Do You Buy Cities?

[Ace]

IIRC, the AI only buys cities if you let it get too rich. The only time that happened to me, I deliberately let the AI alone until I reached Mobile Warfare because I wanted to use blitzkrieg tactics with tanks. And when the AI got enough coins (I was spending mine on city improvements and such), it started buying my cities. You can stop it by keeping an eye on its coins. as long as its coins are close to or less than yours, you are safe. Just like you cannot buy its cities if you don't have the coins.

I know it happens on diety level, but I don't recall it happening on lower levels.

 

[Old n Slow]

AAh -- so coin watch is the key? I bought a Russian city once, far from my home & they promptly bought it back -- as I recall on King level. It is rare for me to see the cities bought, because in the earlier portion of the game I’m not too close to the ai empires & in the later portion, I’m in a strong financial position -- as well as purchase resistant democracy or expensive fundy.

For deity +x games, Andu Indorin has posted some thoughts -- sounds like fun stuff (maybe in a year when I finally get more accustomed to deity level play).

 

[funxus]

Originally posted by SlowThinker
I don't suppose the byuing of cities by the AI depends on the difficulty level. I have played Deity+5 (with normal happiness set by rules.txt) and nothing strange happened.

I'm sorry , I probably should have added this quote:

Originally posted by FLQ. Storm
and what is the thing you were talking about ? deity + 1 ??

 

[SlowThinker]

Originally posted by funxus

I'm sorry , I probably should have added this quote:

funxus, no problem, I would post that sentence anyway

 

[FLQ.Storm]

in my game the first citizen is black and im on deity +0

how do u play a harder lev?

 

[SlowThinker]

deity+0=deity in my mathematics

 

[funxus]

I searched for it, here's a link how to modify it:
Deity+1
Check the post made by Smash

 

[Hookah]

only recently have I learned the value of buying out cities

 

[The Mass Leader]

Today I was playing, and was trying to take Tblisi from the Russians. My french army was fighting deperately for the city, when something like 15 russian units entered the town to defend it. The turn ended, i sent a spy to make some noise over there and the city became mine. With the whole russian army inside it! I would have spent 10 times the money I used to subvert the city if I had to build all those units by my own. They came with the city, for free!
And, as a special gift, I took Mobile Warfare. Isn't life great?

 

[harperbruce]

Originally posted by Marlos


Hmm, also a good idea! In a game like this, I could see commissioning even more diplomats/spies than I already do

From Fisher, my favorite author in the War Academy:

I have won wars in Civ2 against powerful opponents by building nothing more than a few diplomats and turning them loose on the enemy's shores. Diplomats are very cheap (120 gold), and each one is capable of capturing an entire city for you. Imagine formations of diplomats descending on your enemies! Not even Mongol hordes can match the horror inspired by these powerful units!

A touch hyperbolic, but not much.

 

[mardukes]

Originally posted by Jace
I have NEVER had the AI buy a city - mine or another civ's. I usualy don't play at a level higher than King, so that may be why.

I buy them whenever i have the chance.

Maybe this is for the AI cheat category but, at king I had the ai buy back a captured city. So at the next oedo year I switched back to democracy. During the ai winter while in anarchy 3 spies dashed out and grabbed back 3 more captured cities from me.

 

[The Person]

I just recently began to buy cities, since all of my money and effort goes toward the spaceship...

But it's still a nice way of getting rid of those AI idiots.

 

[rponton]

I uasually buy, buy, buy. In a recent game, I committed myself to not attacking anyone until I had no chioce. I allowed the AI to attack each other, they destroyed a few of the other AI civs, and I was left with Mongols, Russians, and french. French I was allied with, Peace with the other two. over a time table of years, I bought up every city from russians and monglos I could (sans capital.) I surrounded their capitals with spies, so they could not ever expand again. The french were in Democracy, but I had them so buttered up they were very poorly defended. Around 1800, I diverted all city production to Mech. infantry (my favorite military unit) I also rerouted all engineers I had and built a beautiful railroad system for the french. Once I had finished that (1873) I switched to fundy, and with my 100 mech. infantry units destroyed all three civs in about 1/2 of a turn. Thew build up took forever, but that last turn was great. Especially as I am generally a peaceful player and usually win by space ship. A guy could get used to that...

 

[Terrapin]

A fun thing to do: If ai is in democracy, do a little spying and figure out which city is most precariously balanced on the edge of disorder then put some units down on the city's better trade producing spots. Denying them enough trade will create disorder. If the city is too big, the ai will have hired an unreasonable (and inefficient) number of elvi and thus be immune. The city needs to be medium sized, preferably without a tremendous food surplus. The ai seems (to me) loathe to create a food shortage and will allow the government to fall. Cities in anarchy are cheap, cheap, cheap!

 

[funxus]

I've never heard of their gov falling, I thought it was an AI cheat. However, I haven't really tried it, so I don't really know.

 

[Terrapin]

You have never gotten "The .... democracy has been overthrown"?

 

[funxus]

Not that I can remember now, but maybe I have without thinking about it. I have to try that sometime then.

 

[rponton]

This was a first for me last night. I was in a strong democracy, and My gov actually allowed me to initiatle war with the french. I've always had the senate over rulr me on that. But last night, they just let me start the war. It was great!

 

[rponton]

Also, you can sell off improvements like granary and cathedral if you have pyramids and mike's. You can usually come a long way to recovering your money. I also disband some of the units in the city to add shields to whatever I am building. Works well for me!!

 

[ElephantU]

Originally posted by rponton
This was a first for me last night. I was in a strong democracy, and My gov actually allowed me to initiatle war with the french. I've always had the senate over rulr me on that. But last night, they just let me start the war. It was great!

This usually happens when you have been suprise-attacked more than once by the AI civ. You also have to keep a clean reputation yourself.