Hey Xilmi,
In 5 years I haven't seen ANY blaster launchers shots from OXCE AI. All these guys with blaster launchers (mind-guided missiles) were just decorations to punch them and collect stuff. This solely is an advancement worth mentioning.
Bad the thing is: all mods are balanced around some enemy units being decoration instead of real competitive power.
Just in case.
For everything you mentioned, yes, game conditions sometimes resemble RSP game. But each race in original has been designed having their strengths and weaknesses. Like, tanky mutons are weak to mind attacks, while weak sectoids (and aquatoids) can watch through walls (!) and can apply mind control themselves. If only that can be considered in decision of BAI strategy in each particular case, that will be mind-blowing experience for a player.
Stats do determine a lot, and that's one of player's tools of victory: while in the beginning stats of hired personnel are weak and uncompetitive, trained and transformed units are well above mediocre-level enemies. When you compare experience from auto-quick battle with campaign mission, please consider that player units in second case are stronger (tool of victory, you remember?)
In the beginning, I was frustrated how different the base assault mission is. All enemy units simultaneously take proper positions and attack, making base attack few-turn intense operation. While playing against vanilla AI you had to look all at all corners of the map to find some dangling entity that doesn't know what to do (and that it's haven is under assault).
Again, the problem here is that all has been balanced against some units are decorations until certain point of time. E.g. you battle against one half of enemies in the first sector of the map, then 1/4 in next sector upon spread of your units and so on.
Both situations are extremes.
Both situations are getting player bored after same and same experience in each mission.
I think, I would like to make three suggestions:
1) OXCE menu option
If modder doesn't yet assign each unit's aggression, possible solution is to add some randomization in assigning BAI units playstyles in the beginning of each mission. Is it feasible?
The advanced suggestion is decisive randomization: if BAI can check the units role, it can assign from diapason of aggressiveness: like 0-3 for ranged, 0-2 to mind controllers and 2-4 to melee.
2) The second suggestion regards sameness of each mission. Do you have any insights how to make BAI switch strategies in between?
It's getting weird to watch some low-tier enemy shoot ordinary pistol bullets into power-armor units. Any feedback from action?
Player sees if the attack indeed damages enemy unit (enemy unit gets colored slightly red if any damage, or intense red if fatal wounds are inflicted), I think enemy deserves the same.
3) Related to (1): Race strategy personalization. BAI checks stats and if some competitive sides are available, BAI finds the strategy to maximize it.
Example: condition - night, sectoid NV is far better than players => attack from beyond and mind control more, than approach.
Or, implement mass panic operation. Like, all BAI sectoids are hidden in the ship and emit panic messages to approaching troops, which then be their competitive advantage during the battle inside a ship.
These suggestions may conflict, but vary gameplay much, which is good in terms of several hundred missions during the ordinary campaign.
