Probe Team Mechanics

[Aaroncvx]

Hello! I have a few questions about probe teams.

First, how exactly do the numbers you see when you select a sabotage option transfer to probability? For example, what does 100/50 or 50/0 mean.

Secondly, when you instigate drone riots with your probe team, how difficult is it for the other faction to reverse these riots? Unless you actually changed their workers or food supply I don't see how it would last.

Third, do the community patches fix the Probe Team bugs related to the Data Angels faction?

Thanks for looking at my question.
- Aaron

 

[MHaruspex]

Question 1: The first number is chance to succeed, the second is chance to survive. For example, 100/50 means your Probe Team will successfully do whatever you're trying to, and has a 50% chance of making it out alive.

Questions 2 and 3, no idea.

 

[Petek]

Hey Aaroncvx,

Welcome to CFC and the Alpha Centauri forum!

Your first question has already been correctly answered. I believe that the Probe Team action to Incite Drone Riots is broken. I can't recall it having any effect on a base. That's only for single player games. Perhaps it has an effect in multiplayer games. Finally, yes, the unofficial patches fix the bug with the Data Angels' probe rating.

 

[Aaroncvx]

Hmm, that's a shame if Incite Drone Riots is broken. I like playing the Free Drones and inciting riots seems like a cool strategy. Thanks for the response!

 

[bdanv]

hello Aaroncvx,
here's a scenario you might enjoy: http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=749
you are in control of a Drone faction (made for SMAC) and you have to incite drone riots in 3 Hive bases simultaneously.

 

[Petek]

@bdanv - Guess I was wrong about Incite drone riots not working. I thought I remembered sending multiple probes to incite riots at a base, with no effect. Reading the manual, the probe action changes one citizen or talent into a drone. Also, it seems that you can't create more than one drone in a base using this method. That would explain why I wasn't able to cause a base to riot: The drone control facilities might have prevented a base from rioting. Finally, if you use multiple probe teams to incite riots, every successful action produces a message to the effect that drone activity was increased. That's misleading because only the first probe has an effect.

 

[fallennorthstar]

Is there a known way to reverse the effect of the extra drone? Does it go away with time, or forever remain a pesky issue?