Spying

The various factions of Star Traders are in intense competition to gain the upper hand over their rival factions. As in any battle, knowledge is one of the greatest weapons any side might wield, so the Princes cultivate networks of spies who will furnish them with the information they need to overcome their peers. Spies may operate at the direct behest of a contact to complete a mission or they may spy independently for profit and to generate intel records that can be sold to contacts for profit and reputation. In Star Traders, spying is primarily done through electronic surveillance and encrypted message interception. Electronics is one of the key skills of spy operative.

### Strategy

Like other operations, becoming a great Spy will require a dedicated build. Increasing ship Navigation and especially Electronics Skill Pools should be a key priority. Spies will also need to invest in Talents that will help them determine the results of the card game. Most of these are provided by Spy and E-tech crew members. In the early game, it is best to Spy often, checking the hand that is dealt at nearly every system visited and only playing those hands that give a reasonable chance of desirable outcomes. As a Captain's crew and ship develop, they will be able to engage in more extended spying activities over the planet of their choice.

### The Card Game

Spying is done in orbit of a system, by using the "Spy" operation button near the center of the interface. Spying can be done in orbit of any urban zone with a Government Rating of 4 or higher. The results of spying are determined by a card game. The Captain will draw 5 cards which are determined by risk and reward factors. He or she may then have the opportunity to modify their draw through the use of crew talents which allow them to redraw, remove or improve a card. Then one card will randomly be selected from the remaining cards providing either a negative, positive or neutral result. All spying actions consume time and fuel.

## Card Game Mechanics/Logic

Card games are based on a deck of cards. Based on the Risk Factors and Reward Factors, positive and negative cards are used to create the deck. Risk and Reward Factors are also used to calculate the chance of Common, Good and Rare positive cards and Risk Factors calculate the Low, Medium and Max Risk changes. These are used to then determine which positive and negative cards are in the deck. For example, areas with higher Common Rewards will feature more +1 and +2 cards, while areas with high Max Risks will feature more -5 cards. Once the hand is shuffled and dealt, 5 cards are shown and the chance to draw any one of those five cards is 20% (random card selection). Upon completion of the hand and after the results of the final card are handled, the deck is reshuffled and 5 new cards are dealt.

Mission steps that require a successful card draw start at the normal base 20% chance of selection. However, after each unsuccessful draw, the chance increases by 2%. Without talents modifying the odds, you can expect to succeed at the mission step in 3 or fewer attempts most of the time, in 9 or fewer attempts almost all the time, and for a very unlucky few 41 attempts would be required. On the 41st draw, the chance of success is 100%.