I've grown weak and soft...

[general_kill]

Does anyone have trouble declaring war on your neighbors sometimes? Recently, I had great success in spreading my religion and all my neighbors are all please or friendly with me due to our open-borders and our shared religion. However, It's getting to the midpoint of the game and I really want to start expanding but I'm boxed in by my "allies". I cannot remember ever having this problem in civ 3 as I would have declared war on them long ago but in civ 4, I just can't bring myself to wipe out these AIs.

It Feels like they have personalities now, and I feel like that killing one or two off is a huge loss. I feel sorry for them and actually care about them doing well and fending off common foes. But I also have an expansionist side of me that want to expand my empire to the stretches of the continent and more.

This inner conflict is really something new, I never thought I would care about AI players this much. Anyways what do you guys think of the AI diplomacy in civ 4? Anyone having trouble declaring war like I am?

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

A friend in need is a friend indeed, or so they say. If you don't need them, though, then they have outlived their usefulness. Don't be such a pansy and KILL THEM ALL!!!! Not that I can talk, its 1000AD and I have not had a SINGLE war yet (though that George Washington is REALLY beginning to bug me !

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

 

[suspendinlight]

I have a problem killing neighboring allies mostly because it seems like a strategically bad thing to do. For instance, right now I am boxed in by the Germans and Egyptians who are both Buddhist like myself. I have a defensive pact with both because the most powerful civ (Russians) are nearby enough to me to cause some damage to my best cities if I were to fight them alone. If I were to attack either Egypt or Germany, I would lose the DP with both and probably anger the other one also (they are Friendly toward each other). It just doesn't make any sense at this point, especially with the Russians just waiting for me to show some weakness so they can destroy me. I will say though that the diplomacy is much better in Civ IV and I spend a lot of time weighing diplomatic decisions.

 

[zeise]

Can't start a war, i wiped that Maos ass off the planet before i could write, its easy just get a unit and step over the border

 

[Sadan01]

I find the hardest thing for me whether to declare war or not is deciding whether I am actually ready to fight a war. With the new diplomacy, I am also finding that you may be numerically and technologically superior to your opponent but the unknown is whether that AI is able to drag in other AIs to its side to fight you. I've had that happen once where I declared on the English and they managed to drag in another 4 AIs against me. The rest of the Civs on the map (another 2 more besides me) didnt want anything to do with the war. Maybe they were smart!

 

[FenrysWulf]

I'm glad it's not just me. I remember one time I had decided to attack Egypt because they were next to me and weak, so I talked to her so I could declare war and she is there smiling at me and being all gracious and I just felt really bad about it. The nice thing in this game though is that if a neighbor likes you they won't declare war anyway like they did in Civ III. If you want to be peaceful, you probably can be.

 

[baboon]

At the end, the people in your Civ will be the happiest ones, so go liberate some more

 

[TerraHero]

Go join the CPA (Civ Pascifists Anonimous) They'll help yah over your problems and have you back wiping civilization from the face of the earth in no time.

But its hard, first, you need to forgive yourself.

Alrighty, Its easier to make close friends and requieres less of a hassle since alot of stuff goes automatically, like the religions. But going to war allows the exanding of your empire, and the best target is your neighbour.

Beter an enslaved neighbour then a distant friend.

 

[Kal'thzar]

don't look at their faces!

Just press alt + click on their name in the lower right hand corner.

 

[Shigga]

Take them by soft force. Pump culture like crazy. It's even for their own good

 

[Fredric Drum]

Glad I don't have that problem! I started out on a continent with Mongolia, China, Mali, America... now there's just me - the mighty Roman empire. If you need space, grab it. It won't come knocking on your door
It helps to roleplay a bit - they might say something that need punishment or refuse a 'gift' to you (nice way to get a pretense for war). Somehow you'll find a way to make it look like you have every right to 'liberate' their citizens

Kontroll på kontinentet!!

 

[Sgt Grimes]

" Does anyone have trouble declaring war on your neighbors sometimes? "

All too often.......and all hail to Firaxis for making it so!

The game is awesome!

 

[Yoshua]

My only problem with starting wars just comes down to the tedium I find with trying to fight with pre-modern units over long distances (often with no roads, let alone railroads). Although I get a giggle kind of thinking about it in perspective to the timeline (And then the Roman armies trudged for 300 years across the empire to the borders of Mongolia...).

My biggest challenge lately is getting my aethiest technocracy up and running. The computer takes ages to get to theology and by then religion has usually spread to my lands (trying to get theology after the computer so I can have no state religion and pick theocracy, then I shall go forth and burn down every holy city that is founded).

 

[vinstafresh]

Personality goes a long way. Odd, since some of them are so far inferior...

I have that exact same feeling

 

[heppcatt]

I like the way diplomacy works in CIV4 ...

heppcatt

 

[Dantius III]

I usually declare war on countries with my religion. Simetimes I find it is easier to capture their cities as they usually don't prepare for a war.

In actuality, it is tougher declaring war on other civilizations with different religions because they can bring in their religious buddies when you really do not want them to.

Also, when you capture enemy cities of your faith, you know they will have your faith, so no need to build a missionary to convert them. If three people in a room agree on everything, two of them are unnecessary. There must be one Buddhist nation, not three!

Someone said that people of your faith do not declare war on you: they can and will, and they will also open borders with your enemies and allow them to easily move in their army.

But I admit, religion is unimportant to me: I usually outlaw it with free religion as soon as I can anyway. Though the extra hammers for buildings are nice to have... but it is way more important to have a strong country regardless of the friends you have.

 

[vinstafresh]

You can start a war on a dying civ and pick a city or two as a spoil of war.

 

[spa]

I know what you mean. In my last game my two nearest neighbours, the Azetecs and Persians, became budhists with me and the best of friends (aganist my better judgement I let Montezuma be). We ended up facing off against the other five Jewish civs so we really needed to stick together. Both of them didn't fail me once the whole game. When I was in need they were there and vice versa. I actually wanted them to do well. At one point I even saved the Persians when Egypt, the leader of the other five, attacked them. They were getting overwhelmed, but I had invented the first tanks the world had seen which put a stop to Egypts push. I actually cared. In hindsight I can't believe that I declared war and sent tanks down to defend an AI's cities with no material gain for myself. I would have never done that in past civs. In past civs I would have laughed at the Persians request and sat back and watched their cities burn and perhaps even grab one or two for myself.

So I'm acting differently in the game and I think the difference in this Civ comes from the fact that you can actually make real friends in Civ 4. It was easy for me to conquer the world in Civ2 and 3 since the AI automatically hated you, but stabbing friends in the back just isn't in me. So I finished the game in a diplomatic victory after the Azetecs, the Persians and I had destroyed the heathen civs.

 

[lordrichter]

But I admit, religion is unimportant to me: I usually outlaw it with free religion as soon as I can anyway.

Interesting contradiction, especially outside the Civ4 world.

 

[Eisernes]

IO usually wipe out the first neighbor I meet to keep the rest of them honest