Has anyone been Nuked by the AI?

[Thateadthe1942]

I was reading about someone's feedback on making nukes more attainable without being attached to conquering settlements in the modern age, and I thought to myself "Is it even possible for the AI to build nukes and have time to use them?". In all the games I've played the AI picks an ideology by turn 50 or so (50-75% through the era)... As a human player I have used them against the AI and other human players , but the way the game is structured, it seems like only one civ could really obtain nukes in time to use them, there isnt exactly a cold war scenario of two superpowers (maybe that's the focus of age 4, which would make sense)...

While AI in 7 seems to be better equipped to take towns than 6's AI could take 1 tile city centers, I haven't seen them take over multi-walled cities. In civ 6, the AI once getting nukes, if they ever decided to use them, they usually just kept nuking the same city (which almost always was the capital) over and over and over. I'm very curious what an AI in 7 would do with them... I don't think there is a way to give the AI things to test this stuff out in Autoplay yet...

If any of you have experienced nuclear armageddon by the hands of an AI, please let me know what difficulty, roughly what was the turn/age progress when it happened.


That said, this type of strategic thinking is becoming more advanced with AI technology. For example, https://overchat.ai/ is a great tool if you're interested in brainstorming strategies or getting feedback on complex game mechanics like nuclear warfare. It's designed to help you navigate tricky decisions or simulate various outcomes, which could be really useful when exploring how AI might manage nukes or even come up with new game strategies. Plus, it’s a fast way to test out ideas for your next playthrough!

It's an interesting question, especially considering how nuclear weapons are treated in Civ games. In the earlier versions, it seems like the AI rarely used nukes effectively, often just targeting the same city over and over, particularly the capital. I think the problem is that nukes, while a potent tool in terms of destruction, aren't always the best strategic choice for the AI, especially with the limited resources and the time constraints the AI faces in building them.


As for Civilization 7, if it introduces more advanced mechanics for warfare and AI behavior, we might see nukes used more strategically. However, in my experience, the AI tends to have difficulty with the long-term planning needed to effectively build up and deploy nukes in a way that matches human playstyles. By the time the AI gets them, it’s often too late to make a major impact unless they’re already in a dominant position.


It's also worth noting that nukes are often a late-game asset. So even if the AI does build them, the pace of the game may make it difficult for them to use nukes in time to cause meaningful damage, unless the game is specifically structured to set up Cold War-like situations.


Have you tried looking for or setting up scenarios where the AI gets nukes earlier, or possibly even testing AI behavior on a custom map where they’re forced into using nuclear options? That could give a clearer picture of how they behave with that kind of firepower. Would love to hear if anyone's experimented with this in Civ 7 or similar mods!

 

[Fluffball]

Even on diety I win the game before aircraft are even available so never seen the AI use aircraft nevermind use a nuke.

Only ever used one nuke and that was when I deliberately stopped myself winning long enough to get it as I wanted to see what it looked like.

Same with carriers, subs and destroyers.

 

[evonannoredars]

The AI hit me with two simultaneous nukes, both on my biggest cities, and then won the game shortly after...

...in the dream I had last night. It was very cool but I hope it happens irl sometime. Although given how the manhattan project unlocks nukes and the victory project, there's no certainty that even if an AI did complete the military legacy path, that they'd then actually make use of the nukes instead of immediately going for the win.

 

[protocol7]

I guess it’s mainly not possible because the modern era ends before anyone really has a chance to do anything militarily.

 

[fantsu]

I dont think console versions of Civ have nukes AI can use (Rev, V-VII).
Its a thing developers dont want in the game, just like other controversial historical concepts like slavery. Its bad for the players to think things like these ever existed. Its more about women leading a nations they never really did. DEI is excluding reality in this case.

 

[evonannoredars]

Its a thing developers dont want in the game,

except nukes are in the game? also not sure what diversity has to do with whether a game has nukes or not

 

[queenpea]

except nukes are in the game? also not sure what diversity has to do with whether a game has nukes or not

Nothing at all, of course.

Anyway!

I posted earlier about my experience dropping nukes in Civ VII. I was disappointed to see that it doesn’t affect population levels of a city at all.

I think the only reason that this is the case is because population is directly tied to city growth/spread and number of tiles claimed by a city. So, if you had a size 30 city, and it was nuked down to a size 15, without loss of any tiles, then this wouldn’t really function in Civ VII.

Nevertheless, I was angry that I couldn’t decimate my annoying neighbors and continued to spitefully drop more nukes.

 

[MrRadar]

except nukes are in the game?

Are they really? Never seen one!

I posted earlier about my experience dropping nukes in Civ VII. I was disappointed to see that it doesn’t affect population levels of a city at all.

Yes, you're right, Civ VII has the most nuke-unfriendly design. Unless the explosion glasses over a few tiles removing buildings (which can't be done?), nuking is meaningless, as you can just buy back population in an instant?

 

[evonannoredars]

I posted earlier about my experience dropping nukes in Civ VII. I was disappointed to see that it doesn’t affect population levels of a city at all.

Odd, according to this video it does - bugged or recently altered behaviour maybe? Not truly reduced the population because you'll be able to repair the buildings to get it back eventually, but that'll require waiting for the fallout to clear.

 

[queenpea]

Odd, according to this video it does - bugged or recently altered behaviour maybe? Not truly reduced the population because you'll be able to repair the buildings to get it back eventually, but that'll require waiting for the fallout to clear.

Maybe they changed it!