Citizens,
The system that governs attack stealthing has been rebuilt from the ground up featuring a whole new mechanic that requires attackers to use tactics, plan for, and specialize towards if they want to achieve it against an opponent. It is no longer just based on how much more dexterity you have over your opponent.
I felt the old system was boring, too simple, and caused stealth to occur too frequently (often unnecessarily). I wanted stealth to be a more tactical choice, something that people have to actually think about and prepare for if they want to achieve it.
This project has been in the works for over 6 months with the committee playing a vital role in development. It was needed before we could release the new 'weapon mods' system which features suppressors that increase stealth, and other mods that decrease it.
Attaining stealth is now more difficult, and users will most likely need to proactively aim to achieve it. The system was designed to be realistic, intuitive and challenging. The parameters that constitute a 'stealthed attack' in real life can be very subjective, so it was difficult and took a long time to finalize the plans. In the end we're very happy with the final version and feedback from the committee is resoundingly positive.
So, how do you achieve a stealthed attack? Your stealth is checked on a turn by turn basis, decreasing your chance of stealth based on the parameters of that particular turn. If a single turn decreases your chance of stealth, it cannot be recovered during the attack (I.e. Only your lowest achieved stealth turn is used). This mimics someone being revealed over time; the opponent isn't going to forget if you've somewhat revealed yourself on a previous turn.
There are 8 different parameters of which you'll need to excel in at least a few of...
Weapon stealth level
All weapons now have stealth levels between 0.0 and 10.0. Most guns have a pretty low stealth level, with melee generally being higher, although when weapon mods are available it'll be possible to substantially increase the stealth level of guns. This was certainly the hardest part of the project due to the concept being so subjective - everyone has their own opinion. We tasked several committee members with applying scores to each weapon for things like... Noise, commotion, barrel length, ammo used, range, visibility, concealability, size, weight, collateral damage, usage complexity e.t.c and then averaged them out to produce a final stealth score. These scores are visible when viewing a weapon's info.
Dexterity difference
Dexterity still plays an important role. Having much more than your opponent will increase the chance of stealth, and vice versa: If your opponent has far more dexterity than you do, your chances will be reduced. Having loads of dexterity does not guarantee stealth however - someone with very low dexterity can still achieve it by meeting other criteria, and someone with loads of dexterity using a very unstealthy weapon will most likely not be stealthed.
Face masks
Using head armour which covers the face will increase your stealth a bit. It's not essential but it certainly helps - just like in real life.
Stealth merits
Stealth merits are still a thing, and can be upgraded up to 10 times. They will help out a lot if you're willing to specialize in them.
Amount of turns
If an attack continues on for a long time, this can be detrimental to stealth. It's not a huge factor, but certainly worth taking into consideration.
Temporary weapons
If your opponent is under the effect of a Flash Bang, Smoke Grenade, Tear Gas or Pepper Spray your stealth will be increased. But you'd have to use it on the first turn for maximum usefulness (no point if they've already seen your face).
Company bonus
There are two company specials that can reduce opponent chances of stealth. Rumors (Hair Salon) and High-fidelity (Music Store) have a substantial impact. On the flip side, there's also Dramatics (Theater) and Deafened (Music Store) that can still 100% guarantee your stealth in exchange for job points.
Education bonus
There is one education course (Forensic Science) which slightly decreases opponent stealthiness.
So there you have it, the new stealth system.
The new depth may take a while to get used to, but I think in time when everyone's figured it out it'll really improve gameplay. We will of course be making continuous changes to this over the next few weeks as we monitor statistics and gauge feedback. I want to give a big thanks to the committee, all of their careful analysis and feedback has produced what I think is the perfect way of handling stealth in Torn.
Thanks.