[Answered] Difficulty-based features for geoscape?

[The Reaver of Darkness]

Are there any features that enable me to make the difficulty setting affect Geoscape gameplay much? What options do I have here?


I had an idea for a feature: change UFO speed based on game difficulty. It could be done like the alien attributes:
The mod states: +25% per difficulty level
Large Scout modified top speed: 1800 knots

Beginner: 1800
Experienced: 2250
Veteran: 2700
Genius: 3150
Superhuman: 3600

[Meridian]

What options do I have here?

Currently difficulty is applied on following places:

Dogfight, UFO fire rate
Dogfight, escape countdown
Dogfight, retaliation odds
Geoscape, monthly mission scripts
Geoscape, monthly rating

[ohartenstein23]

You can also make mission scripts that are difficulty-dependent, so if you make copies of each UFO and mission for each speed, then you can select which ones to spawn based on difficulty. It's not fun, but the option is there.

[The Reaver of Darkness]

Not a bad idea. Sounds kinda fun actually.

Currently difficulty is applied on following places:

Dogfight, UFO fire rate
Dogfight, escape countdown
Dogfight, retaliation odds
Geoscape, monthly mission scripts
Geoscape, monthly rating

Can you elaborate on how it affects these things and how I can adjust such settings? I don't see all of these in the ruleset. I am especially interested in UFO fire rate.

[Meridian]

All these work same as in OXC, only retaliation odds have a few more parameters in OXCE/OXCE+.

Fire rate formula is as follows:

Code: [Select]

int fireCountdown = std::max(1, (_ufo->getRules()->getWeaponReload() - 2 * _game->getSavedGame()->getDifficultyCoefficient()));
_ufo->setFireCountdown(RNG::generate(0, fireCountdown) + fireCountdown);

where difficulty coeficient comes from difficulty.rul

[The Reaver of Darkness]

Thanks.