More expensive Intelligence projects

[Fyron]

Remember, that is add a 0, as in make it 40 instead of 4, not make it 0.

Kwok, in unmodded SE4, 300k intel per turn in CI III can easily keep 4 empires with roughly the same (or even a lot more) production at bay. And that is not hard to acquire in large games (where this is even an issue). If intel projects cost 4x as much (which is more than the original proposal anyways), then 300k easily keeps out one of those empires. If you need to, you can more than likely easily double or triple your intel production (well not easily, but you can scrap those 100s of research centers you are bound to have with such a large empire). This of course assumes that you have no allies and that there are a lot of people against you.

[Member 4148]

Fair enough then.

[Fyron]

I am thinking there should be a big, expensive project that does nothing (or next to nothing). The goal would be to overwhelm the enemy CI with massive numbers of minor disruptions all over the empire, so that other more potent projects can succeed. I am thinking of something around 300k-500k. Do you think this would be a good idea? If so, what do you think a good cost for it would be?

[Q]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
I am thinking there should be a big, expensive project that does nothing (or next to nothing). The goal would be to overwhelm the enemy CI with massive numbers of minor disruptions all over the empire, so that other more potent projects can succeed. I am thinking of something around 300k-500k. Do you think this would be a good idea? If so, what do you think a good cost for it would be?

I understand your idea to deplete the counter intel by expensive attacking intel projects. But why do you want these projects to do nothing?? I have a planet destruction project that costs 400k for this purpose and when i finally get through the counter intel one of the enemy planets gets bLasted into asteroids.

[Erax]

Minipol : If I remember correctly, PPP does not cause a planet to join your empire, they rebel against their former empire and become independent.

Making the other empire's colonies fight for independence has always been standard fare in wars between colonial powers up to now. I can imagine the trend continuing into the future without too much trouble.

[Loser]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
I am thinking there should be a big, expensive project that does nothing (or next to nothing). The goal would be to overwhelm the enemy CI with massive numbers of minor disruptions all over the empire, so that other more potent projects can succeed.

"Ack!! There's Commies everywhere! Quick, devote all CIA manpower to keeping tabs on the Greatful Dead!"
"But sir, the Russians..."
"Forget the Russians! Someone put bacon in my soap!"

[ June 26, 2003, 17:14: Message edited by: Loser ]

[Fyron]

Minipol : If I remember correctly, PPP does not cause a planet to join your empire, they rebel against their former empire and become independent.

Not quite. PPP has a 50% chance to succeed if it gets past CI. If it succeeds, then there is a random check to see if the planet joins your empire or forms a new empire. Either one can happen. I do not know what the chances of this are, perhaps 50/50.

I understand your idea to deplete the counter intel by expensive attacking intel projects. But why do you want these projects to do nothing??

Because depleting large amounts of CI at once is exactly what they are meant to do. Essentially, it does whatever you want it to do, based on what the next couple of projects are. I am thinking I might have it destroy 20k resources or so, which goes along with the disruption idea.

I have a planet destruction project that costs 400k for this purpose and when i finally get through the counter intel one of the enemy planets gets bLasted into asteroids.

That is even more unbalancing than PPP is...

[ June 26, 2003, 19:58: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

[Ed Kolis]

quote:

---

I understand your idea to deplete the counter intel by expensive attacking intel projects. But why do you want these projects to do nothing??

Because depleting large amounts of CI at once is exactly what they are meant to do. Essentially, it does whatever you want it to do, based on what the next couple of projects are. I am thinking I might have it destroy 20k resources or so, which goes along with the disruption idea.

---

But any project which depletes a large amount of CI is by definition going to cost a lot - there's no multiplier for offensive intel the way there is for higher-level CI. So if you're going to run either a 500K project which does nothing but deplete CI or a 500K project which depletes CI and if you manage to get through the CI it also does something like, say, takes over a planet, which one would YOU run? If you make the CI depleter cost more, there's even less reason to use it... no, wait, maybe you're right, Fyron... if you make it cost more, you can spend more points on it at once! But this will only work if the CI Depleter costs more than any other project; otherwise, you could use that project as a CI depleter and still get its benefits.

(Or, you COULD even use it as some sort of strategic measure to secretly help an ally with his intel projects without getting your ally's target mad... if you mod CI to not say who it blocked and CI Depleter to not say who used it against you when it "succeeds", the target of the CI Depleter would never know who depleted his CI, so you could deplete an ally's enemy's CI for him and the enemy wouldn't even know it was you! If that makes any sense )

[Fyron]

No project costs anywhere near 500k. The most expensive is Technological Espionage, which costs 150k.

[Ed Kolis]

well I thought we were talking about a mod that had more expensive intel projects