Getting that sinking feeling...

[Fisherking]

If there are no professional soldiers nearby or defending the city and the city is not their capital, they surrender. At least on N/N.

Now is it just me, or does anyone else think it is wrong that when a city surrenders, everything is still destroyed?

Perhaps memory fails me, but didn’t the manual say that if a city surrendered that you captured it intact?

I’m not going to try to find it, but I sure thought I read it some where.

[Prussian to the Iron]

really? that sucks. never noticed it. but you're right, a surrender should give you the city fully intact (minus a few people)

[Monsieur Alphonse]

Most of the times everything is damaged. Sometimes and I don't know why, I capture an undamaged city when it surrenders. The only real advantage when a city surrenders is that your army is still intact.

[Fisherking]

I promise you, I have never ever captured an undamaged city.

Not only that but the level of damage sometimes seems very high.

It can wipe out a treasury for a turn just fixing up part of it.