Normal Point Five
version 0.5 (2013-05-28)
by taleden
for XCOM: Enemy Unknown by Firaxis

Is Normal too easy, but Classic is too hard? Then maybe Normal Point Five will
be juuuuust right.

This mod aims to smooth out the huge jump in difficulty from the Normal to
Classic modes in XCOM: Enemy Unknown. As the name implies, this is done by
taking every numeric change between Normal and Classic (enemy bonuses, funding
penalties, etc.) and cutting it exactly in half. The result should be an
experience that's right in between the default difficulty modes. If you're
looking for a difficulty just like Normal except with full alien AI, try
Normal Point Two instead.

To play on Normal Point Five difficulty, run the included patcher script
("NormalPointFive.patcher.bat") and then select the "Classic" difficulty in-
game. Some changes may take effect on existing saves, but it's best to start
a new game after patching.

By using the xcominipatcher tool, this mod CAN be combined with other mods that
modify the same configuration file (DefaultGameCore). To ensure that the other
mods do not overwrite Normal Point Five settings, apply this patch last. In
general, if the other mod includes dreadylein's older "modpatcher.exe" utility,
it will overwrite this one unless you run this patcher last.

The following table shows all affected game settings, with a comparison between
the values on Normal, Normal Point Five and the (default) Classic difficulties.


Setting Normal Nrml.5 Classic
-------------------------------------------------------- ------ ------ -------

Starting soldier health 5 5 4

Alien critical chance bonus +0 +5 +10

Alien aim bonus +0 +5 +10

Thin Man health 3 4 4

Thin Man damage penalty -2 -1 -0

Chryssalid and Zombie damage bonus +0 +1 +2

Muton Elite and Outsider defense bonus +0 +5 +10

Muton, Heavy Floater, Drone and Outsider health bonus +0 +1 +2

Cyberdisc and Sectoid Commander health bonus +0 +2 +4

Sectoid Commander and Ethereal will bonus +0 +15 +25

Chance of Zombies from offscreen Chrysallid kills 0% 25% 50%

Chance of Thin Men using Plague 5% 7% 10%

Chance of Cyberdiscs using Death Blossom 5% 7% 10%

Chance of Berserkers using Blood Call 5% 7% 10%

Chance of aliens throwing grenades 0.25% 0.5% 1%

Maximum aliens attacking at once (-1 is unlimited) 5 -1 -1

Cost of recruiting new soldiers 10 15 15

Free monthly funding (before any satellites) 175 125 75

Free base power (before any generators) 35 32 30

Initial panic level 0 4 8

Maximum country defections per month 2 2 3

Chance of satellite reducing panic from 5 to 4 100% 75% 50%

Chance of satellite reducing panic from 4 to 3 50% 35% 25%

Chance of satellite reducing panic from 3 to 2 25% 15% 10%

Chance of satellite reducing panic from 2 to 1 25% 15% 10%

Africa engineers/scientists with 1 satellite 1/0 1/0 1/0
Africa engineers/scientists with 2 satellites 2/1 2/1 1/1
Africa engineers/scientists with 3 satellites 3/2 2/2 2/1

Asia engineers/scientists with 1 satellite 2/0 2/0 1/0
Asia engineers/scientists with 2 satellites 3/0 3/0 2/0
Asia engineers/scientists with 3 satellites 6/0 5/0 3/0
Asia engineers/scientists with 4 satellites 8/0 6/0 4/0

Europe engineers/scientists with 1 satellite 0/2 0/2 0/1
Europe engineers/scientists with 2 satellites 0/3 0/3 0/2
Europe engineers/scientists with 3 satellites 0/6 0/5 0/3
Europe engineers/scientists with 4 satellites 0/8 0/6 0/4

N.America engineers/scientists with 1 satellite 1/1 1/1 0/1
N.America engineers/scientists with 2 satellites 2/2 1/2 1/1
N.America engineers/scientists with 3 satellites 4/4 3/3 1/2

S.America engineers/scientists with 1 satellite 0/1 0/1 0/1
S.America engineers/scientists with 2 satellites 2/2 1/2 1/1


As of version 0.5, this mod no longer has any effect on Second Wave. In
particular, "Not Created Equally" will have the original (huge) spread of
possible stat values (unless that has been changed by another mod).

Please direct any comments, questions or requests to [email protected]


Update History:

0.5 (2013-05-28)
- Switched to using xcominipatcher.exe instead of dreadylein's older
modpatcher.exe tool, allowing Normal Point Five to be combined with other mods
- Removed changes to the "Not Created Equally" option in Second Wave

0.2 (2012-10-20)
- Fixed this readme to note the changes to Thin Man health and Sectoid
Commander and Ethereal will bonuses

0.1 (2012-10-20)
- First release