Why is the AI always a Warmonger?

[Adagio]

Originally posted by Melboz99
I don't know, I just don't think it's fun when you're playing Builder style and all the AI does is plot War. I'm trying to win Via Space Race or Culture.

If you don't know if you want to win via culture at the time the wars begin, then chances you'll win that way are pretty slim
A couple of days ago I played a game on noble (which I played without fighting anything but animals), where I won via culture the very last turn (2050)
During the whole game I did everything I could to build culture in 3 specific cities

[padillah]

Originally posted by Demiurge2332
The minute the Invasion force moves in reinforce cities with appropriate units and counter attack immediately- I do 5 prongs of 3-4 mixed units...

Where do you guys get all these units? That's like twenty extra units! I generally have one for each city (6 - 10) and like five extra (almost one per city).

Where the heck do you get twenty extra untis?

Am I playing this game wrong? Is this why I get my as... head handed to me on a regular basis? (For those keeping track, I tried to squish Isse between me and Mali but Mali was as useful as Helen Kellar's Tape recorder. I resigned.)

Tom P.

[Artuero]

I tend to go light on defense and focus on building as well, and the computer will exploit this.

I was pretty surprised last night with a great move by Elizabeth. I actually have a strong military, possibly the strongest or second/third to Cyrus and/or Elizabeth. Just finished wiping out Kublai Kahn so I was in war mode, and didn't suffer much in the battle because of tech superiority. Brought all my troops home so was feeling powerful.

It's a huge terra map and I am the first person to "colonize" the new world. All I have managed to get though is two cities that can't keep any improvements due to all the barbarian activity. Well, I decide to send my war machine over there, especially as how I can now do infantry and I have a bunch of cavalry-- thought the barbarians would be behind the times.

When my transports unload the troops in the new world, Elizabeth strikes at me quickly and takes some key strategic points. I knew I would have to deal with her eventually because she has territory that cuts off my capital from the rest of my old world empire, I had taken one of her cities with culture. But we have had good trading relations and an open borders agreement forever. She is free religion and I have hinduism, so that is not an issue.

Basically she was just very opportunistic, realizing that although I was strong overall, this was about the best chance she would get to strike. I had actually considered striking her for the same reason but thought I would prefer to grow the new world before other people got there. Big mistake.

Now my capital is cut off, pillaging has ensued and I have turned my transports around to deal with the threat. Fortunately I have pretty good defensive units keeping her out of cities, but I am going to have to work hard to not have my empire decimated.

Plan: have the transports just go directly to her capital and begin trouble there. She doesn't have much of a Navy so I can blockade her and land relatively safely, then pillage about. And turn my economy to producing lots of infantry and cannons (no one has artillery yet).

[mmm_ok]

Well I player "builder" on Noble, and I have way more than one unit per city.

Again, check the "average" army size on the game information screen. If you've got less than average, you're in trouble.

If you have less than "Average" that means you're the "easy" target!

[padillah]

Originally posted by mmm_ok
Well I player "builder" on Noble, and I have way more than one unit per city.

Again, check the "average" army size on the game information screen. If you've got less than average, you're in trouble.

If you have less than "Average" that means you're the "easy" target!

If you have way more than one uinit per city than I'm not playing the same "builder" type game you are.

"game information screen"? Do you mean the military advisor screen?

Tom P.

[mmm_ok]

I'm at work so I can't quite remember the name of the screen, but it's the rightmost button on the row of buttons at the top right of the screen.

I think it's called the "Information screen (F10)", but I'm not sure.

[Mayfield]

Originally posted by padillah


Where do you guys get all these units? That's like twenty extra units! I generally have one for each city (6 - 10) and like five extra (almost one per city).

Where the heck do you get twenty extra untis?

Am I playing this game wrong? Is this why I get my as... head handed to me on a regular basis? (For those keeping track, I tried to squish Isse between me and Mali but Mali was as useful as Helen Kellar's Tape recorder. I resigned.)

Tom P.

For that size of an empire I usually have 3 for each city on defence, and a force of 12-20 for attacking/stopping the AI from attacking. This is on Prince and I am more aggressive.

[Kekkonen]

Originally posted by padillah
If you have way more than one uinit per city than I'm not playing the same "builder" type game you are.

If you only build one military unit per city, you're not playing a builder game. You're playing a losing game. You're essentially building a great empire for someone else.

Getting a formidable army in a builder game isn't really that hard. All you have to do is get 1-2 cities that specialize in producing military units. The rest of your cities don't even need barracks.

And don't forget to build a navy. You don't need to rule the seas, but it's always a good idea to stop an overseas invasion before they bad guys hit your shores.

[mmm_ok]

If you only build one military unit per city, you're not playing a builder game. You're playing a losing game. You're essentially building a great empire for someone else.

He he he. Thanks you said what I was trying to get across in a more subtle way.

[Melboz99]

Well, I won my first CIV Cultural victory this morning!


Yeah, Nobody dared attack me this time because I had reached the end of the Tech Tree and was diverting all my income straight into gold.

Around 1940 AD I upgraded all my Archers (yeah, I didn't get around to upgrading those till way late), Pikemen (only a few of these left around), and Infantry to Mech Infantry.

So, I ended up with 2-4 Mech Inf per city. Before my Culture Cities reached their peak Culture Production I started massing an invasion force.

Once Culture Production peaked at over 550CPT per City, I ammased 30 Modern Armors right at the gates of Munich. I first came in with 6 Stealth bombers and blew away his defenses.

I stormed the city, and left 2 MA's to guard it. I got down to Hamburg, and found the majority of his army in the city. It comprised of:

~6 Granadiers
~6 Longbowman
~4 Rifleman
~2 Catapults

I bombed the city's defenses and took it in a single turn.


I ended up with a Culture Vicory in 1965AD with a Game Score of just under 4,000.

So, being on Chieftan the total score came to just under 10,000.

I probably could have had the Space Race Victory in about 20 turns less, but meh.

Dan O.

[Proteus_MST]

Hm,
I also play Builder style (noble level),
but there are rarely wars against the AI.
In my current game it is Caesar with his romans;
I think it pissed him of that one of his cities culture flipped to my empire, so, some hundred years afterwards he started his first war against my empire (I had stationed a single swordman per city, so my empire was only light defended at this time).
I managed to repulse his attacks and thereafter negotiate peace for 10 turns+ (and gave him a cheap harmless technology for his peace).
Well, now, maybe 10-20 turns afterwards he has declared war again but this time I´m prepared, with 4-5 units in all of my frontier towns (and it is absolutely necessary as the first stack I repulsed consisted of 6 units (mostly macemen and Elephant warriors) and there is another stack approaching the front with 5-6 knights )
Aside from Caesar I have absolutely no problems and most other civs seem to be rather peaceful builder types (my nearest neighbours on my other border, the americans, I trust so much that I the cities bordering his civ are mostlyn garrisoned by outdated units [after all they´re my brothers in faith]).

Same goes for my other games played so far (normally with 7-9 AI civs).
In one I had a constant warfaring neighbor and someone from another continent who, at one time, tried to land troops),
but all other AI civs remained peaceful,
in another one I had no war at all.

[Shaka II]

Re: Why is the AI always a Warmonger?

Originally posted by Melboz99
I was playing on Chieftan last night after getting my ass handed to me on Warlord. Alexander decided to come in and attack me with about 10 Horseman, 5 Archers, and about 2 Longbowmen.

I was just working on Gunpowder at the time, but I upgraded all my Spearmen to Pikeman.

I had 2 Pikemen in every city, yet it was still no match for his numbers.

He took one of my outer cities, even though it used up most of his units.

Sounds a bit like my game. My neighbor Alexander paid an early visit after our culture borders clashed. I scurried around pretty fast and ramped military just in time. Pay close attention to culture borders and check the advisor screen as to how the AI views you and all of the reasons. I often give in to the AI when they are stronger and they make demands. A war at the wrong time will ruin you. Anyway, I built up and took Alexander.

Originally posted by Melboz99
I don't know, I just don't think it's fun when you're playing Builder style and all the AI does is plot War. I'm trying to win Via Space Race or Culture.

I was hoping to go for domination victory (prince/epic/pangea,standard/Persians), but Napoleon's army was about twice as big. By the time I got modern armor, it was getting a bit late to go for domination, so after taking Egyptians, I had to to go for Space Victory. Space Elevator rocks BTW.

So as I was down to the last few components, Kublai Khan asks for right of passage. I said no, then checked the victory conditions screen. He had all but two components. I think I know what was on his mind.

[Dis]

I played my second (out of 3 games) without being attacked. I'm upset because the AI is not aggressive enough.

[daktaklakpak]

Heavy (2 per city) on the front lines and light (1 per city) at inner lands are my standard military policy. Then I will have two mobile forces consist of 5 fast units each and station them near the front line. With my road network, I can quickly respond to any invasion right on the same turn. If the AI has aggressive nature, I will fortiy some troops on the boarders with hill or forest tiles so when they do invade, they don't get the defensive bonus on my counter attack.

[Shaka II]

I'm not sure how aggressive the Civs are versus difficulty level, but I suspect they might be more aggressive at higher levels, and of course their Civ characteristics (agressive or expansionist) are key factors.

Or maybe it is just the bonuses that they receive at higher levels that allow their aggressiveness to be more threatening? Similar effect I suppose.

But in the game I just played with Alexander, Napoleon and Kublai Khan, there was no shortage of aggression. I really did not want to take out the lovely Hatsepshut, but as Napoleon was about to anyway, I had to.

Also, one might try to disable domination and conquest victory to see if that affects things, if one is a builder that is. Would that make the AI less agressive or the same? Don't know.

The only condition I usually disable is diplomatic victory, just in case it becomes a love fest, and I've acquired a bad rep.