House alarms

[BasenjiMaster]

I really wish there was a way to determine if a house had an alarm. Like a small box on the wall or something. Perhaps we could have a lockpick skill to bypass these?

Also, would be nice with some visual indication of an alarm that is ringing (like vibration lines from an alarm box), so that people with hearing problems can understand what is happening, or (like me) who sometimes mute the game while watching a movie.

Or perhaps have a house security terminal in a police station, where we can disable all house alarms? ;)

[Fleshly Delight]

Most people have private alarms. Even a lock-pick will set it off if its a good security system. I do get slightly annoyed with the amount of alarms in the game, yet I enjoy the fact that when one goes off, you have to act quickly or your own death is imminent as you just rang the dinner bell. A security terminal would be interesting if it showed you some of the houses that would have alarms, as some people do have their alarms tied to the police.

And the problem you have with playing the game on mute due to a movie. How many house alarms do you know of that create visible sound vibrations and blink? :L

[Doppelgänger]

As a side note... it's interesting that the alarms work even after the electricity as been shut-off ;-/

[Mytheos]

I replied to that thought in another post. The ones I worked with ran off a battery with a 5 year life.

So its very realistic

[BasenjiMaster]

Something odd happened today. I went into a house I had previously raided, and this time it had an alarm.

Anyone come across that?

[Doppelgänger]

Originally posted by Mytheos:

I replied to that thought in another post. The ones I worked with ran off a battery with a 5 year life.

So its very realistic

Mytheos, I don't know how a battery could maintain a charge for five years... Maybe a 'battery life' of five years - If I'm wrong, please correct me. This is the info on my home security system regarding the battery:

"Most alarm systems include a 24-hour backup battery. This means if the power goes out (which it often seems to do in the fall and winter) your home security system will still operate. Having a reliable back-up power source adds a lot of peace of mind."

[Doppelgänger]

Originally posted by BasenjiMaster:

Something odd happened today. I went into a house I had previously raided, and this time it had an alarm.

Anyone come across that?

BasenjiMaster, I believe it is a bug... Seems to happen if you exit a game inside a house.

[Mytheos]

The battery we used was like a AA battery vs a car battery. (It wasnt a AA, just saying it was that type of battery tech)

I was an IT guy and helped put in a security system a few times. I could be wrong, but my understanding was even if the power went out for a year the system would still function, but if it triggered, the alarm wouldnt last forever of course, just untill the battery drained or it was turned off.

And that might just be for the window trips, not the motion sensors or the glass break sensors.

[KromeHWI]

yes it would only seem natural that you should be able to know if a house has an alarm. afterall the signs for a security system are the first stage of that system, and are usually very intentionaly obvious. the sticker on the window, or the sign in the yard can scare off intruders without actually having to have the alarm itself go off. in fact some people post the signs and dont even have alarms because the sign is enough to make the house not worth the risk. i understnad it would be tricky with the way the game is programmed, afterall it is random (i think) which houses have alarms and which do not (i even read some one saying that a farm barn had an alarm once!). but it would be nice if there were some warning. maybe a beep as you aproach the house or some other sort of clue? left 4 dead does the flashing light in the random cars that have alarms, maybe something similar can be done here?

[sirelite]

House alarm sound should come from the building. If you move away from the house, the alarm sound doesn't fade away, its still as if you were carrying the burgler alarm in your pocket.

[sirelite]

regarding electricity; how about the refrigerators? they shouldn't be working, however it is a lot easier to keep fresh food in them, so it doesn't go rotten.

[Death]

Originally posted by sirelite:

regarding electricity; how about the refrigerators? they shouldn't be working, however it is a lot easier to keep fresh food in them, so it doesn't go rotten.

All my parishable food has gone rotten without power. So I'm down to canned goods and farming for fresh food.

[sirelite]

Thats my point, but power exist in this game. The refrigerators works just fine, which I find odd. In my opinion they shouldn't.

[Mytheos]

They shut off eventually, you can adjust the time in sandbox if you want

[Percavil]

what i find strange is that u can trigger an alarm more then once in the same house even after power goes out, they should fix things like this before working on MP

[sirelite]

but again, something I find rather annoying is that the alarm sound follows your character (even if the sound comes from the house). It should fade as you leave the house. Specially now when it goes MP, that way players can hear alarms as well, and determine where it comes from. I hope that will get fixed.