Forensics: Crime Scene Detective News & Patch Notes

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Forensics: Crime Scene Detective News & Patch Notes | SteamScope

laura [aerosoft]steam_community_announcements

13d ago

Improvements and Fixes

After the first patch and the progression issue under control we focused our work on the first batch of improvements and of course more bug fixes. The Biggest things are holograms of the locked cases to have an indicator what is to come. We also added a better zoom control for the DNA comparison.

This is just the first batch more is to come. Let's dive into the details:

🆕 New Features & Improvements

We improved the skybox in Shooting Mishap
Added Hologram Cases to drawer for locked cases to indicate how many there are
Scaling the DNA comparison profile now has its origin on the bottom left of the profile
Improved visibility of fingerprints when using the UV-light
Added in-world police posters procedure
Better Mail UI for clarification on what is read and what is unread

🛠️ Fixes

Fixed an issue where you would fall out of the world when picking a case
Fixed an issue with opening the system menu while in intro screen
Added case-solve console command to manually fix save games without wiping the score
Fixed wrong evidence amount in Tutorial 2 summary
Fixed text overflow in polish on case score UI
Fixed "Mousepad Maniac" achievement trigger
Fixed spawn location sometimes being in another place than expected on loading save file
Fixed a few cases of tools not being in their cases in loading and case retry
Fixed a Fingerprint collision preventing a foto in "Barrel Secrets"

Gameplay Changes

We reduce the "case closed " pop up time to avoid confusion when a case is solved
Spoiler Added more flavor texts to phones found in "Whisky and Gunfire"
Spoiler Removed Conclusions from Phone analysis and added them to response email for clarity in "Whisky and Gunfire"
Spoiler Added two new texts for the lost and found phones in "Whisky and Gunfire"
Changed Laptop decryption texts in "Blood ties at the Poolbar" for more suspense
Changed wording for tutorials case summaries to make them feel like part of the world
Projectile comparison precision is now factored into the case scoring
You can now use the tripod camera with the spray can in hand

Thanks for the Feedback on our discord and in the steam boards!

DevBlog 4 - 10 Days Left Until Release

laura [aerosoft]steam_community_announcements

26d ago

We are now less than two weeks away from the release of Forensics: Crime Scene Detective.

People often imagine that the final weeks of development are all about adding new features. In reality, they are almost the opposite.

At this stage, our focus is on polishing, refining and, most importantly, communicating.

The Steam Next Fest demo has been incredibly valuable. Watching players experience the game for the very first time highlighted something that every developer eventually encounters. Features that feel obvious after months of development are often not obvious to someone seeing them for the first time.

One of our biggest takeaways has been that players usually understand what they want to achieve. The challenge is making sure the game clearly communicates how to achieve it and why certain actions matter.

That is where much of our current work happens.

We are improving how evidence is placed into laboratory analysis stations. We are refining how forensic tools are used at crime scenes. We are revisiting tutorials to better introduce mechanics that experienced players might consider self explanatory but new players naturally do not.

This is not about simplifying forensic work.

It is about making the intention behind every interaction easier to understand.

One of the core ideas behind Forensics: Crime Scene Detective has always been authenticity. From our very first conversations about crime scene procedures and evidence collection, our goal was never to build an arcade game.

At the same time, realism alone does not automatically create an enjoyable experience.

Every mechanic lives somewhere between real forensic work and good game design. Finding that balance has probably been the biggest challenge throughout development and it remains our focus during these final weeks.

Whenever we make a change, we ask ourselves the same question.

Does this improve the player's understanding without compromising authenticity?

If the answer is yes, it belongs in the game.

The finish line is getting closer, and these final details are often the ones players notice the most. Thank you to everyone who has played the demo, shared feedback and helped us shape a better experience.

We will keep polishing until release.

Developer Interview – A Deep Dive into Forensics: Crime Scene Detective

Bekkasteam_community_announcements

36d ago

Hello Detectives,

Over the past weeks, many of you have asked for more details about the development of Forensics: Crime Scene Detective, the technologies behind the game, and how we work together with real forensic experts.

To answer these questions, we recently sat down with members of the development team for an extensive interview covering the game's creation, forensic realism, crime scene investigations, laboratory work, case design, and the road to Early Access.

During the interview, we discusses topics such as:

How the idea for Forensics: Crime Scene Detective was born
The collaboration with real forensic specialists and law enforcement experts
Workshops with forensic professionals and the State Criminal Police Office (LKA)
The challenges of balancing realistic investigative procedures with engaging gameplay
Crime scene investigation and evidence collection
Fingerprint analysis, ballistics, and digital forensics
Laboratory examinations and forensic technologies
Case design and player freedom during investigations
Technical development challenges and features built from scratch
Community feedback and future plans for Early Access

The interview also takes a closer look at several forensic disciplines featured in the game and provides insights into the team's approach to creating authentic crime scene investigations while ensuring an enjoyable gameplay experience.

In addition, the developer shares their thoughts on the recent press event, discuss the biggest development challenges so far and reveal which features they are most excited for players to experience.

Whether you're interested in realistic forensic science, detective gameplay, or the development process behind the scenes, this interview offers an in-depth look at what makes Forensics: Crime Scene Detective unique.

Stay tuned and don't forget to add Forensics: Crime Scene Detective to your wishlist to stay informed about future updates.

See you at the crime scene!

Devblog 3 - Incorporating Your Feedback

laura [aerosoft]steam_community_announcements

42d ago

Thank You for Your Feedback!

First of all, thank you to everyone who has downloaded, played, streamed, and shared feedback on the Forensics: Crime Scene Detective demo during Steam Next Fest so far. Seeing so many people jump into the game and take the time to tell us about their experience has been great.

One of the main reasons we participate in events like Steam Next Fest is simple: watching players interact with our game teaches us things that no internal playtest ever could.

Since the demo of Forensics Crime Scene Detective became available , we have received a lot of valuable feedback.

One topic came up again and again in your comments, videos, and discussions: the desoldering station.

The good news? Most players didn't dislike the mechanic itself.

The objective was clear: carefully remove a chip from a damaged phone and secure it as evidence. The challenge was understanding exactly what was happening while doing it.

How the Desoldering Station Worked

The process was relatively straightforward. You place a damaged phone into the workstation. Then apply hot air to the chip. A thermal camera view in the top left corner displays the chip temperature. Messages on the left side of the screen inform when the chip has become detached or when it has been destroyed.

Once detached, you select the vacuum tool and place the chip into the evidence container. On paper, all required information was available. In practice, many players struggled with the process.

What Players Told Us

After reviewing gameplay footage, comments, and direct feedback, several recurring issues became apparent.

Many players found it difficult to judge the chip's temperature, see exactly where the hot air was being applied, or understand when the chip was getting close to being damaged. Some also felt that the chip overheated too quickly.

What all of this feedback had in common was communication. The mechanic itself was working as intended, but the game wasn't providing enough clear visual feedback to help players understand what was happening.

What We've Improved

Our first goal was to make temperature easier to understand at a glance.

We introduced a new thermal color scale:

Blue tones now clearly indicate that the chip is still too cold

Red shows the ideal temperature range for an extraction
Orange, yellow, and white tones warn that the chip is becoming dangerously hot

A new LED indicator on the hot air tool makes it much easier to see exactly where you're aiming.

To make temperature management more forgiving, we adjusted the cooling behavior. Very hot chips now cool down faster than before, allowing you to recover more easily from overheating situations.

We also reduced the heating area of the hot air tool, making it easier to target specific components with precision. Finally, we expanded the successful extraction window. You now have a larger margin in which a chip can be safely removed after reaching the correct temperature.

Why We Love Steam Next Fest

The desoldering station is a perfect example of why public demos are so valuable. As developers, it is easy to become familiar with systems we have worked on for months. What feels obvious to us is often not obvious to someone experiencing the mechanic for the very first time.

Player feedback helps us identify these blind spots. The goal is not simply to react to every suggestion. It is to understand the underlying problem and improve the experience in a way that benefits everyone.

In this case, the feedback was not really about temperature values or destruction timers. It was about communication. And thanks to the players who tried the demo and shared their experiences, the desoldering station is already significantly better than it was yesterday.

We’re looking forward to hearing more from you during Steam Next Fest. Happy investigating!

From an empty space to a crime scene: how we bring our scenes to life

laura [aerosoft]steam_community_announcements

56d ago

Anyone who has ever opened an empty 3D scene in a game engine knows the problem: technically, everything is there. The walls are up, the furniture is placed, and the lighting works. And yet the space still feels sterile and somehow wrong. Real places don’t look like that.

That’s exactly why, in the development of Forensics: Crime Scene Detective, we spend a surprisingly large amount of time “dressing” our scenes. This step is especially important for our crime scenes. After all, we don’t want players to feel like they’re moving through a level, but rather like they’re investigating a real location.

A good example of this is the apartment crime scene from our tutorial, shown in the current screenshots.

At the beginning, the apartment only contained the essential elements: walls, doors, windows, and the furniture relevant to the case. Functionally, the scene was already playable. However, that alone is not enough to create a believable crime scene.

The next step is what we call cluttering. This involves scattering a large number of small objects throughout the environment: books on shelves, cables behind furniture, half-empty coffee cups, remote controls, mail on the dining table, or a pair of shoes in the hallway. Most of these objects have no relevance to the actual case. And that’s precisely why they matter.

In reality, a room is never made up only of things that are relevant to an investigation. People leave behind countless small traces of their everyday lives. These details help make an environment feel believable.

It’s not just about the number of objects, but also about how they are placed. Spaces quickly feel artificial if everything is perfectly aligned and neatly arranged. That’s why we deliberately introduce small imperfections. A chair is slightly askew, a stack of magazines isn’t perfectly parallel to the edge of a table, or a charging cable disappears halfway under a cabinet.

In a forensics game in particular, this creates an interesting challenge. On the one hand, we want to build realistic, lived-in environments. On the other hand, important clues must remain clearly readable for gameplay. Too much clutter can easily cause players to miss relevant evidence or become frustrated.

That’s why we always try to strike a balance for each crime scene. The environment should feel believable without obscuring the readability of the actual evidence. You could say: the apartment should look like someone actually lived there, not like a level designer carefully placed every object for the camera.

The tutorial apartment is a good example of this process. Many of the objects in the current screenshots were added relatively late in development. They don’t change the gameplay or the solution to the case. And yet they play a crucial role in making the apartment feel like a real place.

And that is ultimately the goal: before players secure their first piece of evidence or analyze their first fingerprint, they should feel like they are stepping into a real crime scene.

DevBlog 1 | Workshops at the State Criminal Police Office Rhineland Palatinate

laura [aerosoft]steam_community_announcements

76d ago

Together with the State Criminal Police Office (LKA), we conducted several workshops to design our gameplay mechanics as closely as possible to real investigative procedures. The focus was to understand how investigative work actually functions when evidence must hold up in court.

One of the key takeaways was the strict order of investigative steps: a crime scene is not simply “worked through,” but systematically read and analyzed. Many actions only make sense — or are even legally permissible — if they happen in the correct sequence. In the end, this determines whether evidence remains admissible under the German Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO), meaning it can contribute both to incriminating and exonerating a suspect.

What we specifically learned during these workshops:

How crime scenes are systematically documented and “read”
Why order, documentation, and precision are critical
How small mistakes or shortcuts can affect the admissibility of evidence
The importance of standardized procedures to ensure cases remain traceable and understandable later on

Fingerprints, Evidence Photography, and Proper Documentation

A large part of the workshops focused on the practical handling of evidence: we learned how fingerprints are revealed, collected, and processed, and which details truly matter during the process. This includes working with lighting, contrast, powders, lifting tape, and above all the question: what do I document, when, and how?

Evidence photography was just as important — not as a “nice to have,” but as the foundation for reconstructing a crime scene later on. In the game, crime scene photography is therefore not just a feature, but a core mechanic: you can still collect and use evidence without photographing it first, but altering the scene before proper photo documentation comes with consequences.

Important: Gameplay Mechanics vs. Reality

In real forensic work, there is no “scoring system” in the sense of losing points. Instead, evidence may become unusable, or the evidentiary value of a trace may significantly decrease. In the game, we translate this concept into a rating system because it makes the principle easier for players to understand and rewards proper investigative work.

What is directly reflected in the gameplay:

Crime scene photography before altering the scene
Marking evidence and maintaining proper documentation
Fingerprint visualization and collection as a process, not a simple “one-click” interaction
Consequences for improper investigative order (represented through gameplay evaluation)

Why We Cannot Show Workshop Photos — and What We Did Instead

We would have loved to share photos from the workshops, but they took place inside the facilities and staged training apartments of the Police University. This means that many details are not intended for public release due to security and contextual reasons.

Even so, the knowledge we gained was invaluablea and the workshops helped us design cases that feel realistic.

The Game’s Tone and Atmosphere

Our conversations with investigators, officers, and forensic specialists were not only professionally insightful, but also shaped our understanding of what “forensics” really means: often quiet, methodical, patient, and full of details.

For us, Forensics: Crime Scene Detective is therefore a deliberately slow-paced experience. It is about careful observation, critical thinking, and precise work. You gradually dig deeper into a case step by step, rather than rushing through it.

And this direct collaboration with the LKA is one of the reasons why the project feels so special to us.

Forensics: Crime Scene Detective news & patch notes

🆕 New Features & Improvements

🛠️ Fixes

Gameplay Changes

Forensics: Crime Scene Detective news & patch notes

🆕 New Features & Improvements

🛠️ Fixes

Gameplay Changes

🆕 New Features & Improvements

🛠️ Fixes

Gameplay Changes

Let's dive into the details:

🆕 New Features & Improvements

🛠️Fixes

🕵️ Gameplay Changes

🆕 New Features & Improvements

🛠️ Fixes

Improvements and Fixes

You keep reporting we keep fixing!

🆕 New Features & Improvements

🛠️ Fixes

Gameplay Changes

Improvements and Fixes

🆕 New Features & Improvements

🛠️ Fixes

Gameplay Changes

Progression Bug Fix and Onboarding Improvements

🆕 New Features & Improvements

🛠️ Fixes

Gameplay Changes

Forensics: Crime Scene Detective is OUT NOW!

Play now!

Thank You for Your Feedback!

How the Desoldering Station Worked

What Players Told Us

What We've Improved

Why We Love Steam Next Fest

🔎 Steam Next Fest just started!

🕵️‍♂️ Forensics: Crime Scene Detective releases July 13th on Steam!

Fingerprints, Evidence Photography, and Proper Documentation

Important: Gameplay Mechanics vs. Reality

Why We Cannot Show Workshop Photos — and What We Did Instead

The Game’s Tone and Atmosphere

Curious how forensics works in a real lab?

Curious how forensics works in a real lab?

Steam news for Forensics: Crime Scene Detective