Please just add an option to remove all ai cheating bonuses, thanks.

Hi, LOVE this mod...replaced MANY others I was using and its nice to have those features all in one mod so less likely to have compatibility issues and crashes. Instead of 25-40 mods i now use about 5-6.

BUT: OMG the AI is a hateful beast. I have attempted to play on your "normal" difficulty (Chieftan level) and the AI will never do a fair and square exchange of embassies. They always want payment. And any other trade is WILDLY in their failure. So much so that I find I reject EVERY trade and never bother even initiating contact with the opponent AI's anymore, so the game has become less interesting.

And then halfway through the game they ALL start hating me and gang up to destroy me. I am not the leader so they are not jealous of my success, they just all decide I have to die. I now spend the next few hours attempting to survive and its ONLY if I get the upper hand that they try to be peaceful again. The peace treaty runs its course and a few turns later they all turn on me again.

I cannot play this game as a diplomat anymore. Once any of the AI civs decide to fight I need to become a genocidal butcher, with the only victory possible being the all crushing military power.

Is there any chance you can buff diplomacy, or debuff the AIs aggression? As currently Civ5 is now a military conquest game, in which no matter what civ you are, you need to beeline every military advantage as you know the AI IS going to come at you and come at you hard.

Thanks

Thanks for your post and for bringing to my attention what issues people might be having that are just starting out on the mod. I have to be brief so please do not take this as an answer but as something to experiment with and keep in mind during your next game:

1) TRADE
Don't dismiss it! Yes, in the beginning the AI doesn't know you and doesn't trust you so they won't offer you a fair deal. However, things can change dramatically as the game progresses and you can get VERY sweet deals and sometimes even stuff for free from the AI if they like you and if they need something you have such as a Lux if they have low happiness or strategic resources if they run out etc. If they don't need what you have they will pay nothing ... this is different from the base game and it is intentional. Have you considered giving a Lux for free to the AI?

2) DIPLOMACY
This is very hard but also the most satisfying aspect and the only way you can win at higher levels in my opinion. Even if you are after a domination victory you will have to start early AND be good (and shrewd?) at diplomacy. Turn on the game option "transparent diplomacy" as you learn about it and until you get a feeling of HOW to shape relations. Then you also need to consider with WHOM you want WHAT kind of relations.

Did you know that you can still win the game EVEN after having fully surrendered to another Civ and becoming their Vassal? Not domination, but Science and Culture Victory are still on the table and with a strong master to protect you there is little to worry and no more wars for centuries. Have you considered this strategy? It's just one of endless possibilities, which I mention to stretch your imagination a little bit and to assure you that with this mod winning is not just a matter of who can build more units.

3) AI AGGRESSIVENESS
If you read some of the more recent posts, you will see that some player complained that the AI is to passive. This is the comment that typically comes from a player who likes to "Command and Conquer". You just said exactly the opposite, so I assume you are more of an "Empire Builder" type. I have done my best to strike a balance between the different play styles, and more so than other mods in my opinion. "Aggressiveness" is not even a factor actually, the AI is programmed to win and will do whatever it takes and even do so cooperatively if it deems that strategy to be more effective.

Enjoy!

I love the AI aggressiveness (I only choose domination and time victories)! They get aggro'd very quickly if you are next to them, and multiple civs will f you from all sides if you expand carelessly. The vanilla ai was such a snorefest in comparison. Only downside is that the best music for middle east / africa, like Salute to The Sun or The Senses Awaken, only play during peacetime so you don't get to hear them that often :D

Much thanks for the replies :-)

on prince it is suprisingly easy to get the ai to fear you once you have wiped out about 4-5 civs all of the ai will fear you untill they either get bigger or die. strange

Lol, this explains why I'm struggling so much on Prince. Yes, I'm making mistakes because I'm not used to things, but even after a few restarts it does seem harder than normal.

Wish I had read this before starting. Immortal is prettyannoying. While I can defend myself fine, it gets old fighting AI with infinite troops and what I can only assume is a big combat advantage when attacking. If they manage to reach any artillery it's a 1 shot...

Using IGE or RAS to buff your start may not necessarily have the intended effect.

What is IGE and RAS? Thanks in advance.

@Tony G: In-Game Editor and Really Advanced Setup. Mods that let you make some changes to the game. Not recommended!

Why is the difficulty so high? I can barely survive on Settler after 2 civs started a war against my civ. And they have like 50 units each while I can barely keep 10-15 before they destroy them, then they flood my land and destroy all the improvements so the GPT goes below 0. Keeping up with AI on techs is near impossible as well, as one of them is 5-6 ahead, the rest is like 1 ahead on average.
How can it be that they can spawn so many units while I can barely make 1 per city every 4 turns? And this is supposed to be Settler?
According to the mod files it seems to be equivalent of vanilla's Warlord difficulty. How can people even survive Level 8 when I can barely do the so-called Level 1 difficulty?
It's beyond ridiculous how much and how fast the AI can produce here.

Civ 4 is WAY easier than this.

First off, I want to say I love your mod. You are doing a great job. I just play core mod without Sapiens.
There are some minor things I don't know are bugs or if they are intended I want to report. Early game is very hard, since the AI get a starting army and I don't, but it gets very easy towards the end of the game. I play on epic length and there are still a lot of buildings that only take 1 turn. Is this intended? It might be my play style but I snowball way past the AI after the medieval era.
Also, the one ideology policy that is supposed to give you 100% more resources seems to triple them instead of doubling them.
This is still the best mod I've played. Thanks

I play at King level and I enjoy it. I might be able to win at a higher level than King, but I feel it would be a struggle from start to finish.

Love everything about the mod, except for tech balance. There is no way that AI does not get specific cheating options for civs to be 4-5 techs ahead. Either add option to remove AI handicap or overhaul spy mechanics so that stealing techs can even be possible. Thx

Originally posted by Загадочный Боря:

Love everything about the mod, except for tech balance. There is no way that AI does not get specific cheating options for civs to be 4-5 techs ahead. Either add option to remove AI handicap or overhaul spy mechanics so that stealing techs can even be possible. Thx

Gotta agree. Playing a round on King and been at war with an AI, managed to defend long enough that I gained the tech advantage and began winning. Literally in the next 5 turns the AI jumped from composite bowman to muskets while playing on Marathon game length. They went from near bottom of the tech game to the top so jumped nearly 6 techs. Makes absolutely no sense.