BTLA v.1.5 Fan Change #1: A new scoring system that removes the broken ROE (Rules OF Engagement) mechanic. Leadership.ini

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Leadership.zip

NOTE#1: All of these .ini files are intended for v.1.5 ONLY, if you choose to use them for later versions, they MIGHT work, BUT, they also MIGHT BREAK THE MOD 100%. Using backups for this mod is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

NOTE#2: ALL of these .ini files will work in SINGLEPLAYER (SP). HOWEVER, for MULTIPLAYER (MP), all players (including the server) need to have the same .ini file equipped. If this is not done, you can't play MP with anyone else.

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(INSTRUCTIONS)

To use this, take this .ini file and paste it over the System Directory.

What is shown below should be the ideal location to replace the .ini file.

Your drive (C:,D:,E:, etc.)/SWAT 4/SEF-BTLA/System

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(DESCRIPTION)

This .ini file is a complete rework of EFdee's original scoring system that using the ROE mechanic.

Sadly, due to the aging components of this game, the Rules Of Engagement is widely one of the most complained problems in the game, as the system behind it inconsistently checks which shots are acceptable or not, leading to mass frustration to all players involved.

• For example, I shoot at an suspect who was running at me with a rifle even though I shouted at him to stop. However, because the game thinks this suspect is running for cover instead, you receive an "Unauthorized Use Of Deathly Force Penalty", deducting -20 points from your overall score.

This new scoring system I have in mind gets rid of that entirely and replaces it with a strict yet consistent grading that should fix the problem above.

All bonuses have been either removed and/or set to 0.

• This means you no longer need to report to TOC and/or secure evidence.
• This also means that you no longer need to worry about civilians/officers being injured in order to receive the best score possible.

The new system only focuses on arresting, incapacitating, and killing suspects, all being done at 100% maximum.

• Arresting suspects gives a 1.0 ratio for each suspect arrested, meaning if you play a map with 10 suspects, and arrest every single one of them, you get a 100%.
• Incapacitating suspects gives a 0.48 ratio for each suspect incapacitated, meaning if you play a map with 10 suspects, and incapacitate every single one of them, you get a 48%.
• Killing suspects gives a 0.36 ratio for each suspect killed, meaning if you play a map with 10 suspects, and kill every single one of them, you get a 36%.
  • Keep in mind, incapacitating half of the suspects and killing the other half will give you a score between 36% and 48%.

The good news about this system is that this new system I created scores based upon the number of suspects in the map, meaning maps with less suspects will be graded more strongly than maps with 99+ suspects.

• This also means that all of the maps provided to you will now have a consistent level of difficulty, as maps with higher suspects will allow you to get away with more incapacitating/killing than maps with less suspects provided.

Lastly, ALMOST all penalties have been removed from the game.

• The only 2 that remain are the "Incapacitated Officer" and the "Killed Hostage" penalties.
  • The "Incapacitated Officer" penalty was kept in so that AI Permadeath campaign would not break (removing this penalty means that the game no longer gives you AI Permadeath even when selected).
  • The "Killed Hostage" was kept in because the game will still fail you even if you remove the penalty. (That being said, incapacitating hostages is no longer a penalty, so you can now leg shoot hostages to make them comply without losing any points to your score.)

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    (PERSONAL NOTE)

This rework was made because of the wide complaints given to the ROE mechanic.

Unfortunately, nothing other than a complete coding redesign will fix the ROE issue entirely, and that might not be entirely possible considering the age of this game.

• And let's be real for a second here, if a 16-year old game such as SWAT 4 could have been redesigned from the ground up, I don't think it would have taken up to now for someone to fix the Rules Of Engagement. To me, trying to rewrite everything seems like such an ambitiously impossible goal.

While I understand that removing the ROE mechanic would anger a certain part of BTLA (as would any form of change will do), BTLA has become so different from vanilla SWAT 4 (and SEF) that by this point, having a new grading system doesn't seem that radical as it normally sounds.

• Besides, even if it were a radical change, this would allow BTLA to stand out even more than before. (What other SEF-based mod does not have penalties in game? No one? My point exactly.) -On top of this, a new grading system would fix old tactics that would have been 100% outlawed in actual SWAT teams. -With this system implemented, no longer do you have the ability to use a handcuffed suspect as a meat shield, as that would reduce your overall points if said suspect died (an action that was not punished in vanilla SWAT 4, SEF, and BTLA). -In addition, no longer do you have the ability to shoot a fleeing armored suspect, allow him to shoot back in retaliation, and then kill him the second he attempts to fire at you. (Because also doing that reduces the total points you can receive now.)

As it stands right now however, the current scoring system made by EFdee actually works great...in STOCK MAPS.

• The balanced penalties there, along with the emphasis of arresting suspects, creates an environment where players are encouraged to do everything they can to arrest, not incapacitate/kill. -This all falls apart in custom maps that have large amounts of suspects (aka 99+ suspects) as this system unfairly punishes people on those maps. -For example, I'm playing Singleplayer (SP) at Hard Difficulty (aka 75%) in the Food Wall Restaurant, I accidentally kill a suspect without warning and get an "Unauthorized Use Of Deathly Force Penalty", deducting -20 points. Well shit, that sucks, but considering the lack of suspects there, if I do everything else well, I might pass the mission with a 80%, thus allowing me to progress in the CAREER campaign. -However, I could also be playing Lena's Garden, a map with 99+ suspects, and the game gives me that same penalty (-20) even though the suspect I shot at run at full speed towards my direction and ignored my orders to surrender. Well fuck it, by that point, if the game is actively working against me (and if I probably going to get that same penalty again), I might as well either restart/ragequit the game (in SP) or gun down everyone in sight (in MP).

DOWN BELOW WILL BE MY PERSONAL EXPLANATION OF REMOVING THE BONUSES AND PENALTIES!

BONUSES

The majority of the bonuses have either been removed/set to 0 to two main reasons.

• The first reason is because the way that SWAT 4 (and all mods that use it) is coded is that the maximum score you can receive is 100%. In order to give the suspects arrested/incapacitated/killed bonus more weight, all of the others bonuses had to be removed for it to work properly. -However, the second reason this was done is because the bonuses provided in BTLA v.1.5 cause the game to become more frustrating and slower as a result.

The Mission Completed Bonus has been set to 0. It makes sense because you shouldn't just get a bonus simply because you completed a mission. (That's like getting a daily promotion in your job after each shift is done, that's literally not how things work.)

• This same logic can also be applied to "No civilians injured", "All civilians unharmed", and "No suspects neutralized".

The "No officers down" and "Player uninjured" were removed because they slow down gameplay significantly along with encouraging contradictory behavior that conflicts with using teamwork in your missions. -The "No officers down" bonus effectively forces you in Singleplayer (SP) to not use your AI teammates at all in order to receive the best score possible. -This is the case because SWAT 4's AI is so bad at times, any time you bring your AI teammates along, there is a random chance they will all die to one suspect. -In Multiplayer (MP), however, this encourages players to go in one person at a time solo, as having multiple SWAT teammates together brings the risk of them being injured and losing the bonus altogether. -The "Player uninjured" bonus discourages you from wearing armor, as what is the point in wearing armor if getting shot lowers the amount of total points you can receive in a mission?

The "Report status to TOC" and "All evidence secured" bonuses were removed because they end up forcing the player to individually recheck each suspect and gun in order to receive the best score possible, something that becomes an annoying function in bigger maps with huge amounts of suspects.

• On top of this, because of the semi-broken nature of SWAT 4, these bonuses had the ability to win maps easily, as the game would glitch out at times and give you all of the statistics early, showing you exactly how many suspects were in each map.

PENALTIES

The "Failed to report a downed (Insert person here)", "Injured Officer", "Unauthorized Deadly Force", and "Unauthorized Force" penalties are removed due to the new grading system not needing them at all.

The "Tased Officer" penalty was removed to give the Taser (a powerful less-lethal weapon that has been nerfed significantly from vanilla SWAT 4 to SEF, ranging from lower firing range, to the ability to incap people on accident, etc.) more usability in combat.

• Besides, if you accidentally tase a fellow SWAT member, you lose the ability for that member to help you in combat. Adding another penalty on top of that just seems like overkill to me.

The "Suspect Escaped" and "Triggered Trap" penalties were removed because there was no reason for them to be in the game (even though they had a penalty of 0, meaning that they were not even considered as a penalty in game).

The "Incapacitated Hostage" penalty was removed to make custom maps easier with huge amounts of hostages, meaning you no longer to restart a map the second you accidentally incapacitate a hostage.

Of course, this is EFdee's mod in the end of the day, if he chooses to implement this new grading system into the official game, he is free to add any bonuses/penalties back in as he chooses.

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Feel free to comment if this idea should be an official part of BTLA!

If you don't like this change, also say so!

Any and all input here will be greatly appreciated!

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FEEDBACK FROM RYKER

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Mod DB LINK: https://www.moddb.com/games/swat-4-the-stetchkov-syndicate/downloads/btla-v15-fan-change-1-a-new-scoring-system-that-removes-the-broken-roe-rule

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FEEDBACK FROM MULTIHOG

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FEEDBACK FROM MULTIHOG + VROS

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RAW CODE

[SwatGame.Procedures] ;Bonuses ProcedureClass=class'SwatProcedures.Procedure_CompleteMission' ProcedureClass=class'SwatProcedures.Procedure_ArrestUnIncapacitatedSuspects' ProcedureClass=class'SwatProcedures.Procedure_ArrestIncapacitatedSuspects' ProcedureClass=class'SwatProcedures.Procedure_KillSuspects' ;Penalties ProcedureClass=class'SwatProcedures.Procedure_NoHostageKilled' ProcedureClass=class'SwatProcedures.Procedure_NoOfficerIncapacitated'

StatTrackerClass=class'SwatProcedures.StatTracker'

; ; Bonuses ;

[SwatProcedures.Procedure_CompleteMission] ;Localized TMC TODO move to .int when localization works Description=Mission completed Bonus=0 IsABonus=True

[SwatProcedures.Procedure_ArrestUnIncapacitatedSuspects] ;Localized TMC TODO move to .int when localization works Description=Suspects arrested TotalBonus=100 ;the fraction of the per-enemy bonus received when an UNincapacitated enemy is arrested PerEnemyBonusFraction=1.0 IsABonus=True IsNeverHidden=True

[SwatProcedures.Procedure_ArrestIncapacitatedSuspects] ;Localized TMC TODO move to .int when localization works Description=Suspects incapacitated TotalBonus=100 ;the fraction of the per-enemy bonus received when an incapacitated enemy is arrested PerEnemyBonusFraction=0.48 IsABonus=True IsNeverHidden=True

[SwatProcedures.Procedure_KillSuspects] ;Localized TMC TODO move to .int when localization works Description=Suspects neutralized TotalBonus=100 ;the fraction of the per-enemy bonus received when an enemy is killed PerEnemyBonusFraction=0.36 IsABonus=True IsNeverHidden=True

; ; Penalties ;

[SwatProcedures.Procedure_NoHostageKilled] ;Localized TMC TODO move to .int when localization works Description=Killed a hostage ChatMessage=Penalty: [c=ff0000]Killed Hostage (-100)[\c] PenaltyPerHostage=-100

[SwatProcedures.Procedure_NoOfficerIncapacitated] ;Localized TMC TODO move to .int when localization works Description=Incapacitated a fellow officer ChatMessage=Penalty: [c=ff8000]Incapacitated Officer (-50)[\c] PenaltyPerOfficer=-50