Brutal-OXCE 8.5.4

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

Were you able to find a strategy?

[Abyss]

Actually, quite curious if anyone is playing BAI in vanilla ruleset for FUN?

I think, <5% players. Better ask platform owners, if they have such reports.
Most come for megamods, because they have enhanced content + social promoting works quite nice. Dioxine has had a couple of positive reviews of X-Piratez back in 2014 (?).
Some come in nostalgy of original X-COM, but then also leave as megamod players (see above).
Btw I quite suggest you to see https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/board,27.0.html
Finnik makes something unique and you can share your splattering energy with him, if. Because this has potential of "by developing completely new gameplay design"

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

Thank you for pointer. I will definitely talk to the guy to compare notes and exchange ideas.

[0xEBJC]

Congrats with the release!
And I suggest to change the picture of the executable file icon so that it will not be confused with the original OXCE. Something like this. I'm not sure if one ico file is enough to do this, or if all the other 11 files found when unzipping the exe file need to be processed as well.

Nice, yeah I second a new graphic icon for the binary, maybe something more BRUTAL like feeling

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

Just discover this in BrutalAI_TFTD.rul. Is it part of BrutalAI philosophy to remove MC Disruptor?

# Remove molecular-control-disruptor
items:
  - delete: STR_MC_DISRUPTOR
research:
  - delete: STR_MC_DISRUPTOR
  - delete: STR_MC_GENERATOR
manufacture:
  - delete: STR_MC_DISRUPTOR
ufopaedia:
  - delete: STR_MC_DISRUPTOR

[Xilmi]

Just discover this in BrutalAI_TFTD.rul. Is it part of BrutalAI philosophy to remove MC Disruptor?

Note that this is a Micro-Mod I added and not enabled by default. It was mostly a result of witnessing how laughably trivial the game became with Psi even against Brutal-AI. As I said back then: How good the AI is at controling their units doesn't matter, when they don't have control over their units.

[Xilmi]

Were you able to find a strategy?

To be honest I mostly play with the Mission-Generator. Where the outcome of a single battle has no impact on the progression of a real game.

I've done a big number of attempts of just doing a play-through. I got better at it but as I got better, I also passed my findings to the AI. So the overall perception of difficulty felt similar despite both my own and the AIs progression.

So what I can say is: I'm not aware of any cookie-cutter strategy that makes me win long-term. If I was, I'd look into it. There are some really effective tools, which can give you an edge. And you kinda have to use them. The hard part is still to survive early on before you have most of the tools. And on Superhuman that's really hard.

[Xilmi]

Nice, yeah I second a new graphic icon for the binary, maybe something more BRUTAL like feeling

I like the colors but it looks like an upscaled very pixalated smaller icon.

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

Note that this is a Micro-Mod I added and not enabled by default. It was mostly a result of witnessing how laughably trivial the game became with Psi even against Brutal-AI. As I said back then: How good the AI is at controling their units doesn't matter, when they don't have control over their units.

Well, it is in standard and has user options and is seem to be loaded. So this does has effect on what I am playing. Besides, engine complains that ufopaedia article is missing type_id.

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

To be honest I mostly play with the Mission-Generator. Where the outcome of a single battle has no impact on the progression of a real game.

Do you mean you play quick battles only and not the whole game? Cannot understand how them can even be played together.

I've done a big number of attempts of just doing a play-through. I got better at it but as I got better, I also passed my findings to the AI. So the overall perception of difficulty felt similar despite both my own and the AIs progression.

Are you saying you don't even plan for this mod to be playable as whole game? That could be fine too. I just trying to understand your intentions.

So what I can say is: I'm not aware of any cookie-cutter strategy that makes me win long-term. If I was, I'd look into it. There are some really effective tools, which can give you an edge. And you kinda have to use them. The hard part is still to survive early on before you have most of the tools. And on Superhuman that's really hard.

Well, of course, every single thing helps. Generally, I am absolutely fine with AI using its knowledge about my soldiers as I would about theirs.

The only thing I cannot understand how it knows to throw grenades to my soldiers with utmost precision when they are in the middle of the fresh smoke cloud? What other indicators it uses to pinpoint their location besides seeing them directly?

[Xilmi]

Well, it is in standard and has user options and is seem to be loaded. So this does has effect on what I am playing. Besides, engine complains that ufopaedia article is missing type_id.

Do you happen to be proficient enough in modding to tell me what I'd have to change about it so the engine no longer shows that complaint?

[Xilmi]

Do you mean you play quick battles only and not the whole game? Cannot understand how them can even be played together.

I said "mostly", not only. I've done my fair share of attempts of a campaign. A lot of my play-time is testing AI-changes so jumping into old benchmark saves or new-quick-battles is what I mostly do.
I don't know what you mean by "Cannot understand how them can even be played together." Who does "them" refer to in this case?

Are you saying you don't even plan for this mod to be playable as whole game? That could be fine too. I just trying to understand your intentions.

No! What about the sentence you quoted would suggest that? Of course it's supposed to be playable as a whole game. Lowering the difficulty-level actually does a good job at also making it winable.

The only thing I cannot understand how it knows to throw grenades to my soldiers with utmost precision when they are in the middle of the fresh smoke cloud? What other indicators it uses to pinpoint their location besides seeing them directly?

Shooting a weapon and throwing or dropping an item to the ground also update the AI's information of your units wearabouts. So basically the same things you'd also notice if the AI did them. You don't want to stay at these locations as they are marked for blind-grenading via these actions.

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

Do you happen to be proficient enough in modding to tell me what I'd have to change about it so the engine no longer shows that complaint?

I don't think it is generated by your mod. However, other mods may generate it IF they carelessly mention ufopaedia STR_MC_DISRUPTOR. Like mine does.
So I should probably adjust my rulesets if I want to get rid of it. No worries.

With this in mind, let me reiterate the question. Are you sure it makes game very easy when psionics are involved? After all aliens control aquanauts as well.
Any other means to cope with this without complete removing psionics feature?

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

Thank you for update. And don't need to get upset. People quite often misinterpret things without ill will.

I understand how I notice aliens shooting and throwing. Not sure about dropping. Is it somehow also gets the focus? Meaning at some far corner that I cannot see the camera shows the alien dropping stuff on the ground?

Yes. That is what I deduced. This technically fair. After all engine does show these actions of opposing party to the player. However, practically wise it is quite impossible for human to mark and remember exact spot of shooting/throwing origin. At times I recall where they were attacking from but not sure about exact tile. That is beyond my mental abilities. I guess, same for most other humans.
Not sure about you, though, as you mentioned to teach AI everything you yourself use.
😃

With this in mind, would it be human like fair to not give AI a super specific location of action it cannot see? Maybe do the same to the human as well to maintain fairness?
With this I feel like aliens penalize the person accidentally farted by immediate shooting and throwing at their location.
😲

[Xilmi]

I don't think it is generated by your mod. However, other mods may generate it IF they carelessly mention ufopaedia STR_MC_DISRUPTOR. Like mine does.
So I should probably adjust my rulesets if I want to get rid of it. No worries.

In this case it might be related to load-order or simply incompatibility in general.

With this in mind, let me reiterate the question. Are you sure it makes game very easy when psionics are involved? After all aliens control aquanauts as well.
Any other means to cope with this without complete removing psionics feature?

This is not a complete removal of the psionics-feature. The complete removal of the psionics-feature has it's own mod called. "XComUtil: No Psionics". My mod only disables the researchability of the item that allows X-Com-Soldiers to use it. Aliens can still use it and you can still screen and train your soldiers with a psi-lab to become more resistant against Psi.

Also: Since you don't have to fight against PSI-aliens you'd abuse it against those who don't have it themselves.