v1.3.0 Contracts, ghost reward, improved distractions & heartbeat vibrations

This update includes 27 changes and additions to the game.

The player can access a new mission board from the guild. The mission board shows available contracts. Each contract shows a location, goal and difficulty rating. At higher ranks, the player gains access to more difficult contracts and a wider variety of mission goals.

The mission board also shows:

• the number of completed missions
  
• how many times the player got caught
  
• number of 100% stealth completions
  
• how many times the player knocked out all the guards
  
• the player rank
  
• double XP and gold reward for completing missions fully undetected
  

When the player uses distractions, the game will display a very clear distraction radius to the player. Any guards caught within that distraction radius will comment immediately, but wait a second before moving. This will give players the chance to move away before the guard starts inspecting the situation.

Guards in stealth puzzles now have a brief delay when they spot the player. This is useful in situations where they'd spot the player briefly while turning or when the player almost got caught. In these instances, the guard won't detect the player yet.

Playing missions aggressively by knocking out all the guards is faster and easier than attempting 100% stealth runs in missions. To compensate the player for this additional effort, when the player remains undetected during a mission, their XP and gold rewards are doubled as if they had completed 2 missions. The mission board explains this reward and a narrator will confirm the reward on the mission completion screen.

For fun and additional suspense, I have added increasing heartbeat controller vibrations when the guard slowly becomes more and more aware of the player. The heartbeats fade when the guard eye icon closes and the guard calms down. This feature is tested on an official Xbox controller.

All characters now have moving mouth animations when they are talking. The level editor has more tiles for the player to hide behind or hide in. The 2nd stealth puzzle level is replaced with a level that trains the player in hiding behind bookcases and around corners. And if the player hides on top of an extinguished candle, guards will not attempt to light that candle and detect that unfortunate player. Hopefully all these changes will make the game easier for new players.

Here is the full list of changes for version 1.3.0:

1. Added new mission contract board
   
2. 4 new level color themes
   
3. Improved character contrast with walls and carpets
   
4. New distraction particles with a clear radius circle indicator
   
5. New coin particles when stealing and cloud particles for hiding and climbing through windows
   
6. Added a slight delay to guard visions to puzzle missions
   
7. Replaced off-camera mission speech bubbles with mini talking heads to reduce text clutter during missions
   
8. Heart-beat style controller vibrations when guards become aware of the player
   
9. Camera focuses on player character center instead of player character shadow circle
   
10. Doubled the guard fall animation speed
    
11. Doubled optional 100% stealth XP and gold reward if players choose that more difficult achievement
    
12. Do not allow player to go through windows in first and last escape missions
    
13. Fixed incorrect facing guards in puzzle levels after using distractions
    
14. Fixed the guard idle animation hiccup
    
15. Save all option configurations in save state
    
16. Implement moving mouths for all characters
    
17. Stack the stealth puzzle level and community level coins, so that the levels can have more coins
    
18. The "run" icon does not appear in puzzle levels, community levels and level editor preview levels, since the player runs by default
    
19. For community levels with coins, change goal message to "Collect coins and head to the exit"
    
20. Add a short delay before the guard turns around and moves when the player distracts the guard
    
21. Add awareness eye to puzzle guards, so they also don't instantly catch the player
    
22. Enable hiding areas in community levels
    
23. Add more tiles to level editor
    
24. Replace puzzle level 2 with a level that trains the player in hiding behind bookcases and in corners near entry ways
    
25. Silence knocked out guards
    
26. The "pick up guard" animated paw icon should disappear once the player picks up that guard
    
27. If a player hides near a candle, the guard should ignore that candle in favor of the player