[C3C] Anyway to turn off tech trading?

[King85Kong]

Hey, love playing Civ 3, just was wondering if there is anyway to turn off tech trading. Tired off CPU cheating by just selling tech to each other then jacking up price to me. Civs that are getting destroyed are keeping up in pace. Wierd how all civs have same techs at same times.

One more thing, is there a way to start the game at a later era. First era is kind of slow, and game is ussually decided by ther time you get good units.

Thanks for your help in advance.

[Cyc]

You'll want to start working with the editor. In the editor there are ways of making the game more balanced in the areas you want/need balanced.

[King85Kong]

Might be a silly question, but how do I get to the editor. Lol, suck at these kinds of stuff. Shouldnt be so hard to turn off tech trading, damn you game creaters lol.

[Cyc]

You don't actually turn it off. You just change the ratio the game uses for when the AI trades amongst themselves. The Editor is packaged within the game itself. It's one of the sub-folders. Be careful to not change options you know nothing about. Most is self explanatory if you kno the game. And you can always go back to default settings.

[King85Kong]

Thanks again. I took a look around, not sure what I'm suppose to be changing, so I guess I'll just leave it all alone, and deal with the trading. Don't want to miss everything up. Sucks large

[Vaney168]

What difficulty are you playing on? because I think that also effects how much the computer trades techs with itself if I’m right..

[Cyc]

If you crate your own .biq/map/world, you would choose custom rules. This, of course would allow you to edit the rules to your liking.

One of the rules pages deals with difficulty levels. I'm not sure what level your playing at, but if you select your level on the drop down menu, and then look at the AI bonuses, you will find an adjustble level for AI trading. "AI to AI trade rate" at he lower left. Each level has a different rate for difficulty. Let's say you play at the Monarchy level. Then the AI to AI rate is 140. This means if the AI offers 100 gold to another AI, it appears to the recipient AI as 140 gold.

From the EditHelp:
AI to AI trade rate (AI Bonuses)
Determines the percentage multiplier used in AI – AI trade sessions on the selected difficulty level. This value is a percentage (acceptable values range from 100% to 1000%) which is multiplied by the total value (in gold) of the initiating civ’s offerings, which is used by the "other" AI civ to determine whether a deal is acceptable or not. For example, with a rate of 120, an AI civ offering 100 gold to another AI civ for something would actually be worth 120 gold to the other AI civ.

This rate directly affects the frequency and aggressiveness with which AI civs trade amongst themselves.

So if you drop the rate to the level below where you are playing (on Monarchy, it's 140. So you could drop it to Regent level of 130). This would lessen the amount of trading the AI did amongst themselves. Try that for a while. If it's not enough, drop it another 5 percent.

Let me know how it goes.

[timerover51]

Originally Posted by King85Kong

Might be a silly question, but how do I get to the editor. Lol, suck at these kinds of stuff. Shouldnt be so hard to turn off tech trading, damn you game creaters lol.

I will assume that you are on a Windows machine, and not a Mac. The Windows version of Civ3Complete comes with an editor in the Conquests folder. Open your Civ3 Complete folder and then the Conquest folder. You will find a file that says Civ3ConquestsEdit, that is your editor. If you are on a Mac, I will steer you to the thread where you can download an editor for the Mac.

When you open it up, go to the Scenario button on the menu bar and click it, then select custom rules in the menu. That opens up all of the customizable sections for editing. On the left hand side of your screen. above the blank map, you will see the word Edit, with Citizens next to it on the right. Click on Edit and then scroll down to Civilization Advances, and open then.

You then have the list off all of the Advances, and what they do. When you look at the right hand column, 3 boxes from the bottom, the box will be labeled "Cannot be Traded". If you check that box for all of the tech advances, none of the techs can be traded. I am not sure if that also eliminates getting techs from Goody Huts, but it will stop tech trading for the AI. Once you have done that, save the file as "NoTechTrading" to the Conquests folder inside of the Conquests game folder. When you want to play a No Tech Trading game, go to the start screen and click on the Conquests button. Scroll down, and you will see your NoTechTrading .biq file. Click on that and start playing.

If you want to speed up the game and get through the Ancient Period faster, I think that there may be some mods in the Creation and Customization section. Otherwise, you might want to ask there. There are several ways of doing it, some more efficient, and some more sneaky than others.

Have fun!

[bigFRANK]

Originally Posted by timerover51

If you want to speed up the game and get through the Ancient Period faster, I think that there may be some mods in the Creation and Customization section. Otherwise, you might want to ask there. There are several ways of doing it, some more efficient, and some more sneaky than others.

Have fun!

I believe one of the tabs in scenario properties has a drop down box which allows you to pick which age you wish to start in. Alternativley you could give all (or some if your wanting a headstart) additional starting techs by using the control key and clicking down on the list.

[Cyc]

Originally Posted by timerover51

When you look at the right hand column, 3 boxes from the bottom, the box will be labeled "Cannot be Traded". If you check that box for all of the tech advances, none of the techs can be traded.
Have fun!

I think it would be easier for a person who's never used the editor to adjust the AI to AI trading, rather than click through 83 techs to eliminate trading. Unless that's what he wants to do. I just think after he goes through all of that he might regret not having the ability to trade during his game.

Originally Posted by bigFRANK

I believe one of the tabs in scenario properties has a drop down box which allows you to pick which age you wish to start in. Alternativley you could give all (or some if your wanting a headstart) additional starting techs by using the control key and clicking down on the list.

Yes, you're correct bigFRANK. You can choose any one of 5 eras, as you can also start in the Future era.

[timerover51]

By going to the Tech Advance list, you can also pick and choose what techs you might want to allow to be traded. My preference is to do it that way, rather than experimenting with the AI slider to get the right balance.

As for starting era, by adding what techs are available to a given civilization, you can have different civilizations starting at different points in an era, like having the Europeans in the Middle Ages and the Native Americans in the Ancient Era.

[Cyc]

Good point. I like the overall coverage that can be adjusted over time. Makes for a good game that can be adjusted for a whim.

[tR1cKy]

My suggestion - and sorry in advance if it's not what you want - is to stick with the standard rules and learn to master the game as it is.

You say that the ancient ages are boring. Well, in my games, AA is always the most relevant part of the whole game: building a core of productive cities, the exploration, contacts, the race to Republic and, often, a war or two. What happens in the medievals is mostly a consequence of what has been done in the AA.

I agree the technology issue may be upsetting. It was, for me, until i learned how to use it to my advantage. Research in a field that the AS would probably not engage in. If you play well your cards, you will end up with a monopoly tech that will be enough to trade yourself into tech parity and at the same time collect a fair amount of gold.

[Ondskan]

Hey there I made this file.
It's not searchable here sadly.

But the link still works:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=311114

I did this because I played on some very high levels in my last days when I was active and it became to much of a hinder because I had no techs to trade and they all traded with each other. Playing vs 5 demi-gods with free techs from each other O.O

And playing against one is boring just like it is on any difficulty.


This site has multiplayer maps but they work for singleplayer to, there are just some changes, especially in the modern day scenario.
But they are very good:
http://www.freewebs.com/queenjeb/


Also one more problem with trading is that the AI auto-checks every turns and trades very aggressively and it's also problematic when it comes to luxuries and resources for example.But that's at least doable.
One way to change this is to fight in archipelago maps.
Playing on these makes possible various tactics including if I remember correctly blocking port cities and later contact means more diverse techs.

[Ondskan]

Originally Posted by tR1cKy

My suggestion - and sorry in advance if it's not what you want - is to stick with the standard rules and learn to master the game as it is.

You say that the ancient ages are boring. Well, in my games, AA is always the most relevant part of the whole game: building a core of productive cities, the exploration, contacts, the race to Republic and, often, a war or two. What happens in the medievals is mostly a consequence of what has been done in the AA.

I agree the technology issue may be upsetting. It was, for me, until i learned how to use it to my advantage. Research in a field that the AS would probably not engage in. If you play well your cards, you will end up with a monopoly tech that will be enough to trade yourself into tech parity and at the same time collect a fair amount of gold.

Yup that's possible but only to a certain level.
At late medieval you better have an empire outmatching everyones or you will be fighting with tanks when they have modern armor at best.

Sure, you can play very smart with tech-embargoes on several nations that you then switch and start trading tech to them while hoarding gold to then boost a new wave of research but at some point it just starts getting gamey and tiering at least for me.

[tR1cKy]

Originally Posted by Ondskan

Yup that's possible but only to a certain level.

No, it can be done up to the highest difficulty levels. If you want an example, you can check my active story (deity level + bad start + overcrowded = furious tech pace in the ancient ages) where i got Literature first, and with minimum research spending. Besides that, people have snatched monopoly techs even at Sid level.

The trick is to have a general idea about what the AS are likely to research, and go to the route you think they will neglect. In the AA, you get the best chances with Literature, but you can also succeed with Writing or Philosophy. In the MA, after the 1st tier techs, the AS usually go to the lower tech branch, so you have good chances with Theology and Education.

Mind though, it does not always work, there is some luck involved. If, say, the AS gets a lucky pick on a barb hut, your plan may be screwed up in an instant.

At late medieval you better have an empire outmatching everyones or you will be fighting with tanks when they have modern armor at best.

In most cases, my games end in early to middle medievals, but if the game drags itself up to that point, i do, usually without a single university

Sure, you can play very smart with tech-embargoes on several nations that you then switch and start trading tech to them while hoarding gold to then boost a new wave of research but at some point it just starts getting gamey and tiering at least for me.

Trade embargoes are just not worth it. You get better results by trading as much as possible, both techs and luxuries, and keeping your reputation clean. In the middle ages the AS tend to lose their edge quite dramatically, so you need to keep them healthy in order to be of any help. That is, unless you choose to go berserk and destroy them one by one

The reason why you are having a hard time in the tech race may be some basic mistake in the developing phase, such as not training enough workers / not improving the land properly. Land improvement is paramount in every scenario. No roads means no money, and no money means no research.

[Ondskan]

I wasn't talking about difficulty level dude I was talking about level of absurdity/effort/time.

I haven't really had a hard time. I rolled the republic tech-trade before most people even considered it. I just thought it to be so tedious at a point that I just couldn't do it anymore and it limited your game and forced you to wage war so much.

And waging war in this game is the easiest part since the AI is the weakest, especially in the diplomatic aspects of warfare.


Also all of your games there are quite small/water filled. You're limiting the difficulty level by imposing movement restrictions and abusing AIarameters such as the fact that they do not build overcrowded cities at the start. That's why you manage to dominate/rush them in early game.

[tR1cKy]

Originally Posted by Ondskan

I wasn't talking about difficulty level dude I was talking about level of absurdity/effort/time.

Fine, but if you were clearer on it we would have avoided this misunderstanding. In a Civ3 context, when someone talks about levels he's expected to be talking about difficulty

I haven't really had a hard time. I rolled the republic tech-trade before most people even considered it. I just thought it to be so tedious at a point that I just couldn't do it anymore and it limited your game and forced you to wage war so much.

And waging war in this game is the easiest part since the AI is the weakest, especially in the diplomatic aspects of warfare.

I tend to agree on the game being tedious from a certain point onward, but i'm not sure if i understood correctly your reasons why. For me, it's just boring. Nothing happens. The game stops being interesting once i approach the domination limit and stop expanding. From there on, it's just milking until the desired victory condition is reached, and that's half of the reason why i always go for the military path instead (the other half being that i just like to destroy everything).

Also all of your games there are quite small/water filled. You're limiting the difficulty level by imposing movement restrictions and abusing AIarameters such as the fact that they do not build overcrowded cities at the start. That's why you manage to dominate/rush them in early game.

Can you be more clear on this please? I'd like to avoid a second misunderstanding. Who's the "you"? Me? Or it is to be intended in the general sense?

[Ondskan]

You and the games in your llinks. Well that's not much to go on but still.
If you have beaten a diety large pangea map even with gamey tactics then damnit, hats off!

[tR1cKy]

"Save the mongols" is a standard map, continents, 60% water. Before i could even fill my home island, the AS had occupied the whole world, and were trying to settle my homeland as well (one zulu settler actually made it, and i had to capture the city later). "This is a bad start" is a standard map, continents, 70% water in which i got an exceptionally bad starting location.

"The rising sun" is just a replayed GotM, still a standard map but with an exceptionally low amount of water. Basically, a single donut-shaped continent with a large island in the middle. Pretty much equivalent to a large pangea

None of those maps are small, or abnormally filled with water, or meant to easen up the gameplay of the human player. None of them, for their nature, impose penalties of any sort to the AS. And my self-imposed restrictions make things harder for me, not the opposite.

About the AS building cities too spaced apart, well, you're right, but that's what they always do, and you can do nothing to prevent them from doing this and other stupid things, such as building cities on bonus resources.