[Foiden]

Actually, good ideas here. In a way, I do agree that a combination of the two would work well here. The separation of espionage and sabotage from intel that requires big teams of people would be an interesting thing to do. Take note, that Imperium Galactica also used individualized spies, though oddly limited it seemed. Still individual spies gained exp and stats very much like ships do in SEIV. That kind of personal touch somehow adds quite a bit to your attachment to any particular unit. Especially for one you named and recorded multiple successes from.

I can see the idea of trying to bring this level of attachment from ships to spies. I also agree that SEIV does do certain things with intel that I would rather have that way. For instance, things inciting planet revolts or other major event-causing intel that could not be done by a single person. Of course, then it brings in a bit of questioning on whether it brings an unwanted level of management into the game.