Sneaking/Stealth

Something I find we desperately need is some way of sneaking, as I find myself baiting enemies into a bush or window too often. I don’t necessarily know if it is plausible but the best way I can think of to do it is to have a menu corresponding to a key that allows you to enter a prone, crouching, or standing state. Standing is the fastest but easily seen/heard, crouching is moderately slower but you are harder to detect and prone would be very slow but excellent stealth. Would this be possible to mod in? Opinions?

Movement modes are planned.

“Visual stealth” like crouching was proposed a few times, but nothing conclusive came out of the discussions. I don’t think it would be that hard to implement, but will have to wait until movement modes.

Biggest problem with MGS-style stealth is implementing facing. Currently everyone is presumed to take a quick 360-degree check every turn, so pretty tough to hide without cover, and that’s dependent on stance, etc.

I’m not necessarily talking about implementing facing, sure that would be cool but probably an insane amount of work. I mean, if we have perks like “light step” that make it harder for you to be heard, surely there are variables controlling the amount of sound you make doing certain actions. I’m not sure how the enemies detect you but I figure they all have different “ranges” that you have to be in to be seen. Why not have a button that activates a sneak mode and that dampens the noise you make (lowers the variable for sound or whatever it is that controls sound) and shortens the range you can be seen at (like when night comes and you don’t get spotted as easily). I’m not very well versed in programming so I’m not entirely sure what implementing this would entail work wise. Hopefully we can see it in game some time in the future!

Yeah, it’s not necessary to implement facing to have a decent stealth system.

The roguelike Sil has stealth that works very well without facing. You have a base rating which is modified by skill and stance, but things in the environment can also affect it. Light level is an obvious one, but also things like being next to walls/features makes you harder to detect, while being surrounded by open tiles makes you much easier to see (because you stand out).

I could see something similar working in Cataclysm. Modify a mob’s sight detection range based on stance, skill, light level, and terrain. So if you’re crouching next to (or in!) a bush/tree/cupboard, you’re harder to see. Just being stood on dirt could be baseline. And if you’re sprinting in the middle of a road while on fire, you stand out like a sore thumb.

Stealth would make being quiet much more important, and make items like noisemakers a lot more useful tactically. I think it could add a fun element to the game.

I would settle for starting with a slow walk/silent mode. Based on your characters dexterity and intelligence (you need to be smart enough to figure out where not to step (on leaves/sticks etc), and not super clumsy, in walking slow and silent. Hence making less noise (half as much).

You could have it always work, but based on the numeric formula/average whatever is decided of dex and int, is how slow you move. So yes you can do it with 8 in both, but you would move like 5x as slow. While higher stats would reduce this. Make it take something like 30x30 to move at what is normal movement.

Later on you can add skills for it, that would just build into this movement mode.

So this way you can have the mode, but until there is a proper skill it take more time, a lot more time. If a zed spots you, and you don’t stop trying to move this way, it’s going to catch up fast. Hence drawback.

It would also help avoid some of the ‘horde’ mode… and why 90+% of all players just turn it off.

Intelligence really doesn’t fit here. You don’t need to be a genius to figure out not stepping on leaves. Intelligence is for complex stuff that can’t be covered by instincts or simple learned behaviors.
Perception would fit, though.