Evolving Enemy Strongholds

Scout, Sabotage, Destroy!

An enemy outpost overhaul mod that strengthens hostile faction outposts based on technology level, tier, and role. Scout the enemy, infiltrate their base, eliminate the commander, and claim the loot. Charge blindly into an outpost now, and ambushes and reinforcements will be waiting for you.

Main Features

• Assigns tiers to enemy outposts
• Outposts grow based on player research, colony wealth, and faction technology level
• Higher tiers strengthen defenders, turrets, and loot
• Each base is given a role
• Adds commander, reinforcement, alert-level, and ambush systems
• Supports scouting, buying intel, infiltration, and communications interception

Every enemy settlement has a tier. As the tier rises, the outpost grows larger and more heavily fortified.

Scouting System

Know the enemy and know yourself, and you will never be in peril. You must learn about the enemy to get closer to victory. If you attack without scouting first, ambush troops will appear near your entry point.

• Scout - Send a caravan or shuttle to scout the base directly
• Buy Intel - Spend rare intel data to scout remotely
• Intercept Communications - Use a comms console to intercept enemy base information
• Infiltrate - Send agents to an already-scouted base to sabotage its turrets

A successful scout reveals the base's information. Failure risks worsening relations, raising the alert level, injury, capture, or death. Scouting must be done quickly and swiftly. Its efficiency depends on sight and movement speed, and it is most efficient with a single scout.

Infiltration System

Even once you know the intel, the enemy's turrets may be too many and too powerful to break through easily. In that case, infiltrate the enemy base. Send agents to an already-scouted base to infiltrate it and sabotage the outpost's turrets. Of course, on failure they may be wounded or captured, so be careful. Infiltration efficiency depends on movement speed and the number of agents. It is most efficient with 3 infiltrators.

Alert Level

Failed scouting, failed infiltration, failed interception, and direct attacks all raise the enemy base's alert level. The higher the alert level, the larger the garrison and fortifications become, and the alert spreads to other bases of the same faction.

Commander System

Some bases feature a commander with a unique effect. A commander is not just a stronger enemy — they are a key objective that can change the course of the battle.

• Commander - Has no ability, but when killed, some of the defenders flee.
• Marksman - Increases the shooting accuracy of nearby allies.
• Assault Captain - Increases the movement speed of nearby allies.
• Signal Officer - Continuously calls in reinforcements.
• Defense Officer - Deploys a powerful shield against both direct-fire and arcing projectiles.
• Fanatic Agitator - Revives fallen allies.
• Security Chief - Greatly increases the durability of the vault walls and research doors.
• Combat Engineer - Triggers traps across the entire map.
• Research Director - Drops a special research reward on death.
• Warlord - Reduces the damage enemies take; on death, the damage they take instead rises sharply.
• Observer Officer - Every 10 hours, marks one of your colonists as the target. Every defender except the marksmen will focus only on that target.

Special Forces System

Some bases field troops with unique effects. They aren't enough to turn the tide of battle, but they'll keep the fighting from ever feeling repetitive.

• Elite Squad - Armed with powerful gear, and never retreats.
• Zone Guards - Deployed at a specific position among the outpost's quadrants.
• Pursuit Squad - Locates the player's position and gives chase.
• Heralds - Forced to retreat if the battle drags on. If they escape safely, the alert level of the whole faction rises.
• Disruptors - Troops armed with disruptive tools such as smoke launchers and EMP launchers.
• Assault Team - Boards a shuttle at the base, then launches a surprise attack on the player with drop pods.

Loot and Vaults

Loot depends on the base's tier and role. Higher-tier bases offer better rewards. At high tiers, the central vault is sealed behind reinforced walls and a research door.

Q1. Is it compatible with race mods?

Yes, it is! If a race mod even adds its own turrets, the outpost will try to defend itself with those turrets. That said, not every race has been tested, so issues may still occur.

Q2. CE?

Of course it is compatible! If Combat Extended is active, CE integration is applied automatically. Bases may build reinforced walls or gain embrasures, and the enemy will mow you down with CE-exclusive turrets.

Q3. What about Vanilla Expanded?

Congratulations! You saw the image above? That means you arrived right when the compatibility update was completed.

Q4. Can I add this mod and load an existing save?

Yes, you can. When you load a save, the mod reads the stored research and colony wealth and automatically assigns a tier to each faction. Outposts are likewise generated when you enter the relevant faction's area, so it shouldn't cause major issues. That said, removing the mod mid-playthrough is not recommended.

Notice

This mod directly controls enemy base generation. Using it alongside other enemy-base-generation overhaul mods that I have not mentioned is not recommended.

AI Usage Disclosure

This mod used partial AI assistance only for image generation and code writing. The final implementation, review, and testing were all done by me.