Generic Question

[thanakar]

Civ 3 is the first of the Civ games I have played so I am wondering if it is par for the course for the AI to have a settler appear out of nowhere and plop a city down right the edge of your borders pushing your area of influence back.

This has happened so often that now its just a mnor annoyance but I keep loosing valuable resources due to this and I really do like playing a peaceful game but I am more and more getting a notion to wipe out these irritating incrusions into my domain.

[Wolfgang76]

Yeah, its normal for the AI to try and build Cities that close. I have had the French doing this to me in almost all my games. The silly thing is my culture is so hight I normaly take over the city in a few turns.

2Cents

[Purple]

Yes, the AIs will grab as much land as possible, as close to your borders as possible. This obliges you to adopt a similar strategy. Extend your own borders rapidly, with a special eye toward choke points. Be vigilant in denying AI access to your unsettled interior, even if its just a scout. When they find interesting terrain, they are unrelenting in trying to sneak a settler in or sending it by ship to areas inaccessible via land routes.

Don't feel too put upon by these annoying disruptions to your grand plan. The new AI cities on your borders are often absorbed by your empire if you emphasize cultural improvements in neighboring friendly cities, and when they come over to your side, you have the choice of letting them continue to grow as one of your own or razing it.

[Mister Hand]

You can't raze a city that you obtain through culture.

[Nadexander]

Originally posted by Mister Hand
You can't raze a city that you obtain through culture.

You can move the defenders just outside the city, offer the city in diplomacy for a grip of cash and then declare war and take it back on the same turn

[dr.charm]

The AI will *only* do this if there isnot enough space on the map. The AI seems to make some sort of calculation about whether or not it needs more cities, that is based more on a: if cities < 16 (or whatever) then build a new one. If you play on a map that is very large, but with few civs, the AI will stop expanding.

For example, I am currently playing a seven civ game on the earth map (the improved one, not the blecky one that came with the game). Normally, there would be 16 on this map. Anyway, virtually all of Africa, and most of Asia west of the Urals are uninhabited, even though there hasn't been a war that wiped out the cities there, simply no one has moved there.

I suspect that the most overpowering calculation is X number of cities, and after that, the AI makes a calculation based on corruption or other factors about whether or not to build.

Cheers,

Dr. Charm