How do you make peace?

[RectalDamage]

What is the criteria for reducing factional hostility towards you in the later part game? Will reducing my forces and/or territories placate my neighbors? I tire of war and would prefer to indulge in the pleasures of my royal court.

[kaleun76]

I don't think it can be done. Early on in the game, factions that are at war with you, but with whom you have not had combat or contact for a while may offer a ceasefire, but I haven't been able to get anyone to accept a ceasefire.

[Mithrandir]

destroy them,overwhelm them, impress them...if you're kings influence is high they'll accept, if your armies trample every single one of them which they encounter, they'll soone enough beg for peace...

Behahhaha, everyone of my (Danish)Kings has had the influence as high as possible...lovely http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif.

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[Warmaker]

Actually this is something that bothers me in MTW. When you get late in the game and if you've got a sprawling empire, I garauntee you that your best of allies from the beginning of the game will attack you, no matter how powerful you are. It seems that the computer, if it sees you're kicking the rears of the most powerful opposing faction, it feels the need to draw help from your list of allies to make up for the other's failure and to irritate the player (me).

Example: As the Byzantines my large empire has finally gone to war with the Almohad hordes. The Polish have long been my allies since the beginning of the game and we have fought together against the Almohad on several occasions. I also must say that the Poles only have 4 provinces at their height at the start of the war against the Hojo, I mean, Almohad hordes. Even at my lowest point in the war against the Elmoheads, I had moderately sized garrisons bordering the Poles in Hungary, Carpathia, Wallachia, and Bulgaria. Not large, but fully upgraded and good units.

Now, the war is clearly going in my favor against the Elmoheads and I'm sweeping Western Europe and have FINALLY taken Morocco, Cordoba, and Aragon. For some unknown reason the Poles broke the treaty attacked me at Carpathia with inferior units and inferior numbers. Also bear in mind that Carpathia is home to iron deposits and lots of good units are produced there. What was that for?

One must remember that in late medieval time settings in MTW, that all alliances, regardless of how good they've been, can and will be broken for no good reason or provocation.

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There's no such thing as overkill, just ensured victory!

[Draksen]

mmm... lol

sorry, this is 100%OT but ... mmm ...
how can I say ...

"RectalDamage", lol, why this name ? ... lol



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"De gueules aux deux léopards d'or, armés et lampassés d'azur, passant l'un sur l'autre."

[Rosacrux]

Has anyone else find it extremely difficult to hold an alliance (any alliance) when playing Byzantines and kicking some rear ends (SIC!)???

I love to play with Byzantines (love their inf and kataphrakts) and I am playing hard or expert levels, early and high era.

Each and every time, once I get kinda powerful (and I do not mean like conquering half the universe, just snatching 4-5 provinces, eliminating the Turks, then building up and beginning to trade a bit) I lose each and every ally I've made (even by sacrificing the virtue of my porfyrogennites princesses).

And usually they start even throwing crusades at me(sometimes 3-4 at the same time) while I've been a very good boy (boyscout, actually), only fighting the Turks and (on occasion) the Fatimids err... Egyptians.

This IS unrealistic... I mean, in most games the Elmoheads are much more powerful than me, but they never attract so much hatred and loath... tsk tsk tsk...

[RectalDamage]

Quote Originally posted by Draksen:
mmm... lol

sorry, this is 100%OT but ... mmm ...
how can I say ...

"RectalDamage", lol, why this name ? ... lol

Because I deliver an a$$kicking to my enemies or I eat a lot of spicy food. I forget which.

[/QUOTE]

[mav3434]

Yeah, I have the same problem,as soon as you become the big dog, nobody will make peace with you. I generally don't find it happening until I get the largest army-largest income messages, then it all starts going downhill. If you lose a few provinces and men, though, some guys will approach you and cease fire, but that's not very conducive to winning. It's particularly annoying on GA mode when you're just minding your ownn business and people start attacking your.

[Paladin]

The game does this because it knows that if you're not stopped at that point, we will go on to becoming master of the world. It makes good sense because unless you're stopped that's exactly what will happen. This is the way the game balances out.

Same thing when my friends and I used to play Risk. We would all beat up on the strongest player until someone was able to grab power and win.

This is a great aspect of this game because I have played games where the computer ignores you and just acts as if you're a normal player. Big mistake since that always led to my victory without ever failing.

[This message has been edited by Paladin (edited 09-19-2002).]

[Warmaker]

Would you backstab a much larger and more powerful ally who has done nothing but be a dependable ally in past wars?

In my example, the Poles were down to 3 provinces and I had most of Central Europe, most of modern France, half of Spain, all of the Near East up to Georgia, all of North Africa, and of course the Balkans. I was also north of the Papal States (Venice? I can't remember). I was 2 provinces away for the Byzantines to reclaim Rome. Attacking a faithful ally who's alot more powerful is idiotic, game balance or no game balance.

And another thing alongside crumbling alliances is crumbling trade. In every game I had once you start making tons of money from trade the computer realizes you're making too much money so "Oops! Look here, your trading partners all the sudden attack you for no reason!"

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There's no such thing as overkill, just ensured victory!

[This message has been edited by Warmaker (edited 09-20-2002).]

[kmm]

I agree with you Warmaker.

I'm playing England and I control all of the British Isles, 90% of France and all of Spain. I'm in the middle of a crusade against the Almohad, and out of nowhere I get attacked by Sicily (who has a princess married to one of my Princes) with 1 unit of Royal Knights where I have an army of about 350 Chivalric men-at-arms and 100 Feudal Knights (They were headed to the Crusade) and a garrison of 160 feudal men-at-arms. It makes no sense, as we had been allies since almost the get go. But here's the kicker.

After I repelled the invaders, and moved my army on to the Crusade a couple of turns later, they came back with a larger force and I had to retreat to the castle. The next turn I moved another army into the area and sallied my forces from the castle to repel the invaders once again, and I get a warning from the Pope to cease hostilities against the Sicilians. So, I'm in the middle of a Crusade, I get attacked by an ally twice, I defend my province and repel the invaders, and then the Pope threatens to excommunicate ME. I think it is B.S. and should be addressed by the designers in the patch.

[Dragon]

All your reasons hold IRL, I agree with you.

But the fact is, the AI knows this is a game. You can "WIN" this game by conquest, and conquest only (even GA's are mostly conquests). So the AI knows that whatever you do now, you will eventually turn around and attack. Maybe not now, because you are unprepared, but later, when you are sure to win. But sooner or later you have to attack to win. Cooperation is not possible.

So they attack at a time where they can cause you harm in some way, for example block your trade. Makes good sense in my eyes. You are not angry that they attacked, but that they caused you some inconvenience, right ? (same with me, it's human *g*) In my current game (Turkey) I couldn't care less whether the Danes (without ships, only one province) declared war on me.


Now what I would like to see is another option to win the game peacefully (but that would somehow go against "Total War", no ?), and then AI behaviour that keeps the status quo makes much more sense. Untill then, I do not blame the AI for a behaviour that is exactly correct from their point of view today.