is this supposed to be designed that way?

Hi there,

What is the point to be able to switch orders from Attacking to Spy Mission in the middle of a flight? Then it is impossible to catch a fleet. Is this a bug or is this really designed to work that way? If it is really designed then this game is pointless to play.

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Yes it is. This is a game of strategy and it is not easy to catch a fleet, without the spy back option mid flight the empire with the largest fleet will always win the game, even if the player with the smaller fleet gets every single other player in the game to attack the larger player, the larger player will just pick off the enemy fleets one by one... might as well have no diplomacy (a major factor in the game). Without the spy back option there would be no strategy, it would be just "look there they are we've won". Without the spy back option the smaller player always loses. One of the best things about this game is the fact that the largest empire after the first week doesn't just win, it is a lot more complex than that. With the spy back option you have to think about how to catch their fleet, this takes skill and patience and adds greater depth to the game. With the spy back option smaller empires stand a chance against a larger assailant, they can raid planets attacking the economy of the larger player (if the larger player builds shields on their border planets this becomes very difficult, understand that for every tactic there is a counter tactic) and they can engage in diplomacy by trying to get other small players to do the same. If you want to play a game where the largest empire after the initial colonisation phase, before a shot has been fired, wins then scrap the spy back, if you want to play a game that is very difficult to win, where diplomacy, skill, patience and endurance are major factors then keep the spy back.

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Also, think of why a fleet scouts back... they do so because the tick before their fleet is due to arrive they have sent a scout ship to spy on the planet, if that scout ship sees an enemy fleet incoming that can easily defeat your own incoming fleet then do you not think it reasonable to be able to tell your fleet to retreat? This is a game of strategy, without being able to scout back you remove the need for scouting, a major factor in the game.

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And... is definitely not impossible to catch a fleet. The fleet that scouts back must return to its point of origin, if you know where this point of origin is just send in a stealth stopper fleet (enough high stealth corvettes to hold an enemy fleet long enough for your main fleet to arrive) to the point of origin as well as sending your main fleet to intercept on the main planet. If you don't know the point of origin send your stealth stopper fleet to the planet being attacked and send your main fleet into another planet to take it or at least wipe out its eco (in later stages you would split your fleet and attack two or three planets), you will not kill their fleet but doing this over 48 ticks with them having to scout back from your stealth stopper fleet every time will see them do no damage to your eco while you destroy theirs, they will get to the point where they have to engage or just hide until you find them, or when you have conquered the rest of their planets. These are just a few tactics, there are so many more and some that have not been thought of yet, this game is deep, is not a game where if a bigger player attacks you there's no chance of you winning, you are at a disadvantage but with skill and diplomacy you can win.

If you were playing on mobile the fix has not been implemented on that version yet. Otherwise it may be the case that it is still not fixed.