Police Pressure

This page covers the knobs that control how cops interact with dealers — the reach and timing settings in config.lua (client-side) and the outcome/tuning settings in server/server.config.lua (server-only).

Frisk (Search) Reach

Config.search = {
    reach = 2.2,   -- metres
}

Option	Purpose	Default
reach	How close a cop must stay to the dealer throughout a frisk. Stepping outside this range aborts the interaction.	2.2

Interrogation Reach and Time Limit

Config.interrogate = {
    reach = 2.2,     -- metres
    maxMs = 30000,   -- milliseconds
}

Option	Purpose	Default
reach	How close a cop must stay to the dealer throughout an interrogation round.	2.2
maxMs	Maximum time (ms) the cop has to complete a round before the dealer outlasts them.	30000

Dealer Panic

An armed dealer under pressure can pull a weapon mid-interaction.

Config.panic = {
    stress = 65,    -- dealer stress at/over which a botch can trigger a panic pull
    chance = 45,    -- % chance per botched frisk read or mistimed interrogation press
    fireMs = 3000,  -- how long the dealer fires at the cop before bolting
}

Option	Purpose	Default
stress	Dealer must be at or above this stress level for a panic pull to be possible.	65
chance	Percentage chance per botched interaction that a panic pull occurs (when stress is high enough).	45
fireMs	Milliseconds the dealer fires at the cop before fleeing.	3000

Unarmed dealers cannot panic-pull. Lowering stress means danger begins earlier; raising chance makes botched reads more punishing for the cop.

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Server-Side Search Tuning (ServerConfig.Defaults.Settings.copPress)

These values are seeded into the database on first start and are the source of truth thereafter. Edit the database rows and run /npcsell_reload to apply changes.

copPress = {
    cooldownSec        = 300,
    perCopCooldownSec  = 600,
    attemptDecaySec    = 300,
    pressurePerAttempt = 20,
    bustedCooldownSec  = 900,
    bustArrestSec      = 120,
    searchHeat         = 15,
    armedResistChance  = 35,
    bustUnits          = 8,
    seizeToCop         = false,
    cashToCop          = false,
    bounty             = { base = 250, perUnit = 40, weapon = 300 },
    bodyFrac           = { base = 1.0, perResist = 0.005, min = 0.35 },
}

Option	Purpose	Default
cooldownSec	Seconds before the same dealer can be frisked or interrogated again by any cop.	300
perCopCooldownSec	Seconds before the same cop can interact with the same dealer again.	600
attemptDecaySec	Seconds per consecutive press attempt that the cumulative pressure decays by 1.	300
pressurePerAttempt	Added to the success roll for each consecutive attempt on the same dealer. Repeated attempts become more likely to succeed.	20
bustedCooldownSec	Seconds the dealer is off the streets after a confiscation (bust).	900
bustArrestSec	Seconds the busted dealer remains standing before being hauled off — time for cuff/escort RP.	120
searchHeat	Minimum dealer heat to trigger probable cause for a frisk.	15
armedResistChance	Percentage chance an armed dealer shoves the cop off and bolts mid-frisk.	35
bustUnits	On-body units found at or above which a full bust is triggered.	8
seizeToCop	If true, seized contraband goes to the officer's inventory. If false, it is destroyed/sent to evidence.	false
cashToCop	If true, seized dealer cash goes to the officer's inventory. If false, it goes to evidence.	false
bounty.base	Base cash reward paid to a cop on a successful bust.	250
bounty.perUnit	Additional reward per unit found on the dealer.	40
bounty.weapon	Additional reward if the dealer was carrying a weapon.	300
bodyFrac.base	Base fraction of on-body stock the cop finds during a frisk.	1.0
bodyFrac.perResist	Fraction subtracted per point of snitch resist (higher resist = harder to find everything).	0.005
bodyFrac.min	Minimum fraction found regardless of resist.	0.35

Server-Side Interrogation Tuning (ServerConfig.Defaults.Settings.interrogate)

interrogate = {
    surrenderHp    = 175,
    roundsDivisor  = 60,
    minRounds      = 1,
    maxRounds      = 4,
    perCopCooldown = 45,
    failStress     = 18,
    failsToLawyer  = 3,
    lawyerWindowSec = 600,
    lockoutSec     = 600,
    diff           = { loyal = 0.6, tier = 0.3, stress = 0.25 },
    pool           = { 'sequence', 'spotlie', 'alibi', 'timeline', 'tell' },
}

Option	Purpose	Default
surrenderHp	Unused — reserved, not read by any current gate. Interrogation has no HP/subdue requirement; the board opens directly.	175
roundsDivisor	Controls how many rounds a tier takes: ceil((snitchResist + loyalty) / roundsDivisor). Lower values = fewer rounds per tier = easier crack.	60
minRounds	Minimum rounds per tier.	1
maxRounds	Maximum rounds per tier (compression knob).	4
perCopCooldown	Seconds between a single cop's consecutive attempts on the same dealer.	45
failStress	Stress added to the dealer on each failed round.	18
failsToLawyer	Consecutive failures within lawyerWindowSec before the dealer lawyers up.	3
lawyerWindowSec	Rolling window (seconds) within which consecutive failures count toward the lawyer lockout.	600
lockoutSec	Duration (seconds) of the lawyer lockout — dealer refuses all interrogation.	600
nonceTtlSec	Seconds a challenge stays valid after being issued. Must be longer than the board play window; an expired nonce rejects the submission.	180
diff.loyal	Weight of dealer loyalty in the difficulty roll.	0.6
diff.tier	Weight of current tier depth in the difficulty roll.	0.3
diff.stress	Weight of dealer stress in the difficulty roll (stressed dealers are easier to crack).	0.25
pool	Active minigame IDs the server draws from per interrogation session. Remove an ID to disable that game; the list can hold up to 10 IDs.	{ 'sequence', 'spotlie', 'alibi', 'timeline', 'tell' }

Tuning difficulty

Difficulty weights (diff.*) sum is not required to equal 1 — results are clamped 0–1. A higher loyal weight makes loyal dealers significantly harder to crack. Raising failsToLawyer gives cops more attempts before a lockout.

Minigame Pool

Each interrogation round, the server picks a game from pool using a per-cop shuffle-bag (each game appears once before any repeats). The five shipped games are:

ID	Name	What the cop does
sequence	Arrow Memory	Watch a sequence of directional arrows, then repeat it in order. Length 3–6 based on difficulty.
spotlie	Spot the Lie	A grid of arrows where most point the same way. Click the ones that don't. Grid grows with difficulty.
alibi	Mastermind	Deduce a hidden colour code using black/white peg feedback. Code never sent to the client; feedback is server-authoritative.
timeline	Timeline	Sort a set of statements by the time shown on each.
tell	Tell	Two near-identical statements side by side. Click every word that differs between them.

Remove an ID from pool to disable that game entirely. The bag refills automatically when all remaining games have been used.