In the Shadows
Have you ever wanted to sneak around the Quake universe, pick the right moment to bypass the guards and steal all of the loot? This modification for quake will allow you the player to become invisible at a certain range and then plan your way through various locations using new stealth gameplay. The MOD will follow the story of Lord Aramis, the champion of the people and sadly the betrayer of the Kingdom as you discover what price he paid for his lust of power. Featuring many new monsters, improved AI path finding and plenty of uniquely textured locations, this MOD hopes to let players experience stealth combat in a different light.
The Quake Modification "In the Shadows" will feature new and updated monsters, a large amount of art assets and a funky new combat system, stealth! Yes I know, probably an unusual combination, slow paced strategic combat layered on top of a fast paced classic run, gun and shoot fps! It certainly is a strange idea, but it is something I have wanted to experiment with for some time due to my crazy obsession with the Thief series and all things sneaky like.
Here is a link to a youtube video showing the basic tutorial section of the first map, "Temple of Swords"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YArCZDpkcSA
The Stealth system is defined by three types of combat, assassination, avoidance and chaos. Each style present the player with a different set of rewards that range from easy assassinations to the ultimate form of stealth, completing a level without inflicting any physical damage. As always with stealth combat, how the player wants to approached a level is totally their choice and most routes in the new maps with the MOD will support all three types.
Some parts of the world are designed for certain types of combat and by far the most difficult to master is avoidance, the art of passing through a location without being detected and not using any physical violence. As each area is navigated the risk to the player gets worse because previous rooms and corridors are full of patrolling guards who will not think twice about hunting down the player across long distances. The special stealth alcoves offer the player the chance to hide without being detected but these places are not perfectly secure and will be discovered during combat or if the guards are hunting for the player close by.
The poison bolt is the wild card in the pack, it makes the guards randomly attack another guard nearby and this can produce some very chaotic results. It certainly offers the most mischievous fun with lots of opportunities for the classic Quake infighting, but it also can be dangerous with the chance of being detected greatly increased.
The art of distraction can offer many challenges like how close the bolt needs to be before a guard will notice, to the fact that walking patrols ignore all distraction until they are stationary. Distractions do not last forever and each guard will eventually turn back to what they were doing before which can be tricky if trying to influence a large group. One useful trick is to use the distraction bolt to the back of the guard, which makes them move and investigate. This is a perfect opportunity to sneak past while the guard is busy cutting the air in the hope of finding something lurking in the shadows.
Here is a link to a youtube video showing the new stealth combat in the first map, "Temple of Swords"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRrW9c3TpXA
If you want more information or are interested in following the MOD more closely I have setup a page on my website http://www.simonoc.com/pages/design/sp/its.htm if you want further information. As always, feedback is welcome and any questions you may have please leave in the comments below.
(LordHavoc)
