How come I cannot demand red techs or resources?

[Nightfang]

I mean, the computer can bully me around all day long and demand anything that I have available. However, when I want to bully someone around, they probably already dislike me, so that Paper tech is red and I cannot demand they hand it over to me.

 

[Dragonlor]

Just a diplomacy shortcoming.

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

Well, I doubt they would actually give it up even if you could demand it.

 

[Nightfang]

Well, I doubt they would actually give it up even if you could demand it.

You don't know that. I had Japan in one of my recent games ready to give up a lot of things to keep me from attacking them again. I bet if the game would let me pick the few techs that they had (which were old ones, which they should have less of a problem giving up) they would have handed them over, happily.

 

[berserks01]

I believe that "red" anything are resources/tradeable items that that civ is unwilling to part with. You'll find that you can't even trade for them, much less demand them.

It's the AI's way of saying "hell no!!!, I ain't trading that for anything." Kinda like a monopoly on techs human players would do.

However, I do find that if you have open borders with the AI some, if not all, of those "red" tradeables becomes "white" tradeables.

 

[diet_punk_rock]

I mean, the computer can bully me around all day long and demand anything that I have available. However, when I want to bully someone around, they probably already dislike me, so that Paper tech is red and I cannot demand they hand it over to me.

sorry to break it for you but it says it in the game. if you scroll over the red things it says "not willing to trade this because they just dont like you enough". thats why the people who have "friendly" or "pleased" will trade almost everything.

 

[MrCynical]

The reason you can't demand these things is simply to save you time. Many people don't seem to have grasped the fact that the redded out options indicate things the AI will not let you have, no matter what you do. No matter how much you threaten to declare war they don't care, as they are willing to go to war to hang onto it. Therefore demanding it will achieve nothing except waste your time and annoy them. The redded out options are simply there for your convenience, so I really don't understand why people complain about them.

 

[Zertez]

Definitely a shortcoming of the Diplomacy system. A player should have red techs on their list as well, that the AI can not ask for. That way they dont bother asking and you dont lose relations points for standing up to unreasonable demands. You cant really punish the AIs level of faction, so just make the high beaker techs for that age, blocked with the red text like it is done for the game controlled leaders.

 

[thordk]

red techs / resources mean that the AI is not willing to trade it.

but even white techs could be untradeable.

the red is reputation based, white no-trades are, well, lack of trading goods on your side

 

[Boris the Tonk]

In my last game Isabella (having switched religions away from my state religion) demanded a whole stack of money and my second city as a tribute. Then, after I refused, declared war on me as a result of my intransigence. Now I'd like to do that in return as a way of goading a Civ into hating me so I can declare war* or better still, declaring war on me for my impudence, but I can't because the options are all redded out (especially to convert back).

It's the equivalent of Austria/Hungary and Serbia at the start of the First World War - make an ultimatum that they can't accept and send the boys in when they refuse.

(*I know it doesn't make any difference why I declare war but it makes me feel better.)

 

[wmtrexler]

Definitely a shortcoming of the Diplomacy system. A player should have red techs on their list as well, that the AI can not ask for.

A player does! I don't know about you but I am willing to go to war to protect certain techs. It doesn't matter how much they try to bribe or threaten I will not trade gunpowder. As a player you control what Techs are red (meaning those that you will never trade). However there is no way for a developer to determine what each player is willing to trade.

If you are worried about loosing relation points so much just through them some free gold. Or just surrender to them now and get it over with.

 

[Zertez]

Just think there should be a few techs they couldnt ask for, that way you dont have to worry about losing relation points with friends. Sometimes I dont want to hand over an important tech to a lukewarm friend, but sucks losing factions because they made an unreasonable demand.

 

[Stuie]

Sometimes I dont want to hand over an important tech to a lukewarm friend, but sucks losing factions because they made an unreasonable demand.

Reminds me of an in-game Catherine quote:

"Friendship comes with a price, Stuie. And here's my price."

Or something like that - made me laugh out loud.