Puke:
Well, I'm assuming you were kidding, but in case you arent...
Its a necessary part of the game IMO. Sure, people should be able to reneg on their agreements if they want, but it SHOULD have a diplomatic effect on other treaty attempts etc. If there is no penalty, then diplomacy is worthless. Why bother having agreements with no enforcement and with the aI having no 'memory' of previous (or current!) treaties? Why have a 'Military Alliance' when there is no military support? It seems to me that all the treaties are simply to generate points and to prevent accidentally fragging each other's ships. They run no deeper than that from what I can tell. That leave the whole interaction with other races feeling a little bit flat.
And, its silly to believe that because the AI 'benefits' from the same loophole as the player that its balanced. Suppose a loophole appeared where you could effective get unlimited resource points from some simple action. Even if the AI can do it to its NOT fun to play and defeats other aspects of the game. Same thing here. No rational diplomacy model=game with nothing but combat. IMO 4X games are supposed to give you the immersive feeling of Empires allying and warring on others etc. If you cant do that, much of the 'flavor' of the game goes out the door IMO.
Seawolf:
Yep, I'm pretty sure that it IS being worked on.
I just want to point out my observations and opinions on the matter. I'd like to see it be covered in the next update if possible and I'm trying to discover if others are seeing the same types of behavior. If they are, and if others consider it an important part of the game as well, then that give MM a bit more guidance as to where to focus their efforts.
Talenn
[This message has been edited by Talenn (edited 28 December 2000).]