Go to predicted UFO location

[Meridian]

I'm assuming the downsides aren't just "makes the game easier through use of Actually Sensible Interceptor Pilots" and has more to do with implementation (or the pilot AI needing to cheat by reading the UFO's planned moves). I mean, it feels good to tell your pilots "Don't go where the X-Ray is, follow the damn flight pattern!" but if it doesn't actually help, or it cheats for you...

(yes i prefer 1rn in fire emblem why'd you ask)

It doesn't cheat.

But there's a multitude of subtle problems with it, making it basically unusable (without carefully checking what it is doing, which defies its purpose). In OXC.

In OXCE, it's even worse.
(or would be... I just removed it completely)

[N7Kopper]

It doesn't cheat.

But there's a multitude of subtle problems with it, making it basically unusable (without carefully checking what it is doing, which defies its purpose). In OXC.

In OXCE, it's even worse.
(or would be... I just removed it completely)

So implementation then. Gotcha.

[SupSuper]

The vanilla behavior goes to where the UFO is, the predicted behavior goes to where the UFO will be. The latter is more effective if the UFO keeps flying in a straight line.
But UFOs randomly change direction, which neither behavior can guess (that would be cheating), so you're always at the mercy of the RNG.

[Sander Bouwhuis]

Maybe a stupid/obvious idea, but why don't the airplanes simply constantly adjust their heading so as to fly directly to the UFO's current position? That wouldn't be cheating, and the player wouldn't have to micromanage the multiple airborne vehicles to make sure they don't stand still without actually pursuing their targeted UFO.

[ohartenstein23]

Maybe a stupid/obvious idea, but why don't the airplanes simply constantly adjust their heading so as to fly directly to the UFO's current position? That wouldn't be cheating, and the player wouldn't have to micromanage the multiple airborne vehicles to make sure they don't stand still without actually pursuing their targeted UFO.

That's exactly what happens when you have the "predict UFO trajectory" turned off.

Perhaps the way to improve the prediction option would be to have it turn off automatically when the interceptor and the target are under a certain distance from each other. That distance could even me related to the relative speeds of the interceptor and the UFO to help prevent overshooting the target when the interceptor is much faster.