[DONE] [Feedback] [Documentation] Hunter-killer

[Meridian]

It seems that the options "hunterKillerPercentage:" and "escort:" do not work in the supply missions of alien base. Please check.

Yes, supply mission UFOs cannot become hunter-killers.
Also, the last UFO of the retaliation mission (the one that attacks your base) cannot become a hunter-killer.

That's by design... these UFOs have special designation... and are not affected by these flags.

[Ethereal]

Yes, supply mission UFOs cannot become hunter-killers.
Also, the last UFO of the retaliation mission (the one that attacks your base) cannot become a hunter-killer.

That's by design... these UFOs have special designation... and are not affected by these flags.

It's a pity. Supply ships in the escort and need the most. It would be correct if the Hunter-killer guarded the cargo ship of supply.

[Meridian]

It's a pity. Supply ships in the escort and need the most. It would be correct if the Hunter-killer guarded the cargo ship of supply.

I'll have a look if I can force at least non-primary-objective UFOs from supply missions to hunt... maybe.

[Meridian]

One last big feature set, after this I plan only small tweaks and bugfixes... unless someone will have a brilliant new idea.

Feature 1: Allowed alien missions to spawn multiple UFOs at once

Until now, alien mission could spawn only 1 UFO every 30 minutes, regardless if the timer was set to zero and regardless if multiple UFOs were defined in the same wave.
Now, if timer is zero, next UFO(s) will spawn immediately.

Please note there is still a mandatory initial delay of 30 minutes between alien mission creation and first UFO generation.
This limit will NOT apply to "base hunt missions", see feature 4 at the bottom... but it does apply to all other missions.

Feature 2: Allowed alien bases to spawn mission sites

The mission would spawn even before this change, but it would not be able to finish its objective, i.e. create a terror/mission site... instead the UFO would just land.
Now the UFO gets correctly converted into a terror/mission site.

Feature 3: Allowed alien bases to stop generating supply/gen missions after reaching a limit

Supply missions (resp. "genMissions") can now stop after a limit is reached.

Code: [Select]

alienDeployments:
  - type: STR_ALIEN_BASE_ASSAULT
    genMission:
      STR_ALIEN_SUPPLY: 100
    genMissionFreq: 6
    genMissionLimit: 4                 # new attribute, allows specifying how many genMissions can be spawned in total by one base, default 1000

Feature 4: Alien bases can now scan for xcom craft and generate hunt missions

Besides supply missions (resp. "genMissions"), the base can also create "hunt missions".
The base can now have following parameters, defined on alienDeployment:
- radar range
- radar chance
- hunt mission distribution, based on months passed and with weights
- hunt mission maximum frequency

Scan is done every 10 minutes.
If an xcom craft is detected, hunt mission is generated.
Another mission can be generated only after a delay specified by max frequency (e.g. 5 hours).

UFOs start/spawn at the base location.
Exception are supply missions and last UFO of the retaliation mission, which start at their usual locations, not at the base location.

You can see base radar range on the globe, if the base was discovered already.
I recommend setting base radar range to 80-90% of the HK radar range... otherwise HKs would stop hunting immediately,
because they follow normal hunting logic... i.e. stop hunting if there is nothing in their radar range.

Code: [Select]

alienDeployments:
  - type: STR_ALIEN_BASE_ASSAULT
    genMission:                        # this is still supported, both supply/gen missions and hunt missions can be generated independently
      STR_ALIEN_SUPPLY: 100
    genMissionFreq: 6                  # this is still supported
    genMissionLimit: 4                 # new attribute, allows specifying how many genMissions can be spawned in total by one base, default 1000
#
    baseDetectionRange: 600            # base radar range, in nautical miles
    baseDetectionChance: 50            # base radar chance (once every 10 minutes), in percent
    huntMissionMaxFrequency: 300       # generate hunt mission max every 300 minutes (= 5 hours)
    huntMissionWeights:                # which hunt mission to generate, based on months passed and weights
      0:
        STR_ALIEN_RESEARCH: 100
        STR_ALIEN_HARVEST: 0
        STR_ALIEN_ABDUCTION: 0
      1:
        STR_ALIEN_RESEARCH: 60
        STR_ALIEN_HARVEST: 30
        STR_ALIEN_ABDUCTION: 10
      3:
        STR_ALIEN_RESEARCH: 40
        STR_ALIEN_HARVEST: 30
        STR_ALIEN_ABDUCTION: 30
      5:
        STR_ALIEN_RESEARCH: 20
        STR_ALIEN_HARVEST: 30
        STR_ALIEN_ABDUCTION: 50
      7:
        STR_ALIEN_RESEARCH: 5
        STR_ALIEN_HARVEST: 20
        STR_ALIEN_ABDUCTION: 75

Download: https://lxnt.wtf/oxem/builds//ExtendedPlus/Extended+-3.10a-776a6df-2018-02-23-win32.7z

[robin]

cut

Amazing!
I have a dumb question: I noticed a download link at the bottom, is this a separate exe from OXCE+?

[Meridian]

Amazing!
I have a dumb question: I noticed a download link at the bottom, is this a separate exe from OXCE+?

No, these links are OXCE+
I just update the "official" OXCE+ download link less often... once a new version is ready and at least a bit tested.
The links at the bottom of my posts here are "snapshots" (or "nightlies" or "previews") or whatever we want to call them

[Hobbes]

Skynet appreciates your efforts in securing its bases. You shalt not be terminated

[Ethereal]

About the escorts of supply ships - the need has disappeared.  Now the very fact of the presence of the alien base can be turned into a serious problem for the player. Even missions without UFOs are generated. Now, and without supply convoys, it will be not boring, to put it mildly.

Thanks for the update!

One last big feature set, after this I plan only small tweaks and bugfixes... unless someone will have a brilliant new idea.

The idea was here already voiced. Stealth Generators. And for the ships "C-COM", and for the Hunter-Killer. This requires that "radarChance:" work for UFOs. At the moment it does not work.

[Meridian]

The idea was here already voiced. Stealth Generators. And for the ships "C-COM", and for the Hunter-Killer. This requires that "radarChance:" work for UFOs. At the moment it does not work.

With the current implementation of hunting, radarChance doesn't make much sense on UFOs... hunter-killers are scanning every 5 seconds... so even if you set the chance to just 1%, they will still find you in only 8 minutes in average.

Alien bases have radar chance, but they are scanning every 10 minutes, not every 5 seconds.

[Meridian]

A few more tweaks to escorts and a build for Android:

Feature 1: All escorts now spawn at their escortee's current location

Feature 2: Base supply ships can now also be escorted by HKs

Code: [Select]

alienMissions:
  - type: STR_ALIEN_SUPPLY
    points: 0
    objective: 5
    raceWeights: {} #Special case, race comes from base.
    waves:
      - ufo: STR_SUPPLY_SHIP
        count: 1
        trajectory: P9
        timer: 0
        objective: true                 # cannot become a HK/escort
      - ufo: STR_LARGE_SCOUT
        count: 2
        trajectory: P9
        timer: 0
        hunterKillerPercentage: 100
        escort: true
        objective: false                # can become a HK/escort

Download for Windows: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1f5D_YF0ADK8IphQ7YOYAR2LgwCAXefvU
Download for Android: https://drive.google.com/open?id=128eGtMuY9stDc3H1gnzJLq5llyF2UgXo

[Ethereal]

It was wonderful. Now in my mod almost every second UFO is a Hunter-killer, bases of aliens are spammed with terror and retaliation, and the most long-range weapon, which was almost a cheat, became rather ordinary. Thank you so much!

One request - when the Hunter-killer intercepts the, the pilot's bonus on the speed of approach is taken into account. I understand that the aliens are telepathic, but not so much! Let the approach speed be the standard for all who are attacked by the Hunter.

[Hobbes]

Feature 2: Allowed alien bases to spawn mission sites

The mission would spawn even before this change, but it would not be able to finish its objective, i.e. create a terror/mission site... instead the UFO would just land.
Now the UFO gets correctly converted into a terror/mission site.

This will eventually be documented on the wiki but if you are using escort HKs on terror mission sites generated by bases, you'll need to set the code like this to properly work:

Code: [Select]

alienMissions:
  - type: STR_SKYNET_INTERDICTION
    waves:
      - ufo: STR_HK_TRANSPORT_1
        count: 1
        trajectory: T7
        timer: 15000
        objective: true
      - ufo: STR_HK_FIGHTER_1
        count: 1
        timer: 10
        trajectory: T0
        objective: true
        escort: true

The escort (STR_HK_FIGHTER_1) also requires objective: true for the terror site to appear

[Nord]

A little question: what about tftd encounters over land?

[Meridian]

A little question: what about tftd encounters over land?

I allowed them when UFO attacks XCOM, not the other way around.

[Meridian]

In next version, there will be a user option to turn on/off HKs radar circles.
Flight paths (lines) will still be visible.

Modders can also decide to enforce this setting as usual.