Which 4X/grand strategy game has the best diplomacy

[SundiataWTF]

Is there a modern game that has a robust and semi-realistic diplomatic model? I'm looking for games that can be one on the diplomatic or economic battlefield rather than the literal battlefield. I don't mind combat, I just want the option to form grand alliances and trading partnerships that make it possible to win without world conquest.

[SundiataWTF]

I guess not.

[Mr.Kill]

Give it time. Some of us play more combat oriented games than diplomatic ones so its not like we could help.

The closest games I can find are;
Civilisation 4
Star ruler 2
Galactic civilisation 2 (especially when playing humans)
Oh yes war leaders: clash of nations (to the point that you can basically pit the world against each other if you throw enough money around, Anyone wanna play WW2 where the americans give France so much money they curbstomp Germany?).

[Nasarog]

Originally posted by SundiataWTF:

I guess not.

Heh, give it a bit. I usually wait for others to respond before I chime in, but okay.

Another vote for Star Ruler 2.

Stellaris... Maybe?

[Army Pea]

I figured someone would have said CK2 or EU4 by now.

[athelasloraiel]

Star ruler2 - bestest (another drunken night in Jerusalem/TelAviv)
Eu4

[Troy]

I'd probably say Star Ruler 2, though Endless Legend, Endless Space 2, and Stellaris aren't bad.

[Mr.Kill]

Oh another 4X RTS game.

Space Clash: The Last Frontier

You fight for planets trying to take control of them by building an economy and trading resources like medicine and oil for cash. You can buy out your opponent or crush them (though note that crushing them and attempting to buy them out will just leave them bitter and fight to the death anyway so diplomatic players should stay diplomatic at least for the battle at that particular planet).

The money from each battle on a planet translates to the strategic space screen (planetary infrastructure is frozen right at the moment the battle ends so the income you had at the end of the battle is added to the strategic income). Where you buy relatively expensive ships and try to launch invasion or footholds on other planets (where you either try to set yourself up and buy them out or crush them). The game keeps track of your actions. If you are the mecantile type and buy your opponents out, you should be well aware that your opponents are getting the money you used to buy them out and THEY will spend it on warships (though since you bought them out, you probably have a superior economy overall anyway).

The game also has sick music.

[pavig]

Crusader Kings 2 - it's pretty much ALL diplomacy, though people seem to want to play it like a wargame. ;)

[StarFishon]

Originally posted by athelasloraiel:

Star ruler2 - bestest (another drunken night in Jerusalem/TelAviv)
Eu4

Lama lo tahgog :)

[Gregorovitch]

EU4 and CK2 have the most advanced diplomacy systems of any gamee I think, but you still have to conquer stuff to "win" really. But by the measure of "realistic and robust diplomatic model" they completely trounce any other games on the market.

GalCiv2 enables unfluence + diplomacy stategy so you can win almost exclusively by diplo means and get an alliance victory (I'm not sure if that is also true for GalCiv3), including "influence flipping" oponent planets without a shot being fired.

Civ 5 you can easily win going tall/pacifist with tourism or science victory. Not sure it's so easy pulling off diplo victory as pacifist. Don't know how Civ 6 works for diplo victories. But this is more about turtling up and beavering away, the diplomatric model is nothing like as realstic or robust as EU/CK, IMO.

Stellaris has a major diplomatic dimension that equals or surpasses Distant Worlds although it's not as sophisticated as EU or CK. Pacifist/isolationist is very viable, but playing democratic feederation type empires "liberating" tyrannies can be tricky on harder difficulties due to -50+ diplo penalties on voluntary vasselization->integration etc.

Star Ruler 2 has an intersting and innovative diplo system but personally I found it less effective than simply building bigger badder ships and blowing stuff up.

Distant Wolds has a significant diplomatic dimention to it. The difference with Stellaris is it has fixed races with fixed charcteristics which means a sort of "bugs hate everyone and everyone hates bugs" type situation that never changes, you know who the bugs and the monstrous tyrannies are in advance. In Stellaris you don't, and I would say empires in Stellaris are somewhat more pragmatic leading to a much wider variation and nuance in geopolitics than DW.

[Melodic Death]

Crusader Kings 2 is probably your best bet. While there is a combat element, most of your time is consumed by diplomacy. It's all about making alliances and royal marriages to better suit your family name.

[athelasloraiel]

I can't find Space Clash: The Last Frontier on steam. Is it somewhere else?

[Bou]

Crusader Kings 2 by far.

[Mr.Kill]

Originally posted by athelasloraiel:

I can't find Space Clash: The Last Frontier on steam. Is it somewhere else?

It's a really obscure game that is only sold by a few stores. I think its one of those cases where you its really hard to find the game and its really hard to buy it. It's a good game though.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Space-Clash-The-Last-Frontier-PC-Game-Brand-New-/360255246570?hash=item53e0e2d0ea:m:msVu7ggAhS2ST0mJr-FpS6A

[marlowe221]

CK2 - I went from being the Count of a single province in the HRE to being the Holy Roman Emperor in the matter of 2 generations. All through diplomacy, scheming, and good marriages. I never fought any wars until after I became the emperor.

THEN it was butt whooping time!

Still my favorite game of CK2 I ever played.