We are looking at three possible changes to detection in Kiipluu and want feedback before deciding on any of them.
First, smell. A few players suggested adding it as a detection layer for the Na'Ush. We talked about this earlier in development too, around wind direction and hunting, a hunter downwind of an animal gives himself away before he is close. The same idea could work with an enemy warrior downwind of you, picking up your scent before seeing or hearing you. We left it out because it seemed too complicated to build properly. The suggestion brought it back.
Second, hiding in the dark. A number of demo players seem to think they can hide in shadow. There is no such mechanic right now, darkness does not affect NPC vision at all. We could add it, but most of the game does not take place at night, so it would barely come up. An alternative we are weighing is hiding up in trees, which would work during the day what could balance hiding in the dark during the night, or could be alternative.
Third, UI. We have kept the interface minimal on purpose, but several players have asked for something closer to Thief, a clear indicator of whether you are hidden. Right now there are small cues instead, heartbeat gets louder, a slight color shift, the screen edges darken a little.
Before the questions, here is how detection works right now.
How detection works right now
Player detection Now
When we started, NPC player detection worked the way it does in most stealth games. If you are in cover or you're not visible, if you run NPC will hear from further away, if you sneak then you are silent, and we made several-tier vision system. Darkness does not affect NPC vision. We also added “look around” for guards, so they would give a clue before doing that and then look around.
Problems:
· We noticed that several-tier vision system is already complicated for people to understand. Of course the real reason might be that demo just throws player into encounter without too much explanation and proper onboarding would solve this.
· Some players also got confused by NPC looking around, they missed the clue and got into panic mode.
· Some players hide in shadows and think they are invisible.
We want players reading the Na'Ush warrior - his routine, his state, where his attention is, but most players in Demo miss it. Experience stealth players see to be fine though.
How vision works
Each Na'Ush warrior has four forward vision zones. We call them by color in our design docs.
White zone is the far one (also it has higher angle). Crouch at this distance and vision will ignore you completely. No hiding place needed. Just be low. Also vision multiplier is very slow, so you have enough time to move out of vision cone even if you get spotted (kind of like peripheral vision).
Yellow zone is middle range. Crouching alone isn't enough here – NPC will see a crouching player if player moves. But if you're in a bush or tall grass while crouching, or behind cover, NPC will not see you. Multiplier is a bit faster here, so the NPC will spot player faster.
Red zone is close – direct vision. Detection is sharper. He sees you standing or crouching. Cover or bush will still hide player. Detection is almost instant.
Orange Zone is Close peripheral vision similar to white zone, but with higher multiplier.
Green zone is too close. Cover stops working entirely. NPC in this zone finds you in the hiding place too.
In short: crouching works at distance. Cover works at middle range. Neither works when NPC walks directly up to you.
Extra zone in the back is that sixth sense you have when someone stands behind, NPC will slowly detect player even if player is crouching, but that’s slow enough to assassinate or to move away.
So three senses, three questions:
1. Wind direction is a real thing in this period, animals scatter downwind, enemies could do the same. Does it sound like unnecessary complexity or fun? Do you know any stealth game that handled scent as an actual mechanic and done it well?
2. Is hiding in the dark something that is fun and makes sense for you? Hitman doesn’t have it, Thief does.
3. Would you prefer clear UI that you are hidden, or small audio/visual cues is enough?
Demo is live and free if you want to see the version that exists today: