Espionage

An example of an espionage report.

Espionage is a mission that only Espionage Probes can go on. It returns an Espionage Report giving information about the target planet. You can send espionage probes to any planet, but your probes will have a higher chance of being detected (and shot down) if the target planet has a higher level of Espionage Technology researched.

Espionage Report

When you're spying on another planet, your probe(s) will reach the destination and immediately send an Espionage Report containing, at least, information about the Resources lying on that planet. Having a high level of Espionage Technology will help you to obtain more information about a planet, but it's not the only thing that matters. The formula used takes into account your Espionage Technology level, your enemy's Espionage Technology level, and the number of probes you sent.

Formula if Your Espionage > Enemy Espionage : $\mbox{Number of Probes} + (\mbox{Your Espionage Level} - \mbox{Enemy Espionage Level})^2$

General Formula: $\mbox{Number of Probes}\,+\,(\mbox{Your Espionage Level} - \mbox{Enemy Espionage Level})\,\times\,|\mbox{Your Espionage Level} - \mbox{Enemy Espionage Level}|$

Formula result	Espionage report will detect the enemy's:
<2	Resources
2	Resources + Fleet
3	Resources + Fleet + Defense
5	Resources + Fleet + Defense + Buildings
7	Resources + Fleet + Defense + Buildings + Research

When spying another planet, you can be in one of three situations:

1. Your espionage level is higher

This is the best situation. The information you will receive of the enemy is determined by squaring the difference in your espionage levels then adding the number of probes you sent.

2. Your espionage levels are equal

In this situation you don't have an advantage over the enemy, so the number of probes you send will determine how much information you obtain.

3. Their espionage level is higher than yours

This is the worst situation. Your enemy has the technical advantage, so if you want information you'll have to send mass amounts of probes to balance out the difference, equal to the square of the difference in your espionage levels. For example, if your enemy is 3 levels above you, you'll have to send 9 probes just to balance out the difference. Any probes above this will determine how much information you will obtain. For example, if your espionage level is 3 and your enemy's is 6 and you want to see his/her Research, you will need to send 16 probes (9 probes to balance out the difference and 7 more to reach the "Research" level of information)

Note that while sending more probes will allow you to see more about your enemy, it raises the risk of Counter-Espionage. The report will be sent even if the probes are destroyed.

Quick reference

Spy tech diff	To see Fleet:	To see Defense:	To see Buildings:	To see Techs:
-3	1	1	1	1
-2	1	1	1	3
-1	1	2	4	6
0	2	3	5	7
+1	3	4	6	8
+2	6	7	9	11
+3	11	12	14	16
+4	18	19	21	23
+5	27	28	30	32
+6	38	39	41	43

The left-hand column of this table is your target's Espionage tech level minus yours. The other columns tell how many probes you must send to see his various assets. For example, if your target has a spy tech level of 8 and you have 9, you will see his defense with 2 probes and his techs with 6.