Senses

In Niche, there are three modes of perception that the player can toggle between: Sight, Smelling, and Hearing. These modes can be toggled by pressing the button in the lower right UI that looks like a Nicheling's head, which cycles between the eyes, nose, and ears being highlighted, or by pressing the 1, 2, and 3 keys on the keyboard. Along with the default visual aspect of the game, the various entities and objects within Niche have smell and sound attributes that can be viewed through the alternate sense modes.

The range of the three modes is dependent on the senses of the player's Nichelings themselves. The player's vision is the cumulative vision of all their Nichelings. The Sight mode correlates to the Eyesight ability, and the Smelling and Hearing abilities also dictate their respective modes. The range of vision for each sense around each Nicheling will only go as far as their stats allow it to.

The Sight mode is the default mode in which the majority of the game is played. Within the additional Smelling and Hearing sense modes, everything appears monochromatic with certain entities highlighted. These highlighted entities and objects are color coded. Green is for "good", or safe, entities and objects, such as Berry Bushes or Rabbils. Yellow is for "neutral" entities, such as wild Nichelings or Cacti. Red is for "hostile" or dangerous entities, such as Bearyenas and Apes. Blue is for healing objects such as Healing Plants. The only things that are never highlighted are any of the player's Nichelings, Bluebirds, and Goldleeches, .

## Sight

Sight is the main perception mode within the game and is the default state of viewing Niche - all elements are in full color and at full opacity. For every point of Eyesight, a tile around a Nicheling is "lit" up. Nichelings can move freely on lit tiles as long as their Speed allows it. If a tile is not lit, a Nicheling cannot interact with it even if they have sufficient Speed. Even in other perception modes, in which different tiles may be lit and visible, Nichelings cannot interact with tiles unless they are lit in Sight mode. Tall Grass limits Sight and can only be seen through one tile at a time if not cleared.

## Smelling

Using the Smelling perception mode, a Nicheling can sniff out most creatures and plants in the game and be alerted to their danger level. It will show things that cannot yet be seen in Sight mode, such as a Berry Bush on an unexplored tile. Roots can only be found through the Smelling sense. Smelling is also useful for quickly determining whether a Termite Hill or Meat Eating Plant is dangerous or harmless based on the color it is highlighted.

## Hearing

For each point of Hearing, a Nicheling can hear other creatures within that radius. Only living entities are highlighted in the Hearing mode, unlike Smelling, which highlights other inanimate objects as well. Hearing tends to be the most far-reaching sense, so it is critical for early detection of danger, such as a Bearyena hiding in tall grass. It is also very useful for hunting prey; for example, Stagmoles will retreat into their burrows if they see a Nicheling within one tile of them, so using the Hearing mode to determine which direction they're facing before approaching can be very important.