Peace Treaties are a joke?

[Theophilus]

Okay I've been having issues with the AI of civ 5, it's not even a specific AI but all of them. It has to do with peace treaties and trading. First of all, I'm aware that the AI hardly if ever gives good trade deals without being afraid or friendly. But what is up with peace treaties? I have been in several games where I go to war with an AI and demolish their armies and capture a majority of their cities and they still want the better end of the peace treaty. To be fair, some AI give good enough treaty deals so long as you dont bully them to much. But I noticed that if you take all of their cities but one and demolish all of their armies and surround their last city(for me I usually leave the capital for last unless I'm going for domination win), then ask for peace, the AI will give you the total sum of NOTHING. The AI is like a toddler that has lost a game of checkers and proceeds to flip the table. Sure they will accept peace, but not if they have to give you something in exchange. My last game I played all I asked for after taking all of their cities and surrounding their capital, was to accept my embassy and the AI proceeded to laugh at me and told me to make a fair trade. Is the AI broken or am I really to unreasonable to demand the AI offer me something in exchange for letting them live? This is also very irritating because my warmonger status goes up even though all I wanted was a better deal. Because of this, most of my games end with domination victories because the AI really enjoy suiciding into me.
Anyways, I'd like to know if anyone else has experienced this and what they do to get around it or if there is a fix for it?

[Damsteri]

AI peace treaties work very simple, the one with the smaller army pays. A Human easily conquer AI cities with just few highly promoted units, but AI thinks they are better if they have more units. You get better deal if you focus killing their army instead of conquering cities.

Having AI to give nothing when they are on their last city allows AI some change to come back (not really). They would be totally eliminated from the game if they would be forced to pay after they have already lost all but their last city. It's just balance thing.

[ShakeNBakeUK]

have you ever considered, that maybe they have nothing left to give by the time you have destroyed all their cities and all their armies? XD

[Grendalcat]

Yes I have experienced this. If you take all but one city of an AI, they may have nothing left to give you in a proposed peace deal. I find that often the way to get the best deal, is kill as many of their units as possible, take one or two cities from them, but maybe less than half of their empire. They may then offer you luxuries, strategic resources, money, or a combination of these to make peace. As to accepting embassies, usually they will accept a joint trade of embassies, unless they are really upset with you.

[Theophilus]

Originally posted by Grendalcat:

Yes I have experienced this. If you take all but one city of an AI, they may have nothing left to give you in a proposed peace deal.

But that's the thing, they clearly have resources left over. In the trade menue it shows that they have resources, sometimes alot sometimes not. For instance, my last game I did this the AI had 300+ gold and one resource left and they refused to give me even 1 gold or that resource in exchange for peace. I just think the AI is broke, it can't be a balancing issue because you get those same resources and gold if you just take the city. In fact you would get more out of it if you just take the city.(After all you'r warmongering is already extremely high at this point)

[Grendalcat]

Sometimes they are so mad when you cut them down to one city that they won't offer anything extra even if they have it.

[PebKahn25]

It can really depend on the civ. sometimes if you go around stomping on any left over units they'll give stuff up. When facing the ai think of it like an ai not a person. Surrounding there city means nothing to them (Obviously the ai can see this, but it doesn't really make them more scared in a war). The ai can see your total army score (not entire army but the score) and can base its army off of yours. This is why you see Genghis Khan come at you with 100 keshiks, thinking that becuase his army has the same score as your 10 infantry(not perfect example) he is going to win. The ai is stubborn as doesn't act rationally, and you just have to work around that part of the game

[just.nuke.em]

Peace is never the answer

[JEELEN]

*reads through thread*

Originally posted by Theophilus:

Peace Treaties are a joke?

You don't ask for peace treaties, you wait for the AI to do so. (Pretty much the exact same as in real life.)

A matter of patience, that's all.

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Example. In one of my last games I started as Spain on a TSL map. Very early on I met Portugal and Morocco. Not soon after both declared war. (Kind of incoveneient, but nothing to worry about). At this point I have 1 spearman and am planning my 3rd city. (Founded Malaga near Gibraltar, because I'm Spain.)

2 Portuguese Spearmen show up and attack Madrid. I kill both, so I know that's all they got. And sure enough, the next Portuguese I spot is a Scout.

Morocco embarks 2 Spearmen, which float around till they get sunk by Malaga.

That was it. I know they have no more untis, so now I just wait for the peace proposals. (Meanwhile I build 1 Archer in Malaga.)

First Portugal sues for peace - but not until thier Settler gets destroyed by standing within range of Malaga.)

Next Morocco sues for peace.

I accept both, while re-adding our mutual embassies in both peace treaties.

And that's how it's done.