Little confusing war

[Jaxus]

In one of my games I started capturing capitol cities. I managed to get it and the country was split in two. As I was wandering around with my spy to look for cheap cities to buy off I found out that the country now had two capitols. After capturing one of the new capitols the number of capitols rose again. In the end one nation had four or five capitols.

 

[Old n Slow]

Cute. Must be Bolivia.

The split civ can act like two separate civs, so a capitol for each makes sense. I know that the ai can move capitols, and the ai also builds the same unique item in muliple locations simutaneously, but this is the first time I've heard of joint capitols.

 

[funxus]

Maybe it seemed as if they had many capitals? If a capital is captured both the AI and you will be offered to move your capital instantly to a new city for 1000g. So if the AI has 5000g, they will theoretically be able to move their capital 5 times if they're captured.
A civ will split if you capture the capital, their power is better than yours (check F3) and there are less than 7 civs totally. I think these are the criteria

 

[Simon Darkshade]

Yep, funxus has it fairly right. I still remember my wonder and pleasure the first time that I schismed a Civ...it was in the original Civ, but it still seems like yesterday...

 

[ben_weller1991]

My strategy is to isolate the capital by buying the surrounding cities then build an army in those cities and take the capital.
I always finish them off by wiping out their capital

 

[Zwelgje]

Originally posted by ben_weller1991
My strategy is to isolate the capital by buying the surrounding cities then build an army in those cities and take the capital.
I always finish them off by wiping out their capital

Bad strategy!
When you take a huge army and take the capitol you can then bribe the cities left for less money.

 

[ben_weller1991]

If you try to take the capital first you could be hindered by surrounding cities

 

[Zwelgje]

Sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn't.
If I were you I would try to use the tactic I described once, it saves you lots of money!
Another thing you could do is bribe or attack a city blocking the way to the capitol and then go for the capitol after which you can bribe the other cities cheap. Another thing you should consider is trying to exchange maps so that you know where the cities of the enemy are so that you can think of a good strategy to kill them off.

 

[ben_weller1991]

i agree with what you are saying. however, if your cities are far away then it would be best to capture as many enemy cities as possible and produce a nearby army to take the capital. anyway, my strategy seems to work

 

[MajorGeneral2]

But if you capture the capitol, don't other cities become cheaper to bribe? Also, if you schism the country, one will often offer a peace treaty, so you'll have about half the number of cities to deal with. By going city by city, it takes longer because you have to deal with your opponents full strength at once.

 

[ben_weller1991]

i dont have a clue what the general is talking about

 

[ben_weller1991]

please rephrase

 

[TimTheEnchanter]

Originally posted by ben_weller1991
i dont have a clue what the general is talking about

(1)But if you capture the capitol, don't other cities become cheaper to bribe?

The formula for inciting a city is based in part on distance to the capital (closer to Capital=more expensive) If a civ has no capital, all cities are considered to be the "maximum distance" and are thus suddenly much less expensive to acquire with dips and spies.


(2)Also, if you schism the country, one will often offer a peace treaty, so you'll have about half the number of cities to deal with. By going city by city, it takes longer because you have to deal with your opponents full strength at once.

If you capture the capital of a civ with a higher power rating than you, and if there is an open slot for another civ, it will have a civil war and split into two separate civs. MajGen2 is just commenting that the "rebel" nation that is formed often sues for peace, so you are suddenly facing fewer cities from which resources can be drawn in the war against you. You take out one of the two civs at a time, it is easier than facing the combined resources of the original civ - classic divide and conquer.

 

[MajorGeneral2]

Well put, Enchanter.
With this, even a much larger enemy can suddenly become a one-sided massacre in your favor; assuming things work out just right. And if you were close in strength starting out, your opponent will likely become easy pickings.
This is a similar principle to why one should keep your rivals from forming alliances: one enemy is easier to defeat than several.
Chinese scholar Wang Hsi, in his commentary on Sun Tzu's "Art of War," put it this way:
"If an enemy has alliances, the problem is grave and the enemy's position strong; if he has no alliances the problem is minor and the enemy's position weak."
This is a point Sun Tzu stresses, and for good reason! Ensuring your rival stays small is of cardinal importance, so split their cities whenever possible.

 

[ben_weller1991]

Cheers, enchanter

 

[ElephantU]

Also a good reason behind protecting your Capital. Since it was the first city you built it is often not in a good place because you knew so little about the map. Consider moving it to a more central, more defensable location once your empire is built up. A location along a coast is vulnerable to sudden late-game attacks from the sea. And once you launch your spaceship the AI civs will band together and try to take your Capital, which would cause your spaceship to crash.