Another 4X space game I played -- Galactic Civilizations had something like this. Basically, when you invested intelligence points, you learned something about other civilizations culture, and once you knew everything about their culture, you would occasionally acquire some of their best technology.
Simply put, Gal Civ was not as carefully balanced as SE4, and this is just one example.
OTOH, the SE4 intelligence project Technological Espionage is really too expensive. I've wiped an AI off the map at times before the project could even finish. It often fails if you know what you're looking for, and if you don't specify, you end up acquireing Physics I or something. If you Crew Insurrect a top of the line ship, you can analyze it for all of it's advanced tech. (I know you might not make it to the shipyard, but still)
This would seem to suggest that Tech Espionage is ... hmm ... is overbalanced a fair term?
[ August 11, 2002, 14:01: Message edited by: Arkcon ]