Vulture and cowardly ways of the AI...

[Mavfin]

I trust all of the AI's about as much as any SMAC player trusts Miriam.....

:rocket:

 

[elfstorm]

It seems Everyone who is defending Civ3's diplomacy AI enjoys playing conquest games. And for conquest games it's fine. But otherwise I feel it's a step backwards.

SMAC's diplomacy certainly wasn't perfect but it was much better than Civ3s. In SMAC, for example, you could ask other Civs to make peace with your allies - very usefull when you want to avoid a war your unprepared for.

Allies were generally more useful in SMAC too, and in war you could provide more effective military assistance. In one game the only reason the Gaian capital didn't fall to the Spartans was because of the units I'd garisoned in it.

I often played peacefully in SMAC but in Civ3 I don't see the point. I ignore the AI completely, except to obtain techs or if I'm lacking a reasource. Otherwise I do nothing and always expect combat.

Unfortantly I expected more diplomatically from the game.

 

[LordAzreal]

Originally posted by Mavfin
I trust all of the AI's about as much as any SMAC player trusts Miriam.....

:rocket:

So so true. In fact, I trust them LESS than I trust Miriam (or Yang for that matter). I haven't ever been sneak attacked by the Believers or Hive in SMAC. They simply try to extort, ask for a loan, ask for a piece of technology as a 'personal favour' and then decide that they resent the fact that my faction is governed by a democracy and attack (even if I'm much stronger).

However, you can well and truly expect a sneak attack from your neighbours. Most especially the less aggressive ones such as India or France, as the more aggressive ones such as Germany or Zululand demand tribute first. However, the more aggressive ones are more likely to sneak attack you than the less aggressive ones if you have a Mutual Protection Pact and/or Right of Passage Agreement with them. They'll use the 20 turns to deploy their forces deep within your empire (getting through with your road/railroad system) and sneak attack when they feel that they are ready (even if they feel that one or two warriors outside your capital is ready enough), even if the pact or agreement hasn't expired yet.

If you're totally desperate for a war with Germany or Zululand and they haven't yet given you valid reason, simply sign an MPP with them and let them begin the war for you. Then simply do your duty in wiping them off the face of the earth (in fact, the chances that the other civs will help you will be greater). Just be certain that your military is stronger or equal to theirs, or they'll just totally wipe the floor with your head.

 

[Cyc]

Dr. Zlu - your thread and first two replies were absolutely great. inspiring. keep writing.
Capt Pugwash - your so right.
Lord Azreal - your half right.
Quentin and Kcheung - true.
FranzX - nice story.
Akka - did you play any of the Ultima series?
so much to say in these forever threads. this one especially reminds me of the long email i wrote to sid and the boys after civ2 came out. the ai is set to optimums. optimum time to strike, optimum place to strike, optimum time to infringe on my expansion, optimum bookkeeping, optimum everything. it's purpose is to beat you, but if it can't then to slow your progress and hinder your score as much as possible. if it doesn't have to cheat to do this, then so be it. but cheating is how the difficulty levels are marked. the lower the level, the less the cheat. it's been said before - programming