Smell mechanic

[I.C.H.I.]

Something that always bothered me about Thief and TDM is how you sometimes go through a sewer or worse, right through a toilet, but you never have appropriate consequences, such as the stench that should reek from you afterwards. So, I think it would be great if TDM had such a mechanic and this should make you think twice before infiltrating compounds through a way that stinks so bad.

How can this be done?

On the engine level attach to the player a trigger sphere with 2 properties: stench radius and stench strength, by default they should be 0 and always present. The stench radius is needed for enemies' reaction while the stench strength will control for how long the stench is going to persist, basically it controls the speed of shrinking of the stench radius. To have the stench transfer effect, add new property to a trigger, only one is needed - the stench strength which should also function as the gradual stench transfer speed, if the value is very big then the stench transfer speed will be big too. Gradual effect gives some window for error in situations when you touch the stinking trigger for a split second by accident. Afterwards, if the received value is too big then the player may wait for hours for it to wear off passively, unless he finds somewhere a clean water which will gradually reduce the size of his stench sphere to 0. The water itself doesn't need any new parameters, just check if there are no stench triggers touching the player and he is in swimming state instead of just slightly immersed in the water volume. It is better to add stench strength to a trigger instead of only water volumes, because not only water can stink, a level designer may place this trigger anywhere he want, for example in an animal stall or on a random pile of crap in the corner or in the bushes where you might hide from a guard.

The stench effect needs some new icon for HUD, a double purpose one that will show environmental stench and player's own stench at the same time. Environmental stench should have hiding effect for the player's stench if it's bigger.

Also, would be fun to give the stench trigger sphere to some enemies, like the undead, or a guard that didn't use a bath for months and their own stench radius should affect yours the closer you stay to them, this should be even faster if you pick them up killed/KO'ed, like a contamination effect.

Human enemies should react to the stench in a similar way they react to the player's visibility except the game should check the proximity to the stink sphere and the sphere shouldn't penetrate walls, but L-shaped corridors shouldn't be an obstacle either. Enemies also need some new reaction barks and probably a bit of new animations, such as if the stench is too strong, then they should cover their noses.

I think, this will be a great addition to the realism and the proposed method will make all older FMs unnaffected by this mechanic because they don't have any of such properties in the level data and were never designed around them.

Edited November 25 by I.C.H.I.

[nightmare]

A long time ago  Hidetaka Miyazaki told something similar for gameplay mechanics for Dark souls in Blightown. Namely the stench mechanics was then reintroduced as poison meter. When you walk on poisonous mud, player gets slowdown effect and poison build up and loses health after some time.

Basically it's stench all over from poisonous fumes.

[thebigh]

It would certainly be possible for mappers to script something like this up for individual missions.

[datiswous]

I would like to see something happening when you get out of water. Sounds, slow movement, watery footsteps, etc.

[SeriousToni]

What about having to find a place to pee after you drank so much health potions? But make sure it's on carpet or flower pots, otherwise the splash noise will alert nearby guards!

[I.C.H.I.]

4 minutes ago, SeriousToni said:

What about having to find a place to pee after you drank so much health potions?

Am I the only person who never uses them? In general I avoid being seen because I hate combat in TDM, it's so fundamentally broken that I'd rather never use it at all if it's really possible.

[SeriousToni]

7 hours ago, I.C.H.I. said:

Am I the only person who never uses them? In general I avoid being seen because I hate combat in TDM, it's so fundamentally broken that I'd rather never use it at all if it's really possible.

I don't really use them too. I mostly throw a flash and run or even reload. I wouldn't say it is broken. It is very hard on purpose. In thief it was way too easy to just pick a fight. But that's just my personal opinion of course.

[thebigh]

9 hours ago, I.C.H.I. said:

Am I the only person who never uses them? In general I avoid being seen because I hate combat in TDM, it's so fundamentally broken that I'd rather never use it at all if it's really possible.

 

Me too. TDM combat is jankeriffic but manageable when you get the hang of it, and still considerably less trivial than in the original Thief duology. However, I don't play stealth games for combat. If I want to fight things, I'll go play DOOM- which is ironic considering the engine TDM is built on.

I wouldn't say I have no use for health potions though. Sometimes I take falling or drowning damage.

[taffernicus]

It looks like the inventor guild will need more funding to produce more respirators and gas masks and players will spend half of their loot just to buy those (on player side). Don't forget to make a recurring vision blackout animation when Corby can no longer stand the smell.

The inventor guild should also create a parfume potion to eliminate the stench in minutes (on player side)

Another idea is to allow players to carry spare robes for infiltration, imagine that much and heavy loot alone can fit and can be carried by players everywhere, let alone just a robe?

1 more idea: The thief take a shower in a place that is being infiltrated by applying the principle of stealth, the sound of splashing shower water can be heard by guards

 

 

" A sewer never looked so appealing" ~garrett

" lord's manor bathroom never looked so appealing"

Edited Friday at 10:29 AM by taffernicus

[taffernicus]

or utilize the existing plague mask and fill it with camphors

[taffernicus]

lucrative business that targets thieves in TDM world : wardrobe heaters to dry their smelly robes in their respective thieves hideouts.