Stop the war, we love peace.

[maxim]

Err, actually I meant, where’s the war, it’s too peaceful!!! I’m playing Russians on warlord, huge continent in the 100AD. I’ve just wiped out France and itching for a new fight, but the nearest foe is on the next continent. With the high corruption level, it’s too costly to capture an enemy city across the continent to support the war campaign.

So I try to bribe other nations for a military alliance. They are all polite with me and all turned me down politely. Besides me, no one else is at war and it has been peaceful throughout (until I invaded France). I’m beginning to think the AI is very peace loving. It’s boring.

In Civ2, I love the unpredictable AI. They would attack each other and sometimes even wipe each other out without you even having make contact yet. They break peace treaties and sneak attack on your forces. War is a very interesting part of Civilization. In Civ3, it’s just too peaceful.

So, how do you get the AI to nuke each other? What can I do to get them to war? Is it because I’m playing on warlord level?

[Monoriu]

I have played two games, one on Regent and one on Monarch.

On Regent, nobody ever declared war on anybody. I was the one who declared war on one of the AI nations, and 7 of them joined hands to fight me in a grand coalition.

On Monarch, in the middle ages 14 AI civs declared war on another AI civ. Before the war was finished, the AI coalition broke up into 3 groups and declared war on each other. Before these new wars were over, these 3 groups again broke up into various factions and declared even more wars on each other. Every turn from then on everybody would declare some random wars and make some random peace with each other, or form alliances against this and that civ. The diplomatic graphs were so complex I couldn't make anything out of it. I didn't do anything in the process, I was the only civ which stayed out of the conflict. Its all among AI nations. Then I started destroying the AI civs. The Persians were left to one pop. 1 city on an island and they still declared war on the Americans, the second strongest civ in game!

[Dis]

my last game the greeks wiped out the romans. And that includes 2 cities on an island in the middle of no where. I saw a buttload of ironclads and galleon pass by, and when I saw the romans were wiped out, I realized they staged a decent attack from sea. Although the greeks had the tech advantage.

[Easy Rhino]

There had been several hundred years of peace (About 1500 AD). While I was tiny and weak, that was good, but boring.

So before I went to sleep, I picked a fight with a largish neighbor, the aztecs. Then I sold my soul for an alliance with the strongest civ on the map (the french). Well, after the alliances and wars, and mutual protections (just been invented) kicked, EVERYONE was at war with the Aztecs, although it was split into about 3 different alliances fighting against them, uncoordinatedly.

On day one of the war, I had lost an isolated distant city to the aztecs. On year 20, or so, the french landed on the (native) aztec town next to it, and suddenly that town reverted back to me! It was neat.

ER

[MarkG]

well, in the game i was playing yesterday things were quite peacefull, until 1800 with just one short war between me and the egyptians(small pangea map against 5 ai's)
and then, it started. in just a 5-6 turns all the ai's were separated in two sides(3 vs 2) with protection pacts and alliances formed against each other. i was the only one to be in peace with everyone until the aztecs idiotically(they have no chance ) declared war on me for trying to plant a spy....

i made alliances with the egyptians and the greeks against the aztecs(who had pacts with the americans and the iroquis). they have now signed peace agreements with the americans, but i keep on going

[conquistadore]

Mutual protection pacts in civ3 make diplomacy fun AND dangerous, doesn't it. In my previous game, i was cruising along peacefully..everyone being polite to me. When MPP came out, i signed a few for the fun of it and suddenly, i was embroiled in a massive war when the English(whom i have a mpp with) stupidly declared war on another civ...

[Experimentalist]

In my game everybody had protection pacts with everybody else and when I killed a russian warrior it set the entire world into a thousand years of world war.

I love this game!

[G.A]

They`re usually "waiting for the right opportunity". The AI looks like being reluctant to go to war on his own, so he tries to get allies first.

Well, in my last game, Germans were furious with me, but still kept silent until English agreed to the Mutual Protection with them in 1920. No wars before that at all . Then Germans declared war on me, and as they were on the other side of the world, I happened to strike first . I sank their ironclad, and English treated it like the aggression act by me . Though Germans declared war first. And English were all around me. Then a couple more nations joined. In fact, they destroyed improvements in every single square of my territory, but got no cities.

Funnily enough, it all ended with ALL civs teaming up and wiping Germans out of the world. In modern era.

The point is, that even the seemingly very peaceful game can turn into a very interesting action-packed, full of political intrigues thriller towards it`s end, when AIs seemingly start to try and weaken the enemies, that are a threat to them in terms of score and Space Race

[Blaupanzer]

In my current game, things were peaceful for me until my 3-civ continent found the rest of the world (other 5 civs). We found the other four civs crushing the Germans, who are now gone. Then the Aztecs went on the rampage with an ever-shifting set of allies. Now everyone is at war with someone in three factions which include allies in one group at war with one another in another group. Peace is tough to maintain, especially with the militaristic types. Cheap units lead to lots of wars.

[vmxa1]

It seems that the AI does no make war on other AI's that often. Every game Iplayed the AI eliminated no one. My current game (nearly over) they finally decalred a war on the tribe I was already at war with and was almost gone anyway, so England and Germany jumped in. It was all I could do to keep them from grabbing the cities I wanted. I doubt this would have happen if it was not a sure thing. I plan on paying the English back now for grabbing one city in my mist (plus oil just showed up on their land).

[The Templar]

Most of the games I've played (regent), by the time the modern age rolls around, only about 4 to 5 civs are left (and I've only eliminated one - usually early on). Just in time for all of those mutual protection pacts to cause WWI when some @$$hole like the Zulus, Aztecs, English, or me decide they want to control the coal/silk/oil. Frankly, I think civ3 does a pretty good job making the AI players act rationally without letting things drag too much.

[henry296]

Ancient War

I think there are some ancient wars between the AI civs that because we don't have contact with them, we don't know about.

In my recent game there is a continent with 5 civs. By the time I discover it, the English control Toyko and the Japanese are very weak. I would guess during the land grab phase at the very least the English and Japanese went to war. It does seem like the AI doesn't fight each other during the Medieval or Industrial periods. However, as others have mentioned during the Modern Era with Mutual Protection Pacts, it almost always will get ugly.

Todd