Gold in exchange for declaring war

wobuffet

Barbarian
Joined
Jun 27, 2011
Messages
1,248
Just had Theodora offer me 131:c5gold: per turn in exchange for declaring war on Sweden; both Byzantine and Sweden were halfway across the world from me. (Her income was about 200:c5gold: per turn, for reference.) I agreed, did not engage Sweden at all, and used the sweet, sweet :c5gold: to jump-start some buildings and units at home.

Maybe I'm missing something, but seems like either this should be fixed, or Declare War / Make Peace should just be eliminated from the trade window. Do bribing the AI into waging war or being bribed by the AI into waging war actually add any strategic depth to the game?
 
I only remember them bribing me after I have the strongest navy to then attack across half the world. I accepted because who would waste Ship of the Lines?

So, yes I do think they affect our games on a strategic depth. Because if not, most players never know that they can ask all AIs civilization for trade offers to declare war on someone rather than formally declaring war to earn some $$$. I don't see what's the difference here.
 
Just had Theodora offer me 131:c5gold: per turn in exchange for declaring war on Sweden; both Byzantine and Sweden were halfway across the world from me. (Her income was about 200:c5gold: per turn, for reference.) I agreed, did not engage Sweden at all, and used the sweet, sweet :c5gold: to jump-start some buildings and units at home.

Maybe I'm missing something, but seems like either this should be fixed, or Declare War / Make Peace should just be eliminated from the trade window. Do bribing the AI into waging war or being bribed by the AI into waging war actually add any strategic depth to the game?

You're only looking at one dimension. You were paid 131gpt to sour your relationship with Sweden almost permanently, and also any of its allies or friends. Also any influence you have with CSs allied to it is potentially lost, and AIs that want to war you may be more inclined to dog-pile. It is also possible that Theodora hates Sweden, and seeks to cut his ties to other civs. Lots of things going on in the AI deal model for 3rd party war.

G
 
You're only looking at one dimension. You were paid 131gpt to sour your relationship with Sweden almost permanently, and also any of its allies or friends. Also any influence you have with CSs allied to it is potentially lost, and AIs that want to war you may be more inclined to dog-pile. It is also possible that Theodora hates Sweden, and seeks to cut his ties to other civs. Lots of things going on in the AI deal model for 3rd party war.

G

Yeah that's exactly the way I view it when I'm offered those deals. Very realistic and enjoyable in fact. Kudos for all the hard work in AI training.
 
You're only looking at one dimension. You were paid 131gpt to sour your relationship with Sweden almost permanently, and also any of its allies or friends. Also any influence you have with CSs allied to it is potentially lost, and AIs that want to war you may be more inclined to dog-pile. It is also possible that Theodora hates Sweden, and seeks to cut his ties to other civs. Lots of things going on in the AI deal model for 3rd party war.

G

While I understand the thought behind it, I think they offer far too much money, to the point of hurting themselves. In my most recent game I struggled with my economy, but then was offered 269 gpt to declare a war I never engaged in. Whatever strategic goals they had, I'm not sure they included the consequences of their own deal in this calculation.

Consider:

1. They offered 100% of their income. That is, they were financially hamstrung for 45 turns and couldn't use gold for any other deals they might need. They also left themselves in a bad shape for any war.

2. They made me very powerful as a result. I went from a regional power with bad economy to a world power thanks to that money. I overtook them in power.

The thing is, I would gladly have taken the deal for 40 gpt. So, in this deal model, does the AI consider the deal targets economy? Is their any logic along the lines: "This deal is totally worth 269 gpt for me, but considering how poor they are, I think they will accept the deal for just 69 gpt.". Also, however, I don't think they should give away 100% of their income lightly.

Is it possible to let them try with a lower amount first, and if that doesn't work and they still think it's a good idea they can increase it?
 
I agree AI offer too much to bribe for 'non-action' wars, also declaring war and making peace after 10 turns is up will not make AI hate you at all, it just says that you've been at war but they hold no grudge (0), and city state influences are restored once you make peace
 
You're only looking at one dimension. You were paid 131gpt to sour your relationship with Sweden almost permanently, and also any of its allies or friends. Also any influence you have with CSs allied to it is potentially lost, and AIs that want to war you may be more inclined to dog-pile. It is also possible that Theodora hates Sweden, and seeks to cut his ties to other civs. Lots of things going on in the AI deal model for 3rd party war.

G

Great points; thanks G! In this game, Theodora did manage to pretty much turn the whole world against Sweden.

Maybe something like a cap of 25% of current gold income on such deals could allay the concerns some of us have?

edit: unrelated, but I love the War Score mechanic and ability to use numbers to craft optimal peace treaties. Is there a reason we can't use similar info in the normal trade window (at least with Transparent Diplomacy on)?
 
edit: unrelated, but I love the War Score mechanic and ability to use numbers to craft optimal peace treaties. Is there a reason we can't use similar info in the normal trade window (at least with Transparent Diplomacy on)?
I would LOVE something like this and was thinking similar the other day. It's so time consuming trying to maximize my gains.
 
Maybe something like a cap of 25% of current gold income on such deals could allay the concerns some of us have?

This sounds like a great idea. Alternatively, would it be possible to add a malus from the Civ who bribed you into war if you don't at capture at least one enemy city or something? I was thinking about the CS quests that ask you to take a city. If a major civ is giving this amount of money for a war declaration, the party being bribed should feel obligated to actively fight that war.
 
A malus from the civ who bribed you would be great indeed if you don't fight the war. Seems realistic, too, since a human player would be pissed if you just take the money and don't fight. Dunno how hard it would be to implement though.
 
I think another way of doing this would be for the Civ would pay you for each enemy unit that you took out for them. Not sure if that is doable. That way to receive any sort of award you would have to be an active partner in the war.
 
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