Interception screen color change seemingly affects difficulty?

[Et999]

Whenever im starting a TFTD game, last officially released dos version without any mods on superhuman difficulty, in most cases I'll get to play with the regular colored interception screen. But loading the game a couple of times sometimes results in a alternate interception screen with bright green color. As weird as it is, but whenever this happens playing the game appears a lot more difficult... Usually I'll have my base attacked at about 15th of first month and the first terror mission between 20th and 25th of first month instead of absolutely end of the month or even the beginning of next month on the 1th to 3rd. Also the aliens then tend to play more cautious and deadly, taking more advantage of the terrains cover and shoot whenever they have the opportunity instead of planlessly wandering back and forth even when spottet.

 

So yeah, a simple question, whats up with the different color-styled interception screen?

 

(top one regular, bottom one alternate)

 

https://img268.imageshack.us/img268/3724/ivji.jpg

[Et999]

Just now I've had a run with bright green interception screen, no aquatoids at all on the first ship wrecks and landings, all where populated by gillmen with awesome vision and reflexes. On the 15th I had my base invaded by mind controlling aquatoids, after that I was left with 2 of my crew one badly wounded by friendly fire and a Tank. As if this wasn't enough for the moment and since im playing always ironman style the game was over on the 16th! when the terror mission popped up,

 

The games never that harsh and brutal even on superhuman with a regular interception screen. I just can't belive it is imaginated.

[NKF]

I occasionally get this, but nothing drastic ever happens beyond the usual. The game can pull some very nasty events on you from time to time, but again that's not too far off from the norm for Superhuman.

 

At the moment, I can't remember what triggers the colour change, whether it has something to do with having another screen open just prior (using the palette colours for a previous open window) or if it is simply based on the time of day.

 

- NKF

[Et999]

At the moment, I can't remember what triggers the colour change, whether it has something to do with having another screen open just prior (using the palette colours for a previous open window) or if it is simply based on the time of day.

If there is no more to it than just a simple change in color, im confused. I experienced this in many runs, the game is never a breeze, even on easy mode it can provide a challenge, tho I hardly ever play on a lower difficult settings. But with the alternate color on startup, it always turns out to be brutally hard. I enjoy the game simply for its difficulty, so afterall it could be a hidden trigger (Old games loved easter egg features) or a kind of placebo effect, and I am almost pointlessly restarting the game over and over for no more than a bright green window and some imagination.

 

Maybe someone else also experienced this?

[NKF]

According to Julian Gollop when he gave a talk at GDC 2013 about the design of the Enemy Unknown/UFO Defense, he implied that the game does have a built in difficulty scaling system whereby if you did well for the last three missions, the game will ramp up its difficulty a bit. Conversely, if you did bad, it will tone it down slightly. This will no doubt have carried over to TFTD.

 

But with a bit of the randomness involved, anything goes in the early game in TFTD.

 

- NKF

[silencer_pl]

I can be wrong, but isn't TFTD bugged that after loading the difficulty goes to Superhuman? Opposite of the EU bug where after loading it went to beginner?

[NKF]

Nope, no bugs at all in that respect, only UFO had that problem. The aliens are just buffed really well.

 

- NKF

[Et999]

I never bothered to research more about it, cause I was sure it somehow did tune-up the difficulty. Now after some research and investigation, my TFTD world scattered. Found a rather old note about this, and it explains how to reproduce this *sigh* simple and plain color bug.

 

Checking all of the ingame statistics to overall activity of Xcom and the aliens, not marking any specific area then leaving the screen and opening the interception screen returns the alternate to the original image color and vice versa. And that it does, nothing more nothing less. *sigh*

 

Wish I'd never had bothered to question it. But hey... at least I can tune up my imaginary difficulty level now without the need to restart the game a dozen times.

[Space Voyager]

He he he, sounds like time well spent!