A few espionage ideas...

For what's not in 'Top Priority Game Design'. Post your ideas, visions, suggestions for the game, rules, modifications, etc.

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freereign
Space Squid
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Joined: Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:40 pm

A few espionage ideas...

#1 Post by freereign »

Okay, first off these ideas are not all mine. I have gleaned them from my favorite games and several threads both here and around the 'net. What this is is a list of ideas that could be implemented for espionage beyond the basic steal tech/destroy building stuff.

Alright, first off: Revolutions.
This is one of the main reasons I prefer MoO1 to MoO2. No revolutions. I really like the idea of making citizens so restless that they revolt. After 50-75% of planets are in revolutions at the same time, the empire is thrown into chaos and the player must fight for his throne (contrary to the MoO1 you are dead good bye method). The player then uses all available resources to convince colonies to rejoin his empire before another player snatches them away.

Second off: Ship capturing.
If you can manage to sneak a spy aboard a ship, it would be possible (though unlikely on bigger ships) to take control of the ship. If said ship was brought in for inspection, any new techs that the original owner put on the ship could be gained from it (or maybe only part, if some was destroyed during the takeover).

Third off: Advisors.
What if one of your spies ended up as an advisor to the emporer (or in the cabinet/senate/house/congress?)? Then it would be possible to directly influence the empires path when you have gained enough support. It would theoretically even be possible to begin a hostile takeover against democratic/republic empires.

Fourth: Sabotage/Espionage control.
Nothing is more frustrating than hoping your spies will destroy some missile bases on a planet you are about to attack and then finding out they destroyed some factories on the other side of the galaxy. The ability to direct spies plays a crucial role in real espionage, so why not in virtual espionage? The control would be somewhat limited. For instance you could not tell your spy to cross the galaxy and destroy the capital in 3 turns (when it takes your fastest ships 15 just to get there). You would be able to direct them to destroy certain buildings on certain planets. An AI could manage spying with minimal user input (think the CIA), but a spymaster could go in and tweak the details. Also, you are not in contact with your spies 24/7. And so you would only be able to direct them on certain occasions (every 5? 10? 12 turns?).

Recruitment.
Spies should be able to set up spy rings on planets and then go elsewhere. These rings would be rogue, however, unless you have a spy there to mantain contact through.

Please tell me what you think, as well as any additions you would like to make. I know this area is a long way of (v0.7) but it wouldn't hurt to get some features nailed down.
MoO: Darloks Rule!
MoO2: Custom Darloks Rule!
MoO3: Dunno cuz I'm a cheapskate

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