[LGM]

I would like to see units or components that foil Intelligence operations and the elimination of Counter Intelligence or at least make it unnessary except as an extra defense. Thus races can develop defense against Intelligence without putting much effort into Intelligence against other race.

Allow Troops to have a chance stop intelligence against a planet. Chance should never go to zero, more troops should be a diminishing return.

Allow Security Stations and Boarding Parties to inhibit intelligence operations against a ship. I think that to use intelligence against a ship, you have to have some way to establish a contact against that ship when it is visiting a planet. (Hard to infilitrate a ship when it stays away from a port).

Make an advanced trait that makes a race absolutely loyal (immune to many intelligence operations).

All operations must target a planet or a ship to gain information.

Intelligence Operations should take a minimum amount of time. It does not matter how many agents you have, infilitrating an enemy culture does not happen in one month. In fact the longer you take, the more effective it is, but also the great chance you will be caught (time is a double edged sword).

Foiled Intelligence operations should penalize further operations in the near future (discovery of captured agents contacts).

Right now the current Intelligence system is a pure points on points system. Like ships looking for weakness in enemy fleets, Intelligence should require finding weakness in the enemies security. Find planets with no troops or ships with no security component.

Perhaps instead of picking targets, intelligence should always be opportunistic. Allow instead of 'any Planet', weakest planet. Operations against ships would be deferred until one turn after they leave a friendly planet.

Another thing to consider, instead of points have units for conducting intelligence operations. These units would have concealed movement (not cloaked) to their targets. The longer they stay at an enemy planet, the more ability they have. Each turn, troops would have a chance to detect them. If their orders are to infilitrate an enemy ship that comes to the planet, they have a chance to work on establishing a mole in the crew to conduct some sort of damage, sieze control, etc.

I would like to see Intelligence be an important consideration, but not an overpowering aspect in the game. I dislike using intelligence in games because you can totally wipe someone out using it: Pop Posion on colonies, Revolts, Steal Minerals. It is much faster to steal all of a smaller empires minerals than it is to destroy all of their ships and planets.

You should not be able to win a war primarily based on Intelligence, but it should be a factor to help your military forces have some sort of edge and cause some economic disruption.