I wanted to know exactly what it was that dictated Mr. X's behavior. And while some
is scripted, like the archive room where you get the jack handle, the rest of Mr. X seems to be relatively competently programmed with a number of interesting quirks.
To figure out his behaviors, the first thing I did was run tests on what grabbed his attention.
So I murdered all the Zombies in the Library, triggered his appearance in scenario B, lost him in the east wing, hid in the library, and timed how long it took him to find me if I stayed stock still. 9:23 was the final time.
I then did similar, reloading my save, and timed how long it took him to do the same thing but if I was merely walking around. 5:41 this time, though I admittedly got less lucky and he just happened to open the door right in front of me before dubstep walking my way.
Third try, I ran around the Library this time and he found me in 1:55.
Next, I went to the library and shot into the air. Found me in about 35 seconds.
Then. I reloaded my save, went to the library, provoked the zombies a bit, but didn't run and didn't shoot any of them. Found me in 56 seconds.
To follow this up, I reloaded my save again, and spooked (but didn't anger) the Licker in the Western 1F hall. Found me in 43 seconds.
Finally, I unlocked most of the second floor, ditched X in the east wing again, and went on a walking tour of the police station starting from the western office on the first floor. 4 minutes and 12 seconds later, he peeked his head into the holding cell room connecting to the library when I was in it.
What I gathered from this was that Mr. X's ability to track you is based heavily on sound. He hears footsteps (especially when you're running), environmental noises (quickly opened doors, things getting knocked over or hit), monster roars and groans (Zombies and Lickers), secondary weapon explosions, and especially gunfire. Those Zombies that try to grab for you from the windows count as a noise-maker, so consider introducing the Zombie outside's face to a 9mm or two in Scenario A near the Dark Room if you want to be slightly harder to find. If you shoot
anywhere in the police station he's allowed to go, he will find you in 50 seconds at the absolute most and likely within 30 seconds.
I then did further tests to figure out his behaviors. I wanted to know what happened if he legitimately couldn't find you or get to you.
Curiously, Mr. X does not do locked or barricaded doors; while these will obviously bar the player's path too, X will have to go around and find another path to get to you under normal circumstances if you leave certain doors locked. Note, however, that X always knows the fastest route to you if you did something to reveal your presence (like shoot or piss off a monster).
If Mr. X follows you into a room, and loses track of you, he will usually refuse to leave that room because he hasn't heard you make noises anywhere else. He'll just keep sweeping the area until he finds you, and you'll get tired of it long before he does, so take advantage and slip out while you can.
If for some reason Mr. X can't find you (you're in someplace he flat-out can't go, like a save room), he'll eventually wander off, but odds are good he won't wander far. It's if he can't get to you at all for a while and has no idea where you are, however, that things get interesting: He begins a patrol strategy. He'll enter one of the doors in the main hall, based on where he heard you last, and will wander through the station in a methodical direction, going room by room. If he entered via the Library, he will work his way past the Unicorn statue, down the STARS Hallway, through the bathrooms, down the stairs, through the western police office, and into the main hall, before going, again, to where he heard you last and repeating the procedure.
He generally avoids the third floor, but can absolutely go there, and will if he thinks you're up there, especially in or around the holding cell. Worth noting that he is perfectly capable of reaching the 3rd floor concourse in the main hall, but unless you shoot or make noise (or trigger a certain scripted encounter), odds are good he'll leave you alone up there. You will see him, however, repeatedly patrolling below.
The Areas he won't go are as follows:
- The Interrogation Room (1F East)
- The Observation Room (1F East)
- Dark Room Save Room (1F West)
- Boiler Room Save Room (1F East)
- Chief Irons' Office (2F East)
- S.T.A.R.S. Office (2F West)
- The Watchman's Room (1F East)
- The Break Room Hall (1F East)
- The Break Room Save Room (1F East)
- The Clock Tower (3F)
