Spy bug? Do spies do anything on buildings?

from GalCiv2 Forums

I know there are Improvements upon which one cannot place a spy.

One enemy got to the TirQuan (sp?) training trade good and built it before I could, getting the soldiering bonus.

I put a spy on the building and presumed that it negated the bonus, since the game engine let me put the spy on it.  I also put spies on the Hyperion Shrinker and the Hyperion Logistics buildings.

A few turns later, I proceeded to invade four planets of that enemy on the same turn.

When I invaded the first planet, it said both the enemy and I had "Advantage 12."

The second planet was the one with the TirQuan bonus improvement.  Again, both sides had "Advantage 12."

When I invaded the third planet - - after gaining the TirQuan bonus for myself -- it showed that I had "Advantage 14" and the enemy had "Advantage 10."  Same for the fourth planet.

I can only conclude that the spy that I had had on the TirQuan bonus building had not been doing anything.  Is it supposed to be that way?  Or, is it a bug?

Can I then conclude that I am wasting the spies that I still have on the enemy shrinker and logistics buildings?

8,959 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Not sure. I know putting spies on the TOA Orbital Command Center does work, although they're almost always nullified in a few turns. It seems to take a turn to go into effect, but that can't be the case here.

Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

I routinely try putting spies on morale buildings right before I invade to allow me to determine if the information warfare choice is better than the mini-soldiers one.  Thus, that one also does not involve a one turn delay.

Still, I would have thought this would be well known by now, one way or another, but I have found nothing on this!

Siege of Centauri
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

In regards to sabotaging the OCC, I've found that if I attack a planet the same turn I put a spy on it, the ships still fight as a fleet. However, on the next turn (if the spy makes it) attacking a planet will often cause the ships to fight individually. However, sabotaging morale structures does, as you say, work instantaneously. I think I'm going to test this some more...

Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

In the case of the TirQuan (sp?) building, I had the spy there for many turns before the invasions.

BTW, I had always wondered what that building did, exactly.  Now I know that it adds +2 to the "Advantage" for invasions.  So, no matter what, I have gained that knowledge out of all this.

Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

I'd say you have questions for Loupdinor's fine old thread on Espionage in DA/TA. But he hasn't been on the boards since last March.

If someone can verify that the Hyperion Shrinker and Logistics buildings act the same way, it sounds like you found a bug possibly related to global-bonus buildings. Whether the problem is that the game doesn't tell you that some placed spies can be ineffective or that you shouldn't be able to place ineffective spies is a different question...

Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

And what about the MCC?!  I put a spy on that, as well.  Would it or should it negate the 100% economic bonus?  Could one actually get planets to flip (DA) if there was a spy on it?  That is, would it negate the inadvertent flip prevention?