How does the AI decide to set up its trade routes?

Tried running a search but didn't see... I'm wondering how the AI makes its decisions on its trade routes. For some reason, I'd kind of guess it just maximizes revenue to itself, but I'm not really sure.

I'm a pretty solid difficulty 6 player (emperor?) and I'm trying an experimental strategy on deity where I play morocco on deity and try to use trade routes to not totally crash science relative to the AI and accumulate money, eventually doing a lame diplo victory with all the money.

If the AI maximizes money, something like colossus might be worth it (as well as picking morocco rather than just being Poland etc.). The strategy is all in on having as many trade routes as possible, so the detail is key.

sasin said:

Tried running a search but didn't see... I'm wondering how the AI makes its decisions on its trade routes. For some reason, I'd kind of guess it just maximizes revenue to itself, but I'm not really sure.

...

If the AI maximizes money, something like colossus might be worth it (as well as picking morocco rather than just being Poland etc.). The strategy is all in on having as many trade routes as possible, so the detail is key.

Click to expand...

Yep, more or less. It doesn't really look at future implications (i.e. is this someone I hate, or if this player in the middle of a war zone).

ThorHammerz said:

Yep, more or less. It doesn't really look at future implications (i.e. is this someone I hate, or if this player in the middle of a war zone).

Click to expand...

Hmm. Okay. For some reason despite being morocco and completing collosus no ai are sending trade routes to me though

sasin said:

Hmm. Okay. For some reason despite being morocco and completing collosus no ai are sending trade routes to me though

Click to expand...

Are your cities close enough? If the Colossus city is not a capital they might not actually know the city is there. AI doesn't know that might have that city. Do they send you any other routes?

Imagine if the AI knows to send internal trade routes for food and later production...

that alone would make the AI a lot harder to defeat. I think right now they just maximize gold

I see they try to use trade route to spread their religion. And they are slow to build caravansary and harbor so you will need your city close to them. One other thing I suspect is if they don't like you then they will not send trade!