Force the AI to declare war on you.

[superdj]

Is there a strategy to force the AI to declare war on you?

I don't want to start declaring wars on weaker civs because my reptation with the stronger civs will suffer.

[Shogun Gunner]

Park subs outside their port, when they accidently run into them, its an automatic war declaration.

[chuckdelicious]

If the ai is furious with you, you can try a failed espionage mission to get them to declare war.

[Dis]

demand they leave your territory. this option is usually available for me. They usually have some damn unit in my territory. I let the AI tresspass on me all the time . Although this usually only works for larger civs who think they have the right to treat you like a doormat.

[Solomwi]

1. As long as you aren't breaking any treaties or deals with the declaration, it won't hurt your reputation with anybody.

2. Failed espionage will do it, but is expensive and doesn't give the war happiness bonus (25% of your population becomes happy if you are attacked or war is declared on you, except if it's because of failed espionage).

If foreign units aren't really threatening anything, don't demand they be removed until you want to force a war. Then make other demands on the AI until it is furious with you (once it gets furious, I usually demand a city a few more times just to make sure ) before you demand they withdraw troops. The sub bug works very well, too, especially if you have a tech lead and therefore a good chance of winning the encounter.

Once the AI starts putting up radar towers, all you have to do is found a city on the border so that cultural expansion will bring the RT tile under your control. The AI will almost always leave one of its picket units on the square, giving you a non-threatening enemy presence that can then be used to force war.

[chuckdelicious]

Failed espionage is cheap, try expose enemy spy at the least level, it'll cost 200gp at most.

[Solomwi]

It's more expensive than demanding they leave your territory. Also, demanding they leave doesn't put what I consider an important asset (the spy) at risk, leaving the possibility of losing your spy and still not having a war.

[Aramis]

Put a sub in front of them anywhere you see them. You don't have to just block a port.

[chuckdelicious]

Your missing my point, Solomwi, of course demanding they leave your territory is the better option, but it is not always available. If you have espionage researched, it is always available.

[barbeerhj]

If only...

What if the AI's were more like actuall humans?

I know on MP games, I can get a war going just from calling another player a derogatory name or dancing around his boarder with raiders.

And also, the leaders of the AI's should have a personality of their own. Like Temujin, he didn't take s*** from anyone, and would declare war if he felt "offended" from many accounts. Perhaps, in Civ4, they should give you the option to be "Aggressive" or "Passive" in your negotiations with the AI.

Example: "Give me your technology or I will rip out your heart." Or "Please, spare me a technology so we become closer allies."

-Ron