Sigh.
No, security cameras detecting carcasses doesn't open an immersion-breaking can of worms:
"Security camera is a
thermal camera arranged in a public or private space to watch what goes on in their field of vision."
http://deusex.wikia.com/wiki/Security_camera
And no, they don't make
any path impossible to take. They are still just a minor annoyance that are still very easy to bypass without use of any specialized tools.
Yes AI have more ammo on average, bringing it up closer to levels seen in every other game, although they still can run out. It is also variable: some NPCs have lots, the occasional NPC has a mag or two.
There are a number of reasons for this:
1. AI melee just doesn't work. If they were competent with melee I'd at least have to have hesitated whilst making this change. Unfortunately, they are not competent. They have trouble connecting with the player (player has to be standing still or cornered) and if the player cannot be reached (say, is hiding in a vent) then the AI stand around waving their melee weapon in the air confused. Deus Ex's AI melee behaviour is unacceptable for all except the karkain (and now doberman too, as I gave them a similar bump attack to the karkians).
2. The less pathfinding (when they actually CAN reach the player) NPCs have to do the better, since they aren't very competent there either.
3. General engaging gameplay. The majority of NPCs running out of bullets after a couple of shots doesn't make for very engaging encounters that have the potential to last more than 2 seconds.
Although gameplay is ultimately more important than simulation, sim design can be almost entirely disregarded too: don't forget that the player can carry
hordes of ammo, in addition to other tools, so for what reason can an NPC not carry a few extra mags? And that's a rhetorical question.
NPCs should come running to the alarm from all over the level, security systems that were previously deactivated should get reactivated, the whole thing should take a long time to cool down. In particular if you set off an alarm in a particular room there should definitely not be any NPC in that room that doesn't react. I'm thinking of Helibase where there are some NPCs that loiter around the hangar area and just sort of stand there while there are firefights and alarms going off in the hangar, and they just sort of stand there staring at a box or something. This happens on many other maps as well.
One thing at a time. That would be a very challenging undertaking, and probably shouldn't even be attempted without the original voice actors.
Taking this on would be yet more stealth-focused behavior. Trying to get the NPCs to an acceptable, polished & engaging standard is my first priority. Stealth is done in that regard, combat still requires tweaks.
4. Vanilla and even more so in GMDX, I think... Wildly on the other hand, NPCs sometimes turn out to be master marksmen and quick-draw champions as well. Turn a corner too quick without peeking first and BAM! You're dead. Perfect headshot with no warning. Open a door and right there's an NPC in your face and BAM! You're dead. And these snipers with 30.06 rifles can make a shot that is totally impossible, pop your head up for 1 second over the ledge of a rooftop in Warehouse and BAM! You're dead. I'm not saying that shot can't be made, but like even the player has to AIM first. It's just frustrating sometimes because you'll have NPCs that are so stupid and oblivious on the one hand, staring at a wall or whatever. And then out of nowhere they can alert, draw, and nail a perfect headshot on you in like 1 second. Maybe this is part of the new "permanently high alert" piece from #3 above... I'm not really sure but either way it's somewhat frustrating because it's so unpredictable.
GMDX does very little to change this, and I don't see why it should. I'd also like to know what is unpredictable about it. If you go charging blindly around corners and cannot react to the resulting dangers fast enough, expect to be put down.
5. Vanilla - It seems like you can alert an NPC an infinite number of times and let them cool down and they will always fall for it. Like, how many times does an NPC need to hear a noise, and catch a glimpse of you, and maybe even see you and hunt you outright for a little while, before he decides to call for backup? It seems like after a certain number of "false alarms" NPCs should decide there's something definitely out there and do something about it. Maybe they go into a mode where they never stop hunting, or maybe they run to the next nearest NPC and then come back with a buddy, or maybe they just decide to sound the alarm, I don't know but it should be something.
Hmm. What I may do is give NPCs a total amount of "agitations". If greater than or equal to 4 sound or sighting-based agitations, they go for an alarm if one is nearby and can be reached.
Good, this conversation hasn't been a complete waste of time now
Anyhow, you may be happy to know that a lot of AI features are being moved to the option menus, and AI behavior also scales based on difficulty level (originally the only thing affected by difficulty level was bullet damage), so you'll be able to customize the levels of intelligence & skill freely.
Also, and I'm pretty sure this is vanilla but not sure how to fix it, if you're trying a non-lethal approach in Battery Park 9 times out of 10 the NSF and UNATCO will end up having a fight at the entrance to Castle Clinton and you'll get tagged as a "killer" even if you didn't kill anybody. That one is really annoying and I'm not sure if anybody has figured out how to fix.
Hmm. This should be fixed. I'll have to do some more digging around.