I like "eviscerated".
Also... YES! Another big post from me on a forum... how am I not surpriced... because that seems to be my thing... writing way to much where ever I go, where ever I chat, where ever I use text to communicate... not to mention going compleatly off topic almost every time as well with unneccesary bits and pieces of information... that's how I am not surpriced...
As for stealth, it's extreamly importent to me in games. I use it almost all the time, even with characters where it does not actually fit or is very ineffective (like a full metal plate armored knight or something), or in games where stealth does not exist or does not effect the outcome of an encounter at all. I rather spend 30+ minuts scouting, figuring out where the enemies are, their tendencies, patrol routes, where the best place is to take out each one of them as silently and unseen as possible, and eventually implimenting my "plan"... then rushing in blindly, guns blazing, and be done in 2. I rather go slow and precise... then quick and sloppy.
I don't necessarily have anythings against how the mechanics of sneaking and stealth is done in most games these days (like Skyrim, or Deus Ex HR, etc). I am aware of that they are not necessarily the most realistic way of doing it. So if they impliment something like that in this game, then fine, I won't complain and use it all the time... like I always do anyway.
But if I have a choice... then I would probably want it to work simmilar to pen and paper rpg's. A combination between stats, skills, sight, hearing, etc, and since this is cyberpunk game... gear.
Now... there are probably 2 main ways to go about this.
Either you clump all that together into one single clump of stuff and one single roll of the dice... so the players stat+skill+gear+-current location in comparison to enemy -vs- enemy's stats+skills+gear+etc, which will result in a single roll of the dice to determin if your detected or not. This is usually the DnD way... in other words, the boring way (never really liked DnD, it's to... simple for one).
Or we go the route of each particular aspect is it's own thing. So sneaking is it's own thing and only effects your ability to move around silently and hearing is the importent stat. And being unseen is it's own thing where sight is the more importent aspect. And of course certain gear (like radar etc) will be a 3rd thing. That's how most pnp games I play do it (pretty much all of them are Swedish PnP RPG's as well), where being silent and being unseen are two different skills. This would of course mean that more dice rolls would have to be done, and the player would have to take everything into account when going about their stuff. But it's the more fun way, it's the more detailed and complex way... and it actually tells a better story then what it does in for example DnD (you know why you failed "your sneaking was perfect... but you stood out like a sore thumb against the background"... rather than "you failed your stealth check... why? I don't know... because you... did?"... it's the same with combat, you don't know why you succede or fail in DnD, because it's all jamed together into one single roll. Compared to what I am used to where you know you failed because you managed to hit, but your dmg roll was so low that it was absorbed by the armor, or you got hit and then injured because you failed to block with your shield and the opponent did enough damage to go through your armor).
The look of sneaking should more be based on how fast your character moves, rather than which stance you use. Crouch movement should more be on hands, feet and knees type of thing, where you use your hands to help you to stay very low... rather than the squat walking thing they use these days in games... the tip-toe sneaking is almost as equally rediculous (even though it can be somewhat effective... compared to squat-walking atleast). So if your standing up and sneak, the look of the movement is more that you move slowly and that each step is slow and measured, where you slowly place down the feet in a certain way... I seem to always imagin sort of rolling the feet down, where you place either the toes or the heel first, and then roll the rest of the fot down... if that makes sence. As for sneaking when "crouched", it should be simmilar, where hands, feet and knees are placed carefully or something, but your movement speed being slower since being on your hands and knees are not optimal for speed.
I have no problem with there being a toggle button to start sneaking. Because that's technicly what you do in real life to... you decide to be more stealthy... it does not just happend automaticly because the situation warrants it. Yes, if a person has a life time of practice with being stealthy, they will probably naturally move differently, more silently etc. But not to the level where they automaticly always use the max level of their skill in doing so... that would just look extreamly strange, and it would make it really obvious who the spy is. You decide/toggle on the wish to be more stealthy, and you start doing things a certain way to be more stealthy... just like how most games do it... granted, you don't have to press an actual button to do it in real life... but you still have to somehow engage your brain to it, for it to start happening.
It would be a really strange world if it did not work like that... I mean for one there would be a new illness...
Patient:
"Doctor, I have a problem... I suddenly start sneaking for no reason at all... it can happend at any time, in public even, and I seem to be unable to stop for a long time once it starts."
Doctor:
"Ah, it sounds like you might have the 'Fortuitae Furtim" illness. Take two of these stealth-blockers each day, for a week, and if that does not help come back to us and we will book you for testing."
Actually... I might sort of suffer from this "illness"...
I don't know how many times I have walked up to my mom, dad, syblings, friends, or people in general, where they became startled once I said something. Because apperantly I naturally walk very quietly... so if they are not looking in my direction as I walk up to them, they don't always hear my footsteps. Which is a bigger statment then one might thing... especially since during the last 14 years I have been overweight. It still happend these days, and I weigh about 130-135kg (286-297 pounds) at the moment.
That's where I based my "rolling the fot down" from... since I tend to do that naturally. But also, during my military service I would constantly twist and sprain my ankles. It happend the first time about 3-4 weeks in, 10 minuts befor our first big weekend march, out first "soldier test". I got taped up, and sent out to march. My left fot had to compensate for my right fots affliction, which quickly resulted in that during the first night march i heavily twisted my left ankle as well, still had to finish though. And then for the remainding military service (so about 9 months out of 10) my ankles never fully healed due to constantly twisting and/or occationally spraining them, over and over again. This made me start to constantly observe the ground infront of me so I knew what I was stepping on, and at the same time my tendencies to place either the heal or my toes first and then roll down the rest of the foot became even more accentuated then it had been befor. So for a big guy I seem to be unaturally quiet when I walk... not that I can't loudly plod along at times as well. I just tend to try and be careful with where I place my feet.