I've thought of a couple new specialists that may make things more interesting.

Spy (promotable from Thief) - Spy hides the presence of other specialists at a location (the spy itself is visible). Should I attack that outpost?

Maybe a martyr is hiding there, maybe it's a bluff... Should help to shake up negotiations when a sub with a spy appears on your border.

Disrupter - (has a red range like sentry). Combat taking place where disrupter is present causes an EMP to shut down production at any outpost within the disrupter's range for 24 hours.

Hopefully will help with late game issues where once someone gets a big enough lead, they're hard to catch. A couple well timed/coordinated disrupters could turn the tide for those having trouble catching up.

Thoughts?

Spy is probably too powerful unless there is a counteracting agent. I think something similar was used in the early builds but ultimately taken out.

Disrupter is interesting but low impact. In a 24 hour period one factory produces a total of 18 drills at base speed. Plus if combat is close by you'd either be taking over that base or losing a specialist. It would be more impactful if it affected power stations as well. Perhaps with a permanent but not total reduction of output (Martyr lite).

yeah, we use to have an illusionist that does what your spy would do, as well as hide driller count. the main problem with it is that it made a game that relies on predictability completely unpredictable.

also, now that we have the time machine, it will not be nearly as useful as you might thing, because in most cases you can deduce what it's carrying.

r

I've been thinking about new specialists, except not quite. Instead of specialists, they would be devices. Instead of placing them on outposts, they would be placeable anywhere along the path between two outposts. They wouldn't come free on a timer like specialists; you would have to purchase them with Np. They would effectively have 1 hit point, so they could be easily destroyed with a single sub, but two or more subs could capture a device without requiring a Hypnotist.

For example:

- Cloaking Device: When placed between two outposts, restores the "fog of war" within a certain radius (approximately the same size as Sentry).

- Jamming Device: When placed along the path between outposts owned by two different players (and where those outposts are the single, shortest link common between the two players' territories), blocks messaging between those players.

- Mine Field: Basically a Martyr, just on the path between two outposts. Couldn't be captured, so maybe this one would cost more Np than the others.

I think the Jamming Device would be most interesting, because messaging between players is so crucial to diplomacy and coordinating attacks. However, that specific arrangement of outposts between two players occurs infrequently (in my experience), and the two could always communicate through an intermediary (also making negotiations, etc., more interesting, if said intermediary cares to deceive either party), so it wouldn't be overpowered.

Because devices cost Np, they would give an advantage to players who establish mines early, who are often considered easy targets afterward. However, they would be balanced because purchasing a device would set that player's Np count back, and other players without any Np could capture the devices.

Just a thought. If it ever makes it into the game, I want a cut of the AppStore fortune; maybe $0.005 per download.

I've had similar ideas for all kinds of games but the problem with the Jamming Device is that it doesn't really stop private communication -- it just makes it really annoying. A hassle. All you have to do is post your email (or chat client thing or whatever) to public chat and now you can talk around the Jam! You just have to tab out of Subterfuge to do it.

(It would be really fun to be able to spy on others, or stop their communication, or whatever, though.)

Annoying is good enough at just the right time.

Agreed about the problems with the jamming device. We originally thought of having a specialist that would give you a chance to intercept parts of other player's conversations (Spymaster?). It would be very cool, but unfortunately all it would do is encourage people to communicate through different channels (email, text, whatever). So we definitely want to keep communications between players private and annoyance-free.