Prison Architect: Finished my current masterpiece

[Kalmah]

Yeah, so I've put 397 hours into this game. Each month gets a new update with new content which continuously draws me back.

This prison has to be my best yet. It does have some flaws though, many of them brought on by bugs that are still in the game. Some are not. I built my outside walls too close to the edge of the map which keeps me from building a second wall around the outside wall which in turn allows for contraband to be thrown in over the walls. Nothing a nightly shakedown can't take care of. The perimeter wall keeps them from tunneling out of the prison anyways.

So here is the layout:

560 total prisoners.

200 low security
200 medium security
100 max security
20 supermax security
40 protective custody

I use the depoloyment scheduler to move the guards around to different rooms automatically based on the regime as well.

They each have their own respective yard and cantine.
Only low security prisoners are allowed to work.

Each cell block has 20 cells and each group of blocks contains 100 total cells. There is a shower at the end of each 20 cell block.

Electrical and plumbing was a pain in the ass to run.

All doors are remotely operated and all phone boots are monitored from the security room.

This regime works nicely with this prison layout.

Here is a closeup of the canteen and kitchen areas. The 6 major intersections all have metal detectors and dogs to sniff for contraband which can be seen.

Solitary that can hold 40 prisoners.

This prison was built from the ground up without cheating or anything. It took a couple of weeks. I'm thinking trying my next one to focus on pure reform programs to see if I can max the reform grading or just pure security and keep everbody locked up. Should be fun.

This prison performs nicely. No riots, very few deaths. I enable my confidential informants each time I get new prisoners and move all my dangerous prisoners to supermax and all my vulnerable ones to protective custody which are kept in their own designated areas.

Thanks for reading!

 

[WiseUp216]

10/10. The electrical and plumbing is crazy.

 

[Kalmah]

10/10. The electrical and plumbing is crazy.

Yeah, it's tough because it took 7 different electrical grids, and you can't cross the wires on the grids or the power shorts out. It's like a huge puzzle trying to keep the power even across the entire map, getting everything power, and not backing yourself into a corner. It's like playing that old game "snake" where you had to eat things and the snake got longer the more you ate... lol.

Thanks.

 

[futurefields]

so it's worth $5.99 then?

 

[TheSandman21]

so it's worth $5.99 then?

That's downright theft. Grab it and run!

 

[Kalmah]

so it's worth $5.99 then?

If you have a bit of OCD then you'll love it! lol. I suggest going back through the update history on the steam page for it and watching all the update videos starting around probably alpha 10. They will teach you how to play so that you won't be fumbling around for hours with it. They are really entertaining to watch anyways.

This game has kept me more interested than any city builder game that I've ever played.. I'd say it's probably about even with Dwarf Fortress. Much easier to get into as well.

It keeps getting better every month with each update. I'd say grab it now before it goes full release and full price. It's probably one of the only alpha games that I would ever suggest actually paying for. It has been completely playable for nearly a year and they keep adding more and more. Every couple of months they dedicate a month to bug fixing then continue on with content updates. These guys also created "Uplink Hacker Elite" which is an old favorite of mine.

 

[stag3]

yea i paid full price and it was worth it if you like sim type games, this game rocks
i have not made anything even 10% as good as kalmah has so far hahahah my prison
is all shitty

 

[DigDog]

dude, thats more complicated than what i do for work.

 

[Blanky]

dude, thats more complicated than what i do for work.

Yeah at first I was like "Cool" and then I was like "yikes"!

Looks hellaciously addictive considering OP has put so many hours in.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Sure that "game" isn't just a distributed-research / computing project, sponsored by the private prison industry?

 

[Captante]

Sure that "game" isn't just a distributed-research / computing project, sponsored by the private prison industry?

My exact thoughts.

 

[T9D]

https://chaturbate.com/female-cams/

 

[Kalmah]

I bought this yesterday for $5.99. Pretty good game. A few annoying bugs. Like when all the builders got stuck at the doors because there was a light right on top of the door. The game seemed to only register the light and not the door and I couldn't click on the door so lots of builders were stuck there. I had to reset an old save.

It's not bad, I enjoy sim city type games way more. This game is so dark and dreary compared to those. Still enjoyable though. To many times I'm frustrated trying to figure out how the heck to do something, could be a little more intuitive.

Yeah, it can be a bit of a pain to figure out the intricacies of it all because of strange little bugs. Especially build order! Lay down wiring and plumbing before walls or you will find that your guys get stuck in some spots where they can't lay them down causing you to have to tear down parts of your prison. It can also be helpful to click on the door and 'lock open' to get around some minor problems. Don't forget to re-lock it though. Use the deployment screen to set an entire block as "unlocked' when working on an entire area.

The game isn't feature complete so there really isn't much for a tutorial. They release a feature video every month with the update that teaches the new features, so going through the Steam update news and watching the monthly alpha update videos will help a lot.

The game is getting really immense. I suggest trying not to start out real big. Just stay small and enjoy what you can and have fun with it. But seriously, watch the alpha update videos or some parts you will never understand. I imagine once the game gets closer to final release they will implement some actual documentation or make it more intuitive. I've been following this game for nearly a year so each month it has just been a baby step with each update.

 

[mizzou]

I just dropped around 6 hours in this today :awe:

I Hate spending over an hour building something, then coming to the realization I have to start allll over again

It seems fairly easy though...if you only accept prisoners as you need them. It's hilariously chaotic when you just let them dump everyone at your gate.

 

[Maximilian]

Prison architect is awesome, love seeing what other people built! Nice prison OP, made more impressive that you built it from the ground up. Heres my built from scratch prison:

Yeah... I sold that snake pit for 3 million and built this afterwards:

Im gonna try and build a larger capacity one eventually, something like yours, less space wastage with no grass/outdoors stuff.

 

[Kalmah]

Ooo I like that second prison, it looks efficient and clean. Lol at the huge holding cell on the first one. That might work with a lot of psychologists with huge therapy regime. haha

 

[Kalmah]

I just dropped around 6 hours in this today :awe:

I Hate spending over an hour building something, then coming to the realization I have to start allll over again

It seems fairly easy though...if you only accept prisoners as you need them. It's hilariously chaotic when you just let them dump everyone at your gate.

Disable "continuous intake' when you start a new game. Then in the clipboard inside the game, under 'prisoners' tab, you can then enable and disable their intake.

 

[Stringjam]

No breakfast? I hope I never end up there!!

 

[Rhezuss]

OP, you made my buy the game and at $6 it is a no brainer!

Awesome prison btw!

 

[clok1966]

I love the game but get stuck at the class grant almost every time. I understand being a criminal already means you are not to smart, but after my first calls finishes and 3 out 15 pass, I get like 1 out of 10 in my next classes, so after 5- 6 sets I am no where near 15 passing. And NOBODY wants general classes. Whats up with that?

 

[manimal]

op is hardcore!

 

[mizzou]

Oh man, had a decent prison going and then my cooks decided not to cook a damn thing!

I think deliveries of goods may have stopped for some reason, can't figure it out.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Sure that "game" isn't just a distributed-research / computing project, sponsored by the private prison industry?

hahaha.... Nah, it is Introversion, the guys that made "Uplink". They had been working on another hacking/infiltration game, with a lot of really detailed building simulation (the idea was that you would do intrusion/penetration into a rival/target company, steal files/data, install remote access/backdoors, etc., even take over internal security of the building). While they made a lot of good technology in terms of procedurally generated buildings and even cities, they couldn't come up with a game that was actually fun to play. So they took a lot of that framework and said, hey, why don't we let the player design the building themselves, and made it into this.

 

[Kalmah]

I love the game but get stuck at the class grant almost every time. I understand being a criminal already means you are not to smart, but after my first calls finishes and 3 out 15 pass, I get like 1 out of 10 in my next classes, so after 5- 6 sets I am no where near 15 passing. And NOBODY wants general classes. Whats up with that?

Yeah, this can be a little tough. I find that low security tend to not stay in the prison long enough to graduate from alot of the courses.. so a good flow of medium security helps. I think waiting to take this grant later once the prison is really going helps.

One thing to remember, you can sell your prison and start new with all of the cash that you made. Make your prison, then once it gets to a point where you feel like starting over, sell it instead. I think it's in the 'valuation' tab. You'll keep all your money. Then on your next one stop all prisoner intake and plan ahead with the planning tool. Each new prison will get better and better.

 

[paperfist]

Did they change to power output or how you should set it up from early alpha versions?

It used to take me 1 to power half a map of rooms, but now it seems like i have to build a lot of them.