any downside to asking for discussions often?

[KMadCandy]

i remember from some other game that leaders got annoyed if you called them up to chat often without doing anything. it doesn't seem like there's any such thing in civ4. is that true? i like checking in sometimes, and shopping trades around to see where i can get the best deal and such.

i have mixed feelings about the foreign advisor. i do like how trades and techs are on their own screens, that's nifty. but that first page, bah lots to absorb.

is there any way to tell who is who's worst enemy, other than seeing that you're getting the 'trading with worst enemy' penalty and checking who they don't like and then checking who you're trading with?

[Psyringe]

Originally Posted by KMadCandy

i remember from some other game that leaders got annoyed if you called them up to chat often without doing anything. it doesn't seem like there's any such thing in civ4. is that true? i like checking in sometimes, and shopping trades around to see where i can get the best deal and such.

I know this effect from MoO and MoM. But Civ4 doesn't have it (good decision imho).

Originally Posted by KMadCandy

i have mixed feelings about the foreign advisor. i do like how trades and techs are on their own screens, that's nifty. but that first page, bah lots to absorb.

Yeah, the first screen could use some selectory, e.g. for showing only defensive pacts, only wars, or only several leaders. It gets the job done though, and the trade screens are well done.

Originally Posted by KMadCandy

is there any way to tell who is who's worst enemy, other than seeing that you're getting the 'trading with worst enemy' penalty and checking who they don't like and then checking who you're trading with?

None that I know of. I'm not even sure whether the AI leaders really only demand to stop trading with the civ they like least - the phrase "worst enemy" could just as well mask a game mechanic that is less selective than it sounds.

[JackOfClubs]

Originally Posted by KMadCandy

is there any way to tell who is who's worst enemy, other than seeing that you're getting the 'trading with worst enemy' penalty and checking who they don't like and then checking who you're trading with?

There isn't a single-step solution, but you can use that first page of the foreign advisor to determine who is annoyed with whom. If you click on a leaderhead, it will show how everyone else feels about him/her. That probably isn't the info you want, though, if you are worried about trading with the worst enemy of a particular leader, but it does help.

Usually people who are annoyed with that leader will be good candidates for his/her "worst enemy" so start looking there. When you click on those people, check out the green plusses and red minuses that the leader you are concerned about gives toward that person. The magnitude of the difference will tell just how much they dislike that person. The one with the greatest negative balance will be the "worst enemy" but you should probably not trade with anyone who is in the red.

Even a cautious rating might be dangerous, since relations could deteriorate and you might be asked to stop trading. That can be used to your advantage, of course, because if you stop trading on demand your relations with the leader making the demand go up.