AI shy about using ICBM's?

[Bismarck]

In my current Monarch game, I've launched a modern-age war vs. my largest rival, France. I've also bribed the English and Germans into allying with me.

With a combination of stealth-bomber pounding and MA blitzing, I've taken over two French cities in as many turns. Then, while meeting with the military advisor to review my troops, I suddenly noticed to my horror that France has 1 ICBM!

I knew France had gone down the Space Flight research path, but I never imagined they'd gotten that far. I'm years away from having nuclear weapons myself.

$#@$ it, I said, and kept on playing. Every turn, I braced for the inevitable mushroom cloud heralding the destruction of one of my core cities.

But it never came. I'm now 8 turns into the war with France, and still no nuke. I checked, and France still has the ICBM. It's just not using it.

What's the deal? Is the AI afraid of triggering a worldwide declaration of war? That's kind of silly, since we (Germany, England and me) are the only civs left, and we're at war with it. So why not nuke me?

 

[Bismarck]

Oops, I just noticed there's another thread on the exact same topic below mine.

 

[Knightblade pDM]

There's been a few threads around here about ICBMs and the AIs usage for them. It seems that once one is launched, all the civs that have them let loose as well. Nuclear winter in the making.

 

[MTheil3508]

Originally posted by Knightblade pDM
Nuclear winter in the making.

It would be more realistic if they put nuclear winter in the game instead of just global warming. Make the terrain turn into tundra, oceans freeze, followed by a massive heat wave. Then back to normal in 2000 years. This would be interesting. Give more meaning on not using nukes.

 

[GerrardCapashen]

By the time you get nukes, 2000 years would be beyond the end of the game. Besides, in real life, nuclear winter would last longer than 2000 years.

 

[Sultan Bhargash]

A desperate AI will also use nukes first strikingly if you are invading their homeland and capturing cities.

 

[antimatter]

well if youre invading their homeland, always first strike em

whenever i invade any AI in the late age esp nuclear age, i always make sure i have a HUGE stockpilde of nukes, then i well.... ah

nuke every one then my boulder explode with my horde 0_o

its the locuses swarm from the bible. i average 300+ military unit, all of them modern armor, about 10-20 per city of the AI, so i don't need to even bother with artillery, the first city collaspe all of the undamaged modern armor leapfrog to the next city destroy it, then next and next and next usualy 1-5 turn later the world is dead, i'm speaking of a world of HUGE size

i'm playing on regant btw

guess its time to move up to monarchy or so on. might give diety a shoot. tho i suspect i'll get my butt handed to me badly on that one level.

 

[Giorgio]

I don't think that the AI is very shy about using nukes: I my recent game, I was playin China and was the world's leading economic power (well, I was only playing warlord level ), anyway, I said to myself: Let's start a war against pesky Pesia. One turn after I marched in, Persia started bombing my continent with ICMBs, lucky enough I had the SDI, but nevertheless, my coninent is badly wasted now (not to speak of Persia, of course ). The point is, I wasn't the first one to use nukes - well, finally, it ended in a global nuclear war, but I dind't even think of using nukes, the AI did, which surprised me very much. I think it alway depends on how badly you treated them (I started about 2 or 3 wars with them without without a formal declaration of war).

 

[CenturionV]

i have only seen the comps use them in retal for my using them and every tiem a nuke is fired atlest one of the enemies declares war on me but it doesent matter even though america, england, greece, india, and egypt are all attcking me cuz i got moster production stealth tech (wich they dont) and plenty o nukes to hit there biggest cities with

 

[MTheil3508]

Originally posted by GerrardCapashen
By the time you get nukes, 2000 years would be beyond the end of the game. Besides, in real life, nuclear winter would last longer than 2000 years.

Nuclear winter will only last 2000 years or more if it is a large exchange. It can be mild exchange, and last only a few years or so, too. The computer should be able to figure out how long it will last.

Nuclear winter would really take effect after you won/lost the game and chose to play "a couple more turns." Depending when you get nukes (I have had them in the 1500s before), Nuclear winter could have a big impact on the game, less food, less production, a loss of resourses, etc.

 

[Bismarck]

Update: OK, after I conquered their 6th (or 7th?) city, the French finally decided to nuke me.

Funny thing is, they nuked my largest city (lots of irrigated flood plains), but not nearly my most productive one. Hence, my ability to wage war wasn't really affected.

Additionally, the city was just about to complete a Stealth Bomber, so I just redirected the shields to rebuilding a Factory, and two turns later, the city was already producing some 45 shields.

It's kind of fun to see how fast you can get a city back on its feet after it's been nuked.

So... the AI will nuke you if cornered.

 

[CenturionV]

Nuclear winter will only last 2000 years or more if it is a large exchange. It can be mild exchange, and last only a few years or so, too. The computer should be able to figure out how long it will last.

i think the exchange would have to be much bigger than civ can show realsticly i.e 200+ to even start a small nuclear winter and that doesent happen in civ its just not the same scale (40 nukes is alot in civ, in real life more like 400 is alot)

 

[MTheil3508]

I am also thinking of the maximum effects on the smallest map and that todays nukes are more powerful then in the game.

One nuke in reality, and hundreds of miles would be destroyed. In the game, only 20 or 30 (respectively). 24 thousand miles or 10 thousand miles or 100 thousand miles? The aspects of the game are changing readily.

 

[antimatter]

heh, well put it this way, I average 100+ nukes, most of the games that i do wage serious war, i hit the 200 or even 300 mark

 

[Rabid Pop Tart]

The AI will attack you sometimes - America declared war on me via a sneak ICBM attack. Maybe because I really ticked them off, maybe because they were on another island on another part of the world, I dunno. But they will do it.

 

[marshalljames]

I have never had a city with a SAM nuked by the AI.And SMD does what it says stops 3 out 4 nukes.And there is basically no penalty to nuking as I usually have a ton of slave labour on hand.And the global warming simulation is a joke.

 

[Giorgio]

Yes, but I just nuke for fun, I wage war to take over the enemy's cities, and the fact I hate about nukes is that they destroy the landscape (I don't mean the pollution, more deserts and that stuff).