What are the developers' stance on creature footstep sounds?

[Marotte]

footstep sounds are not exactly critical for gameplay, but they really can improve the gameplay experience.
vintage story is not the first game where the absence of footstep sounds significantly detracted from my experience, it has also been the case in quasimorph, where enemies outside of your vision sector make no sounds (or used to, I haven't played in a while). to be fair, it has way more catastrophic consequences in quasimorph then it does in vintage story. but the comparison remains, because its not about not dying, its that it made me appreciate just how much situational awareness from audio cues adds to the experience. it gives you more agency. when you can hear things happening on screen but not the sound of an enemy closing in behind you (when within all reason you should) it really messes with your brain. it conditions paranoia, because you genuinely should be able to hear that. now if you normally could hear footstep sounds it would make specifically silent enemies fulfill a stealth attack niche. 

this just seems like basic good game design. the only downside is lessening the opportunities for enemies to be sneaky and ambush you, but that can be remedied by giving some creatures deliberate stalking behaviors where it would make sense that they would be quiet. it would add more complexity, but i think less sneaky creatures is a fair tradeoff for being able to hear movement at all. 

I know there are mods that add sound to creatures, but that's not what I'm talking about.
really, I'm asking why is this not already in the game, it feels like an easy win.
Is the lack deliberate? is it a performance problem? is it a design decision? 
it seems like a basic thing to have absent for all this time. It feels strange to be asking now.

the only reason why it may not be egregious is that usually creatures make some sort of vocalization randomly to signal their presence, which is the only way of knowing without visual contact. I suppose this happens often enough that you aren't completely robbed of auditory awareness. 
what else to say? I guess its a glaring gap in the soundscape when you become aware of it. like being aware of your own breathing. I guess that is not a good analogy, because it would be more like noticing other people's lack of breathing...

[Kuppancs]

I wish for sounds aswell. 
The mod I have to use adds to immersion and to gameplay aswell.
In the wild, I could hear boars, bunnies and other animals close by while my vision is obstructed by vegetation, helps when I could hear a BEAR is charging at me, as a bit of a warning, not just it being in my *ss, roar, then I'm dead.
On the surface or in caves, the heavy stomping sounds of bowtorn, the fast light steps of shivers and the drifters dragging themselves toward me.

It adds to horror element. Can't tell how many times I got jumped by a shiver, seeing it crawl out of the dark just a second or two after I heard it coming. 

[Facethief]

@Tyron, your take, please.

[hstone32]

It could be a monster-dependent thing. Drifters would have a fairly normal footstep, as they don't appear to employ any sort of intelligent tactic when hunting the player. Shivers on the other hand, can be observed to stalk the player before charging. Perhaps while stalking, their footsteps are near silent, before the player's ears are assulted by a most unsettling scuttling as the shiver charges at them. Bowtorns, whose legs appear to be made of rebar, would have a distinctive metalic sound as they walk. They wouldn't be very stealthy, bus they don't need to be because they keep their distance from the player.

[Tyron]

8 hours ago, Facethief said:

@Tyron, your take, please.

We're working on it. Animal foot steps will be a thing Soon(TM)

[Marotte]

21 minutes ago, Tyron said:

We're working on it. Animal foot steps will be a thing Soon(TM)

Oh wow, what a coincidence! cheers! 
does this include monsters too?

[Zane Mordien]

Cool, I was going to reply earlier that I thought I heard Tyron say in an interview that this was coming in the future, but then I doubted myself and didn't want to say it if I wasn't sure.

[HalfAxd]

Just to contrast...  when actually out hunting in a forest (not sitting still) the noise you make stepping on twigs/brush/leaves, the rustling of trees from the wind, and that pesky fly buzzing around your ears, will often mask noises from wild life around you (depending on what they're doing).   So, there should be a balance... keep the tension going.

Enjoy!