Serves you right for failing at arithmetics!

How is that fair? I don't see it as fair by any definition of the word...

That is no more fair than consuming resources when attempting to build past max OB, or using Morale when triggering a hovering fleet against a player who just entered galactic protection.

It is completely unfair. When you have more than 1 person casting how are you supposed to just know that they already have 3 on them?

I'm just saying, if the game prevents you from taking an action, you should not be charged for that action.

I think it's a matter of interpretation.  It should be noted though that it is 3 times total for the victim, not per opper.  So if 3 different people cast this op onto me, the 4th person will fail on their attempt even though they have no knowledge of the other oppers.

On that note, the knowledge that the victim is under the effects of these spells is just that: knowledge.  If this op failed and didn't cost op points, then you would effectively be getting that knowledge for free.  Personally I think it is fine how it currently is.  The analogy to CPFF is a good one.

Of course, these things are worth discussing too.  Should failed ops be free?  That would definitely change the dynamics of opping.  This may also just be a matter of how the failure is phrased.  Saying "galactic law forbids us from causing more hurricanes" is quite different from "you tried to cause an octarine hurricane but failed, it seems our victim is under too many already", even if the actual workings are the same.

Makes sense. I'll move it now.

That's an interesting idea to replace the oldest acting hurricane.

The only problem I can think of is that in theory, any hurricane after 3 could be entirely a waste of op points and resources.  For instance, anybody who forgets about this rule can op a victim over and over again without realizing that they should have stopped earlier.

There's also a strategic disadvantage to not knowing that the empire is already suffering the cumulative effects of 3 storms.  It's more optimal and resource efficient to wait until one of the storms is clear before casting another.  Even if you could know that the victim is experiencing 3 storms, it wouldn't be fair to expose the remaining length of said storms.

I suppose a warning page could go up that says something like "This empire is already experiencing the effects of 3 Octarine Hurricanes, any additional storm may not have an additional effect.  Do you still want to cast this spell?".

If you cast an Octarine Hurricane, it should present you with the following message:

"Success! Our wizzards have successfully created an Octarine Hurricane effecting 20% of Cash Factory production! This empire is now suffering from (PERCENT) Reduced Cash Factory Production."

This way, even if you don't know when the other spells were cast you can make your own decision about casting them. For all you know, they could have been cast that same tick, or they could have been cast 5 ticks ago...

there's nothing wrong with the way it is now

I don't think it would reveal anything more about the economic state of affairs than the current system does. Even as it is you still learn that they are under 60% reduction. With the current system, however you lose an op point even when you are not allowed to cast the spell.

The biggest problem I still have with it is this...

When you try to cast one on somebody already affected by 3 the game tells you "hey, you can't cast an Octarine hurricane on this person." then you realize that you lost your op point.

Now what if I unknowingly attempt to cast on the same player already affected by 3 but he has more wizards than I do? If I am not mistaken, I fail the op, lose the op point, lose a bunch of wizards, and learn nothing... It is just a trap for an opper to fall into with no way of knowing...

If you allow a new Octarine hurricane to replace the oldest one, it would be different. It would be worth the risk of casting. Even if you lose...