OK, this has happened three times in a row now, so I need help.
I have a custom Civ. I have no alliances or economic/research agreements with the Altarians. I havent researchd ethics yet, but because of my decisions im leaning towards good on the scale. The Altarians pick a fight/get picked on by some other race. War between the Altarians and this other race ensues. Now heres the part that sucks:
The Altarians come to be for help, they want me to declare war on their enemy. Their enemy happens to be someone im trading with/dont want to fight with, so I click "no" to their request.
The next turn, all my trade agreements dissolve, and im told by the news ticker that im at war with the enemy I just said I did not want to attack.
Of course, its all downhill from there. The combination of trade loss/diplomatic blunder/and new war I didnt want brings me down every time. I'm playing on "normal" difficulty against a total of 7 races, all out of box.
This game used to rock, but this "feature" makes it suck. Help!