Lethal Pursuits V3: Collision and Pursuit Overhaul

--V3.0 UPDATE-- (MAJOR OVERHAUL)

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NEW DIFFICULTY SYSTEM
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- Lethal Pursuits now ships with FIVE difficulty presets instead of one. Pick the one that fits your playstyle:
• Rookie [Very Easy] - Beginner / Warm-Up Mode
• Casual [Easy] - Light Pursuit / Casual Challenge
• Standard [Normal] - Core Lethal Pursuits Experience (the intended baseline)
• Intense [Hard] - Aggressive Pursuit / High Pressure
• Merciless [Veteran] - Maximum Lethality / No Mercy Pursuit
- Each preset ships with its own .nfsms script AND its own matching Extra Pursuit Options (Bartender) config set, tuned end-to-end for that tier.
- Each preset comes with its own README explaining the difficulty, installation, and mod conflicts.
- Cop variety, support pacing, helicopter behavior, roadblock density, AI speed and police physics all scale consistently between tiers.

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NEW OPTIONAL INSTALLER ADD-ONS (per difficulty)
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- Each .nfsms now exposes TWO opt-in checkboxes when installed through NFS-VltEd:

[1] Blue Lights Only
- Converts every coloured cop light flare (red / orange / white) to the blue flare colour for a UK / European / undercover style look.
- Keeps original flare textures, sizes and shapes intact - only the RGBA values change.
- Works on top of any of the 5 difficulty presets.

[2] ScaleEscalationBuckets (ported from Maximum Lethality V2)
- Adds ScaleEscalationPerBucket to heat_01 through heat_10 and race_01 through race_10.
- This MAKES PURSUITS LONGER at each Heat level. Values are seconds-per-bucket:
heat_01 / race_01: 250s
heat_02 / race_02: 325s
heat_03 / race_03: 425s
heat_04 / race_04: 500s
heat_05 / race_05: 600s
heat_06 / race_06: 700s
heat_07 / race_07: 800s
heat_08 / race_08: 900s
heat_09 / race_09: 950s
heat_10 / race_10: 1000s
- Helps Most Wanted escalation continue past the normal Heat 5-style limit without needing Extra Options.

- A standalone Blue Lights Only .nfsms is also included for anyone who wants the lights without the difficulty preset.

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CUSTOM COP SIREN + HELICOPTER SFX PACK FIXES
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- SAMPLE RATE FIX: V2.2's SFX were at 48 kHz, which mismatched the game's native audio format and broke compatibility with custom engine sound mods. The samples have been resampled to match the game's native rate.
- SIDE-BENEFIT: As a result of the sample rate correction, the NOS sound effect that broke under V2.2 is now playing correctly again.
- Helicopter SFX pack remains based on real-world IRL helicopter recordings.
- Sirens are still LOUD - that's intentional and matches the original NFS Undercover siren volume.
- Custom Cop Sirens and Helicopter SFXs folder now ships with its own README, including a CRITICAL backup warning (the pack does NOT include a vanilla backup - you MUST back up your SOUND folder before installing, otherwise reverting requires a full game reinstall).

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PURSUIT SYSTEM OVERHAUL (applied across all 5 tiers)
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- Full Heat 1-10 rework: every Heat level has revised cop tables, engagement limits, backup timers, roadblock chances, helicopter chances, LOS distances, search behavior, bust speeds, collapse behavior, and spawn timing - each tuned to its difficulty tier.
- Race pursuit overhaul: race_01 through race_10 are tuned per-tier so race pursuits scale with free-roam difficulty instead of feeling like vanilla leftovers.
- Cross integration: Sergeant Cross is treated as a high-priority leader threat with proper aggression curves (Merciless tier), Cross henchmen support, and post-wreck reset timers.
- Aggressive support system (Intense / Merciless): air support, HeavyStrategy 3/4, LeaderStrategy 5/7, backup calls and support delays are tuned for constant pressure at high Heat.
- Roadblock rework: roadblock probability, spike chance, roadblock-heli chance, search-mode roadblocks, and rolling-block behavior are properly scaled per tier.
- Merciless roadblocks now use SUV-only "wall of metal" compositions at Heat 5+ (heavy SUV / SUVL / SUVPatrol / so high-Heat roadblocks actually hit like roadblocks should.
- Cop physics pass: police mass, chassis, brake, tire, induction, engine and NOS values tuned per tier so cops feel solid but not invincible at lower difficulties.
- Collision reaction rebalance: front and front-side hits are punishing; rear and rear-side reactions are weakened so cops have a believable weak spot.
- Durability pass: cops, ghost units, GTO units, Cross and SUVs get custom hit points, shock force and shock timing scaled per tier.
- Speech tuning: police / race commentary reacts faster to crashes, blowbys, airborne events, loss of line-of-sight, pursuit intensity, and stopped-player situations.

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PACKAGE / DOCS
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- New top-level V3 README explaining the difficulty system at a glance.
- New per-difficulty README inside every difficulty folder explaining installation order (NFS-VltEd 4.6 or lower by nfsu360 -> bundled scripts folder with OpenLimitAdjuster + Bartender already included -> optional EPO checkboxes -> SFX pack).
- Mod conflict warnings included in every README for:
• NFSMW Unlimiter (disable ExpandMemoryPools and RandomizeTraffic)
• NFSMW ExtraOptions (disable ExpandMemoryPools and DoScreenPrintf)
• NFSMW HDReflections (disable ExpandMemoryPools)
- Updated thumbnail / title card.

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WILL THIS MOD GET ANOTHER UPDATE IN THE FUTURE?
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Depends. I'm currently dealing with family problems and working
as hard as I can to keep up, so I can't promise a regular update
schedule right now.

If Bartender ever gets an update or adds a new feature that fits
Lethal Pursuits, I'll do another update to take advantage of it.
Until then, V3.0 is the current target build.

If you run into any issues:
• Comment on this mod page, OR
• Message me on Discord: eatincrispies

I'll get to reports when I can. Thank you for your patience and
for playing Lethal Pursuits.

--2.2.1 UPDATE
-Removed custom RigidBodySpecs entirely, to avoid crashing upon playing certain Heat Conditions.

--V2.2 UPDATE--
- New custom Cop Sirens ported from Need for Speed: Undercover to give MW pursuits a more cinematic experience [Thanks to Xan1242 for the help, heavily appreciated.]
- Completely revamped the cops performances, making them have 25% better steering, grip, engine performance, suspension, brakes, and more aggressive (Note: Sometimes, cop AIs seem to twitch while trying to keep control at high speeds. This will be fixed in the next update)
- Revamped collisions to where their rear ends(0.25 mass scale) are very weak and easy to hit, while the front being increasingly heavier (around 4-5.0 mass scale in front)
- Re-done the configuration in Extra Pursuit Options, to make it a more fair experience but heats 5-10 will still be hard and difficult
- Complete revamped the CopFormations, making them more aggressive in heat levels and will do PITs, and Rolling blocks more constantly and faster.
- Helicopter gets another revamp, as they are now 25% faster when turning/accelerating in heats 1-10.
- Changed the Rhino HeavyStrategies cop count and regular Cop Count to be more fair in heat levels, but will be still hard when progressing in higher heat levels.

--V2.1 UPDATE--
What’s New in V2.1:

Choose Your Challenge: The mod now comes in two distinct difficulties - Lethal Standard and Ghost Protocol.

The Rhino Wall: Each Heavy Support request at Heat 10 now unleashes 25 Rhinos at once.

Constant Pressure: The global cop-spawn limit and respawn rate are locked at 25 units, ensuring the world stays populated no matter how many you wreck.

Bundled Stability: Includes the Open Limit Adjuster (.asi & .toml) to support high vehicle counts and independent traffic without crashing.

Refined Undercover Stealth: Undercover units in the Standard version now have a customized radar ping (300m) and mini-map icon (150m).

--V2 UPDATE--
What’s New in V2.0:

Playable but Tough Physics: I fixed the glued effect MassScale is dropped to realistic levels (1.2 - 8.5) and Elasticity is pushed to 0.8. You can now PIT-maneuver units and push through roadblocks with enough speed.

The 40-Cop Swarm: Global limits are unlocked. At Heat 10, expect a relentless 40-unit swarm where Everyone is Here from city patrols to Federal undercover units .

Global Sergeant Cross: Cross is no longer restricted to Heat 5. He is now an active leader chasing you from Heat Level 1 through Heat Level 10 .

Race Pursuit Revamp: Every single race heat (01-10) has been overhauled to match free-roam intensity. No more easy escapes in sprints or circuits .

Near-Instant Reinforcements: Support delays have been slashed to 1s at Heat 10. Clear one wave, and the next is already on your bumper .

The "Extra Pursuit Options" (Requires Bartender Mod):

Ghost Undercover Logic: Undercover units stay off your radar until they are within 150m.

Impossible Helicopters: Air units now ram you every 0.5 seconds and respawn almost instantly if wrecked.

Pure Endurance Heat: Leveling up is now time-based. Wrecking, CTS, and crashing no longer force Heat jumps, you must survive to earn the higher tiers.

Lethal Roadblocks: Tactically designed blocks with triple spike-strip coverage and sidewalk sawhorses to prevent grass-riding escapes.

Strategy Stacking: Cross, Rhinos, and Roadblocks can now all trigger at the exact same time.

--[Most Wanted] Lethal Pursuits V1.01 UPDATE--

The game uses separate configuration files for cops that spawn during races. This update overhauls the race_01 through race_10 difficulty levels so that career milestones and race events are just as deadly as freeroam.

-Race Events are now Lethal: Cop counts, tactics, and bust speeds during races now perfectly mirror the freeroam V1.0 overhaul.

-Early Air Support: Helicopters will now actively hunt you down during races starting all the way down at Heat 1.

-Relentless Heavy Support: Rhino units and Heavy SUVs (ChanceBigSUV 100) have had their minimum support delays drastically reduced across all race tiers. They will spawn constantly.

-Heat 10 Race Insanity: If you manage to hit Heat 10 during an event, prepare to face up to 750 units, massive roadblock radiuses, and an impossible 125 Bust Speed.

-Bug Fixes: Fixed VltEd array out-of-bounds errors from V1.0 regarding HeavySupportOptions.

--V1.0--
This mod basically overhauls the Pursuit system, and be as aggressive as heat 1.

Comments

XeroAbsolute (June 19, 2026 @ 23:30)

@naprolom4ik Yes it's only .5% chance possible, because each higher heat level gets more harder and harder, including Ram backup calls getting quicker, cop spawning is quicker, heli spawn is quicker(heat 10 is around 0.1 seconds), and the heli can see you at pretty far distance. If you want a more fair gameplay, you can switch to Intense[Hard] difficulty.

naprolom4ik (June 19, 2026 @ 14:32)

Is it even possible to evade at merciless? Playing that difficulty is fun but I haven't successfully evaded any pursuit higher than Heat 1, the helicopter seems to be able to see into most of the hiding (fast cooldown) spots

KANE (June 18, 2026 @ 14:17)

One last suggestion: I'd really like to see an **Undercover SUV** version as well. It would be great if you could make the **SMOL Fix SUV (the corrected version with the police driver inside)** available as an optional install. I think it would be a great addition to the mod and something many players would appreciate.

Also, if possible, you could create a **light version** of it as well. A more minimal version with fewer changes, staying closer to the original game, would be a really nice alternative.

pipka1488 (June 14, 2026 @ 11:30)

Helicopter should be much louder

XeroAbsolute (May 02, 2026 @ 17:08)

@jjaton That is because the Siren WAV files are 48000khz, instead of 36000khz. Im working on putting them to 36000khz MW format for the SIREN sounds at the moment.