Questions: AI and unconventional weapons?

[robin]

If I make unconventional stuff like an arcing weapon or a weapon with limited range (let's say 5 tiles), and equip them to the aliens, will the AI be able to use that properly or it I'll just shoot whenever it has line of sight, like it's using a normal unlimited-range, straight-shooting, weapon?

(Or a shtogun-like weapon, with a "dropoff" of accuracy after a certain "aimRange", will the AI try to use it effectively or..?)

Thanks for the answers.

[Warboy1982]

arcing weapons were designed for aliens. the only arcing weapon in vanilla is the celatid spit, so it'd be kinda silly to not have them take that into account.

as for dropoff and maxRange, no they aren't that tactically aware. the AI fire mode selection is based purely on distance and time units available. by default it will try to mitigate the effects of ufoExtender accuracy simply because the values used in the distance checks are roughly in-line with the dropoff ranges for each fire mode.

[robin]

Thanks.

I wanted to make an enemy unit that spitted acid like the celatid, but with the spit range limited to 4~5 tiles, so that the unit had to come very near the target, while still not meleeing it.
I guess I'll just go with a conventional melee attack.


Another question:
Is it possible to regulate the power and radius of the "explosion upon death" ability?
I wished to give the unit this nasty trick too, but in a considerably weaker form than the one of the Cyberdisc  (let's say an explosion comparable to an Auto Cannon HE shot).