Boarder Cities

[flyingbunnys]

Why does the AI still think that it is a good idea to build a city directly on your boarder? Seriously this has been a problem since the begining of the civilization series. I mean seriously how hard it is to make the AI realize that building a new city 2 or 3 hexs away from an already existing city, even their own is generally a bad idea?

You would think that with the new happiness and culture system making it worse now more than ever tojust build a city for the sake of building a city. Why after 5 iterations is the AI still bad at city locations and just build cities in bad locations just to have another city.

 

[Ogrelord]

1. Aggressive settlement to "contain" your fast expansion.
2. City is used as a fortress tower.
3. Deny you early resources.

As to how they managed to move a settler across half a continent without meeting any Barbs, they were lucky. I've seen barbarian camps with Settlers in them. You can ask the AIs not to settle near your lands.

 

[Futumch]

I do it to the AI, usually changing the name of the city to "Missile Silo" or something similar as a forward base to hold nukes.

 

[Revoran]

As to how they managed to move a settler across half a continent without meeting any Barbs, they were lucky. I've seen barbarian camps with Settlers in them. You can ask the AIs not to settle near your lands.

That's funny, I thought Settlers turned into workers when captured so there could never be a Barbarian Settler?

 

[FenrysWulf]

In my current game the Chinese sent a settler across half the map to build a city right next to me. After that they never built another city within 70 hexes of that city. I now have it totally surrounded by my cities. I was so mad when they built there but at the time I wasn't ready to go to war.

 

[_hero_]

That's funny, I thought Settlers turned into workers when captured so there could never be a Barbarian Settler?

When the barbs take them they are still settlers. If you take them from the barbs they become workers. But if it was your settler and you take it back, it remains a settler.

 

[flyingbunnys]

Well I'm in the modern era the AI is mostly in the industrial era, and Alexander just built a city between Japan and myself. There was just one tile that hadn't been filled in and he built on it. Whats the purpose ot a city that is just the city tile only? How do they think this is a good idea every city adds 2 unhappyness, which apparently the AI somehow always has, and now I cant even trade the AI resources for resources because they always demand 100gold in addition thanks to the new patch. The patch killed resource trading badly.

 

[Maxor127]

It's even more annoying in Civ5. At least in previous games, you had a decent chance of your borders expanding and pushing back other borders. In Civ5, I think it's impossible without a great artist.

 

[VladTepes]

Why does the AI still think that it is a good idea to build a city directly on your boarder?

I don't know. Boarders don't generally like to be built on, and doing so may cause them to withhold rent. Oh, you mean *borders* not boarders


Seriously, I had a game where Askia was moving a settler in the gap inbetween my cities. He was intending to setlle in an area that WOULD be mine once my surrounding cities grew and expanded. I quickly bought enough tiles to block him from moving further, but couldn't buy every tile around him since some were out of range. He then plunked down a city that looked like a sausage link - the city and one tile to the north and south. Add to this he had plenty of land to the north of his civ. The AI trying to "squeeze" into gaps and settling on the fringes of your land - even when it's crap land - has been a major annoyance since the beginning.

 

[Callonia]

I dispel any subtlety at all.

Whenever I see AI doing this, I just kill their settler before they become a town, by moving troops as fast as possible to dogpile it's escort.

War be damned, he was after my core zone.

I Have declared war so many times to kill a offending settler especially if they refuse to leave my area alone.

If they agree to what I say, and still move to my area I move my troops and if it looks like tis gonna settle right away, I kill it.

Just kill them.

Unless the AI is like in future era while you're still using swordmen somehow.

Suck it up and wait til you have infantry minimum and tanks to remove the offending city.

 

[flyingbunnys]

I don't know. Boarders don't generally like to be built on, and doing so may cause them to withhold rent. Oh, you mean *borders* not boarders


Seriously, I had a game where Askia was moving a settler in the gap inbetween my cities. He was intending to setlle in an area that WOULD be mine once my surrounding cities grew and expanded. I quickly bought enough tiles to block him from moving further, but couldn't buy every tile around him since some were out of range. He then plunked down a city that looked like a sausage link - the city and one tile to the north and south. Add to this he had plenty of land to the north of his civ. The AI trying to "squeeze" into gaps and settling on the fringes of your land - even when it's crap land - has been a major annoyance since the beginning.

ROFL nice catch on the spelling error. Some times I can ask them to not settle there but they don't listen. Really though them doing this hurts them more than it hurts me because most of the time its a few squares my city wasn't even going to use.

Also I have done some testing on AI behavior. It seems that once they start moving the settler if you buy just all the spots around where they are going to settle they will still settle there and just take the 1 tile city. If you buy the squares before they build their settler it looks like they change their minds. If you buy the tile they plan on building the city then they may or may not build nearby. It seems like once they build the settler they choose the spot considered best and move to build on it no matter how the situation has changed once they get there.


Napolian is the worst offender I have seen, this dude spams cities like crazy. Is it too much to ask for a smarter AI after V versions of the series.