Odd Neutral Race behavior

[jc173]

I thought neutrals weren't supposed to leave their home system? In my current game, the Zynnara holdings are trying to clear a mine field on a warp point, but the field is on my side of the warp point. The odd things is my system isn't even adjacent to their home system! So far as I can tell the first time they encountered it, they were chasing an EA carrier out of their home system. At least that's what it looked like to me since EA is at war with Zynarra. A damaged EA carrier screamed through the warp point and past my mine field (I'm allied with EA) then a Zynarra LC hit the field the same turn. A few turns after that I got a message the Zynarra had lost another ship to that particular mine field and had swept away some mines.

Odd, it's new, it's different, but I like it. Just because the neutrals aren't supposed to expand, I don't think this should mean that all their ships stay home. Anyhow once or twice a year the Zynarra send a minesweeper to blow up in a blaze of glory trying to clear my mine field. Must be some kind of ritual or rite of passage, too bad none of the participants have survived <G>. I'm almost considering letting them clear the field to see what would happen next.

[Baron Munchausen]

Yes, I've heard of this happening before when they are "in pursuit" of a ship. If you are sitting inside their system and they send ships to sit next to yours preparing to attack and then you warp out they will try to follow sometimes. Then, once they've been exposed to "the outside world" it seems to change the neutral AI somehow and they keep trying to leave.

I'll tell you a funny story, though. I once decided that it would be good to put two 'neutral' empires in contact with each other so they could trade and generate more income for ME. I 'gifted' a communications channel to each of them. They almost immediately declared WAR on each other and both started demanding that I break my treaty with the other! Even funnier, they started trying to send SHIPS to each others systems to attack! Yep, they were leaving their systems... D'ooh! Talk about a face-palming incident. I've never given neutrals any comm channels to each other since. I guess neutral races just naturally hate each other.

[jc173]

Haha, that's pretty funny Baron. I may have to try it myself once just to watch the sparks fly.

[Nitram Draw]

Great stuff. I've stopped using neutral because the just sit there. Now I know how to get them to move to other areas.
If I gave them colonizer tech do you think the would colonize out of their system?
Ever give a neutral a planet in a different system? Maybe they would turn into minor empires?