Don't you love it when the other races play bad cop/worse cop?

from Stardock Forums
So I controlled a third of the galaxy, and the Torian and Arceans controlled the other two (larger) parts of it.

I see the Torains declare war on just about everyone but me. The Arceans send me a bunch of frantic messages about how the Torians must be stopped. I tell them too bad, so sad.

Later, they try to extort half of my bank account from me for "peacekeeping efforts," and then again later to threaten me to go to war with me if I don't. As if.

I decide to have a little fun. I mean, the Torians are so cute and enthusiastic, they can't possibly be bad, can they? I give 'em a bunch of semi-decent techs and $1k just for fun.

I watch the Torians beat the Arceans down to two stars. The Arceans are now pleading for help.

Then I start getting nasty messages from the Torians, who now perceive me as a threat! Huh! Some loyalty! And the funny thing was I was trying to ally with them, but once they started growing in power, their friendliness towards me started dropping and I couldn't recover it.

So, just for fun, I load the Arceans up with all the tech I have and some money. They actually manage to win back most of their sectors.

Then I see that the Torians and Arceans have made peace. Then I see both their relations to me dropping.

I saved the game at the point where both of them have warships entering my sectors. I'm such a stupid softie, helping out other races, and look where it got me!

http://amg.sytes.net/panneaux/pano58333.png
510 views 12 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
wow the same thing happened to me almost. the damn torians wouldn't ally up even after i helped them destroy everyone and i gave them half my tresury twice.

did you get that arrogant message from the torians too? the one about the red bouncing ball.
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
No, it was just a "give it to us or something bad will happen to you" type of message.
Siege of Centauri
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
The AI seems to be pretty much unwilling to be friends with anything less than an equal force... I liked the Altarians pretty much (relations were friendly) until they squished the Torians and became somewhat stronger than me. From then on, relations dropped rapidly to "cold". And just to think I helped them by culturally conquering the Torians smaller planets by cultural means gives me the creeps. I mean, why didn't the damn Torians just surrender to me like the Drengin and Yor did before they got the big bad cyan spanking?
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
I`ve noticed this too. This behaviour is ok for evil races, but I think that good races should be more friendly and forgiving in relation to other good races.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
Rolandthemad, I agree with you. I expected better behavior from races set to be "good." In my first game, the Altarians did the same thing to me. Now, the Arceans, I could see doing it...they're neutral, so whatever is good for them, they'll do it. I can even see the Torians doing it. After all, they're chaotic good. But the Altarians? I figured pure good would mean they would be forgiving of other "good" races and outright shun and fight the evil ones.

Speaking of which, has anyone noticed if altering your alignment helps out in situations like these? My problem might be that I almost ALWAYS choose the neutral option. I've never gotten so far in either direction that I get the interface change.
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
Well, I`ve been neutral and turned on twice by the Arceans.. once I was good and the Torians came after me.. so no, alignment doesn`t really help.
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
In a random alignment game, the chaotic good Drengin declared war on me for being "evil." My alignment was 59 (neutral).

Their neutral Altairian allies got dragged into the war, which was the real pain. I eventually repaired relations with the Drengin, but the Altairians spent the entire game gunning for me.

~SDC~
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
I always play as a goody goody and I have never been threatened by the other goodies. I think that probably makes some difference. But I have never been in the exact situation described.. I think I have more often been the most powerful good race, or I never find the other good races and get squished like a bug by the Yor and Drengin..
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
Exactly the same happened in my last game. The evil empires started getting a little too big for their collective boots so I built up the Arceans with a few quality techs and some finance. Between us we took out everyone else in the game, both of us were neutral so I thought it a fairly safe path to take. During this period I had to switch all my trading to them, but I was OK with that. Next thing one of my supposed ambassadors has accidently shot the leading Arcean trade deligate in a random event and I'm plunged into galactic war, all my trade routes are cancelled and the game spirals down from there. I have to say this game is just fantastic, I can't stop playing it, I lose more than I win but I'm really enjoying myself.

~SDC~
Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top
Doesn't the background on morality specifically say that war is considered an amoral act? Which means that good races expanding at the expense of other good races would be acceptable.
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top
As far as the 'pure good' factor is concerned, absolute *anything* tends to breed intolerance.

On top of that, 'goodness' and peacefulness are hardly connected. Look at how the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition turned out.

~SDC~
Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
The game may mean something a bit different by "good" than you might. I mean, the Altairians are rumored to have purged the amoral and immoral elements. Doesn't sound *good*, but you'll probably find them better neighbors than the Drengin, unless you have something in common with them.

~SDC~