AI should accept peace deals that it cannot contest.

[Travis_Bickle]

The AI is plain incapable of doing what you suggest. It just compares numbers. It can't even do that properly. Not without some beyond-the-scope complex algorithm.

The AI is incapable of realising that it, a OPM, facing a country of say 600 development and army 10x something bigger than theirs would be better off with a white peace?

 

[Eruth]

@Eruth I look forward to the howls of rage from everyone when players promptly figure out how to abuse that. The game isn't structured or balanced around status quo peaces Stellaris style. Even worse, your proposal, I suspect, effectively neutralises "protracted" attritional war strategies where you try to defeat a stronger opponent (Ottomans!) as various of their geographically larger neighbours by precisely avoiding battle and slowly bleeding them out in high attrition low value provinces.

I don’t see how that would neutralize the strategy. I’m saying that if the AI fails to make gains for 3 years it will be willing to let you keep any land you hold. You don’t have to peAce out just because the ottomans aren’t winning any of their sieges or battles:

 

[Beagá]

Warscore is designed to prevent annexing entire countries in a single war (warscore and some other mechanics). Various CBs decrease the province warscore cost, especially in later years. So it is not surprising that in Surrender of Maine you cannot annex everything you want.

You are talking about british land in the continent? France can get it all in the war if you know what you are doing. You can even grab portuguese land.

 

[Malecord]

It's not completely wrong. I mean, as the game is made now the war is for personal union thus controlling enemy capital is the target and at the end asking for provinces cost full warscore because that's not the point of the war. If England declared for cores (or you declared for cores) things would be different since the actual justification for the war (in your and enemy courts, but also foreign courts) would be in line with your demands.

Maybe the system could be changed to let the defender declare a defensive cb of its own, a sort of "that's the kind of compensation I seek for your aggression if I successfully fend you off". Although it's not necessarily wrong to favor only the attacker from a gameplay perspective since it's him taking the initiative.

 

[cetvrtak]

The AI is incapable of realising that it, a OPM, facing a country of say 600 development and army 10x something bigger than theirs would be better off with a white peace?

Oh, well, that would be a white flag instantly. But, what about a 599 development but 11x the army? Maybe, not so hopeless?

Edit: on a more serious note

AI could win a war vs the player because their alliance could attack from multiple corners but refuses to because of numerical advantage.

AI is not capable of strategic evaluation of multiple corners.

 

[RobbieAB]

I don’t see how that would neutralize the strategy. I’m saying that if the AI fails to make gains for 3 years it will be willing to let you keep any land you hold. You don’t have to peAce out just because the ottomans aren’t winning any of their sieges or battles:

What if you are England facing an AI occupying your continental territory? Are you saying the AI should be able to force the same resolution against a player?

If not, you have the AI playing under different rules to a human player, which broadly is something you want to avoid.

In the Ottoman example, as Russia, I can plausibly see a situation where you are going to leave the AI to burn itself out on poor land before trying to engage in good territory. Again, should an Ottoman AI be allowed to simply annex a bunch of poor Russian territory because Russia was still allowing their greatest general, winter, to lead the war?

 

[agonistes]

There are military games, where the winner of a war can get all territory he occupies in a peace deal.
EU4 is not like this. I like it and I want it to stay that way.
It is one of the challenges of EU4.
If you want more, you have to do more.

The pictures you showed must be taken exactly at the 5-year mark. Length of war is not listed in the reasons for the possible peace deal. So it must be 0, which happens exactly 60 months after the start of the war.
At this point usually AI-allies leave the war. So prob in your game AI-England did white-peace out Burgundy and Milan soon after. An improvement for AI-England.
After isolating you, AI-England could use his fleet to blockade your ports, including in the Med, not those of Burgundy anymore.

You could have started building a fleet on day 1 of the game, 11.Nov.44. Your choice not to do so. So after a few years France can get a fleet strong enough to play the naval game. This is not to mess with the English Heavies, it is for safely transporting French troops to the island.
In my AAR I have shown a side-run, where I used Narbonne as a startpoint.
View attachment 639337
That is improvable. Ask Castile for mil and fleet access, the same with Scotland. Send the fleet to Coruna in Galicia, sail around Ireland from the west to somewhere north in Scotland, like Inverness. That is the cautious version, when I don't have full knowledge about the English navy.
If I know the entire English navy is in the blockade of Holland and there is no danger of Burgundy peacing out, the transfer can be done from Finistere (Brittany) through the Irish Sea. Theoretically a single transport would suffice.
You neither have to cross the Channel, nor conquer London. The fort in Northumberland and some unfortified provinces are enough to make England give away 100%.

Last point, already mentioned: Reconquest War
Insta dec on 11.Dec.44 gives the following advantages:

1. prevents England from chickening out with surrendering just Maine
2. no payment of Dip Points for taking cores back
3. just 75% WS for cores, so it is possible to take more provinces from England than just the 7 cores
4. just 25% AE for cores, invaluable

Plus you can get Cuerta off Portugal for earlier colonization.

If I’m playing France, that play is a staple.

Although now I guess you can just charter from Morocco. I did that in a Russia run even... charter from tunis, then morocco, then mali, and boom! Muscovite brazil!