Let's be friends (Getting AI to make peace)

[Emperor's Child]

I've noticed that once an AI declares war, there is apparently no way to get them to make peace aside from crushing them. Even when they are obviously out-classed and getting beaten badly, they won't accept peace deals in my experience until you are at the point where you have beaten them down fairly soundly.

Are there ways to get them to get off the warpath when they are still pretty much at parity with you in strength?

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

What I heard is that the AI won't accept peace treaties within 1 or 2 years after you start a war, so if you two do not experience any actual combat action in a year or two, they might accept a treaty. Also, if they don't, you can offer a trade where you say you WANT a Non-Agression (or perhaps even Trade) Treaty and you are prepared to GIVE, say, resources, starmaps, tech they already have, ownership of systems etc. (What I usually do is offer them "non-existent" things, like starmaps I know they posess, tech I've seen them use, badly damaged outdated ships, ownership of nebula/black hole systems etc.)

[Evil_Duckie]

In a Proportions game I was playing recently I ended up starting right next to a neutral race. Found them on the 2nd turn, they declared war on me but since they were neutral I didn't really bother with them.

Tried to get a Trade Alliance with them after a few years, no luck. Figured I didn't need them anyway and continued to not bother them (I was fighting a bloody war with a the Xi-Chung hive anyway).

Then, about 20 years after I had discovered them, they contacted me and wanted a Trade Alliance...

So apparently it takes a *long* time of not bothering them before they are willing to end the war.

[NullAshton]

There's a cooldown period that's determined by the AI files. Their anger will slowly reduce over time.

[dmm]

Evil_Duckie said:
Then, about 20 years after I had discovered them, they contacted me and wanted a Trade Alliance...

Was that 20 years or 20 turns? Because 20 years is 200 turns.

[Kamog]

Well, I have never had success in trying to make peace with an A.I. once war breaks out. I have long since given up on trying to make the A.I. happy. By giving gifts, agreeing to all their demands, and not destroying any of their ships for a long time, you can eventually get them to be in brotherly mood but they never stop being at war.

[Evil_Duckie]

dmm said:
Was that 20 years or 20 turns? Because 20 years is 200 turns.

It was years.

They had mined all the warp points into their system and I wasn't really in a position to research and build minesweepers. Eventually had to because my other enemy also started using mines.

[Jestak]

Greetings,

I played a few games in the last month with the normal SEIV and the Star trek mod (I got the game 2 months ago).

I did not nail all the details about getting peace with an opponent at war, but usually this works:
1 - Oponent declares war.
2 - I wait 5 turns.
3 - Turn 6: I give 50k resource (any mix)
4 - Turn 7: I give as much resources I can, but max 30k. If it is under 30k, I throw in a few techs, system ownership.
5 - I ask for non-intercourse and give resources (over 10k)
6 - Oponen accepts usually except the aggressive (xenophobic) races.
7 - I continue to bribe and can get within the next 2 years a trade and research agreement.

However, I noticed a few times that the oponent feeling goes from neutral (can't recall how it is called exactly) to murderous in 3-4 turns, but the AI keeps the trade on.

Like I said, it worked most of the time. Maybe I have been very lucky or I am too much of a good begger...hehe

Thank you

[Emperor's Child]

I think I've been only trying to go to a grade agreement first, I hadn't thought about starting with a Non-intercourse agreement.

It's probably exactly it: there is a unwritten sequence of getting out of war that starts at NON-INTERCOURSE and works its way up from there along the list. It's the same thing as you never get a Trade and research agreement without first having a trade agreement, military alliance without first having a trade and research alliance, etc.

Thanks!

[Blueentity]

Check out some of the AI files in *_AI_Politics.txt for info on the relationship of anger, gifts, war, etc. on treaties. Specific AI empires may have their own values as well. I have had the Eee offer peace treaties while at war, but the Jraenar have never offered nor accepted a peace overture once at war. They might eventually, but I haven’t been patient enough to see.

Don't forget that if you are a Mega-Evil Empire your hopes of a “Quadrant is completely at peace for this many years” victory also goes away. I don’t know if MEE is permanent, but that was addressed in another thread.