Streets of Rogue 2 FAQ

[Madguy]

Hi everyone,

With this FAQ, I’ll try to consolidate the answers to your most burning Streets of Rogue 2 questions to one location!

If your question isn't answered here, be sure to check out the roadmap[www.notion.so], which also functions as a mini-design doc.

When’s it coming out?
The current official Early Access release date is "TBD Soonish" We won't be announcing any official release date until we're 100% certain.

How long will the demo be available?
At least up until the game's Early Access launch. TBD if it will be available beyond that.

I don't like <x feature> from the demo.
Consider literally anything in the demo to be subject to change, but feel free to submit feedback as well, it's all useful!

Was there supposed to be a playtest?
Indeed that was the plan, but things shifted around, and the demo version of the game that's available now is essentially acting as the playtest.

What platforms will the game be released on?
Initially, the game will be released on PC, Mac and Linux. At some point later, the game will be released on Xbox, Playstation and Switch consoles.

How is this game different from the first one?
First and foremost, the game isn’t so much a rogue-lite as it is a procedurally generated open-world game. Structurally, it’s completely different. Rather than progressing level-to-level and starting you from scratch when you die, the game operates as an open world where your character becomes more powerful in a variety of ways as you progress. Activities that you can engage in are much more varied. The game also includes a number of other additions, ranging from cars to animals to diagonal walls. My hope is that SOR2 will not "replace" the original game, but rather it will be different enough that they can coexist and scratch different itches that you may be having.

I liked the short-form game structure of the original. Will I still enjoy this?
While "runs" will be significantly longer than in SOR1, I want the game to retain a breezy feel. Ideally you should be able to hop in, make some progress and have a few fun/cool/interesting experiences, and leave satisfied. One of my initial inspirations for doing an open world game was actually Sid Meier's Pirates, an OG of the genre where the pace is quick, runs are generally under 10 hours (sometimes much less), and repeat playthroughs are all but a certainty. But I also want to leave things open for people to spend a lot of time in a playthrough if they want to. I imagine that mutators could help players to tailor the experience to their liking.

How much emphasis is being placed on the new survival/crafting/building/farming elements?
In keeping with the "play how you want" theme of the original game, it's not necessary to engage with every single system in order to have a successful playthrough. For example, you might be able to obtain a number of craftable items by purchasing or stealing them. Or, you might be able to purchase a home or sleep in hotels rather than build your own lodging. Any survival elements will be light by default, though I will likely create mutators that factor them more heavily into the gameplay.

Will the game be Early Access? How will that all work?
The game will initially release into Early Access. EA was extremely beneficial to the development of SOR1, so it makes sense to go that route again. My hope is that the EA period will last around 1 to 2.5 years. That may seem like a large window, but game development is unpredictable! It’s entirely possible that the game will be polished and feature-complete enough at the 1-year mark that I’ll be ready to call it 1.0, after which I’d continue to add content and improvements. Then again, that’s what I assumed about the original game, and its EA period was a little over 2 years. SOR1 had consistent bi-weekly updates for the duration of its EA period. This proved to be a little strenuous for me, so I may switch to doing updates every 3 weeks instead for the sequel.

What’s the game’s plot? How is this connected to the original game?
The primary "win state" of the game is to become the President, though other win states will likely be introduced as well. You start the game “fresh off the boat” in a new country, and the path that you take is completely up to you. I will likely also allow for alternate starting scenarios. There is no direct connection to the events of SOR1, though the game takes place in the same universe. And I may just straight-up change pieces of lore from SOR1 if I feel it better fits the new game. Essentially, SOR2 is very much its own unique thing.

What are the system requirements? Can this still run on my potato?
System requirements are slightly higher than the original game. Officially, the game requires 8 GB of RAM as opposed to the original’s 4 GB. But, it should generally run fine on most older machines, provided you’re not putting the game through anything super-strenuous (i.e. having four players drive quickly through dense cities at opposite ends of the game world). While Windows 7 isn't officially supported, there's a good chance the game will still run on it.

Will the game have Steam Deck support?
The original SOR got classified as "Playable" on Steam Deck, and I expect the same to happen with SOR2. The requirements to become "Verified" for SOR1 were actually pretty tricky to implement, and frankly wouldn't have made a difference for the vast majority of Steam Deck users, so I opted against it for the time being. I may end up finding the time to fulfill all these requirements for SOR2, but at the very least you should expect to be able to play the game on Steam Deck without issue.

Will the game have workshop and mod support?
Yes, though I can't say at this point whether it will be there at the start of Early Access, or the exact form it will take. I'd really like for the game to be more modder-friendly than the original SOR, but it may not be a priority for a bit unless there's a strong enough demand for it.

Will Streets of Rogue 1 still get updates?
SOR1 will continue to receive bug/balance/quality-of-life updates.

How many players does the game support?
Locally, the game supports four players split-screen. Online, the game also supports four players, though I might add support for extra players at some point in development.

Who’s working on it?
As with the first game, I (Matt D) am handling all of the design and programming. Most of the art is being created by Thomas “Cyangmou” Feichtmeir, with Czarek Łuczyński and Kordian Rönnberg helping on cars and other tasks. The soundtrack is being created by Megan McDuffee. Building/"chunk" designs are being done by Clay "Cyan Light" Dickenson, who was a very prolific creator of chunks for the original SOR. Regarding the absence of the original game’s composer, sadly a contract-related issue (unrelated to me or tinyBuild) prevented him from coming onboard this time around.

Which character classes will be returning from the original game?
As many as I can cram in there.

Since the game has farming and crafting, will it also have fishing?
Possibly but I haven't figured out exactly how this will work yet. I'm sort of against adding minigames. I'm open to suggestions.

How much will it cost?
I haven’t had this discussion with my publisher yet. If I had to make an educated guess based on the current indie games market, it will likely release into Early Access at $19.99 or $24.99 USD. For those who remember, the original game launched into EA at $14.99 back in 2017. By comparison, SOR2 will have lots more content, polish, and overall value.

Will there be a GOG version?
I can't 100% confirm at this point, but it's very likely, as the original game was on GOG.

What’s the best way to get updates?
I’ve been posting details on the game in recent SOR1 news updates. You can also follow me on Twitter.

How can I support development?
Wishlist and tell your friends!

Can I read emails this time?
That's under wraps!

Matt
@madguy90

[C0UNC1L]

Given what little we know about the crafting so far, will it be possible for us to craft our own machines to use in our homes/bases?

Machines being an operative term for things like the Sell-o-Matic, Ammo Dispenser, etc.

Presumably, if the Shopkeeper makes a return, they'd probably have the Portable Sell-o-Matic, but I could see having your own Sell-o-Matic in your base to sell unwanted loot could be handy, for example.

[Madguy]

Originally posted by C0UNC1L:

Given what little we know about the crafting so far, will it be possible for us to craft our own machines to use in our homes/bases?

Machines being an operative term for things like the Sell-o-Matic, Ammo Dispenser, etc.

Presumably, if the Shopkeeper makes a return, they'd probably have the Portable Sell-o-Matic, but I could see having your own Sell-o-Matic in your base to sell unwanted loot could be handy, for example.

Some (but not all) objects will be craftable. Not sure about those objects you mentioned specifically. I haven't worked out the requirements for this sort of thing yet, but most likely you'd need to have a high level of technical skill, or purchase the machines rather than crafting them.

Originally posted by maxharrysson:

Yo mat of If bought the soundtrack from the steam for the original sor can I use it in my vids?

I don't see an issue with it if you make sure to somehow let people know where it's from.

Originally posted by \_☻_/:

Hello Matt,
I hope you and your game are doing fine !
Can we expect to see a "rogue vision" mutator like in SoR 1 ? Really like how it adds a scouting / unpredictable gameplay.

It will return at some point, though it's a somewhat complex feature to add and it might not make it for the start of Early Access.

Originally posted by lazprune:

Hiya! Hope you are doing well!

Will the cars derail and slide, exploding into the scenery if they run over a puddle? I imagine how fun it would be to leave oil behind during a car chase and see the police crash haha ^^

This sort of thing is planned. Save your banana peels :)

Originally posted by Carmph:

Will there still be a custom character creator?

Yes.

Originally posted by Lenneh:

also is there gonna be any kind of homebase?

Yes.

Originally posted by lazprune:

Originally posted by Endus:

I'm sure I'll enjoy this game regardless and I'm trying to refrain from adding to the feature creep, but I've just got to say, people are talking costumes and if I can dress my gorilla as an E-girl then it's an 11/10 from me.

E-girilla is good but here's a real question for Matt Can we find love in SoR2? Can I marry my Alien to a Gorilla?

No love and marriage planned right now!

Originally posted by TheShadowHat:

Since worlds and characters are stored separately, will you be able to name your characters, so they're not just known as their class?
How has Comedian changed since their appearance in SOR1? Will Joke get a skill tree?
In a Rock Paper Shotgun article (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/become-a-bear-whisperer-and-overthrow-the-president-in-streets-of-rogue-2-next-year) it mentions a "bear whisperer" class. Would you be willing to reveal any details on the mysterious bear whisperer (besides them being able to talk to bears), or shall they remain a mystery...

Yes you'll be able to name your characters.

Bear Whisperer isn't actually a class, but there is an animal interactions-related skill tree that serves this function.

Comedian will have more to do this time around for sure.

Originally posted by Tony:

Will there be an inventory system and different clothes/armor that you can wear?

Clothing changes are planned, this will likely be for aesthetic purposes only and won't be tied to stats. Cyberpunk 1.0 made that mistake, resulting in players having to wear absolutely ridiculous outfits to have the best stats :p They reworked this in the big overhaul update a few months back.

Originally posted by dtmox_sour-cream:

Will we have control over custom npc behaviors and routines?

will custom skill trees be a thing?

No current plans for custom skill trees, though I'm not ruling it out as something that could potentially exist.

Also no current plans for setting behaviors of custom NPCs. Again, if it ultimately ends up making sense I'll consider it, but it might be a bit before I begin allowing players to add custom NPCs to the game.

[free kill]

fair enough thanks for the answers.

[lazprune]

Thanks for all the answers! Have a nice day!

[Gru445]

dope

[maxharrysson]

Yo mad! I noticed when in the sor.1 level editor there is a lack of being able to make custom shop npcs.
1 will you be able to do so in sor2
2 will sor 2 also feature being able to make custom elevator floors
3 will sor 2 have better mod support or even a in-game mod creator like being able to edit base game weapons and being able to be give them new textures and stats?
4 will there be some sort of crafting of some kind more complex then the first game?
5 will sor 2 have an option to being back the old sor 1 type graphics
6 will sor 2 have a hiding system
7 as per my last question can I still make refrigerators run and can I get my own Easter egg if I kill someone with a fridge?

[MED]

Will the first game ost make a return in some form?

[plaguedoccy]

Do you think you will support ultrawide monitors in streets of rogue 2?

[Madguy]

Originally posted by plague doccy:

Do you think you will support ultrawide monitors in streets of rogue 2?

The original game had ultrawide support in a bare-bones sort of way. That will likely be true here as well. There's a bit of an extra complication in that the game generates "chunks" of the world outside of the play area, and if you were to make the play area wide enough, you'd see chunks popping into existence. But I should be able to find workarounds.

[plaguedoccy]

Originally posted by Madguy:

Originally posted by plague doccy:

Do you think you will support ultrawide monitors in streets of rogue 2?

The original game had ultrawide support in a bare-bones sort of way. That will likely be true here as well. There's a bit of an extra complication in that the game generates "chunks" of the world outside of the play area, and if you were to make the play area wide enough, you'd see chunks popping into existence. But I should be able to find workarounds.

Yeah, I'm aware streets of rogue 1 has UW support. I guess it's relatively minor but my main problem was the ui elements not being fixed to the edges of the screen, they end up being centred. Not that big of a deal just wondering if you'd take it into consideration in the sequel.

[Revalopod]

Originally posted by plague doccy:

Originally posted by Madguy:

The original game had ultrawide support in a bare-bones sort of way. That will likely be true here as well. There's a bit of an extra complication in that the game generates "chunks" of the world outside of the play area, and if you were to make the play area wide enough, you'd see chunks popping into existence. But I should be able to find workarounds.

Yeah, I'm aware streets of rogue 1 has UW support. I guess it's relatively minor but my main problem was the ui elements not being fixed to the edges of the screen, they end up being centred. Not that big of a deal just wondering if you'd take it into consideration in the sequel.

Actually a lot of UW users like myself prefer the UI elements to not be at the edges, because then it's at your periphery and harder to see. So if possible, an option to "center" or "edge" the UI would be good.

[maxharrysson]

Yo mad guy it be pretty cool to add unique levels similar to your modifiers but like they are super unique where every runs end you can hit new game plus where you can enter your character into another run with all their items and traits and to do that to have to beat a super unique level. A few ideas I had in mind like riding/ defending a train your riding to a new town or whatever the runs are set in. Another may be a long car map where you have to outrun NPCs trying kill you such as law enforcement or hitmen. Something chasey be creative anything from land sea or air would work. And every time you do it the unique levels the next one get harder. Idk it's just an idea I thought of that would fit into the rouge like theme to for.

[dard98]

I have a question. In latest trailer there was shown on the map that there will definitely be factions on territories. I heard that there will be territory gain (aka purchase it and just gaining it through other means). I wonder what can we do with it? Building would be first thing, but i wonder if there will be a way to settle followers in those houses to keep them for later.

[Thiago Hoffmann]

Hyped here! How much content is planned to be avaliable to release in EA?

[上恩]

I really hope to have Taiwan localization support, traditional Chinese support.