Hello all, I come bearing exciting news… Northminster has finally entered the closed-beta phase as of today when it was released to a wider pool of testers.

What does this mean?

The release of Northminster into its closed-beta period means that the game is at a stage we feel is functional as a game but still requires modifications, bug fixes and further additions in order to release to the public.

We will be using this period to stress test the game, identify and fix bugs and make the final additions before the game is ready for its public release.

What has been going on over the last few months?

Over the the last few months, despite a quieter period for development announcements, there has been extensive progress. In the scripting department, garvis has been pumping out new systems and amending existing ones to maintain a consistent quality for the game. Other scripters have been contributing to bug fixes and making extra additions too.

Building has also seen big improvements with key gaps being filled gradually over time. This will continue into the closed beta testing phase.

We are very excited for the rest of you to have the opportunity to experience the game which has an abundance of never-before-seen features and a depth of gameplay in its very own league.

When can you expect a public release?

Northminster is still not ready for public release. There is a lot of work that still needs doing. Bugs will be found. Additions need adding.

It is hard to say at this point in time when a public version will be released. We want to make sure the game is an exceptional quality when it is released and don’t want to rush this closed-beta phase.

We will keep the community updated with any potential release windows once closed-beta has established itself more.

Thank you very much for your continued patience – the wait will be worth it!

Hello all, it has been another exciting month of development work on Northminster. Our progress tracker to the first closed beta version of Northminster is being ticked off at a very impressive rate. We expect the first CLOSED beta version of the game to be released in the next couple of months. This will include selected individuals from each sector of the group.

Summary of Progress

• Medical system
• Fire hose / hydrant system
• Blokeston bank heist
• Bug fixes
• Building gaps beginning to be filled.

Medical System

This has been a project that has been spoken about for a long long time which has now finally seen some development. This is a ginormous project which gives the London Ambulance Service use of a wide variety of medical equipment which dynamically interact with player-inputted vitals and different injuries and medical conditions. This will unlock new depths for medical roleplay never before seen, providing rich and dynamic opportunities for LAS.

Due to the sheer size of this project, although much progress has been made, there is still a lot to do for this.

Fire hose & hydrant system

This system includes the hose dynamics for the London Fire Brigade. This includes the attachment of a hydrant to the fire engine for a water source, the use of different water modes (jet, spray, etc) with different ranges and the ability to deploy a variable amount of foam through the hose. This comes with a neat GUI to control the hose and see how much water and foam is used from the fire engine to allow for a dynamic firefighting experience.

Along with this, the hose mechanics have been focused on. This means the hose will interact dynamically with the ground and bend in a realistic style. This prevents the issues of unrealistic looking hoses as there have been in our prior games.

Blokeston Bank Heist

For criminals in organised crime groups, they will be able to complete OCG-specific heists. These are GTA style and can have multiple players for heists. These heists require “prep” missions to acquire certain pieces of equipment relevant to the heist. These missions do not need to be completed in the same session of the heist itself, and equipment can be collected, stockpiled and sold to other gangs wishing to do the heist. Perhaps an OCG will find its niche sourcing prep equipment and selling them illegally?

This heist is also diverse in ways to approach it, with different devices and equipment leading a different version of the heist with different drawbacks and benefits, along with a variety of locations involved in the heist.

There are many other features to the heist, however you can discover these when you play the game!

Building Progress

Our lovely new Senior Developer, Rob_Bancs, has taken charge of building for Northminster. He has been making astounding progress himself and is in the process of hiring new builders over the coming days. There are some great candidates to help maintain the quality of building for Northminster.

An Important Note…

Whilst the closed beta of the game is on the horizon, this period of testing will be used to fix the many expected bugs, refine the game and add more depth to the game whilst adding smaller details. Once this period of refinement has been completed, we can look at an open beta version of the game for you all to play. Thank you, as always, for your patience. Stay tuned for Northminster in the big 2026!

It was lovely to see so many of you at the Westbridge event hosted at the exhibition centre. I was excited to announce this months progress with you.

As explained at the event, building progress has been slower this last month. We have now assigned Fenston as a Senior Developer for building who has been working hard on organising building tasks and designing a roadmap. He has also been focusing efforts on recruiting new builders for the project to finish off the few areas of the map that need completing.

Programming for this month has propelled forward at a fantastic pace thanks to our newest programmer, Garvis. He has been working very hard on the following progress:

Summary of Progress

• Completion of private sector implementation with player-controlled economy, government taxation and spending.
• Private sector tasks and minigames for employees with director-controlled pay.
• Crime.net completion with black market, OCG properties, exclusive missions and OCG bank accounts.
• Working inventory system.
• The start of environmental crime (ATM robberies)

Completion of the Private Sector & Financial Implementation

This has been an extensive and large project that we wanted to get right. We will be the first ROBLOX community to introduce a complex player-controlled economy to our game.

Pay will be controlled by players – somewhat… Each task completed by employees will generate money for the company, it is up to the company directors to decide how much of this goes to the employee and how much to the business. Companies will have to remain competitive with rivals so players join their company, whilst also managing their own finances to ensure they can pay off rent and taxes set by the government. Companies will also have to balance finances as we intend to offer auctions for companies to buy second locations, new locations and additional vehicles and perks with their money.

Businesses will have specific tasks for employees to complete – these will include a series of minigames. Each task will have a different amount of revenue generated for the company by the game and directors can set the pay amount for each task individually.

Catering companies will have similar tasks given the nature of their businesses. We have tasks for GB Power Networks including 3 repair types with different minigames to complete. We also have Biffa tasks completed. These tasks will consist of different waste disposal types using different vehicles (e.g for residential vs commercial waste disposal). Each route will have a different amount of bins, distance, etc and company directors can set the pay for each route separately.

The government will be responsible for manually taxing and sending rent invoices to companies. Money received by the government can be paid out to both individual players and businesses. Perhaps a benefit scheme for new players? All of this is player controlled and will create new depths to roleplay. This will be expanded post beta according to community feedback and may include separate government department accounts etc.

The financial systems are a completely new thing, so we will be closely monitoring and tracking statistics. We have an admin portal to keep track on each business and government to mitigate against abuse etc. However we plan on financial crime to be a real thing to be investigated – so be corrupt guys!

Introduction of our Inventory system

Next we now have an inventory system ingame. Each tool will have a size value, and there will be capacity values for people, car boots and properties. This will save between servers. You also have the ability to drop items (properly this time). There will also be accessories to increase storage such as rucksacks etc.

Introduction of Crime.net

Finally we have crime net, a fully functional organised crime system. Gang owners can start a OCG ingame and recruit, promote and demote people within their OCG. OCGs have specific OCG properties with storage accessible by the whole OCG.

There is also a black market to purchase exclusive tools and weaponry only accessible by OCG members. OCGs will also have exclusive “missions” they can take part in such as heists which regular players will not have access to.

Each OCG will have a bank account which can be deposited into and will also hold the rewards for exclusive missions which can then be paid out. In the OCG panel, there will be a “log” where you can track your active OCG members by how many heists they start and also track OCG management with what they are spending.

Along with this organised crime development, there has been progress on environmental crime – in particular robbable ATMs. These can be robbed in 3 different ways (hacking device, crowbar, explosives). Each of these methods have advantages and disadvantages such as how subtle they are (time for police to be informed), how long they take and how much cash you get. For example, an explosive device will be quick allowing for a quick getaway however a % of the funds are “burnt” so you get reduced cash. You need to weigh up the pros and cons and decides which is best for you.

We hope this progress is well-received. Any questions please do let me know!