I'm asking you guys for help! I know I've had this explained to me before on the Discord, but I've forgotten most of it and I can't find the text. I'm posting it here because I want to create a resource which can be looked up again at any time. I'll start by listing off the different elements of the difficultyCoefficient, and I'd like you guys to comment on how it works. What I want to know is the specific calculations, or what specific numeric values mean here. I'll edit this post as I get information, and eventually it should be a complete reference.
difficultyCoefficient can be given a list of values in the ruleset, with the default list being [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]. This means that each difficulty receives its own value, based on the list. As I understand it, that means Beginner is 0, Experienced is 1, Veteran is 2, etc. Using startingDifficulty (OXCE only), as I understand it, you could have a mod select a specific difficulty rather than allow the player to choose their difficulty. Alternatively, without OXCE, you could just set the difficultyCoefficient list to all the same number, for example: [4, 4, 4, 4, 4].
difficultyCoefficient affects several aspects of gameplay, including:
1.) Monthly rating threshold for losing the game (together with defeatScore)
2.) UFO firing rate during dogfight
3.) UFO escape countdown during dogfight
4.) Retaliation odds after dogfight; and odds of targeting xcom base region or not
5.) Number of aliens facing in the direction of the xcom craft at a start of a mission
6.) Various AI decisions (in Battlescape)
7.) Together with statGrowthMultipliers and aimAndArmorMultipliers affects how alien stats change with difficulty level
