Can't seem to keep any AI Civs on side...

[AbiMurnu]

I started having this problem when I started playing Prince. It wasn't much of a problem then but in my recent King game (I'm moving up a difficulty each game until I get back in the swing of things lol) I had 4 civs sign pacts against me very early on in the game and found it almost impossible to expand without leaving some of my cities undefended.

The Problem:

I start expanding as much as I can and try to make peace as soon as I discover an AI. In my last few games the AI keeps demanding money and whether or not I give it, I always get drawn into a war - refuse to give them a key tech, money I need for rush building settlers etc. or they sneak-attack - which I win by using diplomats and strategic defense. When I meet other civs they also demand money and/or refuse peace treaties with me because they "won't be manipulated". They end up signing a pact against me with the first civ who ends up signing another pact or two with civs I don't have contact with.

E.G. in my latest game, I took the Persians down to two cities after they declared war on me for not paying them. They signed a pact with the Japanese who sat to my north, Egyptians who I hadn't met and the Greeks who I hadn't met but who were walking around in my general area. Again, none of these civs would sign a cease fire unless I paid them massive amounts of gold (I tried spending the gold and then speaking to them, so they would demand tech, but after handing them Monarchy and being sneak-attacked a few turns later, I didn't bother.) None of them will sign a peace treaty with me for the same reason as stated above; "won't be manipulated".

What am I doing wrong? Is it because I'm expanding much faster than I did in the lower levels of the game? I don't remember having the problem as often as this a few years ago but as I didn't follow any set strategies for expansion at the time.

Walls of text... lol, I hope I made sense :\

 

[Jacen_Fel]

I started having this problem when I started playing Prince. It wasn't much of a problem then but in my recent King game (I'm moving up a difficulty each game until I get back in the swing of things lol) I had 4 civs sign pacts against me very early on in the game and found it almost impossible to expand without leaving some of my cities undefended.

Part of your problem is that the higher difficulty levels you get the generally more unreasonable the computers are. Usually the best thing to hope for is that you either meet the computer and can swap a bunch of techs so they like you and offer peace. Then as long as you don't immediately border each other things should be good for a while. Also if the computers meet each other first some of them tend to start wars which makes them generally nicer when they meet you. I would suggest going for Monarchy and getting 3 cheap defenders per city early to keep people happy and cities safe. And also so you can go on the offensive if you choose too.

The Problem:
I start expanding as much as I can and try to make peace as soon as I discover an AI. In my last few games the AI keeps demanding money and whether or not I give it, I always get drawn into a war - refuse to give them a key tech, money I need for rush building settlers etc. or they sneak-attack - which I win by using diplomats and strategic defense. When I meet other civs they also demand money and/or refuse peace treaties with me because they "won't be manipulated". They end up signing a pact against me with the first civ who ends up signing another pact or two with civs I don't have contact with.

If your weak the computer won't respect you very long even if you give into all their demands, but then at least they don't attack that well when you get into a war. Unless its late level tech because then if they have 30ish cities and modern weapons you can find yourself in a really fun, drawn out battle.

None of them will sign a peace treaty with me for the same reason as stated above; "won't be manipulated".

What am I doing wrong? Is it because I'm expanding much faster than I did in the lower levels of the game? I don't remember having the problem as often as this a few years ago but as I didn't follow any set strategies for expansion at the time.

If I remember correctly the manipulated message usually indicates they fear your large empire. There's not a whole lot you can do when a bunch of them allie and decide they dislike you as its unlikely they will all turn their backs on each other and make peace. Anyway just think of it as an added challenge to enjoy at the higher difficulty level so its not so easy to always win. Wait till you get to deity ;-).

 

[AbiMurnu]

Heh, if they hate me because they fear my large empire then I'll take their messages of contempt as a compliments, lol. As for Monarchy, it's always the first tech I work towards followed by either Republic or Monotheism depending on how many civs are close to me. I generally only have one or two defenders per city and mess with luxury % to keep them content/happy until I'm happy with the amount of settlers/cities. Ah well, I'll just power through them all. It's not as if they're beating me, it's just an annoyance. At deity, I'll worry lol

Thanks for the reply.

 

[JonathanStrange]

I know the feeling of seemingly being hated - and not only by AIs (but that's another story) - though even if the AI's like you it's no help if you're weaker militarily anyway since they come up with good reasons for eating your lunch. They'll just be a little slower on the DOW.

 

[civiijkw]

When you are in republic or democracy, the AI dislike can be manipulated to get them to start a war even when the senate wants peace (or if you opt to play a game keeping your reputation spotless).

In my first prince game I ended up with battleships, stealth bombers, marines and howitzers near Novaya-Zemlya. The Carthaginians ended up restarting there with a settler and primitive techs. When I sent an ambassador they were unfriendly and refused to be manipulated, stating they only my having the UN kept them from destroying me. That was a kind of uppity comment considering they never did build a city (the two square island had one tundra and one glacier).