Talking About Intelligence

[Malioc]

Me, again. I'm so sorry, chancelor Iceman. ;-)

There is one big matter however, that has been traveling to time and space of my cortical notes...

The one piece, that I never really digged in BotF was the limited nature of "Intelligence". While this screen is one of the "big 4" facility groups, it never felt deserving.
To me Intelligence in BotF was (and still is) the one boring and useless issue you have to deal with as soon as you meet another big faction. In my gameplay it mostly ended with me doing the absolute minimum (one colony with a lot Intel or just a network of special buildings) to have a successful Intelligence defence system, so my opponents are not able to annoy me too much. - Then I concentrated about the "important" and entertaining stuff:
Expanding, colony development, miliary, research, assimilation.

Since I always found the current definition of "Intelligence" pretty ineffective, one-dimensional and illogical (why use a large proportion of your pop for such a small business, in terms of manpower) I'd like to discuss an idea of enhancing the current definition.

How about expanding the Intelligence to the game construct of "Intelligence, Public Communication and Media"?

What I mean with that: Instead of understanding the Intelligence as a spy/sabotage business, it would now evolve to an sometimes open, sometimes discrete sector, that includes a large number of options, that are useless for all game styles: For the peacelovers, who create an utopia. For the Starfleets who use "humanity" as a way of expansion. For Dominian actually destabilizing a whole sector with smart intelligence. For Cardassians using the Order to strengthen their grip on their subjugated worlds. For an undercover Klingon poisoning food supplies and finding out ship movement plans. And for the early race maximizing efficiency without big rivals around.

A number of options I could see here would be:
- Improving morale on a specific own colony, especially on a subjugated system
- Improving relations with a certain race (faction as well as minor)
- Improving public opinion about a war (e.g. reducing morale penalty for Federation)
- Tainting relations of a faction with a specific minor or another faction by manipulating their media
- Poisoning relations between a faction and a member
- Analyzing relations between you and other factions (output: likeliness that they declare war on you)
- Decreasing morale on a specific foreign colony to possibly turn the colony (subjugated minor) to open war with their empire
- Getting basic information about fleet strenght (number of big warships, small warships, warships currently in queue of a shipyard) and amount of Dilithium, Duranium the other empire has
- Sabotaging/Stealing Dilithium and Duranium storage
- Stealing colony position and space maps off another faction
- Infiltrating colony: you can see what happens in a certain colony
- Infiltrating shipyard: you can see what happens in a certain shipyard
- Infiltrating ship crewman: you get the view of a certain ship (scout, warship) and "see" what it sees, expanding your knowledge of the space map
- Infiltrating fleet admiral (needs extreme high Intelligence, except when double agent ): you can see main fleets of the targeted empire
- Double agents: without you knowing the spy feeds you wrong or incomplete information (wrote about that before )
- Faking additional ships/warp signatures to appear stronger than you are
- Faking fleet position, so your opponent is at the wrong system when you're attacking
- Hide parts of your fleet to appear weaker than you are

That's just a number of options, all these could be momentary or temporary.

Again, it's just an idea. Pull your disraptor and fire away, if you want. ;-)

[Iceman]

LOL, just joking.

You are absolutely correct. Intelligence must be made more interesting. The introduction of Personnel in the game was also meant to do that in a way. Some of your ideas, like infiltrating a colony and some acts of sabotage and tainting/poisoning/reporting relations, are meant to be played out by them.
This is a good thread for future (not necessarily too far off) reference. Thanks legat, keep your legion of ideas coming!

[Malioc]

Qapla'! =)

I think, the best launch for this would be to have Intel be useful at any time in the game. To have it boost morale and minor diplomacy could do that. As well to have it useful to explore enemy space.

That's more logical than have a scout ship cruising through Klingon space and should be the logical start for any aggressive Intelligence one does.

You start with sending in agents, who first have to find out basic detail:
1. Frst position home/big colonies (enabling trading in case of OB)
2. Then position minor colonies
3. Identity of minor members
4. Identity of subjugated
5. Position other space phenomena
...That way with time you find everything out what you normally would explore. And it should also be basic before you can start to do the deep undercover ops.

Other spy missions would be:
- Turncoat ship, possibly: You rob a warship, it starts in enemy space where it first has to escape. Maybe the other faction stops and destroys it. If not and it reaches your territory, you get 3 choices:
1. Intregate it into your fleet. But you get rep/trust penalty with the other faction.
2. Scrap it: Gains resources and tech points (when the level is not too below your standard)
3. Use it for undercover mission against a third empire: You can choose which. The ship is lost, but the relations between the other empires are significantly (!) damaged.

- Constructing a sickness for a specific faction:
1. Spreads for multiple rounds inside the whole empire, killing pop and stopping growth, maybe until the targeted empire gains Intel points
2. Doing that with a minor, then either attack or help with medicine ships/"finding cure" to boost relations, so they'll join your empire.