What makes good stealth?

[Jibblejab]

Tell me forum, what makes good stealth?

When playing a stealth game/section what do you expect from it? Non linearity? Ability to hide in scenery? What?

 

[Marter]

When the A.I. won't see you when they have no reason to.
Where the controls are conducive to actually being able to sneak.
When the game isn't an action game with one stealth level.
When there is a reason to be stealthy.

 

[rokkolpo]

dying from your first try trying to kill a henchman.
and at the end of the game bagging 30 guys in the middle of a room without any of them noticing you.

in short, a game that needs skill.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

The ability to blend in perfectly with crowd then go in and kill the target and come out with gold and money before anyone even knows what the fuck.

Think Hitman style of stealth.

 

[Dexiro]

I'd say non-linearity is a must, or just a variety of ways to get past a certain situation.
People seem to like it when it's entirely optional too.

I'm not big on stealth games, that's just what i've picked up from around the internet ;D

 

[iFail69]

direct combat should be nearly impossible
many different paths
clever places to hide the bodies
non-retarded enemies (what metal gear games got SO WRONG!)

 

[Jibblejab]

And I would say a good stealth game should be very non linear with several ways of sneaking in and nicking stuff.

And definately better AI

The ability to blend in perfectly with crowd then go in and kill the target and come out with gold and money before anyone even knows what the fuck.

Think Hitman style of stealth.

Assassins Creed really, until the big church bell goes off an every crusader from here to Azerbaijan comes to hack off your nipples

 

[Outright Villainy]

The ability to blend in perfectly with crowd then go in and kill the target and come out with gold and money before anyone even knows what the fuck.

Think Hitman style of stealth.

Hitman pretty much nails it terms of concept. Sometimes the A.I. is a bit dodgy, but the number of ways you can kill your target make it like a tense puzzle game, and adds huge amounts of replayability. Hitman is awesome.

 

[psivamp]

I'd like to say that stealth games need better AI, but if they had better AI we'd all be screwed. So, now, they're idiotic drones who very quickly get over the death of their colleagues and go back to walking ruts in carpet, but better AI would mean we could only rarely kill any of them.

"Jim? Jim? Hey, Dave, Jim's not in the west room and he won't answer his radio."
"Find that dumb-ass slacker, Bob"
...
"Bob? Hey, Bob, did you find Jim? Crap, everyone we may have an intruder. Jim and Bob over on the west side of the building have stopped responding."

See? Screwed.

 

[AstylahAthrys]

When the title of the game has "Thief" at the beginning. That series pretty much is top-notch stealth, especially the second one.

 

[Yureina]

When the A.I. won't see you when they have no reason to.
Where the controls are conducive to actually being able to sneak.
When the game isn't an action game with one stealth level.
When there is a reason to be stealthy.

Pretty much this.

 

[v_flude]

In my opinion, good stealth should consider the sound of your footsteps, foot prints left, lighting, concealment, breathing sounds, stamina, and smell. Other than that, I would think one of the best games I have played was Assassins Creed 2. Maybe not the best stealth, but fun.

 

[psivamp]

Oh, to clarify my stance since my previous post might make it sound like I dislike stealth games. On the contrary, Tenchu is one of my favorite series - Z was a little bland, though. The Thief games were quite good. You could be stealthy in Deus Ex to an extent... I like the new Splinter Cell, in that you can be a sneaky mofo but if spotted the mission doesn't immediately go tits-up.

Ease of movement is fairly key to my stealth experience. If you're slow all the time, even when you're not crawling along to avoid making noise, that sucks.

In my opinion, good stealth should consider the sound of your footsteps, foot prints left, lighting, concealment, breathing sounds, stamina, and smell.

What game incorporated leaving footprints? Breathing is generally neglected... Smell was in Tenchu Z, I think, but smell's kinda tricky to deal with...

 

[AfroTree]

I'd like to say that stealth games need better AI, but if they had better AI we'd all be screwed. So, now, they're idiotic drones who very quickly get over the death of their colleagues and go back to walking ruts in carpet, but better AI would mean we could only rarely kill any of them.

"Jim? Jim? Hey, Dave, Jim's not in the west room and he won't answer his radio."
"Find that dumb-ass slacker, Bob"
...
"Bob? Hey, Bob, did you find Jim? Crap, everyone we may have an intruder. Jim and Bob over on the west side of the building have stopped responding."

See? Screwed.

Nope..you just suck at getting past, when you have already taken out a guard..that was on his own.

so blargh mobile!

also

essentially

i want to sneak!

 

[black orchid1]

my list

1.ai that will act human, this can be like mgs2 were they use tactics like swat and clear rooms with a group instead of just being walking around then looking into a black spot every so often

2. free roam, multiple ways of getting from a to b, kind of like hitman were you can just go in shooting but there is also ways that makes you feel at least a little clever

3.for god sake!!!! no last level run a gun shooting !!!!

 

[captaincabbage]

When you're given the option to not be stealthy. We all love a good backup plan, usually involving lots of shotguns XD

 

[Jibblejab]

Although incredibly linear and had an issue with schizophrenicly switching between stealth, shooter and fighting game without telling me, I think the Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butchers Bay (PS3) was an amazing game and had some really good stealth peices

 

[GideonB]

When the title of the game has "Thief" at the beginning. That series pretty much is top-notch stealth, especially the second one.

This. However I did like Second Sight, it was really overlooked but it was a fun game when you got telekinesis and the stealth elements felt like they were meant to be there. But that's besides the point.
Stealth games work when theres a reason to be sneaky (assassin or thievery)
Also the controls HAVE TO BE TAILORED TO STEALTH AND THE COMBAT MUST NOT SUCK.
Caps lock is still cruise control for the cool.

 

[psivamp]

I'd like to say that stealth games need better AI, but if they had better AI we'd all be screwed. So, now, they're idiotic drones who very quickly get over the death of their colleagues and go back to walking ruts in carpet, but better AI would mean we could only rarely kill any of them.

"Jim? Jim? Hey, Dave, Jim's not in the west room and he won't answer his radio."
"Find that dumb-ass slacker, Bob"
...
"Bob? Hey, Bob, did you find Jim? Crap, everyone we may have an intruder. Jim and Bob over on the west side of the building have stopped responding."

See? Screwed.

Nope..you just suck at getting past, when you have already taken out a guard..that was on his own.

so blargh mobile!

also

essentially

i want to sneak!

Better AI would also leave you with far fewer places to hide, and if spotted at all the place would go on high alert and everyone would click on tac-lights to their guns or stay within torchlight or what-have-you for your game.

 

[MinishArcticFox]

First of all I expect it to be believeable.
Secondly the ability to hide.
Three levels of enemy status (alert, unaware, and something in between).
The ability to take out enemies.
It should be beatable on the first try.
Lastly if I am detected I should have a way to regain my stealth.