I found this interesting because it reminded me of one of my more memorable Civ1 games, the only one in which I was nuked when I didn't nuke first..
Now, as far as nuking, it's a different story. I'm not sure if he has the research to back it up, but one civ expert claimed that enemy civs would only attack you with nukes if someone else uses nukes first, except for the Americans and Russians, who are the only ones who will actually start a nuclear war. I can't be sure of this conclusion, but it makes sense. Personally, I have only been in one nuclear war which I did not start, and it was the Russians who started it.
It was my first game at a new level (King?) and I'd fallen behind on science, mostly thanks to the constant effort needed to ward off the hated Mongolians nearby.
Meanwhile the hated Romans (living in isolated splendor on their own continent) had pulled way out ahead scientifically and had begun spaceship construction while I was still fiddling around with something like Advanced Flight, if that. I loaded up several shiploads of armor and diplomats and landed at a quiet spot on their continent. We were at peace and they (convienently enough!) left me alone while I wound my way around the continent and converged on the capitol. It took a lot of diplomats but I eventually brought down the city walls, attacked, and sacked the capitol. So much for their spaceship. Also, their empire split asunder amid civil war, although the only secessionist cities were a handful of small ones so it unfortunately lacked any critical effect.
I took advanced flight and fortified Rome with my 12+ remaining armored units.
At first the enemy response was so puny that I made the mistake of wasting some units in various attacking/pillage operations outside the city. But then the bomber and land assault picked up and I began losing people ... fast. Additionally, the Romans effectively cut off my efforts at re-supply. Eventually, after maybe 12 - 15 years of holding out, the Romans re-captured the city.
Anyway, at that point I was turning all attention to science & espionage although beginning to realize I was still not going to catch up. (The Romans were beginning work on their second spaceship.). So that was the state of things when, some years after losing Rome back to them, a pair (or maybe only one, it's been a long time, but I think it was two) of Roman nukes appeared out of nowhere and incinerated yours truly.
Only later did I realize they'd just built a small city on an island off my continent, seemingly just for the nefarious purpose of nuking me.
I remember thinking how much my sacking of their capitol must have really ticked them off because up till that point I'd never been nuked by the AI before. And it was definitely the Romans.Urggh those hated Romans.
I ended up losing that one to them when they sent their second spaceship up to AC.
