Please note: The visuals and gameplay footage showcased in this video are from earlier development phases and may not accurately reflect the final game. Anticipate improvements in quality upon release. Hello again, architects! Your friendly local Prison Architect 2 devs here, swinging by with some more insight on an important game area: Security!

Serve and Protect

What is a prison without Security? A complete failure, that’s what. This week we’re going to talk about the ways you can keep your Inmates indoors, the methods you can use to observe and protect, and the options you can use in the most extreme situations. Operating an unsafe and insecure Prison is a really good way to get yourself closed down, whether that’s from failing the game due to a high number of deaths, escapes, or losing your lockup to an out-of-control Riot.

Lock the Damn Doors!

It doesn’t matter how many CCTV Cameras and Metal Detectors you have set up if your Prisoners can just wander through an open Fence Gate. Some doors (such as the Jail Door) are automatically locked, but standard doors aren’t. To make sure your prison is actually secure, move to the Security Info View. This will colour the zones of your prison (any contiguous area fully surrounded by Boundaries and Doors) either green or red. Green means Secure, while Red means that there’s an unlocked path directly to the edge of the map. If you leave doors unlocked, your Inmates in Prison Architect 2 will realize and may just wander off to freedom!

Check all your floors too; Inmates are able to plan an escape through an insecure area, even if they have to go around the prison, up to another floor, over the roof, along a gantry, and back down again!

Players have a lot more control over doors, and regardless of their colour, style, or size, you can toggle the locked status of a Door by selecting it and adjusting its open/closed status or whether it needs a key. Inmates aren’t provided keys of course, but they can steal them, so be careful which staff members you provide keys to via your Prison Policies.

On Guards

When is a Guard, not a Guard? When they’re an Enforcer, Sniper, or Dog Handler of course! On top of your classic Prison Guards, you can hire specialist Security Staff who will have varying skills and priorities. There are positives and negatives to each group of staff, so think hard about who you want to hire, where you want to station them, and what jobs you’ll expect them to do. Need to cover a large open area prone to running Escapees? A sniper perched up on a high wall or patrolling from above using Prison Architect 2’s new gantries, is probably your best bet. Players can get creative with multiple floors, balancing a guard’s vantage point against keeping them at a safe distance.

Got a problem with Contraband being smuggled from certain rooms, or suspect an escape plan is afoot? Send in your Dog Handlers, who are great at sniffing out illicit substances and tunnels. With a new upgrade, you’ll be able to perform searches specific to Dog Handlers, whilst the rest of your guards perform their day-to-day duties.

Patrol With The Punches

Patrols and Deployment might be some of the most basic Security features, but they’re some of the most useful. By drawing a Patrol Route, you can ensure you’ve got regular Security presence along your most trafficked routes or rooms. Prisoners know when there are staff nearby and will use this information when deciding whether or not to Misbehave. So setting up a Patrol Route along a Cell Block not only means you’re more likely to notice crimes being committed but also means that they’re less likely to happen in the first place. Security staff assigned to a Patrol Route will follow it the best they can, and will only leave the route if high-priority incidents arise. Patrols can also cross over, and continue up and down stairs.

Security Staff can be assigned to a patrol route, but also a zone or room, via the Deployment tool. Security Staff on Deployment will then cover that area, keeping an eye on everything that’s going on. Deployment is a little more flexible than Patrols and allows Guards and other Security Staff to handle some jobs (such as opening doors) whilst remaining on Deployment.

Big Brother

When your Prison Population starts to grow, you might want to think about some Security automation. Supplementing your Security Staff with Metal Detectors and CCTV. This Security equipment may cost more money upfront, but it doesn’t have a daily wage fee to pay. It’s also much safer to have CCTV Cameras in a highly-populated area, with guards at a safe distance, to respond if necessary. Cameras can detect crimes in progress and alert your Security Staff to go and deal with the issue. Metal Detectors will automatically scan any character walking through, with a high chance of discovering metallic objects stashed in the pockets of Inmates. The detector will then trigger an inmate search, so make sure you have some Guards nearby to do a thorough search and carry out any punishments.

In Case of Emergency

So far we’ve talked about day-to-day security operations, but what about when things start getting out of hand? At the bottom-right of the screen, a new Security Measures button provides access to a whole host of prison Security commands including Contraband and Tunnell Searches, sending inmates back to their Cells with Bangup, or even calling in Riot Squads and Paramedics. Some of these features need to be unlocked on the Bureaucracy menu but once you have access, you will have a full arsenal of tools at your disposal.

We’ve only scratched the surface of what’s covered by Prison Architect 2’s vast Security systems, so make sure to check out the accompanying video for other sneak peeks. Prison Architect 2 was a passion project for the team at Double Eleven and we’re excited to be showing you features ahead of the game’s full launch. We can’t wait to see the solutions that players come up with for handling Security in their prisons, and Paradox will continue working closely with the community to collect and respond to your feedback! The Dev Team Prison Architect 2 ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾

Next up on Prison Architect Academy: Prisoner Management

Next week we’ll be telling you all about how to manage your inmates in Prison Architect 2