Diverse Aliens By Force Level WOTC

Uploaded · Published January 16, 2020 · Updated June 27, 2022

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Last revision: 20 Apr, 2022 at 16:41 UTC (4)

File size: 177.15 KB

Description:

To combine the best of both worlds, and more!
This mod was originally a combination of the amazing Diverse Alien Pods WOTC and [WOTC] Increase Pod Size By Force Level.
Said mods used to be incompatible, but the incompatibility has since been fixed.

Additionally I was never a fan of the clunky rules IPSBFL implemented, so I created my own system to add more enemies. I wanted to make it as simple as possible while also keeping it powerful to suit a wide variety of setups.

This mod recreates enemy pods with a configurable number of extra enemies while at the same time allowing for more variety than what the base game offers.
By default, extra enemies start to appear starting from force level 5 and by the end there is a chance for up to +4 enemies per pod (with an average of +2).

What / How / Why?

DAP and IPSBF stop at recreating the vanilla spawning behaviour while this mod goes beyond that by adding several options to possibly increase enemy numbers and diversity even further (for better or worse!).
All of the configurable options are documented in the XComDABFL.ini config file, read the comments carefully!

Spawn rules?

The default rules for more enemies are as follows:

; format: ;+AlienPodSizeRules=(iMinForceLevel=1, iMaxForceLevel=20, iChance=100, iNumToAdd=5, iForceLevelOffset=5) ; ‘iMinForceLevel’ is the minimum force level for this rule to be rolled. ; ‘iMaxForceLevel’ is the maximum force level for this rule to be rolled. ; ‘iChance’ is a percentage value how likely this rule succeeds. ; ‘iNumToAdd’ is the number of enemies this rule adds if it succeeds. ; ‘iForceLevelOffset’ is used to adjust the force level of followers added by the rule. ; Unspecified values default to 0. ; The rules are independent of each other, and are rolled in the order they appear here. ; by default, every 5 force levels adds an additional coin flip for +1 enemy in each pod +AlienPodSizeRules=(iMinForceLevel=5, iMaxForceLevel=20, iChance=50, iNumToAdd=1) +AlienPodSizeRules=(iMinForceLevel=10, iMaxForceLevel=20, iChance=50, iNumToAdd=1) +AlienPodSizeRules=(iMinForceLevel=15, iMaxForceLevel=20, iChance=50, iNumToAdd=1) +AlienPodSizeRules=(iMinForceLevel=20, iMaxForceLevel=20, iChance=50, iNumToAdd=1) ; this results in no additional enemies until FL5, and up to +4 per pod at FL20, if it rolls 4 heads in a row ; Reinforcements rules are only rolled for reinforcement pods. ; By default we add at maximum 3 units to each reinforcement pod, with a similar pacing as for regular pods. +ReinforcementRules=(iMinForceLevel=5, iMaxForceLevel=20, iChance=50, iNumToAdd=1) +ReinforcementRules=(iMinForceLevel=10, iMaxForceLevel=20, iChance=50, iNumToAdd=1) +ReinforcementRules=(iMinForceLevel=15, iMaxForceLevel=20, iChance=50, iNumToAdd=1)

Balance

Obviously adding more enemies to every pod is quite bad for balancing in a couple of situations.
Thats why I also made system to limit some aspects of the pod creation process depending on current mission and any active SitReps.
By default:

Disabled on Covert Escape missions.
Disabled in the Chosen chambers. (still affects the fortress part of the mission)
The ADVENT Network Tower mission cant have pods bigger than 4 enemies each. (you only get to send 3 soldiers)
On Fireteam, pods are capped at 2 enemies and followers are rolled from 4 FL lower. (you only get to send 2 soldiers)
On Surgical, pods are capped at 3 enemies. (you only get to send 3 soldiers)
On LowProfile, 1 less enemy is rolled for each pod. (you only get to send Sergeants or lower)
On Advanced, pods are capped at 2 enemies. (FL increased by 6)

Note: These are my personal preferences; You can reconfigure them in the config!

Compatibility

The Highlander is required for this mod to have any effect! (without it, nothing happens)
Should be compatible with anything that doesn’t do similar changes. (leave a message if you find something odd)
Can be de/activated mid campaign, though any mission that has already been generated wont be affected.
Can be disabled on any specific Mission or SitRep using the modifiers described in the configuration file.
Not compatible with DAP, IPSBFL or Surgical SitRep Fix. (their functionality in included and having them might cause odd behaviour)
This mod uses the same configuration values as the base game for the follower selection; If some enemies seem too rare / common its most likely not caused by this mod.
If something seems broken, please leave a message with a Launch.log file from when the issue appeared.

general troubleshooting: Mod not working? Mods still have their effects after you disable them?

Technical stuff

This mod functions by "post processing" any generated pods using a hook provided by the highlander. Most mods that change the pod generation process do so by tweaking the configuration files the base game uses to create the pods.
This means if you have a mod that makes the base game generate bigger pods using config edits, this mod will assume that pod to be of "original" size and will in turn add to it. Any mods that use the PostEncounterCreation highlander hook may or may not conflict depending on what they do with it.

Other config options:

(default values)

; Should this mod roll for more enemies for pods that only contain a single unit. bAffectSingleUnits=false ; Should this mod also process reinforcement spawns. bAffectReinforcements=true ; Should this mod also process the Lost spawns. bAffectTheLost=false ; Should this mod ignore the ForceSpawnTemplateNames set on an encounter. bIgnoreForcedSpawnNames=false ; Should this mod ignore MaxCharactersPerGroup set in the encounter lists. bIgnoreMaxCharactersPerGroup=false ; Should this mod ingnore the supported followers list on character templates. bIgnoreSupportedFollowers=false ; Should this mod use a merged sitrep encounter list rather than an overriding one. bMergeSitrepLists=true ; How much variance should be added to the follower force levels. ; This can smooth difficulty spikes caused by all of the troopers (or any other units) upgrading from basic to advanced to elites overnight. ForceLevelVariance=(iMinForceLevel=0, iPositive=0, iNegative=0) ; Should this mod and how much to favour adding duplicate units in a pod based on what enemies are already selected. fDuplicateUnitFavourFactor=-1.0

More in-depth descriptions in the actual config file!

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