Outposts in someone else's back yard

I've had this happen to me and I was wondering the same thing.

I did this to an AI player, but how it didn't get viewed as a hostile effort, I don't know.

It's standard operational procedure.  Unfortunately.  I'd like to see some concept of owned territory covering those holes that let anybody through, but nothing like this seems to exist.  And the idea of a potential enemy creating a nice fat city in the middle of your territory is annoying.

But there it is.  I don't think this is going to change, and we'll live with it.  Hopefully, somebody will be able to mod the cost of pioneers (and of arcane monoliths) at some point to make them much more expensive yet something the AI will seriously consider.

On the same subject, I constructed an outpost next to a dragon expecting to be attacked and it never did.  I think if a territory overlaps a stationary unit, that unit should attack the outpost or city then go back stationary.  The area should be cleared before constructing outpost or be prepared to be attacked.

I don't see this as an issue of pioneer's cost, but rather that allowing grabbing owned territory by building an outpost inside that territory doesn't make sense. Do I then need to retake by planting my own outpost? Which outpost wins? The last?

I agree, Marxeil.  It isn't an issue of cost, though if the cost were raised, the AI would be less inclined to spam pioneers.  The alternative is to find some way for the AI to identify another player's invisible territorial boundaries when it's something of a Swiss cheese, filled with holes.  Of course, some games have this-- Civ IV does.

I agree. 

While plopping a outpost right beside someone else's borders is operationally allowed in this game, the diplomancy should have a 'borders too close' indicator. If you encroach upon an opponent, they're not going to like it...

Its not 'right besides someone else's borders', its 'right inside someone else's borders'.

I really really hope that's a bug.  In previous betas you weren't allowed to build anything within enemy territory, and this beta has been a bit wonky as far as where the AI can build outposts (sometimes they ignore minimum build distance as well).  Building something in opposing territory should be prohibited.

I think he saying his territory completely surrounds a small square of unclaimed territory which the AI is placing a outpost on, moving his boundary back one square and stealing his resource.

 Simple solution force a declaration of war or a treaty to enter someones territory. 

I dunno. It kinda sounds like the OP meant the outpost was constructed within their borders.

AI just sorta doesn't care about your territory or borders atm. One feature I think this game desperately needs is a requirement to either declare war, get an Open Borders treaty (no, not non-aggression pact), or have a stealthy trait before you're able to enter rival territory. Because right now the only peaceful way to effectively stop an AI from waltzing all over your borders is find all the choke points and build cities across their entirety. At least AI can't walk through your settlements...

Why do you think I am saying that? I said what I meant, and I meant what I said. They flopped an outpost in the middle of my territory. Not in an unclaimed tile.