Why does the AI attack the stations?

[wayneb64]

With the new trade route rewards, stations are incredibly valuable, but the AI takes them all out it seems. I was forced into a war one game and had to surround a station with spare units in another game. Seems like most of the stations near me get wiped out before I am ready to open a trade route. Is this really bad design or a bug?

 

[SupremacyKing2]

I used to think it was because of the station quest where you are asked to destroy a particular station. But someone showed that the AI does not get quests. So that cannot be it. Maybe the AI is just programmed to attack stations as a way of making it harder for the human.

 

[joncnunn]

Likely to be left over code from Civ V where some of the AI flavors love to DOW and attack City states.
Only Stations have no military units, so even a low value for that flavor will still be triggered.

 

[PyreStarite]

Originally I thought that AIs taking down Stations was because they got a quest asking them to destroy it, but if the AI don't receive quests then it could be an AI tactic that if they see you or someone else as a potential threat and they see that you (or that other someone else) have a trade route with a station they may try to take out the station to try and deliver a hit on your (or other) economy. That or its because the station is sitting where the AI wants to expand to next. But that's just my theory.

 

[Minor Annoyance]

Likely to be left over code from Civ V where some of the AI flavors love to DOW and attack City states.
Only Stations have no military units, so even a low value for that flavor will still be triggered.

Speaking of the AI's personality, has anyone found the file that has that stuff? I've looked but didn't find it making me wonder if there is one.

 

[HandyVac]

Speaking of the AI's personality, has anyone found the file that has that stuff? I've looked but didn't find it making me wonder if there is one.

Personalities for the AIs are defined in the Gameplay->XML->Leaders folder.
There's an XML for each leader with weighted flavors dictating how likely that leader is to to declare war, condemn you for various things, persue science/culture, go for each type of victory, etc.

EDIT: There doen't seem to be an entry for how likely they are to attack stations though. So presumably that's either the same for all civs, or is affected by several flavors, such as offense and expansion.

 

[Minor Annoyance]

Personalities for the AIs are defined in the Gameplay->XML->Leaders folder.
There's an XML for each leader with weighted flavors dictating how likely that leader is to to declare war, condemn you for various things, persue science/culture, go for each type of victory, etc.

EDIT: There doen't seem to be an entry for how likely they are to attack stations though. So presumably that's either the same for all civs, or is affected by several flavors, such as offense and expansion.

OK, it's weird I didn't find that because I was looking for it and that seems like the first place I'd look. Maybe I checked personalities folder and gave up.

 

[lilgamefreek]

It isn't under personalities. It's the leader table entries themselves that define the different flavors, aversions, and condemnation biases. The personalities system doesn't seem to be implemented from what I can tell.

 

[heat]

They attack the stations because they want the land its on and around it. If you have played to end game, say under the 500 turn victory condition, then one can see that the AI's will go for virtually every piece of non-owned land on the map. Attacking a station during the game falls under the same AI mindset - it wants the land it is on and the land around it. I had a game where the Slavs constantly attacked a station that was between them and myself. All the land around the the station was taken except for a number of tiles around the station itself. Telling ya, the Slavs wanted that station gone to acquire that land - was hilarious to watch them get trashed for nearly a 100 turns before they finally took the station down....only to have the land taken over by me, heh.

 

[SKashyap]

May be its just a coincidence in my games but I have not seen Hutatma destroying a Station yet.

 

[wayneb64]

It seems it's not only the AI's but something else is disappearing the stations. I have had two blink out now with aliens and nests in the area, but no battle seems to have happened. How do I stop them from disappearing? I am mowing down all the aliens trying to save them, but have not yet seemed to make a difference.

 

[HandyVac]

It seems it's not only the AI's but something else is disappearing the stations. I have had two blink out now with aliens and nests in the area, but no battle seems to have happened. How do I stop them from disappearing? I am mowing down all the aliens trying to save them, but have not yet seemed to make a difference.

Stations dissapear naturally if nobody trades with them for x turns, so that may be what you're thinking of. While you (or another civ) have a trade route with the station it will not dissapear unless it gets destroyed in battle.

I don't think aliens ever attack stations, at least I've never noticed them doing so, but since aliens eat trade convoys a nest in the area may prevent you or the AI from trading with that station, and so indrectly lead to that station dissapearing from lack of trade.

 

[wayneb64]

I guess I need to modify my start strategy then as I am never 'ready' for trade routes during the seemingly limited time frame they popup. That combined with all the miasma and aliens make getting stations trade routes very difficult. In the rare cases that I do I am forced into war with my neighbor as they just cant seem to leave them alone.

 

[V3N0M]

I used to think it was because of the station quest where you are asked to destroy a particular station. But someone showed that the AI does not get quests. So that cannot be it. Maybe the AI is just programmed to attack stations as a way of making it harder for the human.

The reward for that quest isn't even worth it.

 

[Gort]

The reward for that quest isn't even worth it.

It doesn't cost very much, all you need to kill a station is one infantry and two ranged units, and you don't even need to lose any of them.

 

[V3N0M]

It doesn't cost very much, all you need to kill a station is one infantry and two ranged units, and you don't even need to lose any of them.

You forgot the opportunity cost of not being able to trade with that station, which is significantly worth more than +50% trade with the first station for 20 turns.

Also it's really dumb that stations on an unfriendly planet don't spawn military units and have zero city defense.

 

[Gort]

You forgot the opportunity cost of not being able to trade with that station, which is significantly worth more than +50% trade with the first station for 20 turns.

Also it's really dumb that stations on an unfriendly planet don't spawn military units and have zero city defense.

Eh, not every station is actually worth trading with.

 

[GeoModder]

You forgot the opportunity cost of not being able to trade with that station, which is significantly worth more than +50% trade with the first station for 20 turns.

Also it's really dumb that stations on an unfriendly planet don't spawn military units and have zero city defense.

So? At this stage of the game a new station will spawn anyway.
And they have city defense. Otherwise even a scout could run in and create its own abandonned settlement.

 

[Gort]

It is a little weird that they have hitpoints and a defense value, but cannot shoot back. There's also the weirdness where you cannot declare war on a station without a melee unit.

Stations are like all the city-attack jank of Civilisation concentrated into a single mechanic.

 

[nanomage]

It is a little weird that they have hitpoints and a defense value, but cannot shoot back. There's also the weirdness where you cannot declare war on a station without a melee unit.
...

but you can. just select your ranged unit and right-click on the station to the the dow popup. I've done it with manticores and rangers both