Diplomacy - Please leave

[Haymitch]

I've played a few hours and I love nearly every aspect of the game. I keep coming back with each new update and sometimes multiple times in between. I wouldn't call myself a power gamer or even someone who has mastered the game.

So maybe there is more to diplomacy than I understand or some option that I haven't found. When I inform someone to remove all of their units from my territory, I will more than often get a snarky response about space being large and they can't be accountable for all of their ships and I'll remark by agreeing yes space is large but also remind them bad things can happen randomly. Nothing more can be done unless I want to declare war. Given the nuance added to declaring war and how easily it is to satisfy those conditions with proper prepping and planning(For instance: I now have to plan for the economic/growth impact each time they try to sue for peace)

My issue mainly comes in that - war isn't precisely(And all it's trappings, Galactic Threat and so on and so forth) the solution I need in that situation. I as the governing entity of that region of space I should have the option of making that ship disappear. Space is vast. It's lawless - it goes both ways in the argument, who can say what actually happened to that ship? Don't like it? That is okay! Declare war on me, take responsibility for your actions just like I am willing to be accountable for mine.

And maybe you're wondering - why is this report outside the scope of adding more nuance to diplomacy/war in general? I am the type of player who expands as rapidly as I can and sometimes I can't consolidate fast enough before my neighbors decide to send their colonizing ships, their constructors through my territory to space I haven't quite brought into the fold. I don't have a problem with that part, I have a problem with them thinking they can go through my territory instead of going the long way. I specifically don't accept open border agreements for this very reason. This gives me another option of enforcing my xenophobic tendencies as well as giving me a few extra turns to consolidate loose holdings at the fringes of my territory.

I propose a nuance added to diplomacy in the form of direct ship on ship engagement - if I ask you to leave and you're snarky about not leaving, well within my right to blow that ship out of the water without causing a war. If they want to declare war on me in that instance, then so be it. I'll gladly take a penalty for being the aggressor in this scenario, but I'd also like it reflected I did try peaceful means before then. In the current system, I just get branded the bad guy and there is no nuance to it, so I may as well always select war of Annihilation, they'll sue for peace directly after and I'll take economic sanctions on top of it. Seems lopsided when all I really wanted was the other nation's ships gone from my territory.

Mind you - if there is something I missed and some way I can force expel all of their ships without firing a shot or declaring a war - please let me know. If this suggestion isn't implemented, no big deal, I still love the game and I'll still play it regardless, I just feel like diplomacy and war could be tweaked a little to provide a little more nuance as they currently stand. The player takes too much of the responsibility and burden of diplomacy breaking down, economic sanctions/growth the political negative of Galactic Threat, whereas the person not respect territorial boundaries doesn't have to contend with any of that.

Thank you for reading this and thank you for continuing to make this brilliant series!

[Problem Solver]

The wormhole generator is a good choice to remove ships from your territory without declaring war

[Haymitch]

That is my go to actually! I've found there are issues when you've expanded to quite a large, sprawling galactic empire, that it actually moves them deeper into your territory LOL

More funny than anything when that happens! It just happened actually - attempting to move two fleets out of my territory, randomly placed them at the other end of my empire in a sector I own entirely LOL

[SLG]

It depends on your relations other civilizations. I usually try to be friends first before asking them to remove their ships from my area.

[Fņŏŕď]

Borders mean nothing in this game much like in real life.

[Illauna]

You need to have a good military for them to listen to your "get of my lawn" requests. Also, I believe the request means they wont take action in your territory. They can travel through it.

Generally though this comes up more in the early game when all empires are doing a colony rush. At that stage of the game you can build influence starbases that are very likely able to steal planet because those colonies and even cores have not build up enough influence to take on the early advantage culture bases have.

[Texas Aggie]

Can we also have a STFU option? I often have weaker races pester me with requests and we should be able to turn off communication from select races.

[Haymitch]

A lot of good points here.

I agree - borders don't mean anything - except to me. They mean a lot to me. Enough that I don't want you in my borders without permission. Space is vast, so who can really say what a border means - agreed 100% on this point, all I am asking for is the nuance to - right or wrong - blow the offender up and impress upon whoever it may be that this line in the sand is important to me.

Definitely agree - more of a problem towards the beginning of the game, which also makes it riskier for me to take action. The nuance of what I am asking is A.) Responsibility where it belongs - I asked, politely for you to remove your ships, you did not, therefore I removed it. I don't hide my accountability in taking care of said offender, but the game makes me take the entire burden - and the next point B.) Risk. As the player the risk is on me to defend my established border, AI can do whatever they want, regardless of military sizes - will they be more likely to be a bit more positive when I say get off my lawn if I am holding the biggest stick in my sector? Depends. Ever ask the Drengin to get off your lawn? And let me tell you, when the galaxy sympathizes with the Drengin because they wouldn't get off my lawn and I had to turn them into space dust ... you know something is wrong with the galaxy.

I am just hoping for a little more nuance in diplomacy and how I can react to threats. I think there is an element of risk - in the early game just because I may be trying to stake territorial claims, does mean I likely don't have the presence to enforce it - so say I do decide to blow up an offending ship and that offending ship is backed by a more powerful and plentiful military - I've probably got a problem. So you see it threads it way back to - situation happens - action is taken - both sides decide if it's worth a war or not and take equal amount of accountability in whatever direction it ends up going.

Again I don't know if it's possible for something like this in the game, but it would be nice and add another layer in terms of options/risks/accountability for me as a player which would add enjoyment for me. And hopefully a bunch of other people too.

[Dray Prescot]

As soon as I agree to a Peace Treaty (which they usually call Surrender), particularly at Subspace Stream Point that I (you)am guarding to keep them out of my (your) Sector, they immediately go back to sending colony and construction ships through it again to grab stuff in my (your) Sector.

The only way to keep them out is to Refuse Surrender/Peace offers and destroy anything that comes through, until everything is claimed in your Sector (hopefully by me/you). The problem is that you will end up in a state of Permanent War with them.

They keep thinking that they have enough military force advantage over you that you are doomed whenever they make a Surrender Offer/Demand. When instead, you can keep destroying them.

When you have a Large Sector with lots of unclaimed stuff, and they have a smaller already (mostly) claimed Sector, they are going to keep coming into your Sector. If you make/accept a Peace(Surrender) Treaty with them, then you can NOT attack anything that they send into your Sector, and you get told you can not attack again so soon after making a Peace Treaty.

So your only real choice is Permanent War with them.

Maybe if you have a LARGE enough Military, they might stop this, but usually they think that they have a lot more Military than you do.