If you focus on population growth and morale, it often doesn't matter if they do declare war. Their ships are useless because you don't have any for them to shoot down, and their invasions meet huge populations because you've got farms. Since populations don't require any spending you're free to focus on research.

Generally, though, I just find I maintain good relations with everyone. I maintain a healthy economy and pay off people if necessary, I trade reguarly, etc. I have had to fight wars, but if you've got a strong industry and good trading partners, you can get a powerful fleet out in no time.

This wouldn't work if the AI knew how to declare war properly, but until then it will.

Playing on tough is to easy? Set the difficulty higher.

I've seen so many say " it's to easy " and then post that they play on a low level. Come on folks, crank up the difficulty. That should be a no brainer.

You could always turn the technology victory off. Sure it doesn't help with the AI not stopping you, nor the AI trying to do it themself too much, but if it is a real bother it might be worth playing without it.

There are good ways in this game to make things tougher on yourself.

Personally, I find that no tech trading is almost like going up a full level in difficulty. Not having the extra money and assorted low level techs is a great way to be challenged at the beginning of your empire. And if you have trouble with your empire at the beginning, the race to find out if you are going to win is a lot more exciting.

Yeah, if everything works well, you get a firm foundation and an economy that can respond to all the early threats and grow into a top galactic power, the game seems easy. It's all over but mopping up at that stage.

So go for the challenge. Make things harder on yourself. Set no tech trading, and tech speed to 'very slow'. Go up a difficulty level. You won't be bored. Sometimes you'll be in your current position... where you dominate and it's all over but mopping up. Sometimes the AI will wipe the floor with you, and you'll have to take the defeat.

Finding the game too easy? Figure out what makes it so, and do something that gives you a challenge!

Finding the game too easy? Figure out what makes it so, and do something that gives you a challenge!

I'm sorry, but that's a bit of a cop out. I think the OP has a valid point, the issue is that the AI is seemingly uncareing if you race off to a tech victory. Perhaps they shouldn't care if you transcend or not, after all it doesn't affect them as far as one can tell from the victory screen, but if that's so then that victory condition is somewhat flawed. It does indeed become a 'I'm board, lets just hit end turn 50 times and see what my score is' routine.

Short term one can indeed turn off tech victory, or just chose not to pursue it. Ideally though (if enough people feel the same way) SD could and should revisit all the victory conditions and tweek them to make them (and thus the game) more interesting.

The largest problem with the tech victory though isn't it in itself, its the AIs horrendous tactics in initiating and conducting war. There are plenty of other threads discussing this though, so I won't rehash it. If the AI were better at war (generally) then you'd not be able to turtle nearly as easilly as you can now. Indeed as it is now all you need are a handful of lighting fast fighters to intercept any transports that may come your way and you are essentially immune to their war machine.

I know Brad doesn't want to allow for orbital bombardments (which is fine), but perhaps you should be allowed to blockade systems which will cut their research to 0 and halve their production. That way you can effectively stop (research wise) and slow down your opponent.

First, the best part about the game is the ability to adapt it. If you find that a tech victory is too easy then eliminate it as an option or change the tech rate or play at a harder setting and see if the ai does not adjust. Remember, you can adjust this. It is not a fault in the game. You can set the research to to faster to make it more possible or slower to make it less likely, the best thing is you decide what the conditions are and that is why this game rocks.

I find it very, very hard to stay out of war for more than a few months.

My current game (on Tough), I had a horrid start and went into mid-game with 3 planets to everyone else's 8-10. I received many threats, etc, and rejected them all...I even responded with tribute demands (got the Yor to actually pay something once!).

So...How did I stay out of wars? I kept up a good trade economy with my nearest neighbor (always seem to be the Arceans) and build a military just big enough to defend with. The AI knows you can't attack...so you aren't a threat and also knows if they attack there's no guarantee of winning. It's a delicate balance that keeps you on the brink of bankruptcy during the early game as well. Also, I try to research somewhat balanced...ie: if the next tech will take 8 turns, but there's several I could choose that would take 3 (and they would be useful), I'll research the 3's first. The AI's also are slow to research deep into the diplomatic and influence tech trees. If you can get a couple steps in each tree, they seem to "respect" you a bit more and don't invade even though they've 3 times the military you do.

Remember they try to keep some ships handy to prevent sneak attacks, so won't send their entire fleet to invade.

Personally, I find that no tech trading is almost like going up a full level in difficulty.

Yep. I rarely tech trade, but when I do...I need cash. Occasionally I have cash, but need to fill a tech gap. I'll research the defense against the most popular weapon while researching a different weapon. This allows me something to trade they they need, but won't hurt me to give. Opponent has Harpoons? No problem, I'll trade you PD Combo for those three techs I need...hmmm ok, I'll throw in 4,000bc too. It's even better when they are willing to pay on-top of the techs you want and there's a certain used-car salesman feeling to knowing you traded/sold a tech that will make them weaker against you as well.

Normally I don't need the techs the AI has, but sometimes it's handy. Not having that option does make the game more difficult.

That relations penalty for the "victory techs" line is as intruiging idea Baturkey.

I think that the AI should be able to win in all the ways you enable at the start since those are the Victory Conditions. I also think they should be concerned with winning the game either by themselves or as part of an Alliance.

I have seen 3 smaller AIs form Alliances in my last game in the face of 2 large opponents.

i agree tech victory is a little easy. i usually play with it disabled. half the time, i also disable influence victory. the AI usually doesn't pursue it unless they have a real clear advantage (played one game where the torians managed to grab 3 or 4 influence resources all clustered together... i was playing the Yor, and my colonies were rebelling. well, i had to take matters into my own hands at the same time, quitch, you could probably stand to go up a difficulty level. disable the tech victory option. set up your race differently

this was actually something i was wondering about - methods of losing, and if an AI could (and ever would) beat you to technological victory. obiviously you can lose a military victory. you can lose an alliance victory. i've seen AIs gearing up to win an influence victory. if teh AI is programmed to play by the same rules we do, it should be pursuing victory rather than sustainance. personally, i think the deeper knowledge to tech vitory stretch should be more expensive. in fact i might be so bold as to say that deeper knwledge should be at least as expensive as any other tech (i think supreme miniturazation is the most expensive aside from technological victory).

maybe it would make more sense if there were more to the technological victory. in alpha centauri, you also had to build a wonder to get the victory. maybe something similar would be nice in GalCiv. but i think other things could be nice.

examples. as i understand it, 'deeper knowledge' is meant to be something akin to spiritual knowledge or wisdom. why not have this tech have a morale and diplomacy bonus? near omniscience being almost the ability to see the future might give a ship defense bonus. you could use this as a pretext for boosting the AI's interest in these techs, on the one hand, and also keep them useful in games where the tech victory is disabled. just some ideas. i've always got a million.

Quitch: it sounds like you're in a similar boat as I, though albeit at a higher difficulty level. slow down the tech rate, and consider disabling the tech victory all togethr. your strategy is what is making the game too easy. like me, it sounds like you prefer to bide your time. you end up more rounded than the AI usually does. maybe your tech level isn't the absolute hightest. maybe you don't have the largest military. mabye you haven't researched as many levels of missle technology. doesn't matter. doesn't matter because you've chosen to develop your empire more holistically. you'll have very strong diplomacy, trade, economy, industry, population, morale and research. when faced with a challenge, you can respond with just about any method the game is set up to offer, and you'll probably use all of them. in most of your games, you probably could have won in about two thrids of the time if you had focused your efforts more, but that would have left you vulnerable....

it's a gameplay style. at least, that's my guess. i play much the same, and i've found it's far too easy to win in any method. once i've built up my perfect empire, i have the industry to produce any number of influence bases, buy any mining base, create fleets unsurpassed, or research a technological victory inside a year. but this usually consists of taking a back seat to the first 3/4 of the game and doing everything i can to avoid conflict, only acting when it's an obvious necessity. that is a personality. in fact, it's pretty close to MY personality.

maybe it's time for some role playing, eh? play as the noble altarians; always do right, and don't ever let the smallest sin go un- smashed into oblivion. most of the races have a personality of some kind. run with it.

for example, in the game i'm finishing up now, i'm playing the terrans. you look around the world right now, and it's pretty messed up, especially due to our capitalist economy. our world has enough resourses to take care of everyone, but because of the economic system we use, resources are converted into wealth, which accumulates in fewer and fewer hands. as this happens, people become more willing to break laws and hurt one another to get an ever smaller slice of the earth-pie, i.e., evil. but the introduction of hyperdrive opens up the galaxy to capitalist expansion. the economy explodes. wealth abounds. in times like that, people are more moderate. i.e., neutral.

so there are my terrans. they get 25% bonuses in diplomacy and trade. i pick the merchantile party. i buy boosts in econmics (+30, 4pts), research (+10, 2pts), morale (+10, 1pt), population growth (+10, 1pt), luck (+25, 1pt) and military production (+1, 1pt). i name my empire the terran union (mostly so i can title my ships Union Star Ship, or USS). the terran union is a society of shrewd business people. think Brave New World. the Cardinoids and Dark Yor start very close to me and the Drengin. even in the game i'd know they were both doomed. they can become dinner for the drengin, or the Terran Union's gammas and deltas (literary allusion - if you don't get it, read the dang book). i've all ready researched enough that when i invade them i can even use info warfare. i maxed out my trade early to make everyone like me at least a little, and pursue diplomacy vigorously. so while i'm only producing a small number of 'duds' (a small size space ship with 1 stinger I and 1 ion drive), no one hates me enough to go to war with me. well, i should say, to also go to war with me. just about everyone is at war with someone else, licking their wounds, or rearming. the yor are the first to drop, and they surrender to me. then go the korx, surrendered to the previously meek altarians. the drath were pretty quiet until they found a Ranger. then everyone started cowering. meanwhile the drengin had been researching up a storm on their 3 little planets, and they took over the iconions. they reconstructed quickly, and are now the only rivals to the drath. the great war breaks out. the drath forge an alliance with the other good civs and eventually manage to wear down the drengin (their allies receiving a little financial backing from muoi). during the years of war, the thalans had amassed quite an armada. they attacked the altarians, and everyone counter-attacked. even the arceans jumped in, decrying the need for galactic balance. by this point i even had a military advantage, though only due to a spin control center. the thalans gave up to the arceans, and i started making preps. you see, the other 4 remaining civs had forced a common alliance. i hadn't allied with anyone, but had close relationships with all 4. i could have easily chosen a diplomatic victory....

but with my network of fully developed military bases and armada of completely decked-out warships, where's the fun in that? the ultimate capitalist logic: if you can't find a new market, conquer one.

is anyone else still noticing unusual behavior for the number of trade lines? i can't seem to get more than 12. i maxed out the trade techs early. after that, neutral shipping didn't raise it, nor did the UP law. i'm glad i didn't waste ability points or anything...

examples. as i understand it, 'deeper knowledge' is meant to be something akin to spiritual knowledge or wisdom. why not have this tech have a morale and diplomacy bonus? near omniscience being almost the ability to see the future might give a ship defense bonus. you could use this as a pretext for boosting the AI's interest in these techs, on the one hand, and also keep them useful in games where the tech victory is disabled. just some ideas. i've always got a million.

Hmm. I think these changes would make tech victory even easier. The drawback of tech victory is that after discovery spheres, if you choose to go further down, you gain no advantage what so ever until you win.

Altough one nice tactic to get the AI's off your back is to throw them stuff like near omnsicence, and/or beyond Good/evil, the AI is impressed with the high RP cost, and yet they gain nothing what so ever from it.

It's easy enough to go for a tech victory, if you stablize with say an equal or more share of the galaxy. It's a bit more tricky if you start with a very small share of the galaxy, but by researching diplomacy techs and distrcting the AI you can
keep them off your back long enough to do it.

I found that by distrcting the AI by making them war with each other also does the trick....

Crippling is also a level where the AI receives bonuses. Tough is the top "smarts" level, everything after that is the same AI, just with bonuses.