Topic: Skill bonus calculation

[Naphtha]

I've been wondering about this for a while.  I know Descent 1 and 2's game engine is kind of dated, so I'm not sure if it was even possible to program some subjective criteria for how to judge the player's performance.  So what exactly does the game take into account when it awards you a skill bonus at the end of a level playing on Hotshot or higher? All I can gather is that a good chunk of the bonus is derived directly from how many robots you destroyed over the course of the level, but is there more to it than that?

[Kaiaatzl]

I think this is what Sirius told me:
On hotshot the game adds half your score to the total score; On ace the game adds your score to your score; and on insane the game adds twice your score to your score.
I'm not sure if this is the score before the endlevel bonuses or after.

[-<WillyP>-]

It's also very easy to script different behavior into the level based on the player's skill level. For example you might have a certain boss with a lower rate of fire and corresponding less point value in a level played on rookie in place of a harder boss presented to someone on hotshot, or an extra matcen turned on for insane.

[Kaiaatzl]

I've never seen the last one done at all or seen any option to change matcen behaviour apart from the very basics (like what it spawns and what triggers it), even in D2X-XL; except;  Well, some areas in D2 could be considered like that because matcens never run out of bots to spawn on insane.  WELL, in D2 they never run out on insane.

The other examples you mentioned count more as modding than as scripting.
But this really has nothing to do with the skill bonus on the score bonus screen post-level anyway, so ignore my pointless nitpicking.
(Where does the word "nitpicking" come from anyway?  I will go do some RESEARCH!!!  With a DICTIONARY and an ENCYCLOPEDIA!!!  I am HYPERACTIVE today!!!)

[Scyphi]

Nit-pick: arose in 1960s-1970s,  originally referring to literally removing invisibly-tiny louse eggs by hand. Today, however, it typically means "to be excessively concerned with or critical of inconsequential details."

Courtesy of Wikitionary and Dictionary.com.

[-<WillyP>-]

I must retract what I said... I was thinking of Descent 3, not 1 & 2 as specified in the OP. My apologies. I have never done any editing in 1 & 2, so I can't say anything about what is possible or not.