One of the projects that has been on our list for a very long time is converting Dignitaries and Spies into Classes so we could easily add more of them to the game. Sadly it was on our list of things to do for a couple of years now.
DignitariesLast week we uploaded code to the game that converted all Dignitaries to Classes. This allowed us to change how dignitaries were assigned.
Dignitaries no longer pick their own job. You have to select their jobs from the Dignitary Screen. If you don't select a job for them they will randomly create fighters and torpedoes until you give them a job. Dignitaries can still turn into embezzlers but if they stick with their new job for a couple of days they will NEVER turn into an embezzler. It's only during the first couple of days with their new job they can be tempted.
Changing a Dignitaries job is easy. When you view the Dignitary page you will see a list of all dignitaries on planets. There is a drop down menu for every dignitary. Just select the job you want for each dignitary. Once you have them all selected just click "CHANGE" and all of your dignitaries will be updated with their new jobs. Some dignitaries have limitations as to how many of them can be placed on a planet.
SpiesToday we uploaded all new spy code. This was a major rewrite from the ground up that affected many programs. Spies had become almost completely useless in the last few games. They were easy to detect and the cost of detecting them on planets was so cheap a person could run it every time they accessed the planet and not lose any money.
We found that the spy cleaning code had never been updated and was still working as if we had the old 54 tech levels. It meant finding spies was about as easy as asking "Are there any spies on this planet?" and they all raised their hands. The spy cleaning code has been updated to work with the 600 tech level setting. It should be harder to detect spies now.
When a planet is captured the old owners spies will no longer wait to pick a job. They will randomly pick jobs as soon as the planet is captured. You can easily change their jobs and movement type on the Spy page.
If you set your spies to "Move to Ship" or "Move to Planet" they will no longer lose their job. If a spy on a planet had a job of "Capture Planet" and it moved to an enemy ship and then moved to a different enemy planet it will STILL have the "Capture Planet" job.
If you have spies on an enemy planet and click on the planet you will see a new Display Planet screen. It has been reformatted to be more legible and now will include Sector Defense Tech Levels.
Another big change is in spy movement from planet to ship and ship to planet. In the past the only time a spy could move from a ship or planet is during a planet traderoute or transfer and if it hadn't picked a job yet. Now ANY interaction with your planets can cause spies to move around. Displaying the planet, landing, taking off, etc. can cause spies to move.
FutureWhen the game resets on July 1st we will be adding a number of new dignitaries and spies. This is something we have been wanting to do for a long time. We already have three new spies created but they will not be added until the reset.
Destroy Sector Defense Fighters
Destroy Sector Defense Mines
Sabotage Sector Defense Tech Levels
Since we are using classes we can add new dignitaries and spies at any time during an existing game. We decided to wait until the reset before we sprung the new ones on you. We will be creating new dignitaries and spies between now and the reset. We think you will pleasantly surprised with what we have come up with. Dignitaries and Spies will become more useful now, especially spies.