Fallout 5 Sneak Ideas · 11:34pm Jan 5th, 2020
Below the break.
Enemies in Fallout 4 has four states of awareness - Relaxed, Alert, Searching, and Attacking. Relaxed enemies are just that, enemies chilling and hanging out. Enemies that are Alert will be more aware of their surroundings and more likely to notice a sneaking player and their actions. Searching enemies will be actively looking for the player or patrolling an area. Attacking is for enemies that have actually seen you and are engaged in combat. Different types of enemies will exhibit different behaviors - in a Raider camp, a bunch of Raiders playing cards will be Relaxed, while a guard on a tower will be Searching, but in a camp of mercenaries, they'll all be Alert or Searching. Recognizing the enemy's discipline and readiness is key to preparing infiltration.
If you kill an enemy and the kill is seen or heard, or if the body is found, nearby enemies will advance to Searching status and begin looking for you. After failing to find you, they will lower to Alert. This is a critical change - an enemy who has seen one of their comrades killed or found their corpse will not degrade to Relaxed, they will be Alert and will be Alert for a substantial time in-game. No more "I guess it was nothing", back to your post, they'll be on edge now and sneaking will be harder. Enemies who advance all the way to Attacking status will take much longer to degrade from Searching to Alert than before, if at all, because they know you're here and they're not gonna let their guard down now.
On the subject of enemies finding bodies, that's your cue to drag the corpse somewhere out of view of others. If you use Laser or Plasma weapons to reduce enemies to ashes or goo puddles, the enemy will take notice and pause to look at the pile, but depending on the enemy they may not recognize it (for example, Raiders may not be familiar enough with Laser or Plasma weapons to know their signature remains, but a Mercenary would).
There are new weapons to aid in stealth besides just silenced weapons.
Tranquilizer Rifle/Pistol - fires a chemical dart at a target that inflicts some sort of status ailment. In its default ammo, the Tranquilizer knocks a target out for a period of time, rendering them Unconscious. This is a critical difference over a silenced Sniper Rifle, because an enemy that finds their comrade slumped on the floor unconscious will find it less suspicious than finding a dead body, and depending on the enemy they may brush it off as they sleeping or passed out from chems, or they may even stay to revive their comrade, making it a viable means of distracting multiple enemies by hitting one with a tranquilizer and his friend tries to wake him up.
Aside from Tranquilizers, the Rifle can be loaded with Frenzy (attack), Poison (damage over time), Pacify, Sluggish, or Paralytic rounds. Enemies killed by Poison or Paralyzed will still draw attention, but less than a dead enemy will, while the Pacify dart lowers an enemy's awareness to Relaxed for a period of time, making it much easier to sneak past them. Sluggish inflicts basic stat penalties for a period of time. Enemies will not notice Tranquilizer rounds unless shot with them repeatedly, brushing it off as an itch or an insect bite (hey, we need SOME Acceptable Breaks From Reality to make stealth viable).
You'll also be able to manufacture Loudspeaker Mines. Loudspeaker Mines are a placed item that can be detonated by remote control. In their default form, they emit the sound of gunfire, distracting enemies, raising their awareness to Alert, and drawing them to the mine's location. With audio samples, you can manufacture Loudspeaker Mines that emit different sounds to different effects. You can broadcast the sound of a Deathclaw roar, which will frighten enemies and make them flee the area. Another audio sample would be Dogs barking; enemies that have Dogs around their base won't be suspicious of this, but the sound of the mine can make it easier to sneak without being heard.
Finally, there would be a laser weapon mod that inflicts Incineration - killing an enemy and not even leaving an ash pile. An enemy killed in this manner would not drop any loot, but the lack of ash pile is another way to kill an enemy without a trace, if the laser isn't spotted. In the option you can't get close enough to an enemy to hide their body, using an Incineration weapon will do the job too.
Sounds like too much work for Bethesda. Much easier to slap a new coat of paint on the Creation Engine and call it "new."
Far as I can see it; Fallout's dead. Bethesda will just make a lazy mod of 4 with their obsolete Creation Engine and expect the modders to finish it for them for free.
5180712
The brand has been hurt heavily, but dead? No way. Bethesda knows they have an extremely lucrative IP, and they know it reputation has been seriously damaged to the point it's made internet headlines multiple times. They'll at least have the sense to try and redeem themselves with a new game - if they succeed or not, well, we'll see.
5180715
Fair enough. But if I hear even a little bit about settlement building, I'm just popping in New Vegas for the... I dunno, ninth thorough playthrough where I manage to discover something new while still remaining a heroic figure (worst I ever go is morally grey).
5180727
I think it likely settlement building will return. I personally really enjoyed it, though it was very clunky, but that aside, some of the most downloaded mods for the game are ones that expand settlement usage in various manners. Bethesda pays attention to the modding community.
5180755
I'd rather have a game without settlement building if it means it has a multi-branched story with numerous outcomes for quests and the main storyline. If they bring settlement building into the Elder Scrolls; I'm done with the whole company. Furthermore; skill points, karma, faction reputation, more than four dialogue options.
5180786
I'd also like those things, but they aren't mutually exclusive. I can't see settlement building coming to TES, it doesn't fit the setting at all. Maybe an expansion of Skyrim's Homesteads, where you can build yourself a home on a lot with control over specific architectural features, but not full towns across the region with settlers you command.
5180755
Settlement building needs a "causal" option where you can be completely hands off and build themselves up over time.
5180822
Oh my gods, YES. How did any of those "characters" survive if you have to hold their hands just so they'd grow their own bloody food?
5180822
Agreed. Simple things like them auto-assigning themselves to vacant jobs and having some sort of container where you can dump equipment and items for them to use freely would go miles towards eliminating the micromanagement.