1.) When you are in a democracy you cant demand tribute(republic to?)

2.) you cant demand tribute or demand withdraw during the same negotiation when you make a cease fire or peace treaty. You have to wait a turn unless AI offers to move themselves as part of treaty.

3.) When in alliance you cant demand withdraw

What did you say? They have no right to do that? This is another AI cheat?
Yes! You are absolutely right. It is a AI cheat, and for me it's the one that irritates me the most.

AND, if you contact that particular AI civ and ask for peace again, they may give it or deny it. Either way, they will have forgotten about it the next turn swfting yet agaoi your diplomatic relations from peace to contact.

quote: Originally posted by paiktis22 on 04-15-2001 04:01 PM Also, if an AI Civ has democracy and you have peace with that civ, then the AI arbitrarily changed the status from peace to contact (they simply not recognise the peace treaty any more) and you cannot ask them to leave your territory.

I've also come to the realization that when this happens, you can often attack the "forgetful" AI with *no* damage to your reputation. I remember being hesitant to do this, but finally got ticked off once and dove headfirst into a fray. Been doing it on-and-off since and most of the time there's no damage to your reputation. All you have to worry about is the AI keeping a grudge after the war and, of course, your own Senate if you're in a republic or democracy.

I always try and keep one allied CIV. A small worthless civ. You can contact this bit*h civ and pay them to declare war on the CIV that you want war with. Sometimes it costs a bit but gold is easy to come by in this stage of the game (most of the time). Contact them again and they now ask you to join the fight! Of course I agree to this.

The above is about as deep into the AI diplomacy screens as I get. But it works, every time.

I have developed a practice of sneak attacking the offending civ first. There is an attack bonus given to the unit which sneak attacks and it is worth having.

If you really can't afford a war with that civ you need to offer them gifts.

MWHC

The neatest diplomacy trick I know is the "Keep them in darkness" manoevre. It is very simple. The A1 likes Republican gov.t. But it is also programmed to hate a human player who is Supreme (most particularly after 1750). All you have to do to drive the aggressive A1 civs out of their preferred Republican gov.t and back to Monarchy is to visit the diplomacy screen and ask to speak to them. What will then often happen is that before you are even told that they will or won't talk to you you get a message that they have revolted. Consul Sitting Bull turns into Chief Siting Bull on the list of leaders and, at the beginning of the next turn you get the message that the Sioux have changed gov.t.

This costs precisely nothing.

The reason I like it is that it is like ju-jitsu, it takes a disadvantage - the programmed hatred for the Supreme human player - and turns it into an advantage - the ability to deny the hating civ it's preferred form of gov.t.

I suspect that the explanation for what happens is that the A1 has the same problem with the doves in its Senate as we do. So, in order to indulge its programmed desire to stick its tongue out at you, it has to get out of representational gov.t.

The Sneak Attack bonus is a new one to me! Have you a link to a thread or is it something from a strategy guide?

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But I've worked for some time on the basis that such a bonus exists and am confident that I have won some striking victories when sneak attacking (non vet horse versus legion on hills for example) and I have seen no sneak attack combat which led me to doubt the existence of a bonus. It's harder to be sure about combats where it is the A1 doing the sneak attack but I do feel that units sneak attacking come out, almost always, with less damage than I would generally expect.

If I am right to think that such a bonus does exist that would explain a phenomenon often seen in the game whereby the A1, either in the midst of attacking the human player or while under attack from him offers a truce only, often on their very next turn, to go straight back to war. That would illustrate the programmers exploiting the existence of the bonus.

Such programming can be turned to advantage. Since hearing of the sneak attack bonus theory I have always (when not in representative gov.t) accepted a cease fire or peace offered in the middst of conflict but then, in the very same turn, continued the combat.

In the same spirit - it is always best to undertake diplomacy at the start of a turn - not at the end. If an AI turns nasty you have time to react.

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Huh. Most of the time when I use a horseman to sneak attack *anything* sitting in the hills or mountains, my unit gets its arse handed to it on a platter. Then again, I have the Macintosh version of Civ II and, perhaps, just a streak of bad luck when being naughty.