Security

Security refers to the countermeasures intended to deter or stop the thief in his tracks, the effectiveness of which is determined by his own skills and equipment.

## **Windows**

All houses have their windows locked, and the noisiest solution to that is the crowbar or a brick. As long as no one is home, breaking a window will not alert the police; however, if at least one tenant is on the property, an alarm will sound and the police will be called.

A subtler option is using the glass knife to cut a simple hole in the window, as long as it doesn't have a glass cut sensor. Regardless of the thief’s position when the knife is used, the hole will always appear in the center of a nine-pane window, and the top of a two-pane window.

A more universal but tactical solution is to access the property via other means, then defeat the windows from the inside by opening them.

Prior to patch 1.2, Greenview 111 was the only property with barred windows, restricting the thief's access as part of the tutorial. The Warehouse and The Motor Shop were also created with window bars, forcing him to use the available doors to enter their buildings and risk spooking the security guards.

#### **Window Shutters**

Many houses have grey slats that cover their windows at night, preventing the thief from entering or exiting them. The shutters go down at night and raise again in the morning at a different time for certain houses. This security measure can be disabled by a security keypad located somewhere inside the house, using a Hacking PDA, Hacking Laptop, or Hacking Laptop PRO.

If the thief triggers an alarm when opening a window, the window shutters will immediately close, preventing him from climbing in. Additionally, if the police are called for any other reason on a property with window shutters, the shutters will go down to try and stop the thief’s escape. Window shutters function normally regardless if the window is open or not. In these cases, it is still possible to disable such shutters via hacking.

Multi-story houses will only have shutters on the ground floor, so provided alternative access to other floors, they are barely even an issue.

## **Doors and Gates**

The doors in Thief Simulator have a range of locks from simple to digital. The only way through them is to use specialized tools for each type of lock:

**Simple:** A DIY Simple Lockpick can be used to pick the lock. This lockpick has a good chance of breaking in the process so try to reset if you feel like it might be destroyed.

**Regular:** The Lockpick can be used to reach the tumblers inside the lock. While better than the Simple Lockpick, it also has a chance to break after making several mistakes.

**Keypad:** Since there is no way to learn the key code, the thief must rely on the Hacking PDA to let himself through any doors or gates that use it. Note that the Hacking Laptop or Hacking Laptop PRO cannot always be used for this function, unless the terminal is too far inside for the Thief to possible reach.

Some doors cannot be infiltrated and require keys or keycards instead. Said keys can be found somewhere on the property.

## **Fences**

All houses have some fencing on their lot, but there are multiple ways to get around it. Weaker fences in Greenview will shatter in one hit and while this is noisy, usually the tenants have to witness this before they call the police.

The story mission will require the thief to learn Agility Level 2 to unlock the Climbing Gloves ($1200), which can be used to climb patches of vines that will be found on several fences.

Of course, doors and gates are also good solutions against fences, but in addition to that, several houses have car gates that can be used as an alternate exit, regardless if there is a car on the property or not. The car gate switch can typically be found in the garage, but other times it’s located in other areas of the house.

The thief’s vehicle can also be used to jump over some fences if it’s positioned just right. When raised, the hood of the hatchback acts as a short ramp, while the van can be used to get even higher up due to its height.

## **Security Cameras**

Only one house in Greenview, many others on Richie R Street and the Industrial District have them. Cameras are either stationed on tall white posts or set up along parts of the house/fencing to keep an eye on things. The player can use an interaction button to mark a camera, which will reveal its line of sight in a reddish-orange cone. Be aware that cameras can be found inside as well as outside a house.

There are two types of security cameras: Stationary and rotating. The stationary camera will stare at a fixed point, acting as a simple obstacle for the thief, while the rotating camera will observe a short path between two points. Timing is everything when trying to bypass the latter, but this also makes strategies more flexible as it doesn't permanently congest just one point.

Fortunately, most properties have a security panel that controls these devices. Accessing the panel brings up a minigame where the thief must cut the wires leading to the panel’s power source. Cutting the wrong wire will sound the alarm. The camera at Greenview 101 requires the power to the house to be cut off, which buys 4 minutes of valuable time. Some buildings can even have the cameras remotely disabled by hacking equipment. However, many later Industrial buildings and some Richie properties will have to be worked around instead.

If an alarm was tripped, or if the police are called, the cameras, like many other security features, will be reset.

## **Security Guards/Armed Tenants**

Around Richie R Street and the Industrial District, you'll find 24/7 security guards patrolling various properties, armed with tasers like the police. Guards follow a set pattern, which in combination of other guards and security features can make them much more threatening. Some houses in Greenview have armed tenants which behave similarly. They tend to act on their own and typically do not call for the police if they discover the thief, instead giving chase directly. They do not have jurisdiction to activities outside of the property and unlike the police, will not conduct general searches.