I was looking for a little info on how the AI values tech trades with respect to a few criteria:

1) How does your relationship (cautious thu friendly) change how they value a tech trade?

2) Does the AI value a gold as being worth a beaker? In other words if I want to trade for a tech worth 500 beakers and am offering a tech worth 400 beakers and 100 gold - how close am I to break even?

I understand a monopoly tech is worth more, and when building a WW that they often will simply not offer a tech for trade - but at the same time Ive seen situations where I'm trying to fill in a older, low priority tech and the AI is demanding nationalism, democracy and 1000 gold for a tech worth 1/20th that. Ive offered a comparible tech (beaker wise) plus a 50% premium in gold and still been turned down (this was Cyrus in my last game).


I have a feeling its way more complicated than a simple explaination with many factors but any info would be appreciated.

One other thing I've noticed about AI demands - there seems to be situations (trade and demands) where the AI script demands a percentage of your gold - it doesnt seem to matter if its 50% of 5000 or 50% of 10 - the AI values it the same:

Yeah, I love when the trade is Tech for a Tech and 10 gold. You ask to negotiate and pull the 10 gold. It's a deal breaker! That ten gold will alter the course of the game!

Well, you can't trade on a 1:1 basis, that's for sure. You give 20 gold in exchange for 10 gold... "That's not a good deal! What, you think I'm stupid?"

In the higher difficulty levels, the AI will insist that you trade at a disadvantage. However, it is almost always better to trade than not to trade, even when you know you are getting ripped off.

The best way to maximize your value for each tech is to trade the same tech to several different civs at once, so that you can get paid multiple times for a single tech.

The best way to maximize your value for each tech is to trade the same tech to several different civs at once, so that you can get paid multiple times for a single tech.


This also makes it so the AI cannot trade it between themselves and get techs they are missing. I'll take techs out of the trade, if I know I can get it from another civ. This, I think, gets you the diplo bonus for trade fairness, and helps spread it around. If there is a civ left that I can't get anything from, I'll sometimes gift it if it does not hurt me diplomatically with more powerful civs.

it about each leaders personality too, mansa musa will make any tech trade he can, he just loves it, try getting a tech out of one of the chinese leaders, qin hui shang or whatever, though and you will struggle

it about each leaders personality too, mansa musa will make any tech trade he can, he just loves it, try getting a tech out of one of the chinese leaders, qin hui shang or whatever, though and you will struggle

Not to mention Tokugawa. That guy just DOESN'T trade!

It depends on a lot of things:

1)Space race techs as far as I know will never be traded by an AI, e.g.rocketry.

2) There's something in the AI personality matrix for each leader which determines how many other leaders need to know the tech before they'll trade it to you, e.g. if a leader has the value of 50, half the AI that leader knows have to know the tech.(Mansa will trade anything, Toku will only trade if your the last to know)

3) World wonders usually stop an AI from trading to you.

4) Friendly overrides "We fear you are becoming to advanced"(WFTYABTA), and also overides 2). Unless you have a vassal the AI you're trading with doesn't like.

5) If you at the bottom of the score list the bottom half of the score list will trade with and override 2) and WFYABTA.