TFTD: Effect of difficulty levels on Alien stats

[Maurice76]

The UFOPedia lists the effects of difficulty levels on Alien stats, but it is yet missing the effects of the difficulty levels in TFTD. Below is an overview, derived from the game code itself (DOS v1.0 TFTD).

 

Armor effects (factor is applied to all armor: front, rear, left, right and under):

Beginner: 40%

Experienced: 70%

Veteran: 100%

Genius: 110%

Superhuman: 120%

 

These values are hard-coded into the .exe. In my version, the values can be found at these addresses:

457E3h: 28h (40 in decimals)

457FCh: 46h (70 in decimals)

4580Eh: 64h (100 in decimals)

45820h: 6Eh (110 in decimals)

45832h: 78h (120 in decimals)

Changing them will also change the effects on armor of all Aliens at the corresponding difficulty level accordingly.

 

For other stats, the difficulty level is put through a (minor) calculation to find the alterations. The formula itself is fairly easy:

 

[ ( Difficulty Level * Weight ) / 100 + 1 ] * Base Stat Value

 

The Base Stat Value is derived from the Alien Stats table and all resulting values are truncated. Weight depends on the specific skill and is either 8, 6 or 4. Keep in mind that for TFTD, the difficulty levels are scaled as 0 = Beginner, 1 = Experienced, 2 = Veteran, 4 = Genius and 6 = Superhuman. Genius and Superhuman are probably at respectively 4 and 6 specifically for these calculations.

 

Time Units, Stamina, Melee Accuracy, M.C. Skill and M.C. Strength have a Weight of 8%. In table form, the Base Stat is increased by:

Beginner: 100%

Experienced: 108%

Veteran: 116%

Genius: 132%

Superhuman: 148%

 

Reactions and Firing Accuracy have a Weight of 6%. In table form, the Base Stat is increased by:

Beginner: 100%

Experienced: 106%

Veteran: 112%

Genius: 124%

Superhuman: 136%

 

Finally, Strength has a Weight of 4%. In table form, the Base Stat is increased by:

Beginner: 100%

Experienced: 104%

Veteran: 108%

Genius: 116%

Superhuman: 124%

 

As is obvious, the Base Stats are all basically set to Beginner level, since that one is the 100% level - only Armor is an exception, which is by default at Veteran levels.

[NKF]

It's a bit obscure and doesn't have its own page, but the TFTD alien stats page does cover the difficulty level effects:

 

https://ufopaedia.org...en_Stats_(TFTD)

 

- NKF