If you often wonder why AI would "almost" sell you a tech for 500g but would "never" do so if you add 1gpt, you should read on. In my opinion, this is one of the most important game mechanisms that you have to know to play this game at the higher levels.
Note, this article describes what I think the game mechanism is from my experience in playing various games and incomplete testing. There are certain things that I haven't specifically tested but believed thus it is possible that some of them are completely or partially wrong. Feel free to correct me if you find any mistakes.
What is trading reputation?
First let's define "gpt deal". As far as trading reputation is concerned, "gpt deal" isn't an accurate name as you could risk trashing your reputation even if you are not paying gold-per-turn. A more accurate name is "rep-risky deal". A deal is rep-risky if any of the following is true:
