(P)REVIEWS - Civilization IV Preview by Solver
Rip Them Off More Than They Rip You Off!
Diplomacy has changed so much in CivIV that I called it a new feature in the beginning of my preview. These changes are not immediately obvious from looking at screenshots, but in the game itself, they are huge.
In CivIII, there was no concept of loyalty, although there was reputation. However, if you wanted to do so, you could easily get anyone on your side by repeatedly giving them 'gifts' worthless in value - such as 1 gold. Likewise, the AIs were quite happy to join wars, so getting foreign military help was not hard, either. Finally, there was technology whoring, which allowed you to gain huge profits from any tech. you had that the AIs didn't, whereas in the earlier parts of the game you could simply buy all the technology for gold.
The diplomatic arena in CivIV is different, first of all, because there are much more sophisticated processes involved in how relationships form. There are blocs that form throughout the game, and there are true loyalties and hard feelings between the various civs.
The basic premise is that each civilization has an attitude towards every other civilization that is determined by a set of modifiers. One of the greatest additions to the game is that you can see these modifiers and thus precisely know why a specific civ. treats you the way it does. These modifiers are quite numerous. The positive ones include having the same state religion, having an Open Borders agreement, trading resources, sharing technology, and others. The negative modifiers include having different religions, refusing to give tribute, refusing to give help, declaring war, and others. An extremely important negative modifier is trading with a particular civilization's worst enemies.
Every civ will not like some other civs for some reason. If, for example, Greece and Rome like each other and both dislike Germany, then you will not be able to maintain friendly relations with all three of them. Trading with the Greeks and Romans will upset the Germans and vice verse. At some point, the Germans, not liking your trade relations with Rome, might come and demand that you cancel deals with Rome. In turn, if you refuse that, the Germans will like you even less.
That way, blocs are formed and you really feel like you are a part of one of them in most games. There might easily be games where, by the Middle Ages, the world is already split in two 4 vs. 4 blocs. Choosing which bloc to be a part of is not always trivial. For example, it will be easier to ally with civs that share your religion, but it might happen so that they don't have much to trade with. You can certainly establish good relations with those who have another religion, but it's extremely hard, if possible, to switch gears and get good relations with somebody who hates you.
Of course, how exactly the diplomatic arena forms varies from game to game. In some games, everyone gets along better than in others, so you might not always see a very distinct division in blocs, but there will almost never be situations where everyone loves everyone.
Trading items in diplomacy has also changed significantly. The AI really considers whether a deal is good for them before accepting it. Also, their willingness to deal with you will depend on their attitude. Gone are the days where an AI that hates you would sell you technology willingly. You will now find that AIs that dislike you will agree to few, if any deals, whereas those with whom you have established and maintained good relations will be much better trading partners.
Much of the time, some items that a civ. has will be marked as non-tradable. Essentially, this means that the AI is unwilling to even consider giving those items. For example, if a civ. is the first to discover a crucial military technology or a tech. for an important Wonder, it's very likely that the tech will be 'red' in diplomacy - no chance of getting it whatsoever. Whenever an AI controlled civilization is unwilling to trade an item, you will get an explanation of why, such as "We don't like you enough" or "We would have nothing to gain".
Friendly AIs, however, will be pretty active in trading technology most of the time. They will be looking for fair exchanges benefiting both of you. To get a technology you will usually have to offer a technology of your own in exchange, because the price in gold is going to be pretty high. Also, trading resources is very beneficial both for relations and the happiness of your people.
You can also ask AI controlled civilizations to declare war on, make peace with or stop trading with another civ. You will not be able to get others to do your dirty work for you, however: the AI will not declare war on another civ. without a good reason. If your intended target is in a remote location from your would-be ally, you aren't going to get an alliance there. The AI will only agree to declare war on others where it could have something to gain from the war… and then it will usually want you to pay something for their trouble.
You can also agree to sign two mutual agreements with others: Open Borders and Defensive Pact. Open Borders means permission to enter each other's borders has been granted. This gives prime opportunity for Missionaries to do their job. Open Borders also create trade routes between cities while a Defensive Pact means that, if one party is declared war upon, the other party also declares war on the aggressor. The Pact is, however, indeed Defensive - it is only possible to sign while at peace, and will be cancelled if either party declares war first.
Developer Firaxis Games has improved the United Nations considerably. If in CivIII the United Nations only served as a gateway to the diplomatic victory, then the abilities of this organization have been notably increased in CivIV. When the United Nations are first built, a Secretary-General is elected. There are two candidates for this position. The first is the owner of the city where the UN is located, and the second is whoever has the highest population or second-highest, if the UN owner has the highest population. Each civilization in the world then has a number of votes to cast for either of the candidates, the number of which is determined by population size. As in CivIII, abstaining is also an option for each nation.
When the Secretary-General is elected, he can choose the next three resolutions to be put forth. These can include Single Currency, Open Markets, Global Emancipation, Global Free Speech and others. A special resolution is the one which can trigger diplomatic victory if enough votes are given for it. After three resolutions have been voted on, new elections for the Secretary-General take place.
Overall, the diplomatic system has improved so much that it truly feels like an all-new feature. May you enjoy your dealings with the rivals in CivIV!
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