Civilians Trigger War With Friendly Aliens Due To Espionage? Whoops?

[JimBadger (OP)]

So, I finally met some aliens ready to talk first, and shoot later. Problem was, the shooting later should have been totally avoidable.

When I met some aliens, I set a "colony" on their home planet, so I could move an espionage team over. Please could someone explain the correct (totally non SM) way to do this? Because, as soon as there was a Jump Gate between our systems, 10 of my civilian's craft dropped colonists off at the aliens' homeworld.

War.

I'm going to lose, too.

Amusing, but not really the way I wanted it to end!

How do you do espionage without that happening?

[sloanjh]

Did you put population or infrastructure on the colony?  The civies should only be trying to colonize worlds that you've "seeded" in some way (even if the colony cost is 0).

Unless Steve has changed it recently....

John

[Atlantia]

Perhaps you shouldn't have marked it as a colony? Once you drop a team off, it becomes marked so (at least for geological teams). Maybe you should have just gone and dropped it off?

[JimBadger (OP)]

I didn't add infrastructure, no (and neither did the civvies). But, it was a 0.00 colony cost planet, now that I think of it.

Even so, should I only, only drop off espionage guys via a stealthy ship? But that will then still have it marked as a colony, and my daft civvies will try to drop people off there.

EDit: So, if you drop off an espionage team the right way, the colony type won't be open to population?

[Vynadan]

I don't know how it is with 0 colony cost planets, but I can imagine that civilian ships will always drop colonists there if you mark it as a colony for you - I'd think it fulfills the 'sufficient infrastructure' requirement for them.

Teams require a colony regardless how it's formed. I never tried it, but I'm confident that team deployments would create a 'normal' colony and civilians would come regardless.

I guess the only way to prevent it (currently) is to either not mark it a colony or not build a jump gate.

[Charlie Beeler]

Or through the system imformation screen ban the body.  IIRC there are issues with ban and existing colonies though.

[JimBadger (OP)]

The NPR built the jump gates in the fist place

So, as soon as you try to use espionage, if there's a way, the civilians will start a war? (If it's an 0.0 planet).

I'll try this ban bodies option, but that doesn't sound too hopeful!

Should I put this in the bugs thread? Although I doubt I've made a new discovery here!

Gutted, cos these formerly friendly neighbours are going to end my game and I'd been enjoying it.

[hubgbf]

Hi,

in the colony screen, on the civilian part, there is a way to indicate if the colony is source, neutral, or destination for colonist, so I guess that if you turn it on neutral or source of colonist, there would be no civilian ship unloading colonists and declaring war.

[metalax]

Won't work. If a colony is under 25million it will change back to destination regardless of what you have set it to.

[Charlie Beeler]

Once the civilians start to ship it's too late to ban.

[Thiosk]

Just to verify, civ industry WILL populate a 0 colony cost world with little hesitation.  I believe you must have it marked as a colony.  Once I get enough terraformers, thats how i colonize.  Just turn them to cost zero and let the babies get born.

[JimBadger (OP)]

Aye. So, if you want to use espionage,you can only do it against planets with greater than 0.0 col cost? (If you don't want a war, that is)

[Beersatron]

Won't work. If a colony is under 25million it will change back to destination regardless of what you have set it to.

I thought that was fixed?

[hubgbf]

I tried on my current 5. 53 games, and it effectively change automatically into demanding colonist.

[Person012345]

I tried on my current 5.  53 games, and it effectively change automatically into demanding colonist. 

This, however if you set all your highly-populated worlds to stable, that will prevent the civvies from picking up people to transport right? Although this obviously requires that the civvies haven't already loaded up their ships, you could set one colony as a destination, the rest as stable, the civvies will drop off their colonists, won't have anywhere to load any more and you can conduct your espionage without causing a war.  Transport any colonists you do want moved with your own ships, finish your espionage, abandon the colony on the 0. 0 world and reset your other planet's state.

I'm a newbie, so would this work?