switching from gentlemen to spies?

As England I only have one Intellectual Center, (Oxford). After several years of producing Gentlemen and doing research and expanding my University - I realized by accident that I could switch my building tree to produce a Secret Society and thus breed much needed spies. (OH how I wish this game came with a manual even in an electronic version!) Anyway I hesitate to make that switch if it will mean a halt to my research and the destruction of my university....

Can I switch to a new line of building at Oxford and continue the use of the University and it's research?

short answer. no.

Long answer, if you swap the for a new building, the old building will not be there and therefore will not function.

Originally Posted by mattgoby

short answer. no.

Long answer, if you swap the for a new building, the old building will not be there and therefore will not function.

Wrong.

It will function but only during the construction of the switched building, therefore you can continue research until the new building it's finished. This also applies to recruitment of units, ships and artillery, but the recruitment MUST finish one turn before the switched building line it's completed, or the recruitment will never happen. The turns for the switched building to be constructed depends on the tier of your building on site. You can switch to a new line of building on all building slots, from towns, ports and regional building slots, except resource buildings.

I'd advise you to play the tutorial campaign if you still don't feel have a full grasp of the buildings that can be constructed in campaigns.

On a side note, you can cancel anytime you want the switched building construction, just like you can on any regular building construction. The building on site will remain there.

The best thing for you to do is to somehow acquire at least one additional intellectual center. That said, the way CA implemented the whole gentlemen / spies business is just plain stupid. It makes no sense that one has to conquer other countries just to train a couple of spies.