Best buddies turned to raging lunatic over a space ship part!

[TheDisco]

Game type: King Difficulty, Standard Size/Speed, Continents

Playing my usual style of trying to play defensive and out-teching to win the space race with some specialized cities for science (to out-tech), money (for research agreements and upgrading defensive units), and production (key buildings, wonders, and space ship parts). I always choose random leader which this time was Japan.

Things went fairly smoothly on my continent as the 3 other civs couldn't do me any damage even though they hated me for being better than them. On the other continent I befriended Germany (for resources) who quickly took over the entire other continent. Germany and I were buds the whole game, always greeted with a smile. I significantly out-teched Germany but by the end of the game they were MASSIVE otherwise (double the population, productivity, soldiers, GNP, etc due to owning a whole continent: I guess unhappiness doesn't bother the AI on King?)

I had one small city beachheaded on his continent but he never seemed to mind. Literally one turn after we reached another trade agreement, in which he was happy as can be, I added my first space part to my ship.

BAM!!! He immediately contacts me all pissed off saying history would remember him. In one turn my beachhead city on his continent was overrun by about 20+ mech-infantry, gunships, etc. It was a psycho blitzkrieg from a raging lunatic.

Luckily he never seemed to figure out how to cross the very small ocean to my continent (or he might have overwhelmed me) and I won 15 or so turns later.

I understand the developers desire to make the AI want to win, but I do miss some of the role playing aspects of a more rational AI. I mean, I can understand if they are pissed because you are killing other capitals/etc, but peacefully building a spaceship invokes such hatred and hostility? I didn't notice this when I played on Prince so is this just a King+ thing???

 

[Tale]

I notice this on Chieftain. I've never been busom buddies with anyone, but it seems like the second they realize they have no capacity to win the space race, points, or culture, it's time to beat the crap out of their neighbor. It kind of makes diplomatic depend entirely on city-states, because late game it turns into THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!

 

[TheDisco]

Oddly it was only Germany who got uber-pissed like that and declared on me. The other 3 civs still alive on my continent never declared, even after I took all my troops from my land borders with them to the other side along the ocean to await the what I thought was inevitable beach landing of dozens of Germany uber-troops. I was prepared to hold them off long enough to complete my ship but I never even saw a boat other than a single iron-clad which I promptly sank...

 

[gunsnroses]

Did he know where you were? It seems the AI doesn't have all seeing map powers.

 

[cccv]

I've been worried about this kind of thing, but so far I haven't seen a single other report of this happening. Is it possible he was paid off or persuaded by someone he liked better to go to war with you?

 

[bobbyboy29]

If you saw that he was building the space ship and was probably going to beat you, what would you do? You would attack/sabotage him right? A lot of people are complaining about how dumb the AI and how powerless they are to stop you, I think it's nice that the AI is smart enough to end an alliance in the hope of potentially winning the game.

In Civ 4 you could abuse diplo to get people friendly and sit pretty on your way to space. This makes the end game harder and more interesting (it's also pretty realistic if you consider America and Russia's relations when they engaged in the space race). It makes you think harder and plan better. Personally I think this is a good idea and once you get used to it will make the game more fun and engaging.

... The AI does need to know how to stage intercontinental warfare though...

 

[cccv]

If you saw that he was building the space ship and was probably going to beat you, what would you do? You would attack/sabotage him right? A lot of people are complaining about how dumb the AI and how powerless they are to stop you, I think it's nice that the AI is smart enough to end an alliance in the hope of potentially winning the game.

In Civ 4 you could abuse diplo to get people friendly and sit pretty on your way to space. This makes the end game harder and more interesting (it's also pretty realistic if you consider America and Russia's relations when they engaged in the space race). It makes you think harder and plan better. Personally I think this is a good idea and once you get used to it will make the game more fun and engaging.

... The AI does need to know how to stage intercontinental warfare though...

Uh, the US and Russia already hated each other. They weren't best buddies who began to hate each other because we were both trying to reach the moon. It's not even remotely realistic.

The debate over whether this is good or not has been done to death, we can just leave it as some of us want to roleplay and create history within the game, and some of us want an AI that knows it's playing a game and plays accordingly, ignoring any such ideas of the "history" we want to create. I'm still waiting to find out which one V really favors.