Schedule 1’s Halloween update arrived two days late because the developer thought he should ‘probably play it safe’ and test it first

Good news, everyone! Schedule 1‘s Halloween update is here. Just in time for…wait. Why are all those porch pumpkins looking a bit deflated? Why have all the TV networks pivoted to Christmas adverts? Why do I have a sudden urge to grow a moustache and write an entire novel in 30 days? Oh my God! It’s November.

Yep, Schedule 1’s Halloween update missed the ghost train by two whole days. Developer TVGS apologised for the unseasonal delay. “Sorry this update is a couple of days late—I was originally planning on skipping the open beta and going straight to full release. At the last minute released [sic] I should probably play it safe and publicly beta test it for at least a day.” A sensible decision, I reckon.

While the delay is unfortunate, in practical terms it doesn’t matter that much. The Halloween update isn’t overly Halloweeny in terms of theme or aesthetics. You won’t see any drug dealers dressed up as werewolves or vampires while engaged in their own highly illegal game of Trick or Treat (The treat is drugs. The trick? Gun.)

Instead, the update’s main addition is a sewer system running beneath Schedule 1’s open world. “The sewers offer a new way to navigate Hyland Point without having to worry about police and cartel members, but it isn’t without its risks…” TVGS explains. The patch notes mention several sewer-themed NPCs added to the game, including a ‘sewer goblin’ and ‘sewer king’. Whether or not these are actual goblins (or, for that matter, kings) is unclear. Either way, it seems there is something to be afraid of in the Halloween update after all.

Elsewhere, the update takes you up as well as down, introducing a climbing system and ladders freshly riveted to numerous buildings to further improve vertical navigation. It also adds several new graffiti locations, a loading dock to the westernmost Gas-Mart, and “meth LODs”. Gotta love video games!

Finally, there’s the usual array of mechanical tweaks and bug-fixes. While there’s nothing especially wild here, TVGS does note that it has made some efforts to improve general optimisation, and as such players can expect a 10%-15% boost in framerate. TVGS also notes that it has identified the cause of connection issues in multiplayer—which is due to bandwidth being exceeded, but there is “still some more work to do” before the issue is fully resolved.