Automation of Intelligence Missions and Player Influence

[StormingKiwi]

Can the player interaction and User Experience with the automation/advisor system, particularly as it applies to Intelligence Missions, be significantly improved?

The problem is that the automation policies are not specific enough for the player to meaningfully influence the AI behaviour.

How I'd like the game to play is to have more specific levers to pull. E.g. for this AI empire, these specific intelligence missions are allowed.

Example - I do not want the AI to fixate on gaining territory maps from close neighbours whose territory I can easily scout. I do want them to get territory maps from other factions. Therefore banning territory maps intelligence missions for EVERY faction is not a preferred option.

Example - I want the AI to send intelligence agents to steal research, but I want them to have a targeted plan that I have strategised, rather than stealing technologies that I do not want.

Edited additions past this point:
Example - I saw an excellent suggestion by a user on the Steam forums that options for a mission type could be sorted in descending order of success probability. E.g. when stealing research from a given faction, the research could be sorted with 84% at the top, and 0% at the bottom.

Example - a refresh of the interface where there are multiple options available. At the moment, everything is a drop down list that presents zero context. There isn't any indication of where a particular planet is for inciting rebellion, or a research item is on the tree.

[AKicebear]

+1

Ideally the interface for permitted/prohibited intelligence missions should be a grid, one axis of every empire (sortable by status/reputation), and other every intelligence type. Tickboxes within that can individually toggled, or an entire row/column can be toggled on off as well.

The same should be true for population policies by planet type.

[arvcran2]

+1

Ideally the interface for permitted/prohibited intelligence missions should be a grid, one axis of every empire (sortable by status/reputation), and other every intelligence type. Tickboxes within that can individually toggled, or an entire row/column can be toggled on off as well.

The same should be true for population policies by planet type.

+1

These ideas are good!

With priority indicators on rows and on columns.

One thing I would say is that intel needs to be refreshed periodically. Perhaps a frequency factor for kinds of missions as well as the priority?

[zebanovich]

Ideally the interface for permitted/prohibited intelligence missions should be a grid, one axis of every empire (sortable by status/reputation), and other every intelligence type.

What a genius suggestion!

[StormingKiwi]

Thank you for support everybody. I agree with the grid suggestion too.

Edited OP with a couple of suggestions I intended to include, but forgot to.

[arvcran2]

Ideally the interface for permitted/prohibited intelligence missions should be a grid, one axis of every empire (sortable by status/reputation), and other every intelligence type.

What a genius suggestion!

Well, this is Matrixgames after all .