What do the black vertical bars in the stealth gauge indicate?

Question

I unlocked the Stealth perk, and in doing so it adds the stealth gauge. After leveling the perk to Rank 2, it added these black vertical bars to the gauge:

These lines seem to fill in (from being transparent to fully opaque) as I move around when crouched. I thought it might be some sort of noise gauge, but my testing of this gave inconsistent results. Firing a weapon (i.e. making a loud noise) doesn't seem to impact these black bars as much as I thought it would, leading me to believe its not for noise but something else.

What do these vertical black bars in the stealth gauge mean?

Answer 1

These vertical bars indicate your current level of "detectability". They work much like the analog volume bars in stereos or sound equipment: the more full the meter is, the louder and/or more visible you are. The vertical bars are also only visible on the meter once you've leveled the Stealth perk up to level 2, I believe.

If you are sneaking in a dark area and stand still, not making any sound, you should see the meter is almost empty (no black vertical bars, or maybe 1-2). Likewise if you are sneaking in a well-lit area, moving quickly and/or firing a weapon or pushing a large object around that is hitting a lot of things, your meter/gauge will be much fuller. Bigger bulkier space suits being worn will make you easier to detect. Try removing space suits when sneaking around town for better success if you are having trouble being detected too often.