Espionage Technology

Espionage Technology improves the effectiveness of your spy probes and counter-intelligence. For dedicated defensive counter-intelligence, see Counter Intel.

Overview

Property	Value
Type	Intelligence Technology
Lab Notes	Research Lab level affects speed only
Effect	Better spy reports, counter-espionage

Description

Advances in espionage technology improve both your ability to gather intelligence on enemies and your defenses against enemy spying. Higher levels reveal more information and make your own reports harder to detect.

Effects

Spy Report Detail

Spy report detail is determined by your Espionage Technology, the target's effective defensive espionage level, and the number of probes you send.

Detail Formula

The target's effective defensive espionage level is:

Defender effective level = Espionage Technology + Counter Intel + Moon Base Research

Counter Intel and Moon Base Research each contribute +1 defensive espionage per level to that formula.

If the target's effective level is higher than yours, you lose probe strength:

Extra probes required = max(0, Defender effective level - Your espionage level)^2
Remaining probes = Sent probes - Extra probes required

Each layer of information is then revealed if either of these is true:

you meet the probe threshold with your remaining probes, or
your tech advantage alone is high enough

Reveal layer if:
Remaining probes >= Probe threshold
OR
Your espionage level - Level threshold >= Defender effective level

Report Contents

Information	Probe Threshold	Level Threshold
Resources	Always shown	Always shown
Ships	2	1
Defense	3	2
Buildings	5	3
Research	7	4

Practical Examples

If your espionage level equals the defender's effective level, send at least:
- 2 probes for ships
- 3 probes for defense
- 5 probes for buildings
- 7 probes for research
If the defender's effective level is 2 higher than yours, you lose 2^2 = 4 probes before thresholds are checked.
If your espionage level is high enough on its own, you can still reveal deeper layers with fewer probes.

Activity Indicator

Spy reports include an activity value that reflects the target's activity at the time of the scan:

<15: Active within the last 15 minutes
15-59: Minutes since last activity
Off: No activity for 60+ minutes

Counter-Espionage

Higher tech also means:

Harder for enemies to spy on you
More probes are needed for enemies to see deeper report layers
Less information revealed to spies

Detection

Standard espionage missions do not currently use a probability formula for detection. When a probe arrives, the target always receives an espionage activity message.

There is also no current probe-destruction roll tied to standard espionage missions. Counter Intel and Moon Base Research only increase your effective defensive espionage level for report-detail calculations.

Recon Missions

Each Espionage Technology level increases Recon mission information success chance by 5 percentage points.
This bonus is opposed by the target's effective espionage defense level, where Counter Intel and Moon Base Research each contribute +1 level per level.

Espionage Report Formula

Direct espionage reports use your effective espionage against the defender's effective espionage defense:

Attacker Effective Espionage = Espionage Technology + Recon bonuses
Defender Effective Espionage Defense = Espionage Technology + Counter Intel + Moon Base Research
Extra Probes Required = max(0, Defender Defense - Attacker Effective Espionage)^2
Remaining Probes = Sent Probes - Extra Probes Required

Detail thresholds:

Resources: always shown
Ships: Remaining Probes >= 2 or Attacker Effective Espionage >= Defender Defense + 1
Defenses: Remaining Probes >= 3 or Attacker Effective Espionage >= Defender Defense + 2
Buildings: Remaining Probes >= 5 or Attacker Effective Espionage >= Defender Defense + 3
Research: Remaining Probes >= 7 or Attacker Effective Espionage >= Defender Defense + 4

Research Costs

Formula

Metal = 200 * 2^Level
Crystal = 1,000 * 2^Level
Deuterium = 200 * 2^Level

Cost Table

Level	Metal	Crystal	Deuterium
1	200	1,000	200
2	400	2,000	400
4	1,600	8,000	1,600
8	25,600	128,000	25,600

Probe Mechanics

What More Probes Actually Do

More probes improve report detail because they raise your remaining probes after the defensive tech penalty is applied.

That means more probes help you reveal ships, defense, buildings, and research, but they do not currently increase a separate detection chance roll in the live implementation.

Strategy

Early Priority

Espionage Technology 4+ is crucial:

See enemy defenses before attacking
Avoid traps and failed raids
Essential for safe gameplay

Counter-Intelligence

High espionage protects you:

Enemies see less of your forces
Element of surprise maintained
Harder to target you accurately

Probe Numbers

Adjust probes based on tech difference:

Equal effective tech: 2/3/5/7 probes for ships/defense/buildings/research
Higher tech: often 1-2 probes is enough for a quick resource check
Lower tech: add probes fast, because the penalty scales with the square of the level gap