Winning on emperor

[ShuShu]

It is easily reporducible...

... once you know how...

I never fight wars, which is good because I suck at it.

I have an old thread around here discussing CIV III's impact on the One City Strategy. Complete peace is one of the pre-reqs.

I play on emperor normal maps.

Alkis points out perhaps the single most important factorfor success. Do not research tech, buy it. This keeps you current and convinces the other guys to keep you around because you are paying extortionary prices for your technology.

Make sure all of your cities have 2 defenders and dedicate one city to building nothing but offensive units.

Always pay off the aggressive races and they will always find someone else who won't (usually another aggressive race) The AI's are single minded, they will leave you alone if they are in a war with someone else.

Finally, let the AI expand to your borders rather than the other way around. If you camp next to them, you piss them off. If they camp next to you, they will flip. Wait for the extermination wars to open gaps for a later wave of expansion starting in the mid-to-late medieval period.

Keep building those offensive units, keep the workers away from the borders, and always play nice...

[DeepO]

ShuShu, I think there is one thing that is a bit missing in your explanation, I too tried it many times. But there is the factor of expansion: AIs will declare war on you, no matter how nice you are and how much you pay, if they fancy your territory. Especially early on this is true, and when your neighbours are aggresive it is even more true. Sometimes, you don't get the chance of paying tribute to them, they go from polite to sneak attacking in one turn and there is no way you can hold them back.

This is especially true when facing the Zulu on a continent, while the Zulu do not have other neighbours: they only see one way of expanding, and do it at all costs (meaning war with you). Of course, in OCC (I read your thread about it, and wanted to congratulate you, I will try it too one time or another) there is no real risk of them needing your territory, as you have a small territory compared to them. And most likely, there will be another civ around who do has a good bunch of land.

Anyway, lately I found it more easy to be a bit aggresive myself in the early game, or to just sit wars out until the aggresor contacts you to offer peace: when you keep to defense, and do not attack them in any way, your contact with him does not take much of a hit. It is easy to get him back to polite in 20-40 turns...

DeepO

[alva]

Alkis points out perhaps the single most important factorfor success. Do not research tech, buy it. This keeps you current and convinces the other guys to keep you around because you are paying extortionary prices for your technology.

this used to be true, now after 1.29 it seems that doing your own research looks like a viable tactic again.
Besides, if you pay for your research, you are making the ai rich.
I tried a game where i did no trading (techs) at all. It might be coincedence but the tech race was alot slower.
I guess mainly because I deprived the AI off his main source off income (since humans have to pay more to the AI than AI to AI)

So do your OWN research as much as possible.

[DeepO]

All is good, as long as there is much trade in a game. I tend to trade away techs as well, you really can deprive the AIs of doing it good for themselves. But indeed make fair deals, or they will not like you for it

DeepO

[Serb]

Don't listen to him. Who need those fair deals. AI is a total cheater on deity level. If you want to win you should cheat too.
F.e.
When you are in war and if you feel that your enemy is started to suck, (when he will offer a peace treaty and will agreed to pay gold per turn.) you should destroy him compleately, forget about compromise. Just remember that AI is cheater on deity and if gave time to your former enemy, sooner or later he will atack you again.
So, before sign peace treaty, set your science on 0% to gain maximum income. Then offer a peace treaty and all your income per turn as payment, demand a peace treaty and as much enemy cities as possible. Sign the treaty. The cities is yours now. Broke the treaty. Fight a couple of turns. Repeat the process. Soon enemy will have only capital with its entire army within. Finish the bastard. Btw, population of cities will be considered as people of your own nation. And one more thing, other countries will stop to trust you. Why? If in your future deals with them you'll offer them gold for smt (even 1gp), they will always refuse. No big deal.

At the beggining prevent AI expasion to your borders. AI building setlers MUCH, MUCH faster then you are. The only way to win some space for your future Empire is to stop AI expantion. To do this you'll need at least 3 units (f.e warriors). Move them a little far then site where AI we'll more likely intend to build city, but which you want for yourself. When enemy settler will apear, place your units in line and block his way. The line of your 3 warriors will be an obstacle for AI. AI will not attack you, but it will move its setler up or down (right or left depends on situation). Move your units at the same direction. Next turn AI will return on its previous location, you must return your units too. All next turn repeat this. You will "dance" with AI until your setler will be ready and then, you should move your settler there and build a city.

Research tech. When you research smt new sold it to everyone, try to receive as much gold per turn as possible. It will help you to be first in science.

P.S. I don't have any patches so, in last versions smt could be different.

[DeepO]

Originally posted by Serb
Then offer a peace treaty and all your income per turn as payment, demand a peace treaty and as much enemy cities as possible.

This was solved in the first patch, as it is a clear exploit. Now the AI will never, ever give you a city when you are offering gold. You can of course still make peace, gain some cities, and start war in the same turn again, but this will ruin your reputation with all civs the AI gets into contact with (or already in contact with). Possible way to counter this: the Arrian deception. This tactic (no exploit!) means you can do whatever you like to a civ, breaking treaties, declaring war, etc. so long as you will wipe him out before he can contact someone else. It also works with multiple civs: if you are on an isolated continent with two civs, you can be a bastard to them, as long as they are destroyed before any other civs get to them. It is tricky, if you miss it by one turn, you have a shot reputation for the rest of the game.

The only way to win some space for your future Empire is to stop AI expantion. To do this you'll need at least 3 units (f.e warriors). Move them a little far then site where AI we'll more likely intend to build city, but which you want for yourself. When enemy settler will apear, place your units in line and block his way. The line of your 3 warriors will be an obstacle for AI. AI will not attack you, but it will move its setler up or down (right or left depends on situation). Move your units at the same direction. Next turn AI will return on its previous location, you must return your units too. All next turn repeat this. You will "dance" with AI until your setler will be ready and then, you should move your settler there and build a city.

This is a clear exploit, and there is even an extended version of it that I posted a few months back. You can have a line of warriors blocking a narrow continent, with one gap between them. The AIs will go for the gap, but as you can yo-yo this around, eventually you can keep all their settlers and much of their troops tied up here.
It is an exploit, as a human wouldn't fall for it for more then a turn. One thing of note: if you block the AI, it will get annoyed with you. Do it long enough, and it will declare war. It is a provocation, like trying to inflitrate their capital with spies: if these are caught, the AI will get mad about you, after a few of these attempts even the most peaceful civ will declare war.

P.S. I don't have any patches so, in last versions smt could be different.

Why don't you have any patches? It surely makes the game feel different, and not only bugs and exploits are removed, but there were quite a few changes to the gameplay and AI as well. You should get them asap...

DeepO

[Serb]

I stop to play Civ3 long ago

[DeepO]

so the patches might make you enjoy it again

DeepO

[ShuShu]

Good point Deep...

I play on Pangea because I hate boats... so I am rarely shacked up with a frisky zulu. Although it does happen occasionally.

I still don't get in trouble though because I leave a lot of room for the other civ to expand, and that buys me the time to have an adequate response availble by the time the other has filled the confined space. Once they get boats, they really won't be gunning for you anyway.

But your point is exactly why I suggsted letting them expand to you rather than the other way around. They are much friendlier when they are sending settlers through you territroy than when they are sending knights...

[DeepO]

ShuShu, you're right, but as I tried to acquire a lot of cities by culture flipping when being peaceful, I need the added pressure. The zulus are just great to have as a neighbor, up until late in the industrial ages their borders are only 1 tile from their cities... they fall so easily you start to pity them. But you can only do this when you build yourself, as they will build a little farther away. It is a delicate balance between cultural pressure, and diplomatic relation, as you need both to be in your advantage.

DeepO