Espionage re-revisited

anarres · 10-09-2003, 15:12

I want to know how to stop some bastard stealing my tech lead away...

1) Be at war -> Opponent needs IA and Spy. Downside is that WW is present in PBEM, more than first anticipated. Permanent war is probably not sustainable.

2) Use Expose Spy frequently, although this requires your own spy (and costs money, although the cost is fairly minimal). This means your opponent has to plant a spy successfully before they get a chance to steal.

Damn, only 2 ideas. I want more please!

Lt. Killer M · 10-09-2003, 16:34

ah, what about the very simple one: kill him?

not much you can actually do

except stopping reasearch....

DrAlimentado · 10-09-2003, 16:48

I think thats it. At least I can't think of any more...

I would still say that being tech leader is clearly the advantageous position to be in. I also like the fact that tech steals can cause fairly dramatic swings in fortune, it is a nice counter to the 'runaway leader' nature of the game generally imo.

Skyfish · 10-09-2003, 22:26

Play with my great "expensive-espionnage" mod !

Ask Aggie and Jack how they like it...
It puts more emphasis in getting a tech lead but I believe it means more difficult choices need to be made instead of relying on the RNG of tech steal...

Aggie · 10-09-2003, 22:37

Well, with prices like 5000 gold for a careful steal...you think twice!

I like it

. But I'm also the tech leader

yndy · 11-09-2003, 14:55

Could you destroy/sabotage the Intelligence Agency? That would be a cool option.

Research more how espionage works. and share the results.

Socrates · 06-10-2004, 18:16

I was wondering how the Intelligence Agency works in Civ3 and in PBEMs. Can a civ perform any kind of mission even when at war with the other civ ? Does it need a spy first (which would be caught in case of hard luck) ? Is a counter-spy available only if I build the IA ? Do I catch every enemy spy with the counter-spy ?

anarres · 07-10-2004, 08:46

The rules follow the SP rules, so you need a spy to steal at war, etc.

The one big difference is that neither player will know when the other one steals and fails...

Pastorius · 07-10-2004, 09:03

Huh. That sucks. Not even player 1...did anyone discover a reason for that?

Edit: come to think of it, player 1 knows diddly squat...I meant player 2 or the equivalent # of play for the human in a 101 game

Socrates · 07-10-2004, 09:53

Well, I was aware of no message when someone spies on the other guy (this issue is solved in the gentleman way of playing), but I was rather surprised by the fact that the IA provides you with spying even at war. I have to admit that I practiced very little spying in SP games. In my 1v1 with Beam, I felt safe from espionage because we had been at war since very early. But Beam managed to spy on my military and it was a schock for me when I lurked his spoiler. So even at war, you can plant a spy (but you have to be lucky for him to succeed, I assume Beam was lucky on his 1st attempt) ? And then with a spy, can you succeed in all missions even at war, or does some RNG calculate chances of success for each mission again ? If I suspect a spy being present in my capital, what does the counter-spy actually do ?

10-09-2003, 15:12	#1
anarres anarchist butcher Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: United States of Whatever. Posts: 4,677	Espionage re-revisited I want to know how to stop some bastard stealing my tech lead away... 1) Be at war -> Opponent needs IA and Spy. Downside is that WW is present in PBEM, more than first anticipated. Permanent war is probably not sustainable. 2) Use Expose Spy frequently, although this requires your own spy (and costs money, although the cost is fairly minimal). This means your opponent has to plant a spy successfully before they get a chance to steal. Damn, only 2 ideas. I want more please! __________________ <b>Calculate the probability of culture flips: Flip Calc</b>

10-09-2003, 16:34	#2
Lt. Killer M Emperor Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: HAWK!. Posts: 4,365	ah, what about the very simple one: kill him? not much you can actually do except stopping reasearch.... __________________ One more turn..... just one more turn... one MORE!

10-09-2003, 16:48	#3
DrAlimentado Moderator Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: the cookie jar. Posts: 1,568	I think thats it. At least I can't think of any more... I would still say that being tech leader is clearly the advantageous position to be in. I also like the fact that tech steals can cause fairly dramatic swings in fortune, it is a nice counter to the 'runaway leader' nature of the game generally imo. __________________ <font color=\"red\">sign up for the best game on the forum</font id=\"red\"> <font color=\"green\">My Army</font id=\"green\"> <font color=\"green\">Help my orcs to prosper</font id=\"green\"> MapTweaker Utility beta (copy/paste/resize biq files)

10-09-2003, 22:26	#4
Skyfish Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: dead. Posts: 2,349	Play with my great "expensive-espionnage" mod ! Ask Aggie and Jack how they like it... It puts more emphasis in getting a tech lead but I believe it means more difficult choices need to be made instead of relying on the RNG of tech steal... __________________ <font color=\"brown\"> <b><i>\"NOT back from the dead\"</b></i> </font id=\"brown\">

11-09-2003, 14:55	#6
yndy Prince Join Date: May 2003 Location: Romania. Posts: 895	Could you destroy/sabotage the Intelligence Agency? That would be a cool option. Research more how espionage works. and share the results. __________________ The one and only

10-09-2003, 22:37	#5
Aggie Emperor Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: N/A Posts: 4,490	Well, with prices like 5000 gold for a careful steal...you think twice! I like it . But I'm also the tech leader

06-10-2004, 18:16	#7
Socrates Emperor Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 3,946	I was wondering how the Intelligence Agency works in Civ3 and in PBEMs. Can a civ perform any kind of mission even when at war with the other civ ? Does it need a spy first (which would be caught in case of hard luck) ? Is a counter-spy available only if I build the IA ? Do I catch every enemy spy with the counter-spy ? __________________ Sent from my Debian

07-10-2004, 08:46	#8
anarres anarchist butcher Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: United States of Whatever. Posts: 4,677	The rules follow the SP rules, so you need a spy to steal at war, etc. The one big difference is that neither player will know when the other one steals and fails... __________________ <b>Calculate the probability of culture flips: Flip Calc</b>

07-10-2004, 09:03	#9
Pastorius Custard used tile Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Opening a can Posts: 3,158	Huh. That sucks. Not even player 1...did anyone discover a reason for that? Edit: come to think of it, player 1 knows diddly squat...I meant player 2 or the equivalent # of play for the human in a 101 game __________________

07-10-2004, 09:53	#10
Socrates Emperor Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 3,946	Well, I was aware of no message when someone spies on the other guy (this issue is solved in the gentleman way of playing), but I was rather surprised by the fact that the IA provides you with spying even at war. I have to admit that I practiced very little spying in SP games. In my 1v1 with Beam, I felt safe from espionage because we had been at war since very early. But Beam managed to spy on my military and it was a schock for me when I lurked his spoiler. So even at war, you can plant a spy (but you have to be lucky for him to succeed, I assume Beam was lucky on his 1st attempt) ? And then with a spy, can you succeed in all missions even at war, or does some RNG calculate chances of success for each mission again ? If I suspect a spy being present in my capital, what does the counter-spy actually do ? __________________ Sent from my Debian