Raven,
Yes, i, too, have had developed tiles 'raided' by those ***** forces. Its a pain. I agree with you about signaling. Many 'less technologically' advanced societies have used very creative ways to communicate over long distances: Smoke signals, fire towers, mirrors reflecting sun light (and moonlight) in a kind of Morse code, drum beats, etc. All worked to some extent. Why can't "we?"
Swerdyass; You make a very good point about the AI knowing when the player "trespasses." I guess i did not express myself very well. Sorry. My concern wasn't about 'fairness' between the AI and the player. Rather, I was thinking about adding a layer of options from which the player could choose. I'm all about variety, and 'interesting' choices, trade offs in games. My intention was to reward players that are intentional about making choices that give their 'forces" perimeter notice, a trip wire, etc. Given the limited resources we have in early game, choosing between investing in early warning tech, units, etc. vs "other" (important/necessary) concerns would add to our enjoyment. Sorry I wasn't more specific.