Looking at monsters

[avalan]

Hello everyone! I have a question regarding looking at monster. As we all know, looking at monsters causes the monsters to notice us, but what I'm wondering, why is that? Is it because looking at monsters drains Daniel's sanity, or is it a completely separate in-game script? The reason I'm asking is because I really don't like this mechanic, and the same goes for sanity. I read that you can somewhat disable sanity by editing config file, but couldn't find anywhere in that file anything related to looking at monsters, closest thing I found was NearEnemyDecrease, is that it then?

[FlawlessHappiness]

Actually, I don't think looking at a monster reveals your position. It isn't something I've encountered as a particular problem, and maybe you think it's more of a problem than it actually is.

Spoiler about monster mechanics and tips on how to avoid being spotted:

Spoiler below!

Two things are very apparent about the monsters.
- Line of sight
- Sound

Line of sight
If a monster can see you, it will start to chase you. Easy as that. I think darkness comes into play too, but the best way to avoid this is: If you cannot see the monster, the monster cannot see you either.

Sound
The monster can hear sounds anything from footsteps to objects.
If you're walking or running, the monster will make an alert groan and start looking for you where the sound was made.
I don't think monsters can hear you when you're crouching.

Be careful when holding objects when a monster is active. If you accidentally hit it against something, the monster will start looking where you made the sound.

[Mudbill]

Adding to those spoilers:

Spoiler below!

- I think the Suitors from Justine may be able to hear you crouching near them, but the Grunt and Brute do not.
- Generally, a monster will see you if your head has a direct line of sight to the monster's head, at approximately a 60 degree angle, and within a certain distance. Darkness might also affect this behaviour.
- Looking at a monster does not reveal your position, but it rapidly decreases sanity, which eventually might cause Daniel to collapse. It seems this may alert nearby monsters.

[DanielRand47]

I haven't had my position compromised while looking at a monster. To second what Mudbill said, if your sanity drains low enough I'm pretty sure that can alert a nearby enemy.

[avalan]

Thank you all for your answers, I think I have mine.