itch.io

Well, welcome! ^^

If you have trouble with the game, just let me know.

Oh, haha! I had no idea ^^

Then you already have the key :)

I've released the full version of Endless Thief v1.0.1

It took a little longer than planned, but I kept finding and fixing bugs. I still have a small list of minor bugs that I will patch soon.

I have a game key for you. Do you have discord so I can send it to you?

I have some delays on my demo release, because it is kind of a last release for the demo. There's a rare bug I hope to catch and fix before release. In the meantime I'm preparing the full version with all its features. I hope to have the demo out this weekend, and the full version the weekend after that. With a little luck that might happen ^^

I'll look into the unlit light detection for the guards as well. Thank you for letting me know.

I just released the Endless Thief v0.7.5.

I was inspired by your comment to let players invest a skill point. I don't want to force players to invest in any specific skill. So instead all characters start out without skill points. Players can select a character and freely invest the first 3 skill points in whatever skill they prefer for their play-style. This way, I think it's a good suggestion and an improvement over fixed skill points. Thank you! ^^

The level editor is now using the accurate 1:1 tile scale, so you'll have full control over the tile placement. You can load and save levels from a text file. Or copy and paste the text level into the editor using the Share button.

Since the scale has changed, I recommend you use the enlarged text level version of your level that I posted in this thread last week. Please let me know if you have any trouble with this, I'll gladly help out.

For the next update, I also want to make players freely choose the mission goal from the guild hub. So no more forced random mission goals, except for the first mission of every rank. I do want players to experience every unique mission goal at least once, and then let them choose whatever they want. I hope that's a good idea too.

I was hoping to release a new version with the improved level editor today, but there are too many little glitches remaining that I need to fix and properly test.

Edit: I just fixed all the glitches and did a short play-test. I'll do proper play-test tomorrow, but if all goes well I'll release the new version tomorrow (monday) ^^

Here's the doubled version of your last map. This time, every tile is exactly 1 tile in-game, so you have more control over the level design. Let me know if this helps, or if it's cumbersome. Otherwise you'll be able to edit this map in-game after the next release next weekend.

Guards can't walk through objects, so it's best to keep guard patrol paths clear of objects. Guards can automatically walk around objects, but on this map, guards 1 and 2 are stuck. Maybe also useful to know, is that the guard light cone range is 4 tiles. I will put this information in the in-game level editor as well.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*ttwwwwwwwwwwwwtt,,,,,,tt,,,,,,tt,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ttwwwwwwwwwwwwtt,,,,,,tt,,,,,,tt,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,ttwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwtt,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,4,,,4,
,,ttwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwtt,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
tt,,,,wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww,,,,tt,,,,,,tt##############BB,,,,
tt,,,,wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww,,,,tt,,,,,,tt##############BB,,,,
,,,,,,,,ttwwwwwwwwwwwwwwtt,,,,,,,,########BB##5---5-##,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,ttwwwwwwwwwwwwwwtt,,,,,,,,########BB##------##*,,,,,
tttt,,,,tt,,,,wwwwwwwwtt,,,,,,,,tt##6-----------BB6-##bb,,,,
tttt,,,,tt,,,,wwwwwwwwtt,,,,,,,,tt##------------BB--##bb,,,,
,,,,,,tt,,,,1,,,,,,,,,,,tt1,tt,,,,##TTbb----##5---5-##3,,,3,
,,,,,,tt,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,tt,,tt,,,,##TTbb---*##------##,,,,,,
##########,,,,############,,,,,,,,##############--####3,,,3,
##########,,,,############,,,,,,,,##############--####,,,,,,
##SS------,,bb##7--*bb7-##,,,,tt,,,,,,,,tt,,,,tt,,,,,,,,,,,,
##SS------,,bb##----bb--##,,,,tt,,,,,,,,tt,,,,tt,,,,,,,,,,,,
E---TTtt##bb,,##--------##,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,tt,,,,,,,,,,tt,,
----TTtt##bb,,##--------##,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,tt,,,,,,,,,,tt,,
##SS--SS##bb,,##7-bb--7-##,,,,,,tt,,######--######tt,,tt,,,,
##SS--SS##bb,,##--bb----##,,,,,,tt,,######--######tt,,tt,,,,
##########,,,,######--####,,tt,,,,,,##2-pp--pp-2##,,,,,,,,tt
##########,,,,######--####,,tt,,,,,,##--pp--pp--##,,,,,,,,tt
tt,,,,,,,,,,1,,,tt,,,,,,,,1,wwtt,,tt##--bb--bb--##,,,,tt,,,,
tt,,,,,,,,,,,,,,tt,,,,,,,,,,wwtt,,tt##2-bb*-bb-2##,,,,tt,,,,
tt,,,,,,tt,,,,,,,,,,tt,,,,wwwwSS,,SS##############tttt,,,,,,
tt,,,,,,tt,,,,,,,,,,tt,,,,wwwwSS,PSS##############tttt,,,,,,

I've released the next version of the game with the in-game level editor. The initial player sight is also increased by 15%.

Also, I have manually typed in your level based on your text level image. I think the best way to find out if something works, is just to try it out and see what happens ^^

I do see a lot of problems in this level, but that's because of the way the levels work now. With these 2x2 tiles, as a level designer you just don't have enough room to properly place the decorations in nice places. The duplication I'm using doesn't quite look right. And the guards get stuck because of the object duplication.

So thanks your level, I've made up my mind. I will change the level editor to use a normal 1:1 tile scale. So every tile will be exactly 1 tile in-game, and you'll have full control over everything inside the level. This will allow you to create nice filled room decorations.

Please wait with your level. I'll need a week to improve the level editor, along with a few more bug fixes. I will convert the previous levels as well.

I have improved the way the game fills the level with objects. Each level tile represent 2x2 tiles in-game. Each of the 4 tiles has a 50% chance of object placement with multiple objects allowed. Except for statues and readables, because there are more unique objects.

For the level editor, we can still choose between the current simplified level editor or a full level editor.

I currently use a simplified level editor where each tile is actually 2x2 tiles in-game. This allows for smaller shareable text levels. It can also fit larger levels on a single screen with clear tiles without scrolling. So it's quick and easy to design a level and keep an overview of the entire level on-screen.

Alternatively, I could also revert to a full level editor where each tile is exactly 1 tile in-game. This means that either I have to make the level tiles twice as small, or allow for scrolling in the level editor. So either the level tiles are less clear, or we no longer have an overview of the entire level on a single screen because of scrolling. Also the text levels will be twice as large, which means they are less convenient to share.

Hopefully I made the right choice for a simplified level editor. I know it's an unusual choice. If it doesn't work well, I can always revert to a normal 1:1 level editor. Please let me know what you think.

Oh yeah, bonus objectives do make the game much more difficult. But they're optional at least. There's also the hidden 100% gold bonus objective. I've hidden it so it's not a frustrating bonus objective, but just something to reward the player if they do go through all that trouble.

I prefer not to force the player to do anything. I'd rather give the player as much freedom as possible and giving the player more options over time.

Here's my current progress with the level editor:

It is just a graphical front for the text level. Feel free to share your text level, and I'll post a play-through of it here again, so you can either tweak it or if you're happy with it, I'll add it to the next update if you like.

I will try to release the next version with the completed level editor this weekend. So you can also wait for that update if you prefer. Although the level won't be playable through the level editor yet. I want to save that feature for the full version. I'll release the full version alpha within a few weeks. I'll send you a key for it ^^

The visibility range is something I wonder about.

Visibility was an obvious skill choice. But as a skill, players need to start at a lower visibility, so that they can invest skill points to increase their visibility.

I could increase the starting visibility a little bit. I could also make the characters start out with a single skill point in visibility. I got used to the lowest visibility, so I can play through the game without getting caught with 0 skill points in visibility.

Please let me know what you think. I'll make adjustments where needed.

Is there some way I can improve the balance and difficulty better?

Please let me know which gameplay elements are too difficult early on. The game has become very easy for me since I play-test so much, so it is difficult for me to find out whether the game is too easy or too difficult. I could use your advice there.

I've added the intro, outro and readables to the text level editor. The animated gif shows what that looks like.

Here's the text level that it's running:

Level: Village at Night (SnowySierra)
Intro: It was a dark and stormy night. I passed through a cosy village. It seemed rich enough for a visit.
n: Dear sister, I will be gone for a while. I have left some gold for you. Please take care.
d: I saw a gold piece near the west warehouse, but I couldn't reach it across the water.
D: In the south-east area, there's a coin hidden among the barrels.
Outro: I left the village and disappeared in the dark of the night. No one ever knew I was there.
................bB...,Et,,www,.
.7.#######...########.,,,,tw,..
...#*Tc---...#5:::5*#....,,,..6
..B#-n--p#...###::###..D#####..
...#######....S#.##S...B#SS*#..
....8...,.,..,,...8.....#4:4#b.
.7.,,,,###b,,t,,...######:T:#*.
..,,tw##*##w,,,,.,b#2Tc:#:T:#B.
9,,,9w#1-1#wt,,,,..::::::4:4#..
,,w,,w#-B-#ww,.w,,.#2:p:#####.6
,www,w#1-1#Bw,www,.######.B....
,,w,,t##-##w,,,wd,...Bb..b.b.b*
9,,,9www,ww,,,www...,3,,.3b.b.b
,,,,,*w,,,,,,,,w,P.,,ww,,b.b.b.

The text characters n / d / D are special readables. Each have their own line of text and will sparkle in the level to show players that these notes are interactable. Here I use them for providing clues for coin locations.

I'll play-test and release the next version with this example level in the community levels. Then I'll work on the in-game graphical level. That should make designing levels more accessible ^^

I can finally happily report that the advanced text level editor works! I was able to drop in your 2nd text level and it plays pretty well ^^

So here's the text symbol table you made, which I used to enhance the text level editor:

And here's the text level you provided, which I used as a test case to enhance the text editor:

.......*t,wwwww,t...t...t......t
.twww.ttt,wwwwt,.....#######4.4t
..,wwwwwwwwww,,,t....#::5:5#B...
E...twwwwwwt,.....####:#:B:#*...
.....,,wwww,,.....#6::6#:B:#b...
......,www,,t.....#Tb:*#5:5#3.3t
###:#########.....#######:##....
#2:2#--S7*bS#...................
#:::#1------.1................t.
#2:2#--S7b-S#,.....#######.t....
#:########-##,t....#*#:#:#....t.
t..........www,,t.t#8:::8:......
tt.t.t.t.t.wwww,SPS#######t....t

Finally, here's my playthrough of your level. It works just by dropping in your text level, the game does the rest. I hope the level looks like you expected:

There are still a few glitches, such as:

1. Floor tile glitches
2. Overly swingy guard turns

I will fix those next. Maybe I should also improve the object placement. Since 4 objects fit on a single text tile, I could randomize the placement of 4 of the same objects on that tile. So it's not all just squares and predictable patterns, but the tiles do fill out better. What do you think?

If you want, you can make improvements to your level. If you consider it finished, can I include your level in the Community Levels for the next update? ^^

Awesome, and thank you! ^^

I'm taking steps to introduce an in-game level editor, so players can see exactly what the level looks like. It will be exactly the same as the text level, except with graphics ^^

In fact, the in-game levels will run on the text levels. The graphical level editor is just a user-friendly front for the text levels. I don't have a server to save and share levels online, so I might let players share levels by having them copy the text levels so they can post it anywhere online as text.

The in-game missions use the starting position as an exit, which remains closed until the main objective is completed. But the text levels do have a separate starting position and exit position. I'm not sure what to do with that, since text levels don't have objectives yet.

I will convert all challenge levels to text levels. Then add coins to them in the next update. Each challenge level will keep track of which coins the player has picked up. So they can replay challenges and collect the coins they missed, gain additional gold for skills and optionally achieve a 100% completion achievement on the challenge.

I was thinking of doing the same thing for the community text levels. Let level designers add coins. The game will keep track of the % of coins the players have collected. So if they want to, they can try to aim for 100% completion of these levels if they want to and optionally gain the 100% completion achievement on those levels as well. What do you think?

I released a new version of the game, v0.7.0 "Skills". It includes your first text level as well. I placed it in menu "Custom Game" -> "Community Levels" -> "Level 1 (Sesileiro)".

I will continue working on the advanced text level editor and make it work with your 2nd level first. I'll post a video here playing through your 2nd level as soon as I have it working in the advanced level editor.

Awesome, thank you! Your document link is also helpful, that way I can easily copy and paste your level map ^^

I've fixed the last known bug in the latest version 0.6.0 "Skills" of the game. Tomorrow I'll do more thorough play-testing and if I'm lucky, I'll be able to release the next version on Itch this week.

Then I'll work on the improved text stealth engine this weekend. I'll use your level to test the engine and make it work. With some luck, I hope to share the video of your level here this weekend. I'll do my best! ^^

Oh no, I just noticed that all the guards lights in missions are missing in the current Itch release.

I did play-test thoroughly before releasing. Since guard awareness is based on sight distance, I didn't really miss the guard light cones. I heard no one else about this, so I guess other players also don't miss the guard lights in this release either.

Anyway, I'll make sure to enable the guard lights in the next release. In fact, I'll add a line of code that always enables the guard lights, even if I forget to manually enable it. I did the same for the player line of sight. In the next version it is more important, because the sight distance is fully replaced by the challenge-style guard lights. I think it makes the game more predictable and tense. Sight distance based guard awareness doesn't always feel fair, because it's invisible to the player.

Thank you! Your thoughts on the level editor are very helpful. I will add these new level features to the text level editor after the next release.

Also I very much look forward to playing your next level! I'm eager to see what you come up with ^^

Sorry for the delays on releasing the next version of the game, I added too many features at once. I added:

• Skills - player characters and guards can upgrade their skills with gold
• Ranks - each rank makes the guild grow with more options and new levels
• Metal Gear style stealth - the player is near invisible in shadows and visible in candle + guard lights
• Non-linear level progression - missions are no longer linear levels, instead each rank has a set of levels
• Redone tutorials - skippable tutorials, and each tutorial has its own entry area to avoid player confusion
• Custom game menu - allows players to choose exactly which missions they want to play
• Puzzle text level editor - Allows selection of a basic theme, placement of walls and guard patrols
• New "Steal Artifact" mission objective

That's more features than I had originally planned for the next release, but they're all done for the current release. I just need to play-test thoroughly and fix as many bugs as I can find. Then I can release it here.

Plans for the release after that are:

• Open World text level editor - supporting all the new features as promised. I hope to test this with your next level ^^
• User-friendly in-game level editor - I have to do some research on how to make the level editor easy and fun to use
• Final escape mission and story ending
• Beta version of the full game

And of course bug fixes and user experience improvements for all feedback that I receive.

I put your level in the Custom Game -> Community Levels menu with your name. It is running your exact text level map, I did not alter anything. Do you have a title for this level?

It looks like it is working well ^^

Right now the text level editor is pretty minimal, easy to read and create. I could add more stuff to the level editor, but it would be more difficult to use. For example, adding optional intro, outro and in-game "n" note texts. Also:

"T" tables, "c" chairs, "t" trees, "b" barrels, "B" boxes, "p" plants, "S" statues, "." cobblestone ground, "," grass, "w" water, "-" wooden floor, ":" brick floor, "n" readable notes and "*" coins for the player to collect for an additional challenge and reward. 

This would be the result. It is definitely less easy to read, but it allows more open world player levels.

Is this too much detail? Should I keep the level editor simple and puzzle-focused as before or go in this more complicated open-world direction?

As a side-note, the game engine can fill in the missing floor tiles in the text drawing by looking at the surround floor tiles. So in places where a guard stands, the engine looks at the floor tiles around the guard and uses the same floor tile underneath the guard. It makes assumptions like that to fill in the missing details, so it can "magically" run off a single text drawing like this. The "Note" text is displayed in a paper note pop-up when the player stands on the "n" note tile in the upper left building on the map.

Level: Village at Night (SnowySierra)
Intro: It was a dark and stormy night. I passed through a village that seemed rich enough for a visit.
Note: Dear sister, I will be gone for a while. I have left some gold for you. Please take care.
Outro: I left the village and disappeared in the dark of the night. No one ever knew I was there.
...................,,t,,,,,,....
########......E.....,,,,t,,.....
#*nTc---...............,,,...6..
#-----p#..............#####.....
########..5.......5..B#*S*#.....
..,...,.,.,,,.........#4:4#b....
.,,,,.,b,,,t,,...######:T:#*....
,,,,#####,,,,,.,b#2Tc3#:T:#B....
,,t,#1-1#,t,,,,..::::::4:4#.....
,,,,#-*-#,,,.w,,.#2:p3#####.....
t,,,#1-1#B,,www,.######.B.......
,,,t##-##,,,,w,,...Bb........6..
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,P................

I have another update.

I've added 10 different NPC personalities with a total of 320 unique character dialogues. I'm not much of a writer, so these are mostly flavored gameplay hints. They might be useful to some players, but can also be fully ignored.

So far I've added 29 challenge levels ranging from short and easy to longer and more difficult. I also found a way to put a natural time limit on some of the challenges, by slowly having a guard chase the player. So they have to progress through the challenge, otherwise the guard behind them will catch them.

I haven't created a full level editor, but I have created a simplified text level editor. This is what a text level looks like:

Theme: Forest
4.4..5.5#####
.#.##.#.#####
4.4##5.5.E###
.############
.###3##2#####
.1..........1
####3##2#.###
#########.P##

This is a top-down stealth level. The # are walls, dots are open spaces. P is the player start position and E is the exit. Each number is a unique guard patrol route with one guard patrolling that route. The theme can be: Forest, Wooden Home, Stone Temple or Mansion.

This text level editor is still very basic, but it helped me design challenge levels faster. This could expand to a full level editor later on. If you like, you can try drawing your own level like this and I'll put it in the free game with your name ^^

The "Custom Game" main menu option has become an alternative way to play the game without a story and a guild. From the custom game, the player can select a specific tutorial, mission, challenge, mini-game and upgrade skills. The player will still gain gold and rank when finishing these levels and unlock new levels. The "Custom Game" is also a way to replay specific missions and levels. The "Custom Game" doesn't end, so it's also a way to play infinite uniquely generated stealth levels.

I made a lot of progress, though I won't be able to finish and release everything on January 23rd. My remaining tasks are:

• (finished) add gold, rank, character selection, the skill upgrade shop and tutorials to the custom game menu
• (finishes) add artifacts and the "steal artifact" mission objective to the game
• add the final story scenes
• (in progress) play-test all challenges and missions, including replaying the same missions with different skill point configurations

Optional tasks are:

• A grand final escape mission where the player has to free all their characters and switch between them to escape
• A visual level editor based on the current text level editor, accessible to players to create and share their own stealth levels

I marked the last two tasks as optional, because otherwise it will take me even longer to release a next version. I will work on those after the next release.

Having all characters help each other escape would be an interesting final twists. Maybe they are all locked up in the same building and they have to find and reach each other. Then the player can switch between characters in-level with a special button press. That would make the final mission also more unique.

I know I have a very irregular release schedule, but I can now work on the game every mid-day. So it's fully part-time. I will aim the next release on two weeks from now, Sunday 23rd. It should have almost all features and levels of the full version. Then if you like, we can do final tweaks before going on steam. I will give you access to the full version as promised ^^

I also wonder if I should keep the free version of the game as a separate game instead of turning it into a demo. Like a free smaller version with its own story and levels without a guild and skills. And a full larger version with the guild and skills and everything.

I'm still working on the game. Here's a status update ^^

I fully replaced the level generator in the game. The new level generator can consistently generate large non-linear buildings with both enemies and NPCs. So far I'm only using NPCs for the guild level.

I couldn't resist adding more features to the game and working towards the end of the game with the following changes:

• when starting a new game, the game will ask if the player wants to play the tutorial missions, so all tutorial missions are skippable
• for every playthrough in the full game, the guild map and each mission level will be unique. In the demo, these are fixed missions.
• the player will watch the guild grow, adding a new room to the guild for each unlocked player rank, adding more game options over time.
• each new rank will also unlock new buildings, from wooden homes to temples to mansions to larger city maps.

I might add a new mission objective: steal an artifact.

So far I've limited the game to a maximum of 4 player ranks in one playthrough. The guild will grow up to 4 rooms. The 4th room will have the end game option of the player buying back their freedom. Maybe I should end the game with one last large and difficult escape mission before the player truly wins their freedom. The player ranks will be in a global save and are not character-specific, so you can switch characters without losing guild progress.

I also got a suggestion to have end-game content, such as generating infinite large city missions where players can challenge their skills. In that case, the game would never end. But I'm not sure if infinite end game content or a shorter game with a clear ending would be more fun. I think I'd want to be able to finish the game. I also fear if the game goes on for too long, that it will become repetitive. I can always add more content over time.

Thank you! Every new big feature is a bit scary. I hope it is a good addition to the game.

That sleeping guard is not supposed to wake up when you walk close to it. I think I know what the problem is. There was a bug where if you got too close to an awake guard, the guard would not be able to catch the player. In shadows, an unaware guard could also walk very close past the player without noticing the player. Which seems unlikely, if the player is right next to the guard.

So I added a "red zone" to every guard. When the player gets too close to a guard, it triggers an instant alert. And if the player gets too close to an alerted guard, it triggers an instant catch. Though this "red zone" should not be active for sleeping guards, that's a bug. I'll fix it, thank you for letting me know ^^

The "skip intro" button is a good suggestion. I will add that too. Thank you ^^

So this is what the new character selection screen currently looks like:

The Thief Rank progress bar increases when completing objectives. When it's full, the Thief Rank increases and unlocks a new game feature. This could be new environments, characters, skins or custom game options.

Skills can be increased with mission gold. They decrease action times, increases movement and so on. Bright stars show the current skill level and dark stars the maximum skill level. The maximum depends on the selected character.

The fastest way to increase the Thief Rank is by completing the bonus objectives.

I will include at least the puzzle missions and level editor in the custom game options by default. These are much easier and more accessible than the main game. I know at least one player that prefers to only play these missions and create them. The other features could be unlocked through the main game.

Probably I will release a demo on Steam before working on the level editor. I need to find out if anyone is interested in this game before I add too many features and make this game a year project or longer. But if I do a level editor, I would probably also allow players to share them online, have anyone play them and score these player-created missions. And the ability to sort player-created missions based on player score averages. It would be a big new feature for me ^^

So far, no, you can't increase the Thief Rank with gold. But you can increase the skills with gold.

I was able to reproduce the problem with hiding under those tables, so I will fix that bug in the next release. Thank you for pointing that out with a very clear screenshot. That was very helpful! ^^

Thank you! Your answer helps me make better decisions for the game! Awesome ^^

For the Thief Rank, I will assign a rank number to each character starting from 0 or 1. Then counting up from there. And a thief rank progress. When the progress bar is full, the character gains a new thief rank. Each successful objective and activity in the game will increase the progress towards the next rank. Please let me know if you like this idea, or if you have a better idea on how to handle the thief ranks and their progression system.

I added a short intro to the game. I think I will shorten the intro even more to just a few seconds, with just a guard making a remark on the character's situation to give the player some perspective on why they sneak around and join the thieves guild. I don't really like intros. I'd rather play the game than watch a cut-scene ^^

I have several ideas for the "custom game" option. I'll list them here. Please let me know which ideas you like!

Possible custom game options:

• Play challenge / puzzle stealth levels directly from the menu
• Play either mini-games directly from the menu
• Play a random stealth mission 
  • Select size: small, medium or large
  • Select objective: escape, steal, kidnap, sabotage
• Level editor for custom player missions

I built a simple text level editor to create the challenge / puzzle missions. I could create a visual level editor on top of the text level editor and allow players to create their own levels the same way.

For the custom game options, I could add some or all of those options in the menu. I could have them all unlocked for full freedom, or have some options locked until the player reaches some point in the main game. For example, win one mini-game to unlock it in the custom game menu. Reach a specific thief rank to unlock a larger random stealth mission in the custom game menu. Unlock additional tiles and actors in the level editor as a new thief rank reward.

What do you think? Which custom game option ideas do you like and do you have more ideas for custom game options?

Should I lock some options and have them unlock as rank rewards in addition to unlocking stronger characters and skins?

I'm introducing character skills in the next version. I'd like to hear thoughts on this, if you like to share it.

The skills are: stealthiness, sight distance, action speed and movement speed.

Each character will start with different base skills, and each character will also have different minimum and maximum skill points per skill.

After having done some research on the real-life abilities of the character species, I've concluded that some species are simply better at these skills than other species. So it's not balanced. Maybe that could be fine too in this game. The red panda and bunny are roughly equal. The hyena is a better character. And the cat has some of the best skills.

To compensate for the "better characters", I would let the player start out with the red panda and bunny. Then by increasing their individual thief ranks, the player can unlock new skins and "better" characters.

Each character would retain their individual gold and upgraded skills. So by selecting a new character, the players starts at the skill levels of that character. But the player will be able to upgrade the skills of the new character to higher levels than the previous one. Each character will keep their own upgraded skills. Also, the player retains their level progress in-game, so the player can continue the game with a new character and only having to build up the skills again.

I will give the guards the same skills as the characters. So guards can also become more alert, see further, act quicker and move faster. These skills will depend on the character skills, so that the level difficulty is always balanced towards the character.

The level size will depend on the thief rank of the character. So with higher thief ranks, the player unlocks larger levels. And larger levels can have new environments.

Each character will have their own thief rank. The thief rank increases with each successful objective, including the bonus objectives. It will also be easier to increase lower thief ranks than higher thief ranks. So for unlocking new skins and characters faster, it is better to switch between characters. All this is to promote and reward playing with the different characters.

Maybe I should also add a bit of a story in the game. Maybe a murder mystery with a traitor within the guild. Unless I get a better idea ^^

So what do you think? Could this idea work well for the game, to make it more fun to play with various characters, level them up and unlock new things for a more rewarding sense of progression throughout the game?

I finished v0.4.0 with the traps and bonus objectives. I'll push the update to itch this weekend after some play-testing. Then I can continue tweaking the gameplay based on feedback and work on a new "escape prison" intro mission ^^

So after some play-testing I've done the following for traps:

• Traps will be safe for guards and dangerous for the player
• The player can sabotage the trap, so that the trap becomes dangerous for both the guards and the player
• When a guard (or multiple guards) fall through a sabotaged trap, the trap resets (removes the sabotage) the moment that the trap closes
• The player can sabotage a trap again after the trap resets

Otherwise sabotaged traps are very overpowered. I can always change the trap behavior if there's a better solution or suggestion ^^

I've been shortsighted about the "trap a target guard" objective. I can just alert that guard and have them chase me over the sabotaged trap. That's much more fun than waiting ^^

Though I should remove the bonus objective "no alerts" for these missions, so I don't punish the player for such a devious tactic. Or keep the bonus objective for the patient players, in which case I should force the target guard to be near a trap so the game remains fair time-wise.

The traps are done. They trap the player, unless the player sabotages the trap. Then guards fall into their own trap. Maybe I will add a guard that can also fix sabotaged traps. I considered an objective to trap a target guard, but it might be frustrating for the player to wait for that specific guard to walk into a sabotaged trap.

You have a point regarding the beds as hiding places. They are too dangerous. I've limited the hiding spots to barrels, closets and tables.

I'll work on bonus objectives tomorrow, which includes: no guard alerts, no knock-outs, no hiding and 100% gold.

I added the 100% gold bonus objective and the ability to lock in guards to the suggested features list. I think when the player locks in a guard, the guard should be able to open the door in a minute or more. Just like how knocked out guards are either revived by other guards or wake up after a minute. Otherwise the player will be able to "eliminate" all the guards and make the level too easy. Although that might also be a fun level objective: ambushing all the guards ^^

I won't lock any existing unlocked characters. I could unlock a random character skin when the player meets all bonus objectives. Adding a completely new character to the game takes a lot of time, and I prefer to expand the gameplay first. But it is a very interesting suggestion. Please let me know if unlocking playable existing character skins is interesting enough to include in the game.

I'm not sure about character specific abilities. They sound interesting for replayability, but I don't want the level difficulty to depend on specific characters. I did considering character-specific abilities such as: ability to hide in more places, ability to climb through windows, a very silent character and a faster lock-picking ability.

Speaking of hiding places, I think I'll add more hiding places such as in barrels and under beds. I excluded those hiding places, because the current last level became too easy to complete. But if I include a bonus objective "no hiding", it could be used by the player as either an easier victory or an additional challenge.

I can't reproduce the candle light bug. I've visited the exact same location as in your screenshots, but the candle burns correctly here. I will keep an eye out for when I see an unlit lit candle happening.

Those are good suggestions! It's exactly that I'm looking for ^^

Yesterday I tried adding a big city level as an intro level, but I didn't think it was as exciting as a more focused single goal stealth mission. I'm considering a prison escape as a more exciting intro stealth mission, if that doesn't turn out to be too difficult for new players as a first mission.

Right now I'm working on a floor trap which the player can sabotage. With a mission goal to let a guard have an accident with its own trap.

Unlocking characters could be an interesting progression and reward mechanic. I hadn't considered that yet. Could I already lock 1 or 2 characters from the current 4 characters with the option to unlock, or would that be mean at this stage because they've been unlocked since the first version?

Requiring 100% gold might frustrate some players, so I might use that as a bonus objective. Along with other bonus objectives, such as "no knockouts" and "no alerts". Maybe combining bonus objectives with unlocking characters as you've suggested.

How would a forest level work with stealing gold? Or do you mean a forest level similar to the first two missions in the current demo?

I will look into that candle bug. Did the guard re-light the candle when that happened or was the candle like that from the start?

Thank you for these suggestions! They are very helpful to me ^^

Thank you so much for providing all this feedback on bugs along with screenshots. The blocking bed bug is actually pretty difficult to find!

I just released v0.3.1 fixing the following bugs:

• guards no longer close unlocked doors when the player is in the doorway
• fixed the duplicate coin glitch in the UI
• beds can no longer block doorways or window passages

Again, thank you for your help! I'll gladly give you an itch / steam key for the full game once it's ready next year.

That is very helpful, thank you!

I think I've already found the problem. I fixed it along with a duplicate coin bug and a missing shop UI update after winning a mini-game. I'll test it properly on linux and windows tomorrow. Then I can upload the fixed v0.3.1 version.

It's been a while, but I've released v0.3.0. This version has an updated tutorial. The player completes the tutorial by knocking out a guard. I hope this helps.

Awesome ^^

Thank you so much!

The ball should only be turning when it bounces and when pressing the directional keys.

Is the ball turning on its own?

If so, I suspect that the mouse wheel is activating auto-rotation. It's an old feature which I think just makes the game more difficult. Please let me know, so I can fix the issue.

Thank you so much for your feedback. I really appreciate it!

I will add a tutorial on how to knock out a guard in the next update. I can probably combine that with the "sneaking behind the guard" tutorial.

Summary

You're a master thief in this ambient atmospheric furry stealth game.
You sneak past any guard, pick any lock, break into and steal from any secured building.

Features

• Guards can see, hear, speak, re-light extinguished lights, revive guards and chase you. Fleeing is a viable option.
• Extinguish lights, ghost and remain unseen in shadows.
• Distract guards with noises and suspicious extinguished lights.
• Or ambush guards, knock them out, drag and hide their body in shadows.

Two game modes

City Missions - Open city levels inspired by Thief.
Puzzle Mode - Puzzle-like stealth levels inspired by Metal Gear Solid VR Missions.

Controls

Move - Arrow keys or WASD
Create distraction - Enter key
Toggle run / sneak and drag guards - Space key
Open door, pick lock, ambush and hide - Automatic when near the target

This game is in-development. I'm open to new feature suggestions.

So far I've received these feature suggestions:

• sleeping guards
• traps that can be enabled / disabled
• a level editor
• a story mode with a thieves hide-out

Download the game here

If you have any feedback for the game, please let me know.
I hope to improve this demo and make it a better and more fun experience.