hiya, me again, somthing happened to me while playing FO3 today i thought may bring some items of interest to this (and probably the wider world of gaming) discussion...
A.I and 'visibility' now granted in most games visibility is most likely down to some form of rendered direct line of visual contact, fair enough, others extend visibility into 'sensory information' such as splinter cell and the original Ghost Recon games, even shooters such as Rainbow 6 (the latter games) include a rudimentary A.I "i can hear you..." feature which surrounds audio clues of your whereabouts leading the A.I toward your position.
And so to the nub of my Fallout related issue, hiding and 'stealth' in a game which supposedly has a 'skill check' on how well your character is concealed at any given point, Fallout 3 would be a great contender in the world of stealth based game-play... Sadly my recent experience taught me otherwise (like I didn't already know that FO3 was hugely limited in this respect)
TLDR - hiding doesn't work
Long version:-
Imagine if you will the following. You're approaching an unknown but supposedly hostile area, your companion a brash ghoul has already been told to shut up a good number of times (seriously Charon.. we know its dangerous...) and you edge closer, taking the high ground on your approach to survey the area before deciding how to go about things.
Your trusty silenced .50 Cal Barret (thank you 20th century guns mod!) is nestled in the palms of your hands, not yet brought to aim, but waiting. You take your time reaching the cliff's edge, presenting the smallest profile you can and raise the weapons sight to your eye's to look at the valley floor. some way off you spot a military grade robot patrolling, but otherwise, the area is clear...
[also.. I do love a good story, don't you folks?]
ok, reality check time, I shot the robot, yes, my in game HUD said hidden, cool... I get the stealth bonus damage, great! but being the tough cookie he is the robot survived the shot. Now however my HUD reads caution... hmmm..
Sadly I knew all too well that the robot was making a bee line toward me, being that it now knows my EXACT position, because I shot it once. That's a fair enough thing if I was say, down the other end of a corridor but I wasn't, I was at EXTREME range (the model of the robot only rendered once zoomed in, I was behind cover (some rocks) I was using a silenced weapon have a sneak skill of about 100 (although I was in power armour so -75 from that) and it was (I use the term loosely) dark. but no, the robot goes on a 2 minute (might have been longer) trundle all the way round and up the cliff's edge just to get to me
here is a simple diagram of how silly this was
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This is a SERIOUS immersion breaker for me, I was at range, in what could be considered perfect sniping conditions yet the enemy homes in more accurately than most military missiles the US currently uses!
And as I mention in my preamble, this fault is present in many games, the all knowing "fuck logic and reason.. I'm the AI, I know where you are!" approach. Moments like this are a BIG fuck you directed squarely at the player, and its cause, in my opinion. poorly written A.I. I challenge anyone to go and play the original Ghost Recon (released some 9 years ago now) and tell me the AI on that is worse than this... it simply isn't, 9 year old AI that understands basic, in cover / out of cover or well hidden / not well hidden and a lot more besides. If a game almost a decade old can do it... why not a game in which 'sneaking' and being hidden is an actual quantifiable feature.
" the second it was announced, but I gave it a chance at a friends house and as Oblivion with guns, I think its a very fun game.