Combat Deep Dive: Stealth, Shooting, and Movement Mechanics

Core Combat Philosophy

Our combat system aims to create a dynamic, player-choice driven experience that seamlessly blends stealth, direct combat, and movement mechanics in an open world environment. The system should reward creativity and adaptability while maintaining immersion and tactical depth.

Stealth Mechanics

Visibility System

The stealth system is built around a sophisticated visibility model that accounts for:

• Light and Shadow: Dynamic lighting affects player visibility, with deep shadows providing near-complete concealment and bright areas exposing the player.
• Sound Propagation: Sound travels realistically through the environment, with different surfaces and weather conditions affecting how far sounds can be heard.
• Physical Awareness: NPCs react to physical disturbances like moved objects, open doors, or disturbed environments.

Enemy Awareness States

Enemies progress through distinct awareness states:

• Unaware: Following standard patrol patterns or routines.
• Suspicious: Investigating strange sounds or movement, with a visual indicator showing growing suspicion.
• Searching: Actively looking for the player with increased alertness and coordinated search patterns.
• Alerted: Aware of the player's presence and engaging in combat or calling for reinforcements.

Stealth Takedowns

Players can eliminate enemies silently:

• Non-lethal options: Chokeholds and sleep darts that temporarily incapacitate enemies.
• Lethal options: Silent knife takedowns with contextual animations based on approach angle and environment.
• Environmental takedowns: Using the environment for stealth eliminations (pushing enemies off ledges, dropping objects).