Stealth mode and Guard shifts
This new version 0.9.1 introduces guards, running and the stealth mode. These features' potential is not yet exploited, which will the aim of the next development step: Guard shifts.
Until Guard shifts are introduced, guards walk around randomly. They can only turn and move forward. They're pretty slow for now, so not very frightening, but still, you don't want to run into them, or it's game over ^^.
Running is pretty simple, just hold down H while walking around.
The details: walking can be done by pressing and holding down the directional arrow keys, and doesn't need to be spammed nor relies on the OS's repetition feature anymore. This allows for a differentiation between walking around and stealth mode. To go into stealth mode, go to the square adjacent to a wall and then walk into it. For a better walking fluidity, walking into it from a far by keeping a directional key pressed won't put you into stealth mode, but leave you at the square in front of the wall. Releasing and pressing it again will leave walking mode and enter stealth mode, where you are moving along the wall.
Stealth mode
In stealth mode, you are less noticeable but also physically more constrained.
In this mode, guards won't see you. Well, right now they don't do much anyways, but they soon will! This mode will prove very useful to hide and move around discretely.
You can only move along the walls, as moving away from them will put you back in walking mode. There is no repetition, so one key press equals one square move, because walking sideways back to the wall isn't very easy. You will wrap around the edges, and each movement will show uncover the squares in front of you. You can also move towards the wall to uncover the squares perpendicular to it without leaving stealth mode.
The map discovery just got a bit more tactical with these features, having to trade of map discovery with your own visibility, and it's about to become really interesting!
Up Next: Guard shifts
The next step is to add a guard station, out of which guards will come and do their rounds. Each guard has it's own pattern, which will be generated at the time of the maze generation. These patterns are thus learnable, and one will then be able to navigate accordingly, to avoid the guards. For now, three guards are present at each moment in time. From time to time a bell will ring and the three guards will return to the station, replaced with an other group of three guards, there being four groups in total.
Each guard has a walking pattern and a field of view, creating moving obstacles, making part of the maze dynamic.
The guards and phoenix placement will be worked on some more too.
Walking in a guard's field of view (the red areas) will make them chase you, but that mechanic's for an other update ^^ .
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