Roadside Research is a cooperative simulator game in which players must run their own gas station and fool the public into believing they are 100 percent human. Play as aliens sent to investigate Earth while running a profitable business and staying on the right side of the law. Expand and upgrade your gas station to incorporate alien technology to increase profitability.
Some upgrades will help you with your goals, while others are just to annoy your customers and co-workers. Know where to invest your points and cash so you can make the best gas station around. Here is the complete list of upgrades in Roadside Research.
Alien Upgrades
The main aspect of Alien Upgrades is to increase the amount of Alien Points you gather daily and give better insight into the customers coming into your gas station. Having a profitable business is only one part of your reason for invading Earth; the other is to gather as much intel as you can on humans.
A lot of the Alien Technology is an upgraded version of a previous object, but unfortunately, you need to follow the tree’s branches to unlock specific products.
|
Technology |
Cost (Alien Points) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
Trash bag |
50 |
Trash bags help you collect more trash at a time than a single piece. |
|
Trashcan |
300 |
Customers will be encouraged to place trash in the bin rather than drop it on the floor. Trashcans fill up, so you’ll need to use a trash bag to transfer the contents to the yellow bin in the Alien Room. |
|
Auto-Trashcan |
750 |
This new type of trash can automatically tally your Alien Points without requiring any action. |
|
Hypnotic Image Projector |
300 |
A banner that makes customers accept overpriced items but also increases suspicion. |
|
Spy Plushies |
450 |
Pink and green alien soft toys, which are very profitable, but increase suspicion quite a bit. |
|
Camera |
450 |
Unlocks the ability to photograph customers and also unlocks daily tasks. |
|
Photographic Posing Billboard |
1,250 |
A photograph cutout area for customers to take their own photographs. Increases base suspicion by 10%. |
|
Photobooth |
3,200 |
An upgraded version of the Posing Billboard. It completes daily tasks if the target customers use it. Raises base suspicion by 20%. |
|
Wacky Inflated Entry Enforcer |
1,250 |
An inflatable tube man, which increases customer numbers by 10% but also raises the gas stations’ base suspicion level by 20%. |
|
Brain Washer Barrier |
2,000 |
Confuses customers and lowers base suspicion by 30%. |
|
Scanner 2.0 |
2,000 |
Upgrades the automatic trashcans to deliver more Alien Points. |
|
Video Recorder |
2,500 |
A different way to capture target humans, and it gives a bonus the first time it is used that day. |
|
Price Propaganda Caster |
2,500 |
Uses audiowaves to encourage customers to purchase more, but increases base suspicion by 20% |
|
Bang-Flash! |
4,000 |
Upgrades the camera to include a flash, which generates more Research/Alien Points. |
|
CCTV |
3,000 |
Records all human activity in an area. Increases base suspicion by 20%. |
|
360 Activity Recording System |
120,000 |
An upgraded version of the CCTV. Covers a larger area, but again increases base suspicion by 20%. |
|
Prober |
10,000 |
A gun-type item to probe humans with and gather information. |
|
Auto Brain-Washer |
10,000 |
An ungraded version of the Brain Washer Barrier that decreases base suspicion by 50%. |
|
Glorp-o-vision |
15,000 |
Upgrades the video camera to deliver better footage regardless of the time of day. |
|
Automatic Postierer Investigator |
20,000 |
An automatic probing device that works whenever a customer walks over it. Must be reset after every use and increases base suspicion by 5%. |
|
Auto-Prober |
25,000 |
Combines the probing device and the toilet stall. Increases base suspicion by 5%. |
|
Laser Gun |
600 |
Knocks humans, co-workers, and agents out momentarily. |
|
Loudspeaker |
150 |
Creates annoying noises. |
|
Brain Washer |
1,500 |
Wipes humans’ memories. |
|
Goop Sucker |
1,000 |
Turns your goop into an energy drink, temporarily making you super speedy. |
|
Replicator |
6,000 |
Replicates your products, meaning you don’t have to purchase more stock. |
Which Alien Upgrades to unlock first really depends on how you want to play. If you aren’t scared of the agents that come knocking, or you’ve purchased the Laser Gun and Brain Washer, you can go all in on human investigation, which is out in the open.
However, if you want to be more subtle and stealthy, the CCTV and hidden probes would be a better investment. Items like the Loudspeaker are purely for fun, and the Goop Sucker eliminates the need to clean up your own mess.
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Store Upgrades
These upgrades focus on the gas station’s profitability. It unlocks new products to sell, better decorations, and even store expansions, so you can sell your items and pump gas as quickly and efficiently as possible. As with the Alien Upgrades, you have to follow the tree branches to unlock certain products and cannot skip to the next upgrade.
As soon as you unlock an upgrade, customers know it should be available in the store and will be looking for it.
|
Upgrade |
Cost |
Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
|
Pump Expansion |
800 |
Serve more cars at once. |
|
1,100 |
Serve more cars at once. |
|
|
1,400 |
Serve more cars at once. |
|
|
Shop Expansion |
1,100 |
Moves the walls to expand the store area. |
|
1,400 |
Moves the walls to expand the store area. |
|
|
1,700 |
Moves the walls to expand the store area. |
|
|
Cold Drinks |
300 |
Conk, Conk Original, Spirt, Single Fridge. |
|
600 |
Conk Original Light, Conk Light, Small Fridge, Double Fridge, Open Fridge, Spirt Light. |
|
|
Drink Cartons |
600 |
Orange Juice, Apple Juice. |
|
700 |
Almond Milk, Lactose Free Milk. |
|
|
Soda |
900 |
Spirt 8 Pack, Conk 8 Pack, Conk Original 8 Pack. |
|
1,200 |
Water, Sparkling Water. |
|
|
1,200 |
Conk 8 Pack Light, Spirt 8 Pack Light, Conk Original Light 8 Pack. |
|
|
Vending Machine |
1,500 |
Coffee Vending Machine, Snack Vending Machine, Soda Vending Machine. |
|
Beer |
1,200 |
White Whale Beer, Roobeer. |
|
1,500 |
White Whale 6 Pack, Roobeer 6 Pack. |
|
|
Camping |
300 |
Butane Gas, Camping Cup. |
|
Car Supplies |
600 |
Motoroil Big, Motoroil Small. |
|
900 |
Gasoline, Car Battery, Single Shelf. |
|
|
Chemicals |
900 |
Bleach, Multi Cleaner, Multi Cleaner Small, Thick Bleach. |
|
1,200 |
Anti-vegetation, Lubricant, Spray Paint. |
|
|
Canned Foods |
300 |
Salmon Natural, Salmon Tomato. |
|
600 |
Baked Beans, Canned Fish. |
|
|
Snacks |
600 |
Biscuit, Biscuit Orange, Biscuit Vanilla, Butter Biscuit. |
|
900 |
Deez Nuts, Raisins, Snack Rack, Honey Almond, Cookies. |
|
|
Bread |
600 |
Baguette, Brown Baguette, Double Bakery Shelf, Bread, Brown Bread. |
|
900 |
Poppy Bun, Fruit Bun, Single Bakery Shelf, Triple Bakery Shelf, Croissant, Chocolate Croissant. |
|
|
Chinese New Year |
100 |
Chinese Spicy Strips, Chinese Spring Couplets. |
|
Drugstore |
1,200 |
Pills Small, Pills Big, Snack Rack 360. |
|
1,500 |
Cigarette, Hand Cream, Snack Rack Wooden. |
|
|
Fresh Produce |
1,200 |
Apple, Melon, Double Produce Shelf, Papaya. |
|
1,500 |
Pear, Pomegranate, Single Produce Shelf, Triple Produce Shelf, Pumpkin, Watermelon. |
|
|
Decoration |
50 |
Boom Box, ATM, Clock. |
|
100 |
Fan, Flower Pot, Glasses Stand, Dog. |
|
|
100 |
Multiple Signs. |
|
|
100 |
Outdoor seating. |
|
|
100 |
Ceiling Fan, Coffee Machine, Icebox, Chair, Table, Wall Shelf. |
Before upgrading to the products past canned foods, consider focusing funds on expanding the gas station. You will find that you’ve run out of space very quickly, and as soon as you purchase the upgrade, the customer will know you’re selling what it is. It will lead to some very unhappy people if you don’t have stock.
Purchase the first expansion and see how much space you have before going all in on product upgrades.
While some decorations are purely decorative, items such as the ATM serve functions beyond making the gas station look like a real store. Hover over the explanations before purchasing, and you won’t waste your hard-earned money on something useless.
For example, the dog might seem like a nice idea, but in fact, all it does is sit and make a very loud, annoying panting noise. While the seating invites customers to spend more time in and around the store area.
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