Higher rank missions

Just a quick question about the diff2money.ini.

I was always wondering wht the first number stands for.
I know that the first number is the "start"percentage for the current level and the second number the payment at this percentage.

Is it that or is there more to know about the first nuber?

[Diff2Money]
Diff2Money = 0, 3600
Diff2Money = 0.082100, 4400
Diff2Money = 0.112380, 5310
Diff2Money = 0.205130, 6438
Diff2Money = 0.351000, 7838
Diff2Money = 0.480490, 9584
Diff2Money = 0.657740, 11774
Diff2Money = 0.900380, 14528
Diff2Money = 1.232530, 18002
Diff2Money = 1.687200, 22402
Diff2Money = 2.309610, 27988
Diff2Money = 3.161630, 35102
Diff2Money = 4.327960, 44186
Diff2Money = 5.924540, 55808
Diff2Money = 8.110100, 70712
Diff2Money = 11.101920, 89856
Diff2Money = 15.197410, 114492
Diff2Money = 20.803740, 146236
Diff2Money = 28.478239, 187194
Diff2Money = 38.983860, 240102
Diff2Money = 53.365002, 292384
Diff2Money = 73.051361, 380100
Diff2Money = 100.000000, 494130

Yes. dont dick with it unless you’ve modified your npcranktodiff.ini and know what the hell you’re doing in the npcranktodiff.ini

Alot of modders have tendancy to just plug in numbers that come out of their ass or numbers that “feel good”. You need a formula to ascertain all of your npcranktodiff entries our you will make a mess of missions.

// Difficulty calculation
// rank_diff = based on internal MissionNum and DATA\MISSIONS\rankdiff.ini
// min_diff and max_diff are from mission_type/misn in DATA\MISSIONS\mbases.ini
// 0.0 <= rnd < 1.0
// 0 <= rand < 3

if (SinglePlayer)
{
  factor = 1.3689**3

  diff1 = rank_diff / factor
  if (diff1 < 0)   diff1 = 0
  if (diff1 > 100) diff1 = 100

  diff2 = rank_diff * factor
  if (diff2 < 0)   diff2 = 0
  if (diff2 > 100) diff2 = 100

  if (diff2 <= min_diff) return 0       // become a better pilot

  if (diff2 >= max_diff)
  {
    d = max_diff / factor
    if (min_diff >= d) d = min_diff
    return max_diff - cos(rnd * pi/2) * (max_diff - d)
  }

  if (diff1 < min_diff) diff1 = min_diff
  return max_diff - cos(rnd * pi/2) * (max_diff - diff1)
}
else
{
  if (rand == 0)
  {
    d = max_diff
  }
  else
  {
    factor = 1.3689**(rand * 2 + 2)
    d = max_diff * factor
  }
  if (d < 0)   d = 0
  if (d > 100) d = 100
  return d - cos(rnd * pi/2) * (d - min_diff)
}

haha, nice job on the code, I knew max and min diff in mbases were never simple bottom and top limits (at least in Multiplayer as it appears…):

http://the-starport.net/archive/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=37174&start=0

As it is obvious that nobody here ever really has dealt with the DestroyMission entries in the mbases (in order to offer uber-missions only at some single bases - you could say to make the random missions system less randomized) i will post my experiences for the protocol ^^:

you have this entry in the mbases.ini:
mission_type = DestroyMission, X, Y, 100

now, the X and Y values are not(!) the minimum and maximum difficulty.
Instead, the X value is the maximum mission difficulty if the Y value = 0
Now, if the Y value is greater than X u can say that X is the minimum mission difficulty.
I think there is a formula for that in the flserver, which has to be something like this:

Diff (random mission, x, y) = x * RND° + ( y² + or - RND°° * y)

0 < RND° < 1 (random number)
RND°° maybe between 0 and 2… dont know, just a guess, I just do not really get it!
but you should know about the fact, that the second number in the DestroyMission entry is not the maximum difficulty, rather a difficulty-number, that can (also randomly) be added to the first number with a random multiplier.

So, it is nearly impossible to provide a base with just 40-60 diff missions.
The minimum could be 40, but as soon as you got the minimum of 40, you will loose the maximum limit (as you have to heighten the second number) -> 100% missions will also be available…

Not sure if this is of any use.

# Make MP job difficulty exactly between min and max difficulty in mbases.ini.
# Jason Hood (adoxa), 22 February, 2010.
# Fixed 3 June, 2010.

File: content.dll # v1.1
0AAD7A: 89 44 E4 04 D9 44 E4 20 D8 64 E4  [ 99 B9 03 00 00 00 F7 F9 85 D2 74 ]
        1C EB 04 66 B8 FB 06 DB 44 E4 04  [ 33 D9 05 30 B2 FB 06 DD 5C 24 04 ]
        D8 0D D0 97 39 06 DE C9 D8 44 E4  [ FF D6 99 DD 44 24 04 B9 03 00 00 ]
        1C 5E 83 C4 10 C3                 [ 00 F7 F9 8D 54 12                ]

omg, the last half-year or so have been just a golden age in fl coding!
keep it up, guys! :idea:

Sorry to dig up an old thread like this, but I saw the piece of hex code provided by adoxa and it’s exactly what I was looking for! - except I can’t get it to work, sadly. It crashes FLServer whenever I try to load a character. To be more exact, it sort of worked the first time and I was able to check the mission board, but there were no available missions - so after tinkering with NpcRanktoDiff and mbases.ini I tried again, and from that point on it crashed no matter if I used the modded ini’s or the originals. Has anyone gotten this to work?

I guess it wasn’t useful until now… Fixed it, sorry 'bout that. BTW, it’s formatted as a BPatch file.

Awesome, thanks a lot! It works perfectly now.

In my opinion it is possible without using patch made by Adoxa. I’m working on missions with rewards between 5.400-6.300.000$. Still testing but this is a result: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKdUu10TP80

EDIT: It’s prototype but it work beyond expectation.

Disregarding formulas for a moment, I notice that the last two entries in Diff2Money are using commas instead of decimals.
Could that be part of the problem?

Diff2Money = 136,986301, 642369
Diff2Money = 187,005000, 835079

In my opinion is most importent NpcRankToDiff.ini and there difference between minimum and maximum on one line. It’s hard to describe it….

If we look at original setting…

[RankAndFormationSizeToDifficulty]
NpcRank = 1, 0,00985.0, 0,03569.0, 0,07754.0, 0,13539.0, 0,20923.0, 0,29908.0, 0,40493.0, 0,52677.0
NpcRank = 2, 0,01348.0, 0,04886.0, 0,10614.0, 0,18533.0, 0,28642.0, 0,40941.0, 0,5543.0, 0,7211.0
NpcRank = 3, 0,01845.0, 0,06688.0, 0,1453.0, 0,2537.0, 0,39208.0, 0,56044.0, 0,75879.0, 0,98712.0 ;
NpcRank = 4, 0,02526.0, 0,09156.0, 0,1989.0, 0,34729.0, 0,53672.0, 0,76719.0, 1,0387.0, 1,35126.0 ;1.325
NpcRank = 5, 0,03457.0, 0,12533.0, 0,27228.0, 0,4754.0, 0,73471.0, 1,05021.0, 1,42188.0, 1,84974.0 ;1.8
NpcRank = 6, 0,04733.0, 0,17157.0, 0,37272.0, 0,65078.0, 1,00575.0, 1,43763.0, 1,94641.0, 2,53211.0 ;2.5
NpcRank = 7, 0,06479.0, 0,23486.0, 0,51021.0, 0,89085.0, 1,37677.0, 1,96797.0, 2,66445.0, 3,46621.0 ;3.4
NpcRank = 8, 0,08869.0, 0,3215.0, 0,69843.0, 1,21948.0, 1,88466.0, 2,69395.0, 3,64736.0, 4,7449.0 ;4.7
NpcRank = 9, 0,12141.0, 0,4401.0, 0,95608.0, 1,66935.0, 2,5799.0, 3,68775.0, 4,99287.0, 6,49529.0 ;6.4
NpcRank = 10, 0,16619.0, 0,60245.0, 1,30878.0, 2,28517.0, 3,53163.0, 5,04816.0, 6,83475.0, 8,8914.0 ;8.5
NpcRank = 11, 0,2275.0, 0,8247.0, 1,79159.0, 3,12817.0, 4,83445.0, 6,91042.0, 9,35608.0, 12,1714.0 ;12
NpcRank = 12, 0,31143.0, 1,12893.0, 2,45251.0, 4,28216.0, 6,61788.0, 9,45967.0, 12,8075.0, 16,6614.0 ;16.5
NpcRank = 13, 0,42632.0, 1,5454.0, 3,35724.0, 5,86184.0, 9,05921.0, 12,9493.0, 17,5322.0, 22,8079.0 ;22
NpcRank = 14, 0,58358.0, 2,11549.0, 4,59572.0, 8,02428.0, 12,4011.0, 17,7263.0, 23,9998.0, 31,2217.0 ;30
NpcRank = 15, 0,79887.0, 2,8959.0, 6,29109.0, 10,9844.0, 16,9759.0, 24,2656.0, 32,8534.0, 42,7394.0 ;42
NpcRank = 16, 1,09357.0, 3,96419.0, 8,61187.0, 15,0365.0, 23,2383.0, 33,2172.0, 44,973.0, 58,506.0 ;57
NpcRank = 17, 1,49699.0, 5,42658.0, 11,7887.0, 20,5835.0, 31,811.0, 45,471.0, 61,5636.0, 80,0888.0 ;79
NpcRank = 18, 2,04923.0, 7,42845.0, 16,1376.0, 28,1768.0, 43,546.0, 62,2452.0, 84,2744.0 ;82
NpcRank = 19, 2,80519.0, 10,1688.0, 22,0908.0, 38,5713.0, 59,6102.0, 85,2075.0 ;83
NpcRank = 20, 3,84002.0
NpcRank = 21, 5,25661.0
NpcRank = 22, 7,19577.0
NpcRank = 23, 9,85029.0
NpcRank = 24, 13,484.0
NpcRank = 25, 18,4583.0

You know that maximum of difference is 100. If you write more that 100 it wouldn’t work. So you must move maximum difference to higher rank that 19. It work as complex whole. If you set maximum difference to rank 14 server will think that it is the best what he have and sent it to mission as the best of the best. The balance between each other is important too. There isn’t one but many operational settings that work. It only depends on what you want.

You must try it… Play with setting and test it. I must redone setting totally five times!

EDIT: Size of numbers is also important too

For example i post one of my work. This work good but it is not 100%… It’s designed for missions with many NPC…

[RankAndFormationSizeToDifficulty]
NpcRank = 1, 0.009850, 0.002, 0.7
NpcRank = 2, 0.009850, 0.3, 0.5, 0.8
NpcRank = 3, 0.009850, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 1
NpcRank = 4, 0.009850, 0.7, 1.2, 1.5
NpcRank = 5, 0.034570, 1, 2, 4, 6
NpcRank = 6, 0.034570, 1, 2, 4, 6
NpcRank = 7, 0.034570, 1, 2, 4, 6
NpcRank = 8, 0.166190, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 
NpcRank = 9, 0.166190, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 
NpcRank = 10, 0.166190, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 
NpcRank = 11, 0.166190, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11  
NpcRank = 12, 0.166190, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 
NpcRank = 13, 0.166190, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 
NpcRank = 14, 0.166190, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 
NpcRank = 15, 0.798870, 3, 8, 10, 13, 16, 18, 21 
NpcRank = 16, 0.798870, 3, 8, 10, 13, 16, 18, 21
NpcRank = 17, 0.798870, 3, 8, 10, 13, 16, 18, 21
NpcRank = 18, 2, 5, 13, 18, 22, 25, 28, 30, 33
NpcRank = 19, 2, 5, 13, 18, 22, 25, 28, 30, 33
NpcRank = 20, 3, 8, 17, 22, 26, 31, 36, 40, 41, 42 
NpcRank = 21, 3, 8, 17, 22, 26, 31, 36, 40, 41, 42
NpcRank = 22, 3, 8, 17, 22, 26, 31, 36, 40, 41, 42
NpcRank = 23, 3, 8, 17, 22, 26, 31, 36, 40, 41, 42
NpcRank = 24, 3, 13, 18, 25, 28, 30, 34, 35, 45, 46, 56
NpcRank = 25, 3, 13, 18, 25, 28, 30, 34, 35, 45, 46, 56

[Diff2Money]
Diff2Money = 0.05, 5500
Diff2Money = 0.1, 6000
Diff2Money = 0.15, 6500
Diff2Money = 0.2, 7000
Diff2Money = 0.25, 7500
Diff2Money = 0.3, 8000
Diff2Money = 0.35, 8500
Diff2Money = 0.4, 9000
Diff2Money = 0.45, 9500
Diff2Money = 0.5, 10000
Diff2Money = 0.55, 10500
Diff2Money = 0.6, 11000
Diff2Money = 0.65, 11500
Diff2Money = 0.7, 12000
Diff2Money = 0.75, 12500
Diff2Money = 0.8, 13000
Diff2Money = 0.85, 13500
Diff2Money = 0.9, 14000
Diff2Money = 0.95, 14500
Diff2Money = 1, 	15000
Diff2Money = 1.1, 17500
Diff2Money = 1.2, 20000
Diff2Money = 1.3, 25000
Diff2Money = 1.4, 30000
Diff2Money = 1.5, 35000
Diff2Money = 1.6, 40000
Diff2Money = 1.7, 45000
Diff2Money = 1.8, 50000
Diff2Money = 1.9, 55000
Diff2Money = 2, 60000
Diff2Money = 2.2, 70000
Diff2Money = 2.4, 80000
Diff2Money = 2.6, 90000
Diff2Money = 2.8, 100000
Diff2Money = 3, 110000
Diff2Money = 4, 130000
Diff2Money = 5, 150000
Diff2Money = 6, 170000
Diff2Money = 7, 190000
Diff2Money = 8, 210000
Diff2Money = 9, 230000
Diff2Money = 10,	250000
Diff2Money = 11,	270000
Diff2Money = 12,	290000
Diff2Money = 13,	310000
Diff2Money = 14,	330000
Diff2Money = 15,	350000
Diff2Money = 16,	370000
Diff2Money = 17,	390000
Diff2Money = 18,	410000
Diff2Money = 19,	430000
Diff2Money = 20,	450000
Diff2Money = 21,	470000
Diff2Money = 22,	490000
Diff2Money = 23,	510000
Diff2Money = 24,	530000
Diff2Money = 25,	550000
Diff2Money = 26,	570000
Diff2Money = 27,	590000
Diff2Money = 28,	610000
Diff2Money = 29,	630000
Diff2Money = 30,	650000
Diff2Money = 31,	670000
Diff2Money = 32,	690000
Diff2Money = 33,	710000
Diff2Money = 34,	730000
Diff2Money = 35,	750000
Diff2Money = 36,	770000
Diff2Money = 37,	790000
Diff2Money = 38,	810000
Diff2Money = 39,	830000
Diff2Money = 40,	850000
Diff2Money = 41,	870000
Diff2Money = 42,	890000
Diff2Money = 43,	910000
Diff2Money = 44,	930000
Diff2Money = 45,	950000
Diff2Money = 46,	970000
Diff2Money = 47,	990000
Diff2Money = 48,	1010000
Diff2Money = 49,	1050000
Diff2Money = 50,	1090000
Diff2Money = 51,	1130000
Diff2Money = 52,	1170000
Diff2Money = 53,	1210000
Diff2Money = 54,	1250000
Diff2Money = 55,	1290000
Diff2Money = 56,	1330000
Diff2Money = 57,	1370000
Diff2Money = 58,	1410000
Diff2Money = 59,	1450000
Diff2Money = 60,	1490000
Diff2Money = 61,	1530000
Diff2Money = 62,	1570000
Diff2Money = 63,	1610000
Diff2Money = 64,	1650000
Diff2Money = 65,	1690000
Diff2Money = 66,	1730000
Diff2Money = 67,	1770000
Diff2Money = 68,	1810000
Diff2Money = 69,	1850000
Diff2Money = 70,	1890000
Diff2Money = 71,	1930000
Diff2Money = 72,	1970000
Diff2Money = 73,	2010000
Diff2Money = 74,	2110000
Diff2Money = 75,	2210000
Diff2Money = 76,	2310000
Diff2Money = 77,	2410000
Diff2Money = 78,	2510000
Diff2Money = 79,	2610000
Diff2Money = 80,	2710000
Diff2Money = 81,	2810000
Diff2Money = 82,	2910000
Diff2Money = 83,	3110000
Diff2Money = 84,	3310000
Diff2Money = 85,	3510000
Diff2Money = 86,	3710000
Diff2Money = 87,	3910000
Diff2Money = 88,	4110000
Diff2Money = 89,	4310000
Diff2Money = 90,  4510000
Diff2Money = 91,	4710000
Diff2Money = 92,	4910000
Diff2Money = 93,	5210000
Diff2Money = 94,	5510000
Diff2Money = 95,	5810000
Diff2Money = 96,	6110000
Diff2Money = 97,	6210000
Diff2Money = 98,	6310000
Diff2Money = 99,	6410000
Diff2Money = 100, 6510000

```Results:

mise($) - rank - numbers(in waves)

44.000 - 1 - 1 x 2 + 3 x 3
55.000 - 7 - 4 x 4
85.000 - 14 - 3 x 2
115.000 - 7/14 - 1 x 2 (14) + 3 x 2 (7)
180.000 - 7/14 - 1 x 4 (17) + 1 x 3 (14)
180.000 - 7 - 2 x 4
195.000 - 7/17 - 1 x 4 (7) + 1 x 2 (17)
200.000 - 14/19 - 1 x 4 (17) + 1 x 2 (19)
210.000 - 7 - 4 x 4
245.000 - 5 - 2 x 4
310.000 - 14 - 4 x 4
495.000 - 17/23/25 - 1 x 2 (23) + 1 x 4 (17) + 1 x 2 (25)
580.000 - 17/23 - 2 x 5 (17) + 1 x 3 (23)
620.000 - 23/25 - 1 x 3 (25) + 1 x 3 (23)
740.000 - 23 - 2 x 4
800.000 - 19/23 - 3 x 4 (19) + 1 x 3 (25)
870.000 - 19/23 - 1 x 7 (19) + 1 x 5 (23)
940.000 - 19 - 4 x 4
1.150.000 - 23/25 - 2 x 7 (23) + 1 x 1 (25)
1.400.000 - 23 - 2 X 6
1.500.000 - 23 - 2 x 8
1.700.000 - 25 - 2 x 8
1.900.000 - 19/23/25 - 2 x 5 (23) + 1 x 5 (25) + 1 x 7 (19)
1.950.000 - 25 - 2 x 8
1.950.000 - 23/25 - 2 x 5 (23) + 2 x 5 (25)
2.150.000 - 19/23/25 - 2 x 6 (25) + 1 x 8 (19) + 1 x 6 (23)
2.300.000 - 25 - 2 x 7
2.650.000 - 23/25 - 2 x 6 (23) + 2 x 6 (25)
2.700.000 - 19/25 - 3 x 5 (25) + 1 x 7 (19)
2.850.000 - 23/25 - 2 x 7 (23) + 2 x 7 (25)
3.000.000 - 23 - 4 x 6
3.200.000 - 23/25 - 3 x 6 (23) + 1 x 7 (25)
3.250.000 - 23 - 1 x 8 + 1 x 7 + 1 x 8
3.650.000 - 23/25 - 2 x 7 (25) + 2 x 7 (23)
3.800.000 - 25 - 3 x 8
4.050.000 - 23/25 - 2 x 7 (25) + 1 x 8 (23)
4.150.000 - 25 - 3 x 8
4.400.000 - 23/25 - 1 x 7 (23) + 3 x 8 (25) s pomocí NPC Bounty Hunters Rank 25 počet 6
4.650.000 - 25 - 3 x 8
5.300.000 - 23/25 - 3 x 7 (23) + 1 x 8 (25)
5.500.000 - 25 - 3 x 7
5.700.000 - 25 - 3 x 8
6.100.000 - 25 - 4 x 8
6.300.000 - 23/25 - 1 x 7 (25) + 1 x 8 (23) + 2 x 8 (25)

For capitals in missions is good old Evolutions setting from Chips, i think.

[RankAndFormationSizeToDifficulty]
NpcRank = 1, 0.009850, 0.035690, 0.077540, 0.135390, 0.209230, 0.299080, 0.404930, 0.526770
NpcRank = 2, 0.013480, 0.048860, 0.106140, 0.185330, 0.286420, 0.409410, 0.554300, 0.721100
NpcRank = 3, 0.018450, 0.066880, 0.145300, 0.253700, 0.392080, 0.560440, 0.758790, 0.987120
NpcRank = 4, 0.025260, 0.091560, 0.198900, 0.347290, 0.536720, 0.767190, 1.038700, 1.351260
NpcRank = 5, 0.034570, 0.125330, 0.272280, 0.475400, 0.734710, 1.050210, 1.421880, 1.849740
NpcRank = 6, 0.047330, 0.171570, 0.372720, 0.650780, 1.005750, 1.437630, 1.946410, 2.532110
NpcRank = 7, 0.064790, 0.234860, 0.510210, 0.890850, 1.376770, 1.967970, 2.664450, 3.466210
NpcRank = 8, 0.088690, 0.321500, 0.698430, 1.219480, 1.884660, 2.693950, 3.647360, 4.744900
NpcRank = 9, 0.121410, 0.440100, 0.956080, 1.669350, 2.579900, 3.687750, 4.992870, 6.495290
NpcRank = 10, 0.166190, 0.602450, 1.308780, 2.285170, 3.531630, 5.048160, 6.834750, 8.891400
NpcRank = 11, 0.227500, 0.824700, 1.791590, 3.128170, 4.834450, 6.910420, 9.356080, 12.171400
NpcRank = 12, 0.311430, 1.128930, 2.452510, 4.282160, 6.617880, 9.459670, 12.807500, 16.661400
NpcRank = 13, 0.426320, 1.545400, 3.357240, 5.861840, 9.059210, 12.949300, 17.532200, 22.807899
NpcRank = 14, 0.583580, 2.115490, 4.595720, 8.024280, 12.401100, 17.726299, 23.999800, 31.221701
NpcRank = 15, 0.798870, 2.895900, 6.291090, 10.984400, 16.975901, 24.265600, 32.853401, 42.739399
NpcRank = 16, 1.093570, 3.964190, 8.611870, 15.036500, 23.238300, 33.217201, 44.973000, 47.506001
NpcRank = 17, 1.496990, 11.788700, 20.583500, 31.811001, 39.811001, 45.471001, 51.563599
NpcRank = 18, 2.049230, 16.137600, 28.176800, 35.176800, 38.571301, 43.546001, 56.245201
NpcRank = 19, 2.805190, 38.571301, 43.546001, 45.546001, 47.546001, 48.546001, 53.610199, 58.245201, 65.207497
NpcRank = 20, 2.805190, 50.168800, 52.090799, 54.090799, 56.811001, 58.811001, 60.571301, 62.571301, 63.571301, 69.610199
NpcRank = 21, 2.805190, 55.168800, 57.168800, 58.090799, 63.090799, 65.811001, 67.811001, 68.57130, 69.57130, 70.57130, 85.207497, 91.107497, 91.207497, 99.207497
NpcRank = 22, 2.805190, 60.610199, 62.610199, 64.245201, 67.610199, 70.610199, 72.245201, 73.245201, 74.245201, 78.207497, 85.207497, 91.207497, 99.107497, 99.207497
NpcRank = 23, 2.805190, 65.546001, 67.546001, 69.546001, 75.546001, 77.546001, 78.546001, 79.546001, 80.546001, 83.546001, 85.207497, 91.207497, 99.107497
NpcRank = 24, 2.805190, 85.526001, 85.536001, 85.546001, 90.207497, 91.207497, 92.107497
NpcRank = 25, 2.805190, 86.207497, 86.217497, 91.207497, 92.207497

I’m using those settings for npcranktodiff and missions offered are at mission_type = DestroyMission, 53.365002, 90.112387, 60

The Nomads are showing up 2 at a time with a total of about 8 ships to destroy. The missions are illogically easy even at those settings. In fact, using the same settings against outcasts, the outcast missions are much harder and ships seem to come in in greater numbers.

Someone suggested to me that I have all nomad missions offered at a lower rank using the same ship pilots and loadouts as the higher ranked random encounter NPCs. How would that work? I want big payouts for very hard missions.

I was looking at the info on this page.

The last post seems to indicate that the npcranktodiff settings are added from the beginning of the line to give number of fighters in waves. When the sum becomes greater than 100, that’s the max you’ll get.

ie.
NpcRank = 16, 1.09357, 3.96419, 8.61187, 15.0365, 23.2383, 33.2172, 44.973, 58.506

For missions difficulty npc rank = 16, (11.101920, 15.197410)
1.09357+3.96419+8.61187+15.0365+23.2383+33.2172+44.973=130.13463 which is greater than 100, so you’ll never see waves of fighters with numbers greater than 6 in each wave.

If that’s so, why would the vanilla file offer values that would go well beyond that 100 value?

If I wanted greater numbers in each wave, would the solution be to add additional values in each rank level below the maximum vanilla capability?

ie. 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 3.96419, …. giving many more ships in each wave?

Difficulty is maxed out at 100. See if this helps:

content.dll, 1143D4, 100f = maximum value of misn difficulty
content.dll, 1175F0, 100f = maximum value of DestroyMission difficulty (I think; it's part of the StateMachine)
content.dll, 11B22C, 100f = maximum value of rank_diff and generated mission difficulty

After i make the edits, what kind of changes do I need to make in the mission type settings?

The problem we have is that the level 43 missions against NPC rank 19s are just too easy. I just did a level 43 mission for max payout that sent me four waves of enemy fighters, each with only two ships. I’d like to see each wave consisting of at least 4-5 ships for a total of 20-25 enemy fighters. I seem to recall having to fight more GMG for the outcasts in beta and having to work much harder at it.

There is an internal weighted vector which is used to determine how many ships should occur. This only goes up to 8, so adding more entries to NpcRank won’t do you much good. The weighting is at 11CC58 in content.dll (SP first, then MP; 0 & 1 are both 0):

Ships  SP   MP
2      3    2
3      9    3
4      6    9
5      2    6
6      1    4
7      1    2
8      1    1

```This weighting ends up determining which rank will be selected for the job. Here's a patch to allow for 31 ships:

content.dll 0F8A4B 58CCFB->00CBFC = use 30-float array at 12CB08 (created manually!) for SP ship weighting vector ~adoxa
content.dll 0F8A54 7CCCFB->80CBFC = use 30-float array at 12CB88 (created manually!) for MP ship weighting vector ~adoxa