own amenities - laundry, kitchen, canteen, yard, shower, solitary cells (maybe 2), common room, classroom, infirmary - all on small scales and all contained inside one area they never leave.
  • Be sure to build a cell block & amenities for inmates that decide they want to step up their game. It's not much fun to discover 8 of 200 Medium security inmates are really "Maximum Security" quality and have nowhere to put them.
  • Having an inmate pass through the Yard or any other outside space counts towards their Freedom need. This can keep them happy longer than if they had to hunt it down.
  • Prisoner's needs are rated by ++++ signs. The larger the ++++++ streak is, the higher the need. If the need is in CAPS, they're stressed about it. A BOWELS or BLADDER need means your inmate is about to shit and/or piss himself. While comical, this does make a large mess.
  • If a need is listed in green, it's currently being satisfied.
  • It seems that being stressed about anything distracts their attention while working on Reform projects. Try and make sure they go into these programs as satisfied as possible to increase their odds of success. You can either schedule their day around the Reform tasks' schedules, or reschedule Reform projects for times when inmates seem happiest (after having showered, eaten, played, and used the bathroom).
  • I had a real problem with inmates pissing their pants while working long hours in my Workshop - until I added a few bathroom stalls.
  • If an inmate OD's on drugs, get them to an Infirmary immediately or they'll die.
  • Never ask yourself how someone can manage to smuggle a set of gardening sheers or a power drill into a prison through visitation. Just don't.

I would agree with all except to suggest using NSA level phone monitoring over snitches. You get the same info without putting the life of the snitches in jeopardy.

I would also add use remote servos on doors that get opened and closed a lot to save your guards for more important duties.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Paingod »

Rip wrote:I would agree with all except to suggest using NSA level phone monitoring over snitches. You get the same info without putting the life of the snitches in jeopardy.

I would also add use remote servos on doors that get opened and closed a lot to save your guards for more important duties.
Phone Monitoring is something I've only tried once and it didn't seem to accomplish anything. Maybe I wasn't doing it right.

I totally forgot the Remote doors. That is insanely valuable. The thing I had to learn was that a connection from the door to the controller does nothing. From the controller to the door works correctly. The wire actually shows the flow of data.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Rip »

Paingod wrote:
Rip wrote:I would agree with all except to suggest using NSA level phone monitoring over snitches. You get the same info without putting the life of the snitches in jeopardy.

I would also add use remote servos on doors that get opened and closed a lot to save your guards for more important duties.
Phone Monitoring is something I've only tried once and it didn't seem to accomplish anything. Maybe I wasn't doing it right.

I totally forgot the Remote doors. That is insanely valuable. The thing I had to learn was that a connection from the door to the controller does nothing. From the controller to the door works correctly. The wire actually shows the flow of data.
Pretty much the same with phones. For every officer monitoring you will see the colored wire scanning. When he is listening to a call it will stay lit. Provides the same information you can get from informants....without the risk.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Paingod »

naednek wrote:I guess I'm still doing something wrong because I keep getting fights like it's a bunch of brats in a preschool
I get riots and fights if I bring in a lot of inmates too rapidly and don't give the last batch a chance to settle in for a day or two. I also get riots if needs go unattended too long... it tends to come down to scheduling activities to keep them balanced.

You need some ratios and control over the inmates to keep things moving.
Bladder - Using the toilet
Bowel - Using the toilet
Sleep - Access to a Bed.
Food - Hunger, meal quality, quantity, and options.
Safety - Safety is proximity to fights. No fights, no safety concern.
Hygiene - Access to a Shower
Exercise- Using a Yard or Common room equipped with weight benches.
Family - Visitation and Phone Booths (try to have 1 booth for every 10 inmates)
Recreation - Common Room or Yard with Pool Tables
Comfort - Sleeping or Sitting (beds, chairs, benches)
Environment - Cleaning is essential to happiness
Privacy - Having their own space away from other inmates.
Freedom - Time "outside" and "Free Time" scheduling.
Clothing - Appropriate laundry services replace dirty uniforms.
Drugs - "Cured" by time and Reform activity, ongoing problem; inmate prone to Overdose if they get drugs.
Alcohol - "Cured" by time and Reform activity, ongoing problem.

Inmates with multiple unmet needs are going to get surly. If you get too many in one place, they'll fight. If it's intense, they'll riot.

My schedule for Medium Security is typically (midnight to midnight)
Sleep
Sleep
Sleep
Sleep
Sleep
Sleep
Sleep
Shower
Eat
Work (Acts as Free Time if no Job is available)
Work
Work
Yard
Yard
Eat
Free Time
Work
Work
Work
Eat
Shower
Lockdown
Sleep
Sleep

This gives them time to sleep, opportunities for 3 meals a day if they want it, time in the Yard to meet needs, and Free Time if they're not working. If one shower is overcrowded, try putting them in Lockdown beforehand to ensure they disperse correctly when they come out of their cells.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Unagi »

Have any of you seen Tunnels revealed by Informants?

(My current strategy is to just re-install cell toilets maybe once a week)

Also, in the "CI" screen, the lower half seems to always read: "Coverage: 0%" while, above, in the part where it lists your informants they are sitting up there with a range of 70-100% coverage....

I'm just not clear what that lower half is there for really... and how to make it say something other than 0%.



Small story:
My current prison holds just over 100 prisoners, and I've been keeping them MIN security.... Last night I started to transition into accepting Normal Security prisoners.... and OH MY... Suddenly I have a couple TOUGH - INSTIGATORS and other bad-guys.... and wouldn't you know it.... Someone in the group went and killed each and every SNITCH in the prison.

On another note... I feel like dressing my Protective Status prisoners in bright yellow undermines my goal. :-)



and, RIP - have you or have you not yet checked out RimWorld ???
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Rip »

Unagi wrote:Have any of you seen Tunnels revealed by Informants?

(My current strategy is to just re-install cell toilets maybe once a week)

Also, in the "CI" screen, the lower half seems to always read: "Coverage: 0%" while, above, in the part where it lists your informants they are sitting up there with a range of 70-100% coverage....

I'm just not clear what that lower half is there for really... and how to make it say something other than 0%.



Small story:
My current prison holds just over 100 prisoners, and I've been keeping them MIN security.... Last night I started to transition into accepting Normal Security prisoners.... and OH MY... Suddenly I have a couple TOUGH - INSTIGATORS and other bad-guys.... and wouldn't you know it.... Someone in the group went and killed each and every SNITCH in the prison.

On another note... I feel like dressing my Protective Status prisoners in bright yellow undermines my goal. :-)



and, RIP - have you or have you not yet checked out RimWorld ???
Never seen tunnels revealed by anything other than a guard finding them or them showing up when I dismantle a toilet.


Rimworld?

That isn't some anal sex game is it? :D
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Paingod »

Gotta put those Yellow Jumpsuits in a safe zone where no one but them can go.

Footnote: Alpha 28 patch notes seem to start that it requires an active Informant for the Phone Tap "throw ins" to show up.

For reference, here's the prison I've had running swimmingly. It cost $600-$700,000 to set up and has a Forestry off screen. It makes around $10,000 per day.
Enlarge Image
Last edited by Paingod on Wed Jan 28, 2015 9:01 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Rip »

Paingod wrote:Gotta put those Yellow Jumpsuits in a safe zone where no one but them can go.

Footnote: Alpha 28 patch notes seem to start that it requires an active Informant for the Phone Tap "throw ins" to show up.
Sure but what does that matter? Not like you can go pick them up before a prisoner does. The objective with throw-ins is to build a prison where they aren't possible.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Paingod »

Rip wrote:Sure but what does that matter? Not like you can go pick them up before a prisoner does. The objective with throw-ins is to build a prison where they aren't possible.
:doh: I mistook that to mean "the phone tap doesn't throw in info unless you have an active informant"
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Rip »

Alpha 29 video.

Parole
All prisoners are now granted a parole hearing when they reach 50% of their sentence, and another at 75%.
To facilitate this you must build a Parole Room, and start the Parole Program.

- A parole hearing requires the Warden, the Chief, the inmate, and in the inmates lawyer.
- At the end of the hearing, the board will make a decision and the inmate may or may not be released early.
- The decision is based on their estimated re-offending chance (viewable in their rap sheet).
- Under the Policy tab there is a new slider that governs how lenient your parole board will be
- Inmates who are denied parole may become angry, and may even attack the parole board staff

- Financial rewards : If a prisoner is paroled early and does not re-offend, you will receive a bonus of $3,000.
If he does re-offend, you will be fined $10,000
This occurs the moment the prisoner leaves the map


- NOTE: Inmates must be able to navigate to the parole room. Eg Staff Only won't work.
- NOTE: Only one parole hearing can happen at a time, because the Warden and Chief must be present.
However you can have multiple parole rooms in different security zones,
and your Warden/Chief will move around as required.

- New failure condition : You will be fired if too many Wardens are killed in your prison
- New failure condition : You will be fired if too many paroled prisoners re-offend after early release


New room : Chapel
About one third of your new prisoners now have a Spirituality need
Build a Chapel (Multi-faith-prayer-room) to give them a place to pray.

- New furniture
Pews
Prayer mat
Altar

- New reform program : Spiritual guidance.
A religious leader from the community will visit your prison, and talk to your prisoners.
This will instill in them a sense of calm, which affects not only them but also those around them.
Prisoners may attend this program as many times as they wish.


New room : Library
Around one third of your new prisoners now have a desire to read books,
for education, curiosity and entertainment.

- New furniture
Library Bookshelves
Librarian's desk

- Boxes of used and donated books will be delivered to your prison once you have a library.
- Employ prisoners in the library to sort these boxes of books and place them on your shelves.
(Prisoners must have the "Foundation Education" qualification before they can perform this job)

- Prisoners can visit the library and borrow books.
- Prisoners will read in their spare time, wherever they are sitting - library/canteen/cell etc.
- Returned books must be re-sorted onto the shelves
- Books wear out and become ruined after a while, and more will be delivered

- Note: Boxes of used/donated books may be used to smuggle contraband into the prison, so plan accordingly


Parallel Deliveries
Trucks will now load and unload in parallel, so long as they are aligned with a Delivery/Exports/Garbage zone when they stop.
Extend your Deliveries zone vertically so you can unload 2 or 3 or even more trucks simultaniously.
Trucks now cope better with multiple Deliveries rooms (and Garbage/Exports rooms)
Trucks now move 50% faster


Mod warning window
Many prisons now use mods to enhance the game, adding furniture, materials, programs etc to the core game.
This causes problems when you attempt to load those prisons without the mods being enabled.
From now on, upon loading such a prison you will be shown a list of all mods that were used to make the prison
If these were Steam mods, you can easily click on each required mod and auto-magically download and activate it
If they were not steam mods, clicking the mod will open a browser to a URL where you can download the mod
Note: This will only work for prisons saved with alpha-29 or later


- World time index now stored in double precision
This only affects prisons that have been running for hundreds of game days
This caused visual bugs such as extremely jerky animation, slow moving particles etc


- Navigation improvements
- Entities will no longer attempt to navigate through "Remote Doors" that don't have a powered Servo attached,
as those doors cannot possibly be opened by anyone.

- Entities will wait at a locked door for 30 seconds. They will then attempt to find an alternative route.
This alternative route may well be longer, but will avoid the door they are stuck on.

- Fixed : Deployment scheduler doesn't always update live deployment (until end of hour)
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Paingod »

I noticed this when I fired the game up a couple nights ago. Thankfully I was in the middle of building a new prison and it was fairly easy to restructure and accommodate the new rooms. I tend to be generous in design anyway as I find it more visually pleasing than building overly compact.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by jztemple2 »

Prison Architect is on sale for 75% off till Feb 7th. Additionally, all the upgraded version are on sale as well, except (oddly enough) the version that lets you upgrade your already purchased version to a higher version.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Kelric »

What is the point of a remote door if it also requires a servo and connection to the door control? A jail door or solitary door do the same job, right?
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by jztemple2 »

Kelric wrote:What is the point of a remote door if it also requires a servo and connection to the door control? A jail door or solitary door do the same job, right?
It's so you don't need a guard to come over to unlock it if someone like a janitor needs to get in there. I've found them to be heaven sent, since it means I can put my guards to better use.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Kelric »

jztemple2 wrote:
Kelric wrote:What is the point of a remote door if it also requires a servo and connection to the door control? A jail door or solitary door do the same job, right?
It's so you don't need a guard to come over to unlock it if someone like a janitor needs to get in there. I've found them to be heaven sent, since it means I can put my guards to better use.
A jail door with a servo attached does the same thing, though.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by jztemple2 »

Kelric wrote:
jztemple2 wrote:
Kelric wrote:What is the point of a remote door if it also requires a servo and connection to the door control? A jail door or solitary door do the same job, right?
It's so you don't need a guard to come over to unlock it if someone like a janitor needs to get in there. I've found them to be heaven sent, since it means I can put my guards to better use.
A jail door with a servo attached does the same thing, though.
My fault, I misunderstood your question. According to the Developer's Wiki:
The Remote Door was introduced in Alpha 23. Its main use is to relive guards by allowing the player to remotely open a door using a Door Control System. However the door can only be opened from the connected Door Control System, it is not possible to open a Remote Door with a jail key.
So this means (I think), while the other types of doors can be opened by an attached servo *or* by key, the Remote Door can *only* be opened by servo. This prevents rioting prisoners from taking keys and opening the Remote Door.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Unagi »

jztemple2 wrote:
Kelric wrote:What is the point of a remote door if it also requires a servo and connection to the door control? A jail door or solitary door do the same job, right?
It's so you don't need a guard to come over to unlock it if someone like a janitor needs to get in there. I've found them to be heaven sent, since it means I can put my guards to better use.
One can create prisons where their guards can't get back to the control room without a guard in the control room using just those remote doors (easily).

It's avoidable, but I had it plaguing my prison for a while. I re-worked my entrance and security room (and staff rooms).
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Rip »

Yea, guard keys will not open a remote door. I like to use them on the armory among other areas. Used to have to be careful because as noted if the door control guard went off duty he would just leave and in the gap the oncoming guard could try to go through one and get stuck. That is what makes the new time limit before they will look for a new path to destination awesome.

I mostly overcame the issue by having two door controllers that both hook to all doors. It wouldn't happen as often that way. I will almost certainly use them more now.

As far as the solitary door.

They are more expensive. :lol:

They are supposed to be stronger as well. I haven't had anyone break through a jail door yet, let alone a solitary door. It has also always been my assumption that staff doors are weaker than jail doors.

I am not sure and I wonder about how the remote door's strength relates to the other doors?
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by TazFTW »

Latest alpha adds Death Row and a working Electric Chair.

The game must be getting close to "official release" state.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Rip »

Still more awesome stuff coming out.

Alpha 33 is out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI0ICaHBJ-A

Adds a layer for cell quality. You can now have nice cells and crappy cells and it has an effect on prisoners. Very cool how they structure the system to encourage a range of cell types rather than just have all crappy cells or all really nice cells.

The also added a mail room and the problems and benefits such a thing naturally brings.

This game is really turning into a superb product.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Paingod »

Rip wrote:The also added a mail room and the problems and benefits such a thing naturally brings.
Just when you've designed a prison to minimize contraband, they toss in a whole new way to let it in.

:pop:
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Sepiche »

New beta patch adds gangs and commissaries among other things!
= Gangs
Some prisoners will now have gang allegiences upon entering your prison. This can make those prisoners much harder to deal with, as they will work to defend each other during trouble.
This is an optional feature, enabled by ticking the new "Gangs" tickbox in the New Map screen.
(Nb. You can also hack gangs into an existing prison by adding 'EnabledGangs true' to the top of the .prison file)
More dangerous / higher security prisoners are more likely to be gang members.
Gang members can be identified visually by their full body tattoos
Gang members will always come to the aid of their fellow gang member when fights break out.
This includes coming to the aid of a fellow gang member involved in a fight with guards.
Gang members more likely to try to steal weapons, and more likely to carry them rather than stash them.
Gang members will not participate in any voluntary reform programs
Gang members will not work for the prison
New view : Intelligence => Gangs. Highlights all known gang members and shows the total number of members of each gang.
Nb. This is part 1 of a larger feature.

= New room: Shop
Requires shelves and a shop front. The shop front should go on a wall such that prisoners can acces the shop front from a corridoor.
Shop goods will be brought into the prison in the usual way, and taken to the shop.
Prisoners can work in the shop, and will unpack the boxes of goods onto the shelves.
Prisoners can buy items from the shop to help with their needs:
Soap, shampoo etc for Hygene
Towels, blankets etc for Comfort
Magazines for entertainment
Snacks for Hunger
All prisoners are now paid a fixed wage of 50 cents per hour when working for the prison
Items in the shop cost $5 each
Prisoner wages and shop takings are now shown in the daily cashflow report (updated at midnight)
Prisoners are more inclined to participate in voluntary training programs, and will concentrate harder, when there is a shop on site. (They want to earn that wage to buy things for themselves).
The shop is a potential source of smuggled contraband
= Asian language support
The game now supports asian character sets, paving the way for translations into
Japanese
Chinese
Korean
etc
- Mail room (continued)
Fixed: Mail satchels would be endlessly delivered in certain circumstances
You can now dump mail satchels if you end up with too many
- Escape tunnels (continued):
Each member of a dig team now brings diminishing returns to the overall speed of digging. This represents the fact that (say) 10 prisoners just couldn't dig all at once in one square. Previously 4 prisoners would dig four times faster than just 1 prisoner. it will now take 4 prisoners to dig twice as fast as just 1 prisoner It will take 11 prisoners to dig three times as fast as just 1 prisoner
Searching a toilet manually will now reveal any escape tunnels. Nb this requires you specifically search the toilet itself, and does not apply if the toilet is searched as part of a "search cell" or "search cell block" order
Conventional fences no longer slow diggers down
- The research screen now flashes a warning if you are attempting to research an item, but are missing the neccesary Administrator, or he does not have an office

- Emergency services personel no longer need to rest in a staff room

- More prisoner faces added to the sprite bank, for greater variety

= BUG FIXES
0003270: [Control & User Interface] Flashing Yellow area in deployment screen not explained
0004990: [Gameplay] Basic Detention Center fails to recognize completed rooms if other rooms are incomplete
0003318: [AI & Behaviour] Delivery Trucks fail to stop and unload (when delivery zone at bottom of the map)
0006493: [AI & Behaviour] prisoners use the same seat/phone/shower etc
0007248: [Mod System] Special Characters prevent mods from work
0008666: [AI & Behaviour] Prisoners reading books will stop following regime and freeze up unable to fulfill needs.
0008916: [AI & Behaviour] Mail Room keeps ordering more Mail Satchels
0007670: [Control & User Interface] Spelling of bureaucratic in Chapel Description
0003271: [Gameplay] Clone Tool + Water
0007630: [AI & Behaviour] Gardeners and other AI vibrate when in 3x speed mode
0006067: [Gameplay] Prisoners are tunneling too fast (through perimeter wall)
0001166: [Gameplay] Guards wont take prisoners to Solitary Confinement, prisoner stuck in limbo
0008714: [AI & Behaviour] Some dump jobs are never done
0008766: [AI & Behaviour] Empty Parole Program slots not being filled despite long queue of eligible prisoners
0005953: [Graphics] Uniform's are sometimes under the bed
0006142: [Graphics] Render issues when stacking drains with other items
0008750: [AI & Behaviour] Prisoners do not leave Transport Bus if reception is full of laundry
0005453: [Gameplay] Power Switch + Cctv Monitor = UNLIMITED VISIBIlITY!
0008996: [AI & Behaviour] Prisoner released during shower leaves naked
0000665: [Gameplay] pausing stops the limit-check for daily spending
0008034: [AI & Behaviour] Chefs Don't Cook
0008129: [Graphics] Death Row font too dark
0006952: [AI & Behaviour] In large prisons suboptimal transport job causes death of overdosing prisoners during transportation to infirmary
0005830: [Gameplay] Bureaucracy research never finishes if started during pause after firing warden
0002935: [Gameplay] Guard dogs kill prisoners
0007920: [AI & Behaviour] Unconscious dog and dead handler
0006228: [AI & Behaviour] Dog handlers can't get tazers anymore, but research says they can
0009032: [AI & Behaviour] Dead guards in hearse still have flashlight on
0003311: [AI & Behaviour] Guards escorting prisoners to from their cell to the same cell over and over
0008135: [AI & Behaviour] Dirty trays are being stacked outside canteen (in a remote solitary cell, for example)
0007151: [Gameplay] Truck drivers can be sacked
0006966: [AI & Behaviour] 0 demand for meals in the second hour of Eat
0003132: [Gameplay] Sometimes contraband is listed as "None"
0007437: [AI & Behaviour] Cooks Not Cooking
0007933: [Other] cooks wont cook (Cellblock assigned to non-canteen in logistics)
0008904: [AI & Behaviour] Laundry without door breaks near-by rooms
0008624: [AI & Behaviour] Riot Police get tired
0007675: [Graphics] Altar not displaying properly against a wall
0008988: [Save & Load] Last Game Save causes a Crash to Steam Client
0008946: [Gameplay] Library Books keep coming
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by dbt1949 »

Is it also set in NY state with crooked employees and guards?
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by jztemple2 »

I have 78 hours in PA already, so I'm waiting for it to leave Early Access, so I don't completely burn out on it.
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Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by Kelric »

jztemple2 wrote:I have 78 hours in PA already, so I'm waiting for it to leave Early Access, so I don't completely burn out on it.
45 hours here. I'm also going to wait a while. It's a fun game but I learned all I could up to the second to last update. Just going to let them continue adding to it for a while now.
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baelthazar
Posts: 4364
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:12 am
Location: Indiana

Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by baelthazar »

I am so terrible at this game. Any tips for how to lay out the initial buildings so you have what you need but don't lose all your money? Do you guys hire a ton more workers to get this done before the prisoners arrive? I guess I need a "getting started" page, despite having played this since the beginning!
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jztemple2
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Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:52 am
Location: Brevard County, Florida, USA

Re: Prison Architect by Introversion

Post by jztemple2 »

baelthazar wrote:I am so terrible at this game. Any tips for how to lay out the initial buildings so you have what you need but don't lose all your money? Do you guys hire a ton more workers to get this done before the prisoners arrive? I guess I need a "getting started" page, despite having played this since the beginning!
You can turn off prisoner arrival so you don't have to be rushed. You won't be getting the income from them but the money from grants should be enough to get you started. Then when the prison is ready, turn back on prisoner acceptance.

I find the planning tool to be a lot of help, so you can lay out the ground plan of the prison to avoid costly remodeling later on. And the big rule of course, don't spend any money you don't need to. Keep things as bare boned as possible, don't buy more land till later on, don't bother with a lot of CCTV and other expensive tidbit till you have a significant positive cash flow. Early on, don't spend money on things that don't immediately make you money.
My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
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