Why can you turn off alliance victory (or why the ai doesn't betray you)?

from Stardock Forums
What's the point of turning off alliance victory?
OK, it's worth less points than a military victory, but...
An overwhelming military victory is a logical consequence of an aborted alliance victory, so penalizing alliance victory actually means rewarding people who are ready to spend 1 hour plucking an overripe fruit instead of playing a new game.
I don't really care for the metaverse though, so my point is not about the score you can get from backstabbing the ai. My point is that, once you're allied, you've won BUT you may still want to win the hard way. Get a sense of accomplishment at slaughtering aliens or whatever.

Thus:
When you disable alliance victory, the ai should betray you.

I mean, with alliance victory turned off, the player WILL betray the ai. Considering you're allied with all the ai's, why should they keep their alliance with you? You're as likely to strike them as to strike someone else. Maybe there are only two of you left, in which case an alliance isn't different from a peace treat (hey if noone attacks me, will you declare war on noone?).

I'd like it if, when you turn alliance victory off, the ai could decide that it's not worth being allied with you anymore. That it acts as the betraying players do.
227 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
turning the alliance victory off should really disable alliances. I do agree with you on this. You may be trying for a technology victory though!

Paul.

~SDC~
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
If tech victory is enabled, the ai wouldn't feel the urge to betray you until they have discovered final frontier.
Ans even with alliance victory on, I think it would be fun to have the Drengins break an alliance at least once in a while. I never saw an untrustworthy ai, but I'm usre there are many humans that betray their galactic friends.
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Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
I guess this is similar to the point I raised the other day. I was playing a game and when it got down to just the last 2 playersit seems up that I can pay the other guy not to attack me when his military is 5 times bigger than mine. It seems like an ideal time for him to make his move to finish me off and win the game. Especially since the race in question is the Drengin who is evil and loves war.
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
Paguma, this is different. That the ai doesn't try to wipe you because you pay them is okay for me. They do get some benefit from your continued survival. It can be seen more as a truce than peace. They should wipe you out of existence when they have reached final frontier, though. When you are allied with them and there is noone left, however, the alliance provides no benefit at all wrt a peace treaty, so why keep it?
I'm not asking for a declaration of war but that the ai realizes that, if you build a military or culture starbases, it can only be directed at them, therefore all your military actions are a threat, thus the alliance is moot.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
I think you've raised an interesting point LDiCesare.

I too wonder sometimes about the alliances I forge with the other players. So far I put it down to they don't realise we are only playing a game. However I wouldn't mind them getting upset if you start culture flipping them deliberately or amassing a hugh fleet... hopefully some of that will change with some sort of culture restriction with stations.

I don't mind them blissfully unware of the rules of the game ;). However I wouldn't mind when you out number their military (and the combined military of their allies) they start to get nervous and ask you to disband some of it, they'll see it as what good is such a large fleet in an apparently peaceful galaxy. This way they are unaware of your evil intent to rule the galaxy.

Same with stations, it would be nice to be restricted to one station in their sectors otherwise they ask for it to be disbanded.(on the note of stations I'd personally like a limit of one station per sector + the number of planets you control in that sector as a limit. ).

~SDC~
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Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
I always stay out of alliances because I'm worried that my alliance partner will try to drag me into a war.
There is a general problem that the AI is too honest and too trusting. For example, when it starts a war, it always tells you first and then sends out a fleet, giving you plenty of time to prepare. When a human starts a war, they will almost always do it by conquering a planet (or multiple planets). And the AI will sometimes pay ridiculous amounts of money for a peace treaty, even though there's nothing to stop the player betraying them the next turn.


~SDC~