Does Counter Espionnage work ?

[HariSeldon]

I was talking of this few weeks ago, with 1.9.0.12.

It happens again in 1.9.0.13 : only 5 pirates met in my new game, 2 spies with +19% and +46% in counter espionnage.
The game is nearly unplayable : constructions sabotaged, bases exploded, techs stolen, ... Every game week.

No enemy spy captured and no enemy mission blocked.


I can understand than many strong pirates in my current game are good spies. But is the skill "counter espionnage" really useful ?

[Flinkebeinchen]

I think the skill is too weak and wasn't designed with the boosted Pirate Spies in mind^^

[HariSeldon]

I agree.

I go to destroy them [:)]

[Bebop Cola]

I've been wondering this as well. In a few games I've gone so far as to set it up so I start with a leader who has 100% counter espionage, and 6 spies that do as well. I rarely catch enemy spies, or even detect them, but I assume I'm still stopping their activities silently. Still, I get a bit pummeled by enemy espionage in my opinion.

With a counter-espionage shield like that one would think I'd be nigh unassailable, yet I'm still losing bases fairly regularly and having the occasional general, admiral, or diplomat assassinated. Hell, even my diplomats have the counter-espionage skill...

[Canute0]

You should try to look self how easy it is to destroy some bases at other empires even with an agent with relativ low skill.
Not all bases but several.
The counterspionage should made it harder for other empire but not impossible, and i don't know if multiple agents give a cumulative bonus or just the best skill count.

[CyclopsSlayer]

It seems way too easy to destroy bases.
My agents do so with ease, but at the same time I can lose them with ease. Same Resort base location blown up 3x, along with my Energy and Weapon stations. Both Intel Agents I had assigned to defense hardly even seemed to slow them down.
This was very early game, I was only in contact with 1 Pirate and no other Empires yet.

[sbach2o]

I am wondering whether there is a different kind of message when an enemy's espionage mission fails because of one of my spies' counter espionage activity. If there is, I am fairly certain, I've never seen one such.

I am almost as certain, that I never saw the counter espionage skill rise when an enemy mission was foiled in some way. I think the only way to raise this skill may be through active espionage missions, and only, if there isn't any better skill to raise, i.e. the spy doesn't have a skill directly linked to the type of mission he(/she/it) succeeded at.

So, I too am a bit apprehensive about whether counter espionage is doing anything. Has anybody ever seen an indication that this skill does what it is supposed to?

To be honest, my experience is somewhat limited in this regard, as I have played very few games, and am slow at it because of excessive micromanagement.

[Deathball]

I'm pretty sure counter espionage works because whenever I order missions against empires with lots of agents the chance for success is visibly diminished. The problem is how high the base chance for certain missions is. I started a new game today and got an agent with sabotage skill in the thirties and sabotaging construction on a ship in one month had 92% chance of success, that's just ridiculous.

[HariSeldon]

In the same game, my agents now have +92% and +45%. Skills raise continously while prevent ennemy missions.

I sometimes have a message for a spy escaping whitout successfully completed his mission.

[Fishers of Men]

It appears to me that the system is working. But not the details of how it works is obvious. There are several outcomes to a spy attack against your empire.
1. Attack fails and the enemy spy escapes undetected.
2. Attack fails and the enemy spy is detected during the escape.
3. Attack fails and the enemy spy is captured.
4. Attack is successful and the enemy spy escapes undetected.
5. Attack is successful, you uncover the plot but the enemy spy escapes.
In at least two of these cases, you never even knew there was an attack on your empire. It seems like this happens more often than not.

My questions are, do all your spies set on counterspy missions, stack together? Are the spies' counterespionage traits added together? Do spies with negative counterespionage traits add in even when they are sent on other missions and not kept on home defense?

[HariSeldon]

Maybe it is like research stations : either only the best bonus is taken in consideration, either other bonus are divided.