Modding Impossible - starting panic settings

[grenademagnet]

After my first impossible game I found the Geoscape AI to be pretty tough, basically taking Africa away from me in the second month, even with full satellite coverage (they shot down a satellite and then South Africa left the project).

 

I was thinking of tweaking the panic settings as minimal as needed to give myself a better chance of keeping a continent in the first few months.

 

I was considering setting the parameter STARTING_PANIC_CLASSIC to zero from 16. I had already set this parameter to 8 but that still resulting in losing two countries by the second month.

 

Would setting STARTING_PANIC_CLASSIC=0 give me a better chance at Impossible, or would it make the game too easy? I'm open to other suggestions as well.

Edited October 20, 2012 by grenademagnet

[shiwan8]

Try it. My opinion is that the designers idea of world collapsing in 6 months because 6 terror strikes and more or less exactly 12 ufos have been seen is, well, idiotic. The player would have years, at minimum, considering the speed invasion is done.

[Daemonjax]

Personally I would just mod classic to be harder, rather than make impossible easier.

[Anbar]

Personally I would just mod classic to be harder, rather than make impossible easier.

 

 

yup, its a lot simpler

[grenademagnet]

Personally I would just mod classic to be harder, rather than make impossible easier.

I thought about that, but wanted to play Impossible mode so I could have more enemies per map. However, if I can't get things just right on Impossible with the teaks, I'll do you what you suggest.

 

Hopefully the UPK utilities will get to a point where people can add more enemies for Classic, and/or adjust some of the Geoscape settings not affected by the INI file.

[Anbar]

Personally I would just mod classic to be harder, rather than make impossible easier.

I thought about that, but wanted to play Impossible mode so I could have more enemies per map. However, if I can't get things just right on Impossible with the teaks, I'll do you what you suggest.

 

Hopefully the UPK utilities will get to a point where people can add more enemies for Classic, and/or adjust some of the Geoscape settings not affected by the INI file.

 

 

well modding impossible isnt that hard, you just want to change a few other settings other than starting panic to get things more manageable...

 

try this: all it does is marginally reduce the panic you will face, and give a sligthly lower chance of a country leaving when it gets to 5 bars of panic... if the continent and country has a satellie it may well stay.. also lowered the max-number of ocuntries that can leave in any single month to 6

 

;Panic Values
PANIC_TERROR_CONTINENT=1
PANIC_TERROR_COUNTRY=2
PANIC_UFO_SHOOTDOWN=-1
PANIC_UFO_ASSAULT=-1
PANIC_SAT_DESTROYED_CONTINENT=0
PANIC_SAT_DESTROYED_COUNTRY=1
PANIC_SAT_ADDED_COUNTRY=-2
PANIC_SAT_ADDED_CONTINENT=0
PANIC_ALIENBASE_CONQUERED=-2
PANIC_UFO_IGNORED=2
PANIC_UFO_ESCAPED=1
PANIC_ABDUCTION_COUNTRY_EASY=1
PANIC_ABDUCTION_COUNTRY_NORMAL=1
PANIC_ABDUCTION_COUNTRY_HARD=1
PANIC_ABDUCTION_COUNTRY_CLASSIC=1
PANIC_ABDUCTION_CONTINENT_EASY=1
PANIC_ABDUCTION_CONTINENT_NORMAL=1
PANIC_ABDUCTION_CONTINENT_HARD=1
PANIC_ABDUCTION_CONTINENT_CLASSIC=1
PANIC_ABDUCTION_THWARTED_CONTINENT=-1
PANIC_ABDUCTION_THWARTED_COUNTRY=-2
STARTING_PANIC_EASY=0
STARTING_PANIC_NORMAL=0
STARTING_PANIC_HARD=0
STARTING_PANIC_CLASSIC=0	
PANIC_DEFECT_THRESHHOLD_EASY=5
PANIC_DEFECT_THRESHHOLD_NORMAL=5
PANIC_DEFECT_THRESHHOLD_HARD=5
PANIC_DEFECT_THRESHHOLD_CLASSIC=5
PANIC_DEFECT_THRESHHOLD_NOT_HELPED_EASY=5
PANIC_DEFECT_THRESHHOLD_NOT_HELPED_NORMAL=5
PANIC_DEFECT_THRESHHOLD_NOT_HELPED_HARD=5
PANIC_DEFECT_THRESHHOLD_NOT_HELPED_CLASSIC=5
PANIC_DEFECTIONS_PER_MONTH_EASY=1
PANIC_DEFECTIONS_PER_MONTH_NORMAL=3
PANIC_DEFECTIONS_PER_MONTH_HARD=4
PANIC_DEFECTIONS_PER_MONTH_CLASSIC=6
PANIC_DEFECT_CHANCE_PER_BLOCK_EASY=10
PANIC_DEFECT_CHANCE_PER_BLOCK_NORMAL=15
PANIC_DEFECT_CHANCE_PER_BLOCK_HARD=8
PANIC_DEFECT_CHANCE_PER_BLOCK_CLASSIC=9
SAT_HELP_DEFECT=1 ;If country has satellite, "Chance of Leaving"*SAT_HELP_DEFECT
SAT_HELP_DEFECT=1
SAT_HELP_DEFECT=1
SAT_HELP_DEFECT=1
SAT_NEARBY_HELP_DEFECT=1 ;Else If continent has one or more satellite, "Chance of Leaving"*SAT_NEARBY_HELP_DEFECT
SAT_NEARBY_HELP_DEFECT=1
SAT_NEARBY_HELP_DEFECT=1
SAT_NEARBY_HELP_DEFECT=1
SAT_PANIC_REDUCTION_PER_MONTH=1 ;If a country has a satellite, it will remove panic once a month, but the chance of this happening is PANIC_REDUCTION_CHANCE
SAT_PANIC_REDUCTION_PER_MONTH=1
SAT_PANIC_REDUCTION_PER_MONTH=1
SAT_PANIC_REDUCTION_PER_MONTH=1
PANIC_5_REDUCTION_CHANCE=100


PANIC_5_REDUCTION_CHANCE=75
PANIC_5_REDUCTION_CHANCE=66
PANIC_5_REDUCTION_CHANCE=66

PANIC_4_REDUCTION_CHANCE=50
PANIC_4_REDUCTION_CHANCE=50

PANIC_4_REDUCTION_CHANCE=35
PANIC_4_REDUCTION_CHANCE=35

PANIC_LOW_REDUCTION_CHANCE=25
PANIC_LOW_REDUCTION_CHANCE=25
PANIC_LOW_REDUCTION_CHANCE=15
PANIC_LOW_REDUCTION_CHANCE=10

 

 

edit: If you are playing with all UFOs enabled, then you may want to change to this: PANIC_UFO_IGNORED=1 (from PANIC_UFO_IGNORED=2)

Edited October 20, 2012 by Anbar

[grenademagnet]

 

well modding impossible isnt that hard, you just want to change a few other settings other than starting panic to get things more manageable...

 

Anbar, thanks for the sample changes, which I will consider. I was trying to find just the least amount of changes to make Impossible more tolerable, which is why I started with just one change (the starting panic level). If I need to add more then will try your list out.

 

I am familiar with most of the other settings: I should have mentioned I put a mod up on this site for download last week (called Implassic) that sets all the Impossible settings to Classic settings, so as to have more enemies per map at Classic difficulty. However, I'm finding the Geoscape AI in Impossible to be brutal, even with the Classic INI settings.

[Anbar]

 

well modding impossible isnt that hard, you just want to change a few other settings other than starting panic to get things more manageable...

 

Anbar, thanks for the sample changes, which I will consider. I was trying to find just the least amount of changes to make Impossible more tolerable, which is why I started with just one change (the starting panic level). If I need to add more then will try your list out.

 

I am familiar with most of the other settings: I should have mentioned I put a mod up on this site for download last week (called Implassic) that sets all the Impossible settings to Classic settings, so as to have more enemies per map at Classic difficulty. However, I'm finding the Geoscape AI in Impossible to be brutal, even with the Classic INI settings.

 

 

hmm, just having a go at it myself and finding it pretty straightforward (using those settings above).

 

The game-changers are removing the continental panic hit for abduction missions...which i think i'll put back in tbh.

 

and this one:

 

PANIC_ABDUCTION_THWARTED_CONTINENT=-1

PANIC_ABDUCTION_THWARTED_COUNTRY=-2

 

so you get a lower panic reduction in the country, but a -1 for that entire continent (compared to -3 and 0)

 

If you just keep the above and start panic at 8 (same as classic) it should be manageable... you will lose a couple of nations possibly in the first month, maybe second, but once the base is done it should settle down.