Diplomacy Rating

[Fistandantillus7 (OP)]

Is the "Diplomacy Rating" shown on the Intelligence and Foreign Relations window the NPC's opinion of me or what my theoretical opinion of the aliens would be if I was an AI. I have been assuming it is the former, but after looking at the relevant table in the database I think I was wrong.

[Ektor]

It's your people's opinion of the aliens. Diplomacy is bilateral, you can't know for sure what they think unless they open new treaties.

[Fistandantillus7 (OP)]

Well, as a game mechanic that deserves several expletive filled disparaging comments.

[Rich.h]

Well, as a game mechanic that deserves several expletive filled disparaging comments.

It's a fairly solid mechanic that works. If they are not shooting at your diplomatic ship and not sending threats to leave then you can be certain your relations are improving. How long will it be until you can get that trade treaty signed and can you hurry it along? Well no that is the beauty of interstellar politics, more distance - more red tape buerocratcs.

[Fistandantillus7 (OP)]

Well, as a game mechanic that deserves several expletive filled disparaging comments.

… If they are not shooting at your diplomatic ship and not sending threats to leave then you can be certain your relations are improving. …

Absolutely wrong. That is how I figured out the number is the opposite of what I thought. Turns out, they stopped sending leave messages because they have decided they hate my guts. And they were not shooting because they are in active combat with another AI.

As a human player, that value being positive or negative has no necessary relationship with how I plan to treat the AI. In addition it tells me nothing about what the AI thinks of me. What game mechanic is impacted by that number? Will my people riot and collapse my economy if I go to war with a race they like?

That number is absolutely useless to me as a player and henceforth will be completely ignored.

[Steve Walmsley]

That number is absolutely useless to me as a player and henceforth will be completely ignored.

That number determines the options you have in dealing with the alien Empire. For example, trade treaties, geo sharing, grav sharing, technology sharing, friendly status, military alliance, etc. are all made available at different values of that number. Setting up those treaties will make it much more likely that the aliens will reciprocate.

[db48x]

That number also represents the effort that the aliens have put in to your opinion of them, in an effort to make peace with you. However, I do agree that your diplomats should be able to find out something of their opinion of you. Even if they could only find out if it was positive/neutral/negative it would be an improvement.

But generally if you are using a small commercial–engined diplomatic ship, and it’s the only ship in their territory, then their relationship with you will be going up even if they are asking that ship to leave every week. You get a penalty from having your diplo ship in their system, but the diplomat can usually raise their opinion by a greater amount than the penalty. Might not work if your diplo ship is trespassing in their home system though; I would have to reexamine the numbers.