Today we will cover how the stealth system works in Dustgrave and why we devoted so much time to it. In a game where all NPCs remember what you did to them, it’s fundamental to have the possibility of acting from the shadows to avoid negative consequences.
In Dustgrave, you will always have the option of activating a stealth mode to move around without getting noticed by the various NPCs. Depending on a character’s skills and equipment, they may be stealthy enough to infiltrate buildings, steal precious items, and even recover secret information.
NPCs have two different ways of perceiving the player:
- They have a cone of view, with a size varying depending on the character’s attributes. If a hidden character steps into the cone, they only have a few moments to get away before they get caught.
- They can hear sounds, meaning that trying to open the chest right behind them may attract their attention.
Did you manage to get through the security and steal some valuables? Good for you! But now it would be better to run away and lie low for a while, because NPCs will soon notice that something is missing and will most definitely try to find who stole their stuff. NPCs won’t only react to crimes-in-progress, but also notice that you emptied their shelves or picked a few locks. After they find evidence of a crime, they will alert the guard and start searching for the culprit.
After a few hours, things will go back to normal and NPCs won’t blame you, unless every single time you visit a village, stuff goes missing. But be wary, because a few items are easy to recognize, and selling some goods back to their previous owner will get you in trouble.
The Stealth system will also work during fights. It will be possible to ambush enemies to start the combat with the upper hand, but it will also be possible to silently take down isolated enemies and avoid them alerting their friends. Killing an entire camp of bandits without triggering an alarm won’t be easy, but will reward the player with the gift of anonymity: no one saw anything, therefore no record will be added and relations with the bandits won’t worsen.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2393370/Dustgrave_A_Sandbox_RPG/