As you get your Roadside Research gas station running smoothly and the Alien Points start rolling in, you may be tempted to add many of the extras offered, but pump the brakes a little first. Many of the Alien Points extras increase suspicion, something you will want to keep under control.
If suspicion rises too high, your whole research operation is at risk, so there needs to be a good balance. Here is everything you need to know about managing suspicion in Roadside Research, and tips for keeping it under control.
How To Manage Suspicion Levels
You can see your Suspicion level in the top right corner of the screen under your cash and Alien point info. When the Suspicion bar is short and green, you are all clear, and there is no immediate danger. When it creeps into the orange and red, you will have to watch out for Agents.
Your base Suspicion is indicated by a striped color in the bar, while any extra Suspicion caused by your actions is not striped.
When your Suspicion levels climb, and the agents arrive, they will start with a general investigation, then move on to interrogation, sabotage and, lastly, the hunt.
If your base Suspicion level is consistently high, the agents will keep turning up, performing interrogations where you have to complete tricky mini-games to pass. If you fail a mini-game or your base Suspicion is too high, the agents will hunt you without interrogation.
If this happens, you will either be ‘conked’ and lose Alien points, or you will have to try and fight back using a lazer gun and neuralizer.
Various items in the upgrades screen can be purchased using Alien points, and many of them increase your base Suspicion:
- Wacky Inflated Entry Enforcer increases base Suspicion by 20%
- Photographic Posing Billboard increases base Suspicion by 10%
- Auto Trashcan increases base Suspicion by 10%
- Photobooth increases base Suspicion by 20%
- Price Propaganda Caster increases base Suspicion by 20%
- CCTV increases base Suspicion by 10%
- 360* Activity Recording System increases base Suspicion by 20%
- Automatic Posterior Investigator increases base Suspicion by 5%
- Auto-Prober increases base Suspicion by 5%
Other items also increase Suspicion, but only when the customer interacts with them:
- Hypnotic Image Projector makes customers suspicious of their own behaviour
- Spy Plushies (Alien Toys) increase Suspicion when purchased
When you are interacting with customers, you can also increase Suspicion by, surprisingly, acting suspiciously. This includes:
- Letting customers see you take photos of them or other customers
- Letting customers see you record video of them or other customers
- Failing probes
- Failing interrogations
Make sure you don’t fail any invasive probing or let any customers see you photograph or record anyone.
Suspicion can be decreased by either removing any item you don’t need that causes an increase in Suspicion, or by adding other Alien upgrade items that decrease Suspicion:
- Brain Washer Barrier decreases base Suspicion by 30%
- Auto-Brain Washer decreases base Suspicion by 50%
Create a balance between items that boost your gas station but also increase the base, with items that decrease Suspicion. If you are having a tough time with agents turning up too often, remove any Suspicious items until you can afford to unlock and purchase the Brain Washers.
Roadside Research: Best Store Layout
Make the most of the space you have in Roadside Research
