Sneak Thief cover
Sneak Thief screenshot
PC Steam
Genre: Strategy, Indie

Sneak Thief

The next update...
Where have the updates been?
It has been a while hasn't it! I've been getting a lot of questions regarding if the game has been abandoned, if development has stopped etc. Simply put, it hasn't.
So why is it taking so long?
The game is being updated to a way newer version of the unity engine (2019.2) to be exact, the game was originally developed in unity 5.4. Unity 5.4 for reference was released in 2016, unfortunately there are many systems in that engine that the game heavily relies on that are not longer in 2019.2 (some have been upgraded some completely removed.) So there are a lot of changes to the core systems of the game that had to be made, which (in layman's terms) takes a lot of time because replacing the core systems creates a lot of bugs. In addition the game's graphics and performance are getting a massive overhaul (more on that later). The game initially took 1 year to develop and only released with 5 levels (plus a tutorial). The game now has 15 levels (plus a tutorial and another one in the works), so updating everything takes some time. I hope however that the time spent on this update will not only take the game out of early access but allow it to reach the full potential that it has.
What will be in the update?
- New Graphics
Nearly every texture is being replaced with photoscans, new decals are being added, new particle systems, reworked lighting, and many mesh replacements are being done.
- Increased performance
Most of the performance issues in the game stem from the AI system. All of the AI sight was being calculated on the main thread (making the game very dependent on a single cpu core). With the new engine update we can utilize Unity Jobs to distribute the raycasting across multiple threads drastically reducing the amount of time it takes to calculate, increasing fps, and increasing the amount of AI we can have per level. There are also other areas in the game we are looking to add multi-threading support to.
- New Level
More on this soon ;)
- New modding system
I will no longer be attempting to make an in game level editor. Rather the raw game files will be released as a unity package where you will be able to alter levels and models as well as create your own levels, weapons, enemies, etc! You will also be able to publish on the workshop.
When is the release date?
Originally I wanted to release this in January however because of school I didn't have much time to work on it plus the scope of the update also got way bigger then initially expected. Right now I plan to release late August, however there are no promises it will be out by then. That being said If I am still working by the end of September I will release all the complete parts of the update and the rest will come after.
I will also try to release some screenshots of all the new graphics by next week.

As always if you have any questions feel free to leave them below and I will try to answer as soon as possible!

Plans for next sneak thief update! (OVERHAUL)
Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of updates recently but I am hard at work getting something really great ready to be released! As we approach the summer I will have a lot more time to get some work done so here is what you can expect for the future:

By the end of June I hope to have a graphical overhaul finished, this will update the lighting and textures to more modern standards. The engine sneak thief is running on will also be updated from 5.4 to 2019 (this may take some time as 5.4 is what was available back in 2016) not only will this fix bugs but it will also drastically increase performance by introducing GPU instancing to the game.
I am also considering using the HDRP but this may take a big hit to performance.

By the end of July I plan to have released 2 more single player levels as well as new multiplayer maps and game modes! At the same time sneak thief should hopefully be completely out of early access.

I also hope to have a new project nearly ready to roll out, details on my twitter.
@nickrizzogames

Thanks everyone and have fun!

Update 34 - NEW LEVEL! LARGEST AND HARDEST ONE YET!
That is right everyone! The newest level to Sneak Thief is finally out, "The Compound"! This is the largest level I have ever made for Sneak Thief containing lots of puzzles and (of course) LOTS of enemies. The new level also boasts new features such as night vision, new obstacles, and revamped AI. The AI in particular now no longer has set patrols rather it will determine its path on its own; making decisions and changing routes constantly (this isn't for all AI only in areas where it will benefit gameplay). The AI also has had its sight revamped fixing several previous AI issues. If any bugs arise please let me know as soon as possible. Thanks and have fun!
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Whats New?
~~~~~~~~~~
- New Level: The Compound
- Fixed AI sight issues
- Added Night Vision (currently only available in the new level)
- Added randomized AI patrols
- Rebalanced Headshots
- Rebalanced Enemies
- Fixed Shotgun spread issues
- Improved performance

Follow me on Twitter for development updates! https://twitter.com/NickRizzoGames

Update 33 - LOTS of bug fixes!
This update was primarily made to help improve the "playablity" of levels already in the game. Yes the final level is still in the works, it's a big one;)
~~~~~~~~~~
Whats new?
~~~~~~~~~~
-Shotguns now have spread, and have been rebalanced
-Fixed the ladder issues for those with remapped controls
-Fixed reloading weapons that are full of ammo
-Fixed taking weapons from enemies
-Fixed invincible enemies
-Dropped weapons now have pickup sounds
-NPCs now have to open the door to the bank before they walk in
-Guards can no longer walk through the players car
-Changes to collisions
-Melee weapons no longer make bullet holes
-The collector switch has been fixed
-Melee weapons can no longer be "reloaded" ːsteamfacepalmː
-More minor bug fixes

Special Thanks to QQHH for the bug reports!

Follow me on twitter to see what I'm working on!
https://twitter.com/NickRizzoGames

Update 32 - SNEAK THIEF MULTIPLAYER & ACHIVEMENTS
That's right everyone Sneak Thief Multiplayer is officially out!
Sneak Thief multiplayer is nowreleased with 1 game mode - Cops and Robbers and 2 brand new maps Bank and Neighborhood (yes these are different from single player).

NOTICE! Of the two maps out now bank is the most stable!

The original sneak thief co-op is getting the axe and has been removed from the game, don't worry a replacement using the current much better system is on the way. Although Sneak Thief multiplayer is out it's still in early access and will have many bugs and missing features. However I worked to get it into a very playable state where it can be enjoyed without too much interuption. And yes there will be new game modes and maps however these are the current ones I am releasing now just to test the servers, and framework for multiplayer. Regarding the single game mode released it works like this: Thieves will have a set amount of money to steal within a time limit, if they can steal it then they win otherwise cops win. And as always, especially with an update this big PLEASE REPORT BUGS! THERE WILL BE ALOT

Oh achivements have also been added!


Thanks guys and have fun!

Notes:
I will be hosting multiplayer matches tomorrow throughout the day and night so if anyone would like to play I will be posting times and directions to join the lobbies on my twitter: https://twitter.com/NickRizzoGames

The current servers are setup to handle 100ccu so, although I don't expect it to, if it goes over that I am sorry and I will make changes to the servers ASAP!

There is also a small graphics bug with occlusion culling on the neighborhood level which will be fixed in an update tomorrow night.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6_TZBM6HOw
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Whats new?
-Sneak Thief Multiplayer
-Fixed stealing the floor issue
-Small Bug Fixes
-Corn in the farm no longer looks like it's straight out of roblox :)
-Added Achivments!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whats next?
Tomorrow: Multiplayer Hot fixes, achivements, and a few more things
Next Week: TONS of bug fixes and I mean TONS - Basically most of what @Qumquathedgehog reported lol
Week after that: New multiplayer game modes
Week after that: New Single Player Map ;)

Sneak Thief Multiplayer Trailer
Just thought it would be a good idea to show you guys whats going on with multiplayer!

Check it out here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6_TZBM6HOw

For anyone wondering multiplayer will be out soon after New Years!

Thanks to the people who helped with the trailer!
@Yourhostelite - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwKdeJ9-lu8pN1bpaE2q7gQ
@Qumquathehedgehog

Twitter: @nickrizzogames

Upcoming Sneak Thief Update: Multiplayer, New Levels, etc
Hey everyone, hope you are all doing well! Since this new update is taking some time I would like to let you all know what I am working on and how much progress has been made.

So first things first I leaked info on my twitter about a month ago about "The Final Heist" This will be the final level to Sneak Thief and will be largest and most ambitious level so far. That being said this will not mean that there will be no more updates. I will just be changing my focus from adding single player levels to squashing bugs, adding new multiplayer game modes, competitive maps, new features, and co-op maps. I will also probably still add more smaller levels from time to time because lets face it I enjoy it and if I feel like adding more single player levels I'm going to do it ːsteamhappyː So where am I on the development of this new level? The level is completely designed I just need to adjust AI functionality on the map, optimize the level for performance, and all the other little things.

Next is multiplayer. In the next update I will be introducing an overhauled version of multiplayer. This version has no corelation to the current (testing) version of Sneak Thief Co-op. The new version of multiplayer will contain a new Co-op system that will work on single player maps as well as maps specifically built for co-op. The multiplayer system will also contain a new competitive game mode for Sneak Thief on their own respective maps (thieves vs cops). So how close are we to completing this? The new framework for multiplayer is done and I am currently building maps for the competitive mode as well as converting old maps to be used for co-op. So why did we scrap the old system? It was clunky in addition to being built quickly and sloppy.

When will all this come out? Early January.

Thanks Everyone! Keep the bug reports and suggestions coming!

Don't forget to follow me on twitter! https://twitter.com/NickRizzoGames

Update 31 - NEW LEVEL: The Stash House
Hey everyone! Yep a brand new level! The Stash House is now out along with a bunch more new content.

~~~~~~~~~~
Whats New?
~~~~~~~~~~
- The Stash House (New Level)
- Bug Fixes
- New Textures
- New Models
- AI improvements

So whats next? I've been working on quite a bit on version 1.0 for a while and it will be out hopefully early December or Late November. Version 1.0 will contain better graphics, better performance, and much more. As well as the last single player level: The Final Heist (More information coming soon!) There most likely will be more Single Player levels coming afterwards (because I have fun making them) but this will be the last level then Sneak Thief will exit early access. Once version 1.0 is out multiplayer will come in the following update.
"The stash house" is not the last level, "the final heist" is which will come out with version 1.0

Please report any bugs you find!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NickRizzoGames

Update 30 - New Level and Controller Support
Hey everyone! It's been a little while but I finally have an update ready. Currently a new multiplayer system is in development as well as versions for other platforms so updates regarding the single player portion of the game won't be as frequent as usual untill the new multiplayer system is out. However I am now releasing a brand new (small) level The Jewlery Store as well as partial controller support.

~~~What's New?~~~
-New Level (The Jewlery Store)
-Partial Controller Support
-Bug Fixes
-Performance Increases

Please let me know if you run into any new bugs ASAP

Thanks guys!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NickRizzoGames

Update 29 - Tons of bug fixes
Thanks to @Qumquathedgehog for his detailed bug report list and everyone else who has reported bugs
-AI will still shoot at you if you jump on their head
-You can no longer take a gun away from an enemy
-Fixed AI patrol issues on mansion
-Fixed AI patrol issues on yacht
-Fixed AI alert issues on Bank
-Fixed floating tree in nuclear
-Fixed cheat menu in nuclear
-Fixed NPC Door issue on university
-Improved performance on Data center
-Removed old scripts on data center
-Fixed floating SMG
This was all done today more will be addressed this week! Have fun!
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