Yeah, that's my reasoning too, almost exactly. Now, that's not to say that it doesn't sometimes lead to uncomfortable situations. I *HATE* to attack anybody preemptively, but I also can't envision myself ever not supporting an ally. So, when my allies insist that we go to war against a power whom I have no specific beef with, it puts me in a real bind. In a recent case, I was faced with three allies who made a very strong case for going to war against a Talisman weilding power that eventually probably was going to be a big threat...so, I tried very hard to get a viable casus belli to justify my war on grounds other than "self-interest" - of course, self-preservation is a good enough reason, but to strike someone pre-emptively for that reason is a problematic bit of logic. Perhaps I took too many "ethics in international relations" courses at school...in any case, I would much rather do the "right thing" rather than the "selfish" thing...and it has indeed meant that I generally lose out to other with a more cutthroat approach...Oh well. Better to be known as someone who will go down fighting for an ally, even to the end, than someone who might betray an ally for advantage...
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Originally posted by Slynky:
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Originally posted by Traskelion:
Anyway, to the point. As a "nice guy" I can safely say that in SEIV, it will get you beaten around pretty badly by someone more cruel
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There is some truth in this. While I understand that "backstabbing" is part of the game, I prefer to be known as a person who would never do that. So, when people are looking to me to consider me for an alliance (or a treaty of some sort), I know they are thinking 2 things: (1) I can absolutely trust him and (2) He'll be so trusting that I can screw him over later. It's a double-edged sword I live with. I hope that people will give more consideration to trying to win the game with point #1 in mind than in point #2. But for those who give more weight to point #2...well, that's fine. I would rather finish 1 game out of 5 in first place by being the "honest/nice" guy than winning 4 out of 5 by backstabbing. As I said below...I like to sleep at night and my gaming conscience won't let me otherwise.