intelligence projects chances of success

trooper · #1 January 16th, 2003, 10:34 AM

I was "busy" playing CIV III (but it can't compare SE IV !), looking for a job or preparing my marriage.
But now I want to play back SE IV again...

IA races seem to put lot of intel points in CI projects, aren't they ?

Gryphin · #2 January 16th, 2003, 01:53 PM

Trooper, I'm glad you asked this. I did not understand it as well.
Um, the following statement seems to have a couple of conflicting refferances. Have you seen the "Addition Thread"?

"looking for a job or preparing my marriage.
But now I want to play back SE IV again..."

DavidG · #3 January 17th, 2003, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
You have to spend points in at least one CI project during a turn for any points in them to be used for defense.

Were does this info come from? I have read this now in several threads but I have found that my agents seem to block Intel attacks even though my CI project is at the bottom of the stack and had 0 points added to it in the current and previous turns.

Dobian · #4 January 17th, 2003, 02:10 AM

I find all this CI stuff very confusing. My hope for SEV would be to do away with intelligence and CI projects altogether, and just give you a 'to chance' for intelligence missions and CI, based on the number and quality of your facilities, and possibly actual intelligence units manning your planets. It's much more informative to initiate an espionage attack and get an option window telling you what your percentage chance of success or failure is, than to conduct projects and hope you have enough stored points or whatever so that they will work. Also more realistic, IMO.

Arkcon · #5 January 17th, 2003, 05:20 AM

I like intel projects. I like to decide if I will ruin a planet, kill population, or just spy on the empire's designs. I sure wish tech stealing was wor useful.

I realize the intel projects is a little hokey. I would like it if counter intel was automatic based on number of facilities or something.

One thing I never understood in any 4X game (and by that I mean SE3, SE4 and GalCiv/OS2

), is how just building intel facilities gets you intelligence points.

Would US CIA be better if there were more CIA buildings nationwide? Not really, what works is sources in the field. IMHO, intel should be improved by building facilities near the empire you're spying on, not a megopolis near your home planet.

couslee · #6 January 17th, 2003, 05:38 AM

It's abstracted. each facility represents a number of field operative. the planet the facility is built on represents their home town. that make it easier?

I also have had CI block an attack when it did NOT have any points going towards it. I intentionally put a project that was more than I was producing in a turn in front of my CI project, and CI still stopped the attack because of the accumulated amount. This makes more sence anyway than having to HAVE to complete any other projects in front in order for it to work. Test it out for yourself Fyron. you'll see.

(will make you a happy camper 4 sure)

now if I could just figure out how much CI I have accumulated then I would be estactic.

Cheeze · #7 January 17th, 2003, 08:18 AM

One of the primary questions in this thread was not addressed, perhaps because few know the answer. Even after a player has broken through an opponent's CI, there is still a chance of success or failure. I have run enough intel missions that have failed for reasons outside of the CI of my target. For instance, I would guess that the chance of success on a Puppet Political Parties operation is considerably less than that for Covert Recon or Ship Bomb. What that chance is for any of these, THAT is something I would like to see. I would like to learn, on top of a success or failure, how does the game determine that the target learns of an attack, and then if they know who ran the operation on them?

You cannot say that intel only represents field operatives. Intelligence derives most of its strength not from field operatives (those who gather or report information) but from those people who can analyze a great deal of data, sift out the more likely truths from the less likely, the inaccuracies and the misinformation, and come up with an assessment of situations. As for the number of intel facilities, the CIA (to use that example) doesn't only exist at Langley. That is a administrative center, but there are many branch offices, in the US and around the world (some visible, some no doubt hidden). The more "facilities", the better to recruit, train, analyze, collect, disseminate...pretty much all the activities of an intelligence force for a government.

All this being said, the SEIV intel seems too much of a numbers game. Generally, the races that excel in intel also already possess excessive resource and research generation, so there are few instances where a race strictly dedicated to intel can Last. And an already powerful empire will just be that much better defended and threatening through the sheer size of its intel.