Digital Phablet

Tag: Roadside

  • Completing Every Upgrade in Roadside Research

    Completing Every Upgrade in Roadside Research

    Roadside Research is a cooperative simulation game where players manage their own gas station while convincing people that they are fully human. The game features aliens sent to study Earth, and players must run a profitable business while staying within the law. You can upgrade your gas station with alien technology to boost profits and expand your operations.

    Some upgrades will help you reach your goals, while others are meant to annoy customers and staff. Knowing where to invest your points and money is key to building the best gas station. Below is a full list of upgrades available in Roadside Research.

    Alien Upgrades

    The main purpose of alien upgrades is to increase your daily Alien Points and provide better insights into your customers. Profits are important, but gathering intelligence on humans is a major part of the game.

    Many alien technologies are improvements of previous tools, but some require following a specific upgrade path before unlocking new items. Progressing through these branches is necessary to access certain products.

    Here are some of the available alien upgrades:

    Technology Cost (Alien Points) Notes
    Trash Bag 50 Helps collect more trash at once.
    Trashcan 300 Encourages customers to dispose of trash properly; needs trash bags for maintenance.
    Auto-Trashcan 750 Automatically tallies your Alien Points without manual input.
    Hypnotic Image Projector 300 Makes customers accept overpriced items, but raises suspicion.
    Spy Plushies 450 Profitable soft toys with high suspicion impact.
    Camera 450 Allows photographing customers and unlocks daily tasks.
    Photobooth 3,200 Upgraded photo area that completes tasks but increases suspicion.
    Wacky Inflated Entry Enforcer 1,250 Inflatable figure increasing customer flow but raising suspicion.
    Brain Washer Barrier 2,000 Confuses customers and decreases suspicion.
    Scanner 2.0 2,000 Upgrades automatic trash cans to produce more Alien Points.
    Video Recorder 2,500 Captures human activity; provides a bonus on first use daily.
    Price Propaganda Caster 2,500 Encourages purchases with audio waves, raising suspicion.
    Bang-Flash! 4,000 Adds a flash to the camera to boost research points.
    CCTV 3,000 Records all activity, increases suspicion.
    360 Activity Recording System 120,000 Monitors a larger area, but suspicion remains high.
    Prober 10,000 Gun-style device for probing humans and gathering info.
    Auto Brain-Washer 10,000 Reduces suspicion by 50%.
    Glorp-o-vision 15,000 Improves camera footage quality day and night.
    Auto-Probing Device 20,000 Automatically probes humans near sensors, but raises suspicion.
    Auto-Prober with Toilet 25,000 Combined probing and toilet stall, with suspicion impact.
    Laser Gun 600 Temporarily knocks out humans, staff, or agents.
    Loudspeaker 150 Plays annoying noises.
    Brain Washer 1,500 Wipes humans’ memories.
    Goop Sucker 1,000 Converts goop into energy, boosting speed temporarily.
    Automatic Surface Scrubber 3,000 Robot to keep the store clean without manual effort.
    Replicator 6,000 Duplicates your products, reducing stock purchases.

    Choosing your initial upgrades depends on your preferred style. If you’re comfortable facing agents or have a Laser Gun and Brain Washer, focus on human investigation openly. For more stealth, CCTV and hidden probes are better investments. Fun items like Loudspeakers are mainly for entertainment, and tools like Goop Suckers help with maintaining cleanliness.

    If scrubbing off messes becomes tiring, an Automatic Surface Scrubber is essential. The latest updates have introduced more automated options, adding to the fun.

    Store Upgrades

    The store upgrades focus on making your gas station more profitable. They unlock new products, add better decorations, and allow for store expansions, all aimed at increasing efficiency and sales. Like alien upgrades, some products can only be unlocked by following upgrade trees, and you can’t skip ahead.

    When you buy an upgrade, customers will expect to see the new features available. Here are some options:

    Upgrade Cost What It Unlocks
    Pump Expansion 800 Serve more cars at once.
    Second Pump 1,100 Add an extra pump to serve more customers simultaneously.
    Store Expansion 1,100 Increase store space by moving walls.
    Additional Expansion 1,400 Further enlarges your store.
    Additional Expansion 1,700 Further enlarges your store.
    Larger Expansion 3,000 Maximum store size increase.
    Barrel Fuel 400 Enables fueling with barrels.
    Pump Payment Terminal 1,100 Allows customers to pump gas themselves via a payment terminal.
    Second Payment Terminal 2,500 Adds a second self-service payment terminal.
    Self-Checkout 2,000 Customers can serve themselves at checkout.
    Cold Drinks 300 Adds a fridge for beverages like Conk, Spirt, or Ice Cream.
    Multiple Fridges 600 Larger drink selections such as almond milk or lactose-free varieties.
    Soda 900 Packs of soda including Conk, Spirit, and others.
    Water & Sparkling Water 1,200 Bottled water options.
    Ice Cream 1,000 Various freezer options like Goopka or Onion Ice Cream.
    Frozen Fast Food 1,200 Offers burgers and sandwiches.
    Frozen Pizza 1,500 Multiple types of frozen pizzas.
    Vending Machines 1,500 Coffee, snacks, or soda vending options.
    Beer 1,200 Brands like White Whale Beer or Roobeer.
    Beer Packs 1,500 Six-packs of beer.
    Camping Supplies 300 Butane gas and camping cups.
    Car Supplies 600 Motor oil, batteries, or shelves.
    Other Supplies 900 Gasoline, chemicals, or canned foods.
    Snacks 600 Biscuits, raisins, or snack racks.
    Breads 600 Baguettes, croissants, and breakfast items.
    Special Items 100 Chinese New Year decorations.
    Drugstore Items 1,200 Pills, hand creams, or premium snack racks.
    Fresh Produce 1,200 Fruits like apples, melons, and papayas.
    Decorative Items 150 Small plants or hanging decorations.
    Wall Decor 250 Plants or aesthetic pieces.
    Larger Decorations 350 Big plants, clocks, or boom boxes.
    Signage & Seating 150-350 Signs, outdoor chairs, ceiling fans, or posters.

    Before investing heavily in canned foods and other products, it’s wise to first focus on expanding your gas station. This prevents running out of space quickly and ensures you can stock the new inventory properly. Purchasing your first expansion gives you an idea of your available space before pouring resources into product upgrades.

    Decorations such as plants and signs are mainly for aesthetic appeal, but utility items like ATMs serve a practical function. Be cautious about adding fun elements like a dog or cat until your essentials are in place. Seating can encourage customers to stay longer, increasing sales, and automation helps reduce your workload, allowing you to focus on other tasks.

  • Using the Probe Safely to Avoid Roadside Research Interference

    Using the Probe Safely to Avoid Roadside Research Interference

    Roadside Research is an indie cooperative game that offers fun both for solo players and teams. At first glance, it seems like you’re running a simple gas station, but underneath, it’s a quirky alien simulation where your goal is to gather information on humans without getting caught. As you play, you’ll unlock various items that help with your research.

    One of these items is the Prober. True to alien style, probing customers with it provides you with important data to improve your gas station and help with your invasion plans.

    How to Unlock the Prober

    By running your gas station, you’ll earn Alien Points. These points are used to unlock alien technologies that help your investigation and earn you even more points. The first piece of alien tech you’ll unlock is the camera, leading up to the Prober.

    The Prober costs 10,000 points. Once you have enough, you can purchase it to enhance your research capabilities.

    How to Use the Prober

    The Prober resembles a gun and needs to be used on a human standing still for a long period. If they move or get offended, it can alert security agents, putting you in danger. Once you unlock the Prober, you can buy more automatic versions that are less noticeable but tend to be more expensive.

    When approaching a customer, crouch behind them and aim the Prober at their lower body. A mini-game will appear where you need to pay attention to vibrations. Use your mouse or controller to move around the circle to find the strongest vibrations, then hold down the corresponding button until the expanding circle matches the stationary one.

    Probing Customers at Gas Pumps: It’s best to target customers standing still at gas pumps since they don’t move around much.

    Using the Prober on Agents

    After probing three customers, you’ll be tasked with using the Prober on an agent and surviving. You’ll need teamwork and good timing. When agents show up to investigate you, have a teammate shoot them with the Laser Gun to knock them out.

    Keep shooting them whenever they try to stand up as you use the Prober. Even if they flail from the Laser Gun, the mini-game still works. Successfully completing this lets you use the Brain Washer to erase their memories so they leave without suspicion.

  • How to Gain Research Points in Roadside Research: Completing and Solving

    How to Gain Research Points in Roadside Research: Completing and Solving

    In Roadside Research, your main goal is to observe and learn about people. To do this effectively, you need to run a real storefront. Spending extra money won’t hurt, but it doesn’t really help you understand humans better either.

    That’s where research comes in. The more you study the humans, the more in-depth your understanding becomes. It’s a continuous cycle—more research leads to better insights. All this effort isn’t wasted, though; it offers great rewards.

    Since Roadside Research is still in early access, expect to see new upgrades and methods for earning research points in upcoming updates.

    What Are Research Points Used For?

    Research points are specifically used to unlock alien upgrades. You can view these upgrades on a monitor in the alien room at the back of the shop. They form a tree of options, where unlocking one upgrade allows you to progress further down its branch.

    These upgrades help you open new tools for your shop and introduce new ways to study visitors. Some tools are separate from the tree, located at the top, but most require following the branches.

    Once you’ve researched everything, your leftover research points won’t serve much purpose. However, some of the late-game upgrades are quite expensive, so you won’t need to worry about hitting that limit for a while.

    Every Way to Get Research

    You earn research points mainly by studying humans. Since lots of people visit your shop, there are many opportunities to gather data. But be cautious—too much suspicion can arise if you’re too obvious in your research methods.

    Process Trash

    One of the simplest ways to gain research is by collecting trash. Humans throw away trash frequently, with each item roughly worth 20 research points. You need to pick up trash one piece at a time and bring it to the Trash Scanner in the alien room at the back.

    As you upgrade, you can get Trash Bags, allowing you to pick up multiple pieces at once. Proper trash bins will also encourage humans to put their trash in the right place, making collection easier. Additionally, there’s an upgrade called the Auto-Trashcan that automatically scans your trash, though it raises suspicion.

    Take Pictures of Customers

    Unlocking the camera allows you to take photos of customers based on three daily criteria. This method yields a lot of research points but increases suspicion if you’re caught snapping photos.

    You can improve the camera with upgrades like the Photographic Posing Billboard, where customers will pose for photos willingly, or the Photobooth, which automatically takes pictures. Adding a flash boost will also give you more research points, but the gameplay mechanics remain unchanged.

    Record Customers

    The next research method is the Video Recorder. Similar to the camera, this device involves capturing footage of customers completing certain actions while trying not to get caught.

    Recording takes a few seconds, which makes it easier to get caught, but it provides a significant amount of research points. Upgrades include CCTV cameras, which cover an area but raise suspicion, and 360-degree cameras that automatically record nearby customers—though both increase target suspicion. Improving night visibility on the recorder is another upgrade that boosts research points without impacting gameplay.

    Probe Customers

    Finally, probing provides the highest research points but also requires direct interaction with humans. Initially, probing involves physical tools used on customers, but upgrades can make the process more autonomous.

    One upgrade is a probing trap that automatically probes anyone walking over it, though it needs resetting each time. Another allows you to install a special toilet stall that probes anyone who uses it—a surprisingly common occurrence in your shop—adding a sneaky way to gather data.

  • How To Take Pictures During Roadside Research: Completing and Solving

    How To Take Pictures During Roadside Research: Completing and Solving

    Roadside Research involves studying people while blending into their natural environment—storefronts. Since people love shopping, even the simplest disguise can work if you can sell them something.

    However, research itself can be tricky. Your first tool will be a camera, but most people don’t like having their picture taken randomly, so you need to be sneaky.

    How To Unlock The Camera

    You can unlock the camera after surviving a few days of cleaning your store and throwing away trash and dirty cans, which earns you enough Research points. The camera costs a small amount of Research points, and all those empty cans you collect will help you earn enough quickly.

    The camera is part of your assigned quests. From the big monitor in the alien room, click on the “Alien” option, then find the camera icon. It’s right in front of the Trash Bags and costs 450 Research points.

    Note: There is no confirmation button when you click to buy the camera, so be careful not to accidentally purchase or research something you don’t need.

    Once unlocked, the camera appears on the tool board beside the monitor. Just pick it up to start taking pictures. If you put it down or lose track of it, clicking on its spot on the wall will bring it back.

    How To Use The Camera

    After you research the camera, a new goal will open. Each day, you will be assigned three traits to photograph customers with. These could involve particular colors or features, like someone with blue hair, someone wearing a pink top, or someone with black pants.

    You don’t need to find all traits on the same person. It’s fine if they’re spread across different customers. The game will tell you exactly what their clothing colors are when you point the camera at them, making it easy to see if they match your target traits.

    To take a picture, aim the camera at a customer and snap a photo. As long as their info is displayed on-screen, the camera is focused on that person. You earn Research points for each trait you capture. You can only get new traits each day, so there’s a daily limit to your Research points from this method.

    If an agent visits your store, sneaking a picture of them without being noticed will give you a bigger reward in Research points. But getting caught has risks—agents will become hostile, and you’ll be quickly eliminated in a shower of splattered goo if you’re spotted.

    Avoiding Suspicion

    Since you’re an alien, taking random pictures can raise suspicion. If a customer notices you taking a picture, your suspicion level rises, though this will decrease over time. Too many reckless photos can result in a store full of hostile agents.

    Aiming the camera is safe and acceptable. However, once you press the shutter button, people will react. When aiming the camera at a customer, an eye icon appears over their head, indicating their awareness level:

    • Grey with a slash: No suspicion.
    • Yellow filling up: Someone notices you might be taking a picture.
    • Red: They see you clearly and become very suspicious when you snap the photo.

    Humans here have very poor peripheral vision, so even if you stand beside them, they often won’t see you. The real challenge is taking pictures of customers nearby without alerting them.

    The safest approach is to photograph customers waiting to refuel their cars. These customers stay still until their car is full, making them less likely to notice you. They tend to be trusting, even after paying.