Enemies & XP

[Jimmyjay86]

I was doing a little test to try and come up with a formula but this didn't seem to follow a linear progression. I don't know if I am going to break out the Calculus to figure it out.

I set out 4 copies of the same enemy raider entity on a test map. The initial entity as created was at level 0 and had a XP bonus of 20. The 4 that I placed on the map were given Levels of 5, 10, 15, 20. I checked the hit points of each before attacking them and found that with each level increase the hit points increased by five. The hit points of each were 50, 75, 100, and 125 respectively. Then I attacked and killed them to find out how many XP were awarded. The respective XP were 39, 95, 226, and 538 which doesn't seem to make sense. I used one guy to attack and kill them all with the same weapon. What accounts for the XP?

[OnTheBounce]

Having the Base XP set to 20 is a bit high, especially if you're looking to hand out lots of XP based on objective/quest completion. The Raiders from the core campaign range from 7 or 8 up to 14 for the base.

The Base XP is modified by the AI for increased level, and it seems progression is logarithmic. I'm not sure of the exact formula, nor have I had a hankering to find it out, either. If you want to find out how many XP the actors on your map are worth, use the "Dump Actors" funtion in the Level Editor. This will create a TXT file at C:\ (that is, the root of your HD) that will contain the XP for all actors on the map, adjusted for level. There are some problems w/this file, though. For one, it adds all actors together, so it will include friendlies, neutrals, corpses, etc. However, the list is itemized by Index, so you can add up exactly how many XP the enemies are worth.

If you want custom enemies that you control the allocation of every SP, etc., here's what I do:

• Create the entity as you want him/her/it to be.
• Create a dummy entity w/the same stats, etc. as the actual entity and set the Base XP to something comparable from the core campaign.
• Set the dummy on your test map w/the Level field set to one level below the level the actual NPC is. (The value in the field is added to a base of 1.)
• Butcher the NPC in whatever way you feel is appropriate. Who/what kills the NPC in what way seems to be irrelevant, as does the level of the killer. The number of persons under the Player's control is definitely irrelevant, which is why the XP argument for a squad size smaller than the full 6 in FoT is bunk.
• Note the number of XP awarded for the butchering and then enter that value in the Base XP field for the actual entity.

OTB

[Jimmyjay86]

I want to set the base XP dependent upon how difficult the enemies are. Most of the enemies are going to be custom instead of the standard ones. I noticed MV handed out high levels of XP with his enemies in Rebellion. The trick is going to be balancing out the XP to make sure the player doesn't level up too fast and that is what I was trying to figure out.

Thanks OTB.

[OnTheBounce]

NP, JJ86.

This is probably the trickiest portion of a campaign, really. Especially if you're looking at making it non-linear. If you're looking for linear a adventure, it's not too hard to sit down, use the "Dump Actors" feature and then just hand out the rest of the XP the characters will need to gain a level based on what level they should be at that point.

Oh, I forgot to mention in my post last night: The AI does not take into account anything except an NPCs level from what I can tell. I was dorking around w/Raiders a while back and testing the XP awards, and those w/identical levels and Base XP awards were always the same, no matter what weapon they had, or what their stats were. If a type of enemy has higher EN, I usually tack on an XP or two to make up for it, same if they have high PE, or I know they will be equipped w/nasty weapons (e.g. Big Guns).

I guess the only rule here would be, "Be consistent."

OTB

[Max-Violence]

The thing with my stuff and the huge XP rewards is that the campaign isn't/aren't/wasn't going to be the long, 10+ maps that some other campaigns, so fast level ups won't do any harm long-term (DD3 being the exception...)

You bet yer buttons that when I do a long campaign (note I said when and not if...), I'll "fix" the XP rewards to be slower.

But for short lil' campaings, why not have some fun and make the characters able to get Sniper and Slayer? I mean hell, even in the normal core campaign, I never got up to level 24 w/o some tweakin' of the XP rewards.

[Flamescreen]

I guess the problem is if these abilities you gain by advancing make the game too easy. I didn't notice that in Jailbreak, so its o.k. with me. I don't expect to give away the amount of time I've spended for the main game to finish a campaign(since I'm playing in TB).

I'll grant that, being very difficult, means you planed it well, but I just don't have that much time. I can't afford preplanning my every step in order not to get nailed(though that's what I did in JB1, hardly needed probably, its just my playing style).

For a small campaign it's o.k. but for larger ones it has its difficulties. Plus I'm not into changing my squad because they're killed, it's something I got from Xcom's. I finish TB combat games with zero casualties. Since I expect OTB to have made IOOI this way I will play it, because I respect his designing capabilities. But if there were more than one I'd select randomly. Too many things to do every day and I keep postponing stuff in favor of others.

[OnTheBounce]

Since I expect OTB to have made IOOI this way I will play it, because I respect his designing capabilities.

Thanks, Flamescreen.

Basically, I try to give you two choices for everything at every step of the way. This is not to say that you will be offered two virtually identical characters, but rather that you'll have a choice between two characters of the same type, but with a twist on them. For instance, you may be offered two snipers, but one has average AP, but really good PE and the Finesse Trait, whereas the other has higher AP, not quite as good PE, and the Fast Shot trait.

I think the starting recruit pool in IOOI offers both a lot of choices, as well as good examples of how I like to design my recruits.

You can compare:

• Bubba vs. Big Jack
• Doctor P vs. Lester
• Floyd vs. Helga
• Kirk vs. Squeaky.

Jenna and Friday don't have alternates available immediately, but they're in the second wave of recruits that become available.

OTB