Doggy death door

pottage · 2013-12-28 08:48:16

I just wanted to check if some behaviour I noticed is supposed to be a feature of the game, or if it's an unwanted glitch. Twice now in the last few days I have walked into a door to open it, and instantly killed by a dog. It was my understanding that animals had to spot you one turn, before they could move next turn. The house this was in belongs to Michael Richard Li. I think I read something about this in an older forum post recently (which I can't find now to recheck what I read) and someone mentioned that you could mouse over the door and it would tell you if there was a dog there as well, so I have been doing this for all doors since my first death like this, but this didn't work for me the second time.

Both times this has happened it's been a really nasty shock, and has ruined my fledgling houses. I know the idea of this game is that there are no unfair deaths, that it's always the player's fault, but I cannot see how you are supposed to avoid this death, without cutting around the walls of each door you find, which would cost stupid amounts of money.

Anyone else got any thoughts on this, or can shed some light on it?

Simoon · 2013-12-28 09:55:02

Maybe the dog already saw you before coming behind this door ?
In this case he does not have to wait one turn and can kill you immediately.

arakira · 2013-12-28 10:44:52

Since version 26, you can no longer see what's immediately behind a door. If you get killed while walking into a door, it means that a pitbull spotted you earlier. And that is no exception in Li's house... I got caught too the first time I entered this house, because the dog is so far in the shadows that it is barely visible. I don't know if this behaviour is fair and if this would be approved by Jason...
(hovering the mouse will reveal "visible" tiles in case you have a doubt)
There are still a few cases (like this one) where a tile is in sight of the avatar (meaning a pitbull can see you) but is barely visible for the player. It has been vastly improved since v25, and is probably not far from being optimal. Maybe a bit more tweaking in the shroud opacity would iron out these few remaining cases?

jasonrohrer · 2013-12-28 11:20:43

Yeah, you've got to watch out for dogs that have seen you....

But Li's house is an extreme exploit of the "what's logically visible" algorithm. That far-end pitbull is just BARELY visible through the gap in the diagonal walls...

Hmm... this is a problem! I'll work on it.

pottage · 2013-12-28 11:29:50

Hmm, just went back into the house and peered through the gloom, saw one clubbed dog, but couldn't see anything else.

arakira · 2013-12-28 11:57:34

Not a problem anymore, the dog is dead

joshwithguitar · 2013-12-28 15:50:40

Damn, I didn't check to see if the second dog could be seen and was thinking you'd need a gun to get past him.

Part of the reason I built this house was to show (unsuccessfully in this case) how overpowered dogs behind doors are now. If I'd made the hall leading to the dog more secure it would take a lot to successfully brute force the door hallway, especially for an established player as you wouldn't know which door is the last and so would have to bash through each one to be safe. As this currently requires a crowbar that would be $2400 for each door if I lined the hallway with cement.

As I said in a comment in the visibility thread I think there should be a cheaper way to bash a closed door open, perhaps a brick or club?

pottage · 2013-12-28 16:55:45

I agree with your points. I think a crowbar costs far too much money, but it shouldn't be reduced to the point of the powered door being too cheap to open, and think that a brick opening a door could be thematically good, as the sprite of the door doesn't look like a particularly solid door, and I'm sure that lobbing a brick really hard at a door could open it. Plus I feel that being able to use a brick from range to open a door in the same way as triggering a switch would be a good tool for a robber to have, leading to good gameplay potential.

Last edited by pottage (2013-12-28 16:56:52)

jasonrohrer · 2013-12-30 11:08:44

Well, crowbar is the cost of 6 saws, and 4 torches. Cutting around a door is much cheaper, unless the door has concrete walls around.

BUT, the door/dog combo is weakened by the fact that a dog must see you first and then be able to navigate to the door. So, it's not a total surprise. If you haven't seen a dog, it's safe to open a door.

jasonrohrer · 2014-01-01 14:21:54

Okay, fixed this. Stuff is no longer visible through these very narrow gaps. Will appear in next release.

The Castle Doctrine Forums

#1 2013-12-28 08:48:16

Doggy death door

#2 2013-12-28 09:55:02

Re: Doggy death door

#3 2013-12-28 10:44:52

Re: Doggy death door

#4 2013-12-28 11:20:43

Re: Doggy death door

#5 2013-12-28 11:29:50

Re: Doggy death door

#6 2013-12-28 11:57:34

Re: Doggy death door

#7 2013-12-28 15:50:40

Re: Doggy death door

#8 2013-12-28 16:55:45

Re: Doggy death door

#9 2013-12-30 11:08:44

Re: Doggy death door

#10 2014-01-01 14:21:54

Re: Doggy death door

Board footer