Pushing for Peace

[gwillybj]

Very rarely do I initiate hostilities Even then, I will most often take a defensive stance It is equally rare that I refuse a Truce Unless the terms of that Truce are so outlandish as to be unacceptable I sign.

[Earwicker]

I prefer to play at peace with my neighbors but recognize that they eventually will want to attack "little old me". Gotta love it, though, when a non-committal neighbor (no truce or treaty) wants me to hand over ASF or Sentient Resonance!

If starting near an aggressive neighbor, I will goad them into starting the war themselves (to preserve my reputation for future negotiations). When playing the warmonger factions, I will bully an early neighbor to get a quick submissive (esp when I play as Miriam).

Frequently, I will see Spartans or Pirates on the doorstep early on, well before I am ready to fight them. I try to keep them happy without a fight and will even join a war with them in order to Pact (buys some buffer time, as long as the chosen enemy isn't too powerful).

As for submissives, they are the Golden Goose, man! How generous I am with them, however, depends upon the situatiuon. Always give away useless, distant, zero-net-energy captured bases (for the commerce income).

If most of the factions are already at war, I will make sure the submissive also joins the fight before I share higher techs. But I always feel a little wary before giving them Fusion power (knowing that cheap, annoying sea-colony-pods are soon to arrive on my shores). For those, keep some IoD's around, release into the wild when a seabase appears.

Tech parity with your submissives is great - they do a good job of acquiring those pesky off-beeline techs. And ISTR a tech thread indicating that your research costs are greater if there is a wide tech gap (haven't play-tested this, but it stands to reason)? Close that gap by giving freely.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Excellent points Earwicker.

I am surprised at the number of folks that regard submissives so poorly.

I always check their research rate and at the point they are about to discover another tech gift, call them up to ge the new tech. If they are researching a tech I already have, I'll gift them all my techs so that they research a brand new one for me, available next turn.

I don't worry so much about them selling my secrets to others as more often than not the game breaks down into a world war with my side (including 2+ submissives) 'gainst the other factions. I'll take the combined research of 3 factions any day even if it means a tech gets pilfered here and there by enemy factions.

Heck in order to boost trade incomes I'll even build bases for my pact mates. (normally crappy sea bases)

If you build up your submissives properly they can normally research as fast as you (since the AI gets all types of cheat bonusses)

[Sarxis]

Originally posted by gwillybj
Very rarely do I initiate hostilities Even then, I will most often take a defensive stance It is equally rare that I refuse a Truce Unless the terms of that Truce are so outlandish as to be unacceptable I sign.

Very visual.

[Kirov]

I never maintain peace just to have peace, but rather always calculate whether war is worth waging.


I like having submissive mates very much. I usually give them techs, and often even trade them my newly-captured enemy bases, thus transfering the problem of additional drones and increasing the potential of that mate. Their tech capacity is usu irrelevant, but they can help anyway.