No probing for tech on turn of discovery?

big_canuk · November 18, 2001, 20:40

I have had this experience twice now. Is it a feature?

In a single player game, as Caretakers, practicing my start and tactics for Manifold 6, I waited till Morgan discovered gene splicing, and then probed him for it: I got his map.

In NU2, I waited until Misotu and Tau Ceti had just discovered HEC and D:AP (same turn, and passed to Misotu), and I probed Mis twice, and got: first her map???, then the only other tech she had that I didn't, Int Integrity. (luckily I cashed a pod, and got HEC, and Googlie and I still beat them to MMI by 1 turn, and I was able to instabuild the CF, and CA).

Is this known to all. If it is a feature, it precludes stealing a tech, the turn someone discovers it, and stealing a SP. I would then always give you 1 turn of grace, to prepare to build that SP, that you got because of an unexpected tech from a pod pop, gift, or whatever.

Does anyone else have experience, or knowledge in this area?

fluffy · November 19, 2001, 07:56

I've seen this several times, but I get the impression it is subject to some random chance of finding the new tech - if you re-load several times, you sometimes will get it, sometimes not....

mark13 · November 19, 2001, 14:09

Nope - in DT12 a couple of turns ago, I stole Superstring Theory the turn Paul discovered it. Of course, he still beat me to the ToE by cashing in about 6 artifacts

but I haven't seen that before. Maybe getting a map is a random choice along with getting a tech, albeit very small.....? Otherwise, I can't explain it...

big_canuk · November 19, 2001, 21:10

So it must be just a random occurance then, maybe only on the 1st turn after a tech is discovered?

My experience previous to the 2 encounters I had in my 1st post were that:

If the other side had a tech that you didn't you always 1st got the tech, then once all tech was had, you got the map.

So I guess the question should be: Has anyone else ever got the map instead of a tech?:
A. the turn a tech was discovered (I have, twice)
B. after that (me, never)

bc

knowhow2 · November 20, 2001, 03:51

map instead of tech? yes that happens sometimes, rare but not impossible.

RedFred · November 22, 2001, 21:18

I have gotten a map instead of tech. I think (but can't confirm) that any time it happened, the faction probed only had one tech that I never had. But I never thought to check how many turns that they had the tech.