AI trading needs to be improved

[oPunchDrunko]

I can’t remember the last time I accepted a trade offer from the AI. Usually the deal goes something like asking me for 30 oil for 12 gold, 1 gpt and open borders... seriously? Why would I accept that?

This needs to be fixed. Anyone else feel the same way?

 

[jaget80]

Agreed. Also try to buy strategic resources form the AI. One wanted 67g/turn for 10 coal.

 

[Chefofrats]

Copper? It is not a tradable resource. Iron maybe? Or is your game modded?

On topic - I guess the seemingly ridiculous offers are tied to how much the traded item is worth to the AI. I mean, 30 oil is not really worth that much if you have no oil of your own to support the unit or building you would make with it. It's not 30 oil per turn, just a single trade.

Granted, it would be more realistic if the AI were open to at least some negotiation of their offers. After all, negotiating and haggling is how real trade works.

 

[Linklite]

On topic - I guess the seemingly ridiculous offers are tied to how much the traded item is worth to the AI. I mean, 30 oil is not really worth that much if you have no oil of your own to support the unit or building you would make with it. It's not 30 oil per turn, just a single trade.

Playing Vanilla and I get absurd offers though. I'll be doing really well and be self sufficient - a trade deal at that point isn't really something that I particularly need, so I'm in a good bargaining position. They'll offer me 2 Luxuries and like 4 gpt in return for 5 or 6 Luxuries, 1 or 2 Strategic, and 3 or 4 GWs. Why would I accept that?

Granted, it would be more realistic if the AI were open to at least some negotiation of their offers. After all, negotiating and haggling is how real trade works.

The AI is open to negotiation, although it is still unreasonable. I'll tell them to get rid of the GWs, but then the AI insists that they stop offering me a couple of Luxuries, stop offering me their gpt, but also insist that I give them gpt (in the region of triple or more of what they offered me) plus a one off payment of gold as well and won't budge. It's just absurd, why would I ever accept that deal unless I was desperate?

I should note that the deal seems to be better if I initiate the deal and I usually accept a few deals, but most of the time it seems to be just an excuse to get mad at me by provoking me into rejecting trade deals which deteriorate the relationship.

 

[kaspergm]

While there is still plenty of room for improvement, I think things are at least sometimes better than described here. If you are friendly with them, you can get good deals for them - in fact, often too favorable. An allied civ will frequently give me 3 luxes and only require 2 luxes in return, sometimes I even get 2 for 1, which feels a bit like taking candy from a baby. Open Border for 1 gold (not 1 GPT, but 1 gold) needs to be fixed asap., clearly the AI (or developers) do not understand the value of this early game.

When they are unfriendly, obviously the give you worse deals. At least I feels they don't come nagging with stupid offers as often as they used to. Sometimes I sell strategic resources under market value if my stock are full. Why would I not sell 20 Iron for a couple of GPT to an AI sitting on another continent, unless perhaps if I can see they are starting to steamroll? I'm not so prone to selling off extra luxes undervalue, but I can see some rationale in it still, if you're not planning on expanding yourself.

 

[Linklite]

I have forgotten about open borders, which is a strange one as well. I'll have civs on the opposite side of the world at the beginning of the game offering me gold and gpt for OB, despite being too far away to use it and gold being a very nice boost to my economy.

Personally I've never found OB to be massively useful. Occasionally I've asked for it when certain circumstances have crept up, but usually if they're in the way, I'm eyeballing the city anyway. Granted, my first Declaration of War was because they'd put a new city that cut off a newish one of mine and wouldn't give me OB to allow my trader through.

 

[Tech Osen]

While there is still plenty of room for improvement, I think things are at least sometimes better than described here

Buying or selling luxuries goes ok most of the time but I have given up on buying strategics, they want way too much for them. And they want much more than they are willing to pay for it themselves.

 

[kaspergm]

Buying or selling luxuries goes ok most of the time but I have given up on buying strategics, they want way too much for them. And they want much more than they are willing to pay for it themselves.

True, the only case where I buy strategics is when paying with diplomatic favor, because they overvalue this even more than they overvalues strategics when selling, so you can usually buy strategics with diplomatic favor at a reasonable ratio. Not exactly good design, but it works ...

 

[Tech Osen]

Hmmm, may have to check that out. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Architect]

I can find no proof in my quick look that you can get more strategics from DF than from gold. My opinion is all things have a gold value and that's what the AI uses to determine how much to trade for something. I would love to see proof otherwise.

AI can definitely value DF differently but I could find no instance where I could get significantly more strategics with DF than I could with gold. Every difference was within rounding errors.

 

[679x]

Literally 1 gold total for open borders is very strange indeed and feels like a bug. I also often get silly trades like 2 gpt and open borders for my 3 luxuries or something that I'm obviously not going to accept. Or I get a new resource or great work and they offer something similarly pitiful. It's just a waste of time, really.