AI behaviour that relentlessly annexes CSs is annoying and ruins the game

schondette

Chieftain
Joined
Jun 10, 2018
Messages
71
Could anyone can point in the direction to a mod that buffs CS in the early game? i find this incredibly annoying. The game is essentially eating its own features.
 
CS Walls I believe is the name. It makes all city states start with walls. I have used it in the past but I have it turned off at the moment...
 
I've got a long list of things I wish were different in this game. This is definitely top five. It's pretty ridiculous in the current state. Do the developers just not see it as a problem?
I also hate how quick victories are dependent on specific science/culture CSs being in the game, but that's more a balance thing.
 
Play at emperor and they do not all get eaten by any means.
Play at Deity and they need all the advantages they can get, you get to free them and suze them at the same time. - 3 or 6 free envoys.
It is a different game but quite valid. What’s the problem? Is deity too hard or something?
Deity is about a tough challenge to win,
Emperor is about where peaceful play and CS can be really fun, that’s my take.
 
City states are a map feature. Just like chopping, city states can either be taken ("chopped") or used for what they offer.
Some AI never touch city states, some AIs take them mercilessly. Select opponents that dont't attack city states and get ready for a ruthless envoy bidding game.
 
Im playing on emperor. The difficulty doesn't matter.

not playing the game is also a feature if you want it to be
 
Play at emperor and they do not all get eaten by any means.
Play at Deity and they need all the advantages they can get, you get to free them and suze them at the same time. - 3 or 6 free envoys.
It is a different game but quite valid. What’s the problem? Is deity too hard or something?
Deity is about a tough challenge to win,
Emperor is about where peaceful play and CS can be really fun, that’s my take.

Sometimes the AI doesn't really get any advantage by doing so... it just simply eats up something that due to loyalty it cannot keep, but does so anyway simply because it is close. Quite annoying when said AI is your friend and cannot do protectorate war.

I would've liked CS made such that it is to every player's advantage to try to compete for it via envoys rather than eating it up. (easiest way is to make eating up a CS carry a huge diplomatic risk... one way would be to make sure CS emergencies are EXTREMELY CRIPPLING for the offender--members get +15 combat strength VS target, and target CS in question suffers loyalty penalty as if it were an occupied city, etc.)

BNW certainly did not have this problem and deity was enough of a challenge with Alex and Ramkamhaeng contesting you hotly for the CS influence. This feature is nowhere to be seen in Civ VI (and part of why Georgia almost always suck when it appears in my game). Otherwise, why bother designing civs/abilities that are focused towards dominating CS via envoys? Liberating a CS should also grant some envoys to its former suzerain (same as BNW... liberator gets 60 and former suzerain gets 30 influence).
 
If you are really interested in keeping a City State alive, you can always send more than a few envoys bearing empty promises.
 
You know you could block allied troops by just surrounding the city center with your own troops. Then the CS just takes pot shots at the invaders while they have no ability to capture the city.

Also, BNW didn't have this problem because the game mechanics actively discouraged you from expanding.

In VI if you dont have envoys invested in a CS it'll do you more good annexed. It's up to the Suzeraine to make sure CSs dont get annexed.
 
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The CS Walls mod really does make a difference. The AI will still take a number of city states, but at least they don't all go 'pop' during the Ancient and Classical era land grab.
 
Envoys are just a mechanic for reaping the benefits of keeping a CS alive by other means, but a city state is exactly what it's name implies - it's a free city that can either be kept alive or gobbled up for one reason or another, I treat it as a very, very powerful tribal village.

What @Midgardsormr said, I think walls on city states are a good check on both players and AI. Still capturable, but you have to invest some effort into it.
 
City state wslls and stop steam rolling city states mods combined will keep all of them alive until around T100 or so before any fall. Devs really need to work on CS keeping up with thier units.
 
Devs really need to work on CS keeping up with thier units.
That's been a problem since day one. Literally. AI does a better job now than though than it used to at upgrading units.
 
what really drives me nuts is them sending their units 12 tiles away when evenly matched with a neighbor, only to be sneak attacked by the AI. Like, wtf dude, you got 7 swords just roaming the ocean while a band of warriors walks right past you.
 
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