Why should you swap great works?

[Resipsa]

What is the net benefit for swapping a great work? I cant see where it serves a pupose

 

[Gamewizard]

To achieve a theming bonus.

 

[Ulthwithian]

Certain Wonders need items from different Civs to get a theming bonus. (Louvre is the best example.) Without Swapping (or conquering), you'll never get its bonus.

The Great Library's bonus might also be for different Civs.

 

[Resipsa]

Is there a thread explaining this I'm playing my first game and I can see where I can swap them. But I have no clue what I should do

 

[Ulthwithian]

In the cultural overview screen, if you have a wonder or Museum, if you hover over the space next to the place to put the artifacts (I'm pretty sure there's a 0 there if you have no theming bonus), it will tell you exactly what you need to have to get the bonus.

 

[bovinespy]

In the cultural overview screen, if you have a wonder or Museum, if you hover over the space next to the place to put the artifacts (I'm pretty sure there's a 0 there if you have no theming bonus), it will tell you exactly what you need to have to get the bonus.

For those of us outside NA - please explain the mechanics of the theming bonus. Thanks in advance.

 

[SDEngineer]

For those of us outside NA - please explain the mechanics of the theming bonus. Thanks in advance.

For wonders/buildings that can have more than one Great Work placed, they generally have "theming bonuses" that add bonus tourism when their conditions are met.

For example, the Great Library has 2 spaces for Great Writings. You can place any 2 Great Writings in those spaces, and each will give you +2 culture and tourism.

However, if you place 2 Great Writings that are from different ages and sources, you get a "theming bonus" (I think for the Great Library it's another +2) additional tourism (don't remember if it's also additional culture).

So, if you have a GL with 2 Great Writings that are both from your culture (you created them), or from the same era (the era they were created, e.g. Medieval or Renaissance), or both, you won't get the theming bonus, so the GL will be producing +4 tourism (and culture). If you go ahead and trade one of those Great Writings with another empire, and acquire in trade one that is from that other empire, and from a different era, as the one you still have in the GL, your GL will now be producing +6 tourism.

Theming bonus requirements are different for different buildings. Some require the works to be from the same era and empire, some from a different era and empire, some require different types of works, etc. to achieve that buildings bonus.

 

[Resipsa]

I kind of have the hang of it as I moved through a few turns.

 

[kingchris20]

Last night, I built the Lourve, this requires 2 artifacts and 2 great works of art all from different civs and different eras. I had a Shoshone industrial era painting, and a Moroccan ancient artifact. plus some more of my Shoshone art and Shoshone artifacts. So, since I was the first to get dig sites, no one else could trade with me for artifacts (you can only swap of the same kind, and you cant swap music)........I traded my art stuff for other civ's art from different eras and put my own artifact in there as well............I ended up with a Polish renaissance art, and Portugese medieval art, a classical Shoshone artifact, and an ancient Moroccan artifact, and it added +6 tourism theming bonus (now had I been France, that bonus would have been doubled to +12

That is in addition to the set amount of +2 per Great Work/Artifact, so the Lourve itself was generating +14tourism alone! (if it were france it would have been +20!)

It's pretty fun going in and trying to move all the pieces around to generate the most tourism you can!

EDIT: time to correct myself. The theming bonus for the Lourve is +8, so that's +16 tourism for non-French civs and +24 for France! The Lourve is a BIG deal when it comes to tourism and the new cultural victory!

 

[IAmOzymandias]

it is pretty fun configuring your empire's great works to get the maximum bonus, but they really should explain it better in-game, as it is a complicated procedure, almost like a mini-game.

In fact, Now that I think of it, I wish there were more little "puzzles" like this in the game. would help kill the downtime when you're online and somebody is having a total war on another continent and you've got minutes of downtime every turn.

 

[Ogrelord]

it is pretty fun configuring your empire's great works to get the maximum bonus, but they really should explain it better in-game, as it is a complicated procedure, almost like a mini-game.

In fact, Now that I think of it, I wish there were more little "puzzles" like this in the game. would help kill the downtime when you're online and somebody is having a total war on another continent and you've got minutes of downtime every turn.

"MR. PRIME MINISTER, Rome Imperium is losing its war against the Ever Enlightened Best Korea. On the Eastern Continent, the Kindgom of Brazil is amassing an fleet.."

"Madame Secretary, don't you think the Saint George and the Dragon would look better in the Hermitage than in the Palace?"

 

[Jarzka]

But what if the other civs don't want to swap their items? For example, in multiplayer you can "steal" other players great work instantly without asking.

 

[Cymsdale]

The GW swap system is an inherent advantage for the player over the AI, since the player is allowed to freely swap for the AI's works, but the AI does not get to swap for specific works from the player in return.

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

The GW swap system is an inherent advantage for the player over the AI, since the player is allowed to freely swap for the AI's works, but the AI does not get to swap for specific works from the player in return.

You're freely allowed to put your works up for swap, and I've done it more than once. While the AI doesn't always snap them up, I've received a work or two in return.

 

[Cymsdale]

You're freely allowed to put your works up for swap, and I've done it more than once. While the AI doesn't always snap them up, I've received a work or two in return.

Any why should you put up a work for swap if it offers you no advantage. The AI is basically saying, "you need help getting your bonus? Here, take what you need!"

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

Any why should you put up a work for swap if it offers you no advantage. The AI is basically saying, "you need help getting your bonus? Here, take what you need!"

Very well then. What's your alternative idea? Remember that it needs to be accessible and fun for the player.

 

[Cymsdale]

Great work auctions.

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

Explain. What, do you put a great work up for sale and then people have to bid on it? Does this keep the great work swap as well, or can I and my buddy I play with only get great works moved by throwing money at them, with the possibility that the AI might steal it away and ruin our plans?

 

[Cymsdale]

The system as it is now is simply an easy-to-solve optimization puzzle done through a horrible interface where you have to click a lot between tabs. There are no strategic decisions, it's just "do you want to bother doing all this clicking to get an advantage over the AI... or not?" I'm not going to deny that it's a cute little mini-game, and people might find that fun, but at it's core it lacks any kind of strategic depth and the only choice is to play it or not.

Putting a system in place such as great work auctions would be fitting thematically, and would provide different ways to take advantage of your great works. It could be done WC style, where every so many turns a great auction is held with all the works that civilizations chose to put up, and you can spread your gold out among them in a style similar to assigning delegates. For every work you bid the most, you buy that work for that amount and the seller gets the payment.

It might be fun if works had different little random bonuses to distinguish them as well when they are created.

I'm not really gunning for this specific system, you asked for an alternative so I came up with one.

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

I'm not going to deny that the Great Work system could certainly use some spicing up. But as the majority of my games tend to be in a 2v2v2v2 with a friend of mine, the Great Work swap system works a lot better for me than any alternative really could.

Besides, I really can't figure out a way to make the great works be tradable and still offer both player and AI the ability to confer advantage unless you started treating them like any other resource, although I can't deny that wouldn't be an interesting system itself.