Diplomacy question

from GalCiv2 Forums
I'm getting more into the diplomacy aspect of the game right now, and there is one thing I'm confused about. Is there any way of threatening an alien race if they don't accept a trade? As it stands now, there doesn't seem to be any way to say "If you don't do this, I will declare war, or set an embargo." I've tried to do this a few times to end wars between other races that were bad for me, or to 'request' a resource in my own territory before declaring war. As it stands now, I have to pay them off, rather than being able to throw my weight around.

How feasible would it be to add trade items called “war” and “trade war” to the diplomacy section? The value of these items would be calculated based on the difference in military power between the two races, and the percentage of their income that comes from you, respectively. There would be costs for using these trades, of course, but it would be an invaluable diplomatic tool.
3,654 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yup, the game definitely needs a "threaten" or "piss off" or "extort" button. Hopefully something like that will be in the Dark Avatar expansion which, apprently, sports some diplomacy system improvements.
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
As opposed to just demanding something from them and assuming the stronger language?
Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yeah, I think that the threat is implied if you ask for something without offering anything else in return. The AI'll never surrender something as vital as a planet or a starbase though.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yeah, I think that the threat is implied if you ask for something without offering anything else in return. The AI'll never surrender something as vital as a planet or a starbase though.


I thought that might be the case, but there are 4 problems with this:

1. You cannot use a threat in connection with anything else. The idea is to offer less for what you want, not just demand it outright. If I want to offer a tech resource in exchange for an economy resource and I'm willing to go to war over it, there's no way to communicate that to the AI.

2. There are currently no real downsides to using threats. A threat of force is (1) less valuable each time you use it, (2) detrimental to all unallied relations, not just the race you’re dealing with, and (3) more likely to result in coordinated actions taking place against you. If it’s going to have any of these costs, it needs to be stated explicitly, because right now there’s no difference between demanding tribute and asking for help. (Should that also be a separate diplomacy item?)

3. If the AI does take military power into account, then it doesn't value it highly enough. In one notable case, I tried to demand ships from a race that I could have wiped out in 2 or 3 turns, but all I could get was a few defenders and scouts. Also, I might be willing to cut off trade or peruse other strategies without being willing to declare war. Unless I’m mistaken, the AI currently just lumps all potential threats into one value.

4. Threatening the AI in this way doesn't put you in a position where you have to carry it out if they say no. In a more realistic scenario, using a threat of force can be very dangerous because of this. Forcing the player to make good on their threats introduces a good play element, in that you can gamble with your power and potentially overreach yourself.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
It would be nice to see something like this implemented. As long as the AI can do what we do to them.