AI burning your cities

[Vlado]

I'm wondering whether someone has checked when and why the AI burn your cities rather then taking them over. I did a small experiment, monarch, huge map, all random, to see when it does. The setup was so that germany had several troops on both sides of my territory because of a war with an other civ. His empire was on my left, direct contact with his troops on both the left and right side. I declared war and moved defenders aside.

The first city he took, he burned. Understandable enough, far away, in the right side of my empire. I have tons of more culture and the city is fairly old with most culture producing wonders being there for quite some time. The second city he keeps! Ok, it's a new city that flipped to me quite recently, low on culture from me etc but still, the major part of it's area are covered with my color because of several culture powerhouses around it. Then comes what really suprised me. He takes a city thats on his border and burns it! Yes, semi old, several culture wonders in it etc but its on his border! Most of the squares around it would have been german and he had plenty of troops to defend?

Can somebody please explain?

[badams52]

I think the biggest factor is how close the AI is to that magic OCN (optimal city number). Once he's over it, most cities are razed unless the city he's capturing has wonders, luxuries he doesn't have, or resources (whether the pop up now or will in the future).

[pedrojedi]

That's odd, in my games it's a rarity seeing the AI razing wonder cities. It only razes cities that are size 1 or almost that.

[Wazell]

AI razed city with wonders in it? That's odd, I knew it could do that, but that has never happened to me.

Was Germany's culture inferior to yours? If it was low enough and those destroyed wonders were only producing culture, it's somewhat understandable.

[badams52]

Ah I didn't notice you said the city had wonders. If the wonder's effects had expired, then they are only worth culture to you, then I would raze the city in case you get a chance to take it back.

[Wazell]

That's reasonable. But I would still keep the wonders, if only for the sake of them being so wonderful.

[pedrojedi]

badams: well, that's what you think, but I think the AI has a different point on that.

I am as well a keeper of the world's wonders, because they are so... wondrous.

[ALPHA WOLF 64]

i was wondering this too. i saw the ottomans conquer some cites, and raze others. none had wonders, and it didnt apear to be size or resource related as one razed city was size 10 + oil, while a conquered city was size 3 no resources.

[Alex]

The key here is the OCN, as badams said, but I wouldn't be able to tell how the AI factors the wonders in its razing plan.

[The Mad Monk]

Could the AI's calculations include nearby Player forces?

[Theseus]

Don't forget future resources...

[King_Henry]

Originally posted by Theseus
Don't forget future resources...

Now I'm convinced that they know where all the resources are. They seem to capture ( in my games) when the city is on their borders, with well developed terrain, good resources and a nice population and a few wonders. But with me they rarely raze in the first pace.

[twoflower]

buring my cities? no they've learned not to because I unleash a nuclear holocaust on them :P

[Flanker]

Originally posted by Alexnm
The key here is the OCN, as badams said, but I wouldn't be able to tell how the AI factors the wonders in its razing plan.

Could someone please tell me briefly what this "OCN" is? I´ve never really understood what it means...

[twoflower]

Optimum City Number