Deny Separate Peace

[pzgndr]

I want to share some thoughts on this. In my latest playtest as Prussia in 1805, France DOWd me and Russia answered my call to join. France whupped my butt and Prussia surrendered. France went after the Russians as far as Danzig and East Prussia, but then backed off as forced access was ending. That was good. The issue I observed next was that both AI France and AI Russia requested an informal peace (good) but then Russia was forced to break its alliance with AI Great Britain. So, I've reviewed the game rules and came to the following conclusions:

If Deny Separate Peace is checked, then:
1. Human players may do as they desire (i.e., check the Give Conditional box or Accept Informal box) and the code will process Sue For Peace accordingly. Allies will have their alliance broken.
2. AI allies will NOT check the Give Conditional box or Accept Informal box, forcing opponents to sue for peace unconditionally.
3. Deny Separate Peace is only applicable for victors and does not prevent a losing player (human or AI) from suing for peace or requesting an informal peace. Allies will maintain their alliance, but it may be subsequently broken for other reasons.

Now, as I understand the Deny Separate Peace rule, any formal peace will break an alliance, even if the unconditional peace is accepted. The Sue For Peace rule states: A Major Power may not sue for peace to another Major Power that does not have forces within the suing home nation’s borders unless, at the same time, it sues for peace to all Major Powers with which it is at war. Other than this, there is nothing to restrict a losing MP from suing individual victor MPs and accepting an unconditional peace, thus breaking an alliance.

I'm just thinking out loud here. Based on the above, I will code #2 and #3 as discussed. #1 is already fine. I invite experienced players to share any thoughts they may have on this. If what I have discussed is not correct, please let me know. But this is what I'll be working on today and playtesting for v1.26.03 Hotfix #2 this week.

[pzgndr]

I think I have resolved the issues I was seeing:

1805, Nov Bennigsen Released Back To Russia
1805, Nov France And Russia Agree To INFORMAL PEACE
1805, Nov Russia Finished Diplomacy!
1805, Nov Russia Attempting Informal Peace With France!
1805, Nov France Finished Diplomacy!
1805, Nov France Attempting Informal Peace With Russia!

Game log is now correctly showing both AI France and AI Russia requesting informal peace and agreeing to it, without AI Great Britain complaining about a separate peace and breaking its alliance with Russia. It's complicated how the code deals with informal peace and I'm not convinced that checking the "Accept Informal" box works as intended; better for both parties to explicitly request informal peace. As for denying separate peace, I made changes to only check this for victors and not for losers. We'll see how this goes.