Initiating War

[sealman]

If a distant civ declare war on me, than he did. So what? I don't get annoyed by that. And I do see how imposing a limit on declaration of war would enhance the AI performance or game feature at all.

The problem with this, as I see it, is that the AI will declare war and is both unable, to actively presue it and won't talk peace for some time. This causes the AI civ to stagnate in its growth since it has to combat ww and build military troops (which never make it to your lands.) Thus, the AI is easier to defeat later in the game when an long distance war is more effective.

Too me, this is a sever limitation on the AI which makes it easier for the human player and that, in my opinion, makes the game less enjoyable. The AI should not declare war for the sake of declaring war.

BTW - sealman, great description of almost every war in civ3. Another BTW - what side are you on exactly you waffled at one point and i am unclear on your current status.

I don't know where I sit at the moment. If the AI is programed in such a way that it will actually think before it makes war declarations than this rule would not be really needed. If the AI continues to act in the same manner as CIV III, than something like this needs to be incorporated into the game regardless of the "historical inacuracies" it may, or may not, trigger.

 

[dh_epic]

I'm not too worried about historical inaccuracy so long as it's at least possible. The goal is not realism but verisimilitude -- the feeling of realism.

Let's say that for the sake of the argument that no nation in history ever declared war on someone that didn't share their borders, or share borders with an ally (domino effect). To me, it still seems entirely plausible that China could have declared war on Egypt, and even sent a few troops through India and the Near East to do so.

I also think sealman is right that this is an AI issue more than a game-rules issue. The AI needs to have a better sense of whether a war is profitable, to put it quite generally. That encompasses the allocation of valuable resources to a war that is too distant to be valuable or practical.

 

[rhialto]

I think one thing we can agree on is that you should not be able to declare war on a civilisation that you have zero contact with. One thing that sometimes irks me is having a MPP with civ A, who then gets attacked by civ B (whom I do not have contact with). The MPP makes me declare war on civ B and gives me contact with them. That just feels weird to me somehow.

 

[dh_epic]

I've never had that happen to me, rhialto, but if it does happen, it sounds like a glitch to me. Something that should be corrected quite quickly.

 

[kingkong]

I voted No because quite simply, i enjoy being able to fight someone,perhaps on another island, for their land or a particularly valuable resource.

However i believe that the issue of long-distance wars and how they are conducted between AI should be addressed in the next Civ.

I like the idea of supply lines or something similar which would render it impossible to conduct a war too far away from your own lines anyway.

Cheers,
kingkong

 

[kingkong]

The problem with this, as I see it, is that the AI will declare war and is both unable, to actively presue it and won't talk peace for some time. This causes the AI civ to stagnate in its growth since it has to combat ww and build military troops (which never make it to your lands.) Thus, the AI is easier to defeat later in the game when an long distance war is more effective.

Too me, this is a sever limitation on the AI which makes it easier for the human player and that, in my opinion, makes the game less enjoyable. The AI should not declare war for the sake of declaring war.

I totally agree here sealman. Perhaps Firaxis could implement a system which looks at the distance from a civ to one its at war with, and how many military units both it and the warring civilization have (that it knows of obviously) before building more?

Obviously im not a programmer and it probably will be a complicated chunk of programming, with all the IFs, but i think it could probably be done? Any other ideas?

Cheers,
kingkong