Diplo tutorial?

[JBossch]

I'm sure this exists somewhere but I tried searching and the only thing I could find was a sample game that didn't really explain diplo at all.

Can anybody point me to something that explains the consequences/costs/benefits of various diplo options? I really have no idea what is going on. For example, if a Civ says I have units near their borders my options are to immediately declare war, or to tell them it's all good. But that option doesn't stop me from declaring war. So what's the downside?

What about when they warn me not to settle cities?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Novalia]

the downside to getting that message is this:
if you're NOT ready to go to war right now and say to him its all good... that response haunts you for a pretty long time.. could be 20 turns later you declare war on him and you get a negative diplo hit with EVERY civ saying you promised not to attack and then attacked..

when they tell you not to settle cities its pretty straightforward.. you can obey.. or not.. if you obey and some turns pass.. ~30ish could be more(?)... then you will get a message saying that you honored you agreement..

its all kinda down to experience.. gotta play.

 

[JBossch]

Thanks, this is helpful. Is there some way I can see what diplo modifiers I have with each Civ? Like in Civ4, you could mouse over a leader and it would say like "+4 We love our brothers and sisters of the faith" or "-2 You declared war on our friend." I get that each interaction is contributing toward the overall posture (Friendly, neutral, hostile, etc.) but I have a hard time grasping how much each thing is affecting relations and for how long.

the downside to getting that message is this:
if you're NOT ready to go to war right now and say to him its all good... that response haunts you for a pretty long time.. could be 20 turns later you declare war on him and you get a negative diplo hit with EVERY civ saying you promised not to attack and then attacked..

And immediately attacking does not provide any diplo hit with non-target civs unless they were friends or something?

when they tell you not to settle cities its pretty straightforward.. you can obey.. or not.. if you obey and some turns pass.. ~30ish could be more(?)... then you will get a message saying that you honored you agreement..

OK, but there are three possible outcomes right?
1) I say OK and then I honor the agreement - I assume this gets me a positive diplo with the Civ that asked me?
2) I say OK and then settle near him anyway - I assume this gets me negative diplo with this civ? What about others?
3) I say screw you I settle where I want - This gets me negative diplo with the civ that asked. Other civs? I am assuming that once I say screw you it doesn't matter whether I settle near him or not, right? But if number two doesn't affect other civs, why would I bother telling him upfront that I will settle where I please?

Sorry if I am making this overcomplicated. Am I the only that feels like diplo in Civ5 is really opaque?

 

[marekb]

Thanks, this is helpful. Is there some way I can see what diplo modifiers I have with each Civ? Like in Civ4, you could mouse over a leader and it would say like "+4 We love our brothers and sisters of the faith" or "-2 You declared war on our friend."

Yes, you can. You move your mouse over FRINDLY/GUARDED/NEUTRAL/... and tooltip with informations appears.

If you choose not to DoW you can DoW without diplo hit apfter some turns (~30 on standard speed, I think).

I don't know how it is exactly with not to settle cities, but with "not send missionaries and prophets" is that diplo hits are limited to the one civ (others don't bother). If you lie you normally get to negative modifiers: you are sending missionaries/prophets, and second you broke a promise. If you decide to ignore the request, you get one diplo hit (that you ignored a request). I don't remember well the last case (you promise not to send missionaries).

 

[kirbdog]

It's true; you don't get numerical descriptions of the diplo modifiers. The bright green ones are strongly positive, the bright red ones are strongly negative.

It's complicated further by the fact that "deceptive" AI can hide their negative modifiers. So they might covet your lands but actually ask for Declaration of Friendship before declaring war.

 

[BluegrassGeek]

Yes, you can. You move your mouse over FRINDLY/GUARDED/NEUTRAL/... and tooltip with informations appears.

Gah. Never noticed that before. I'm still learning things every time I play the game or visit the forums here!