On AI and Diplomacy

[King Yngvar]

The best diplomacy i've seen in a game has been in Civ IV

That's almost perfect. Add alliances, royal marriage and more shifting relationships to the Civ IV diplomacy and it would be perfect.

[Ludens]

Agreed. R:TW's diplomacy seems either random or too complex to understand. Either way, it is not very effective, but then diplomacy wasn't the previous games' best feature either. I would also like to see the diplomatic part abstracted, and a way to see what's acceptable to the A.I. and what's not.

[NodachiSam]

Perhaps diplomats would be able to travel far faster than they do (in MTW terms going two or three provinces in one turn instead of just 1) and they could travel over water without a military ship?

[Sykotyk Rampage]

I liked the idea of a diplomatic screen (mentioned somewhere by someone else) that you open and make your offer/reply. Maybe the next turn you get a reply or give a reply. So once you make contact with a faction you have a permanent embassy in that faction’s court and in your court.

Eventually this does away with the moving of diplomats around the board, crowding it and making your turns go forever trying to keep up with what diplomat is doing what.

This could go for princesses moving around also. That was the worst part of MTW1’s end game, was moving diplomats and princesses and keeping up with their goals.

[King Yngvar]

Yep, and actually having to put that specific diplomat unto the AI princess you would like to marry into your faction...

Personally I would prefer not having to wait a whole turn either, because that could make diplomacy take many turns if there is many counter proposals...

[HighLord z0b]

I haven't played Civ 4 but Civ 3's diplomacy was excellent, and I would love to see that kind of "diplomacy screen" in M2TW. You could trade off territories, units, trade routes, alliances, princesses etc. to bargain with the AI.
It would work well if the AI would stick to alliances and agreements.