Is it worth while to give techs to beggars?

[durecellrabbit]

Civs which I'm friendly with always come begging to me for free techs. If they demanded I give them techs, I tell them to get lost. Should I give those techs to them? What happens ifr the techs is something I consider valuable like the alphabet?

 

[offworld]

Civs which I'm friendly with always come begging to me for free techs. If they demanded I give them techs, I tell them to get lost. Should I give those techs to them? What happens ifr the techs is something I consider valuable like the alphabet?

I tried it some time ago. I gave a not-so-advanced civ a tech. A few turns later, they had a tech I didn't have that was of equal worth compared to the tech I gave. I asked for it and got it. It is a risky form of tech trading, that if succesfull can lead to a substantial increase in diplomatic relations. I haven't had high succes rates with this however.

 

[ShaLouZa]

+1 in the relationship score if you give it, -1 if you don't.

 

[benjai]

I tried it some time ago. I gave a not-so-advanced civ a tech. A few turns later, they had a tech I didn't have that was of equal worth compared to the tech I gave. I asked for it and got it. It is a risky form of tech trading, that if succesfull can lead to a substantial increase in diplomatic relations. I haven't had high succes rates with this however.

This is different to waht the poster is asking...you're talking about trading which is a must. Giving away techs is different.

Basically the factors I see are: difficulty level, timing, what tech they are asking for, and how friendly you want them to be.

On the easier settings, its simple, don't give away anything. On the harder ones then it'll vary on the other factors.

If its early game, I'll give away anything to anyone with the exception of alphabet. Later on, once I've established who I want to be friends with and who I want to kill then I'll decide wheter I want to give it to them or not. Generally, the harder the game, the more friendly you want the AI to be, thus the more often you'll have to give techs away. It sucks, but its the way to play.

 

[Matthevv]

I think that if they are a friend then the +1 to relations is worth a tech. It will increase your chances of getting good deals from them in later trades, and the chances of them supporting you in wartime, etc. The only time I would give a tech to a non-friend Civ would be if I couldn't afford to have them attack right then.

 

[Andrei_V]

I usually give that tech unless they are asking for Robotics or Genetics in the middle of Space Race.

I noticed that if I don't give away that tech, they frequently cancel resource/ open borders deals with me shortly after. Sometimes it hurts.

 

[Boppo]

There are a lot of factors that go into that kind of decision.

Is the tech a military tech that you do not want the other Civs to have? Things like Military Tradition can give you a big advantage and I will normally not give it away unless I need an ally to have it to fight in a war with me.

Does anyone else already have the tech? If someone else has it I am more likely to give it away for the bonus in relations if it is a friendly Civ.

How much do you want/need the Civ to be friendly? If you really want that Civ friendly then give the tech. You are talking about a 2 point swing in relations getting a +1 rather than a -1. If you want a diplomatic victory this could be very important.

Are you afraid of the Civ? If it is a large Civ that could invade you, give the tech to help keep them away from you. You can also bribe Civs into attacking other Civs with Techs.

 

[durecellrabbit]

There are a lot of factors that go into that kind of decision.

Is the tech a military tech that you do not want the other Civs to have? Things like Military Tradition can give you a big advantage and I will normally not give it away unless I need an ally to have it to fight in a war with me.

Does anyone else already have the tech? If someone else has it I am more likely to give it away for the bonus in relations if it is a friendly Civ.

Is there a way to check, if someone else has it, once they've asked? If it is a valuable military tech but I want them to be friends, would not giving it be worth the -1 penalty?

 

[sealman]

This is different to waht the poster is asking...you're talking about trading which is a must. Giving away techs is different.

Basically the factors I see are: difficulty level, timing, what tech they are asking for, and how friendly you want them to be.

On the easier settings, its simple, don't give away anything. On the harder ones then it'll vary on the other factors.

If its early game, I'll give away anything to anyone with the exception of alphabet. Later on, once I've established who I want to be friends with and who I want to kill then I'll decide wheter I want to give it to them or not. Generally, the harder the game, the more friendly you want the AI to be, thus the more often you'll have to give techs away. It sucks, but its the way to play.

No he is not. He said he gave the tech to the civ that was asking for it. a few turns later, that civ had a tech he did not have and he asked for it and got it.

 

[Kracked1]

Lately I have been experimenting with giving military techs to the bottom guys on the totem pole that have close proximity and bad relationships with civs ahead of me. I try to enable them to go give the guy a hard time and slow him/her down. I am careful only to do this if the civ is WAY behind in the score...

OTOH, I may end up getting burnt on this if the weak civ in turn trades the tech to a strong civ in order to win favor... we'll see...

 

[b-dubb]

@durecellrabbit:

Yeah, you can check to see who has it (and many other things as well).

As soon as the window pops with a bum begging for spare change... err, tech..., hit 'F4' to open the diplomatic advisor (you can also check any other advisor, as well as civilipedia). When you exit the advisor window(s), having found out whatever you need to, you will be staring the bum in the face again, still waiting to see if you will pull out pocket lint for him.

(Living in a big city, I deal with bums ALL the time, so I have no patience, even in CivIV, for bums, and shoot myself diplomatically sometimes by giving 'em the HIGH HAT!)

Responses to bums:
"Change? No, I like the world exactly the way it is!"
"Sure I have a quarter!" (keep walking)
"Damn I was about to ask you the same thing!"
Stare em in the face and say nothing.

 

[fortytwo]

If an enemy civ invades a weak civ to pick on them and I'm worried about the results, I'll often pour cash and some tech like gunpowder into the weaker civ, winning their gratitude and causing the enemy civ to seriously regret their decision to invade.

 

[Boppo]

Is there a way to check, if someone else has it, once they've asked? If it is a valuable military tech but I want them to be friends, would not giving it be worth the -1 penalty?

That depends upon which Civ you are talking about and how you are playing. If you feel there is no way you will end up in a war with them, go for it. Otherwise it might be worth the penalty.

I'll often try to find a way to trade something to them instead, if I am not already at +4 for Our trade relations have been fair.

 

[Kracked1]

fortytwo - Yeah, exactly. An interesting strategy anyhow...

 

[bobtheflob]

If an enemy civ invades a weak civ to pick on them and I'm worried about the results, I'll often pour cash and some tech like gunpowder into the weaker civ, winning their gratitude and causing the enemy civ to seriously regret their decision to invade.

That's especially useful if you and the weaker civ both border the stronger civ. Then you can declare war on the stonger civ and knockit down a peg or two while it's fighting a two front war.

 

[Selous]

and even if it is on a different continent, it gives the little guy a chance to survive a little longer, and the big guy doesnt get the continent .... i always give tecks like this

 

[naterator]

i live in the city too, i bought big headphones and shades so i don't even have to deal with the beggars, and i turn off tech trading in civ for the same reason.

 

[Aneurism]

Lately I have been experimenting with giving military techs to the bottom guys on the totem pole that have close proximity and bad relationships with civs ahead of me. I try to enable them to go give the guy a hard time and slow him/her down. I am careful only to do this if the civ is WAY behind in the score...

OTOH, I may end up getting burnt on this if the weak civ in turn trades the tech to a strong civ in order to win favor... we'll see...

A good way to help out a friendly weaker civ without fear of them trading techs to an enemy is to gift them some units, even just fortify some of your own units in their city until that city might be threatened, and then gift them.

 

[mnf]

I always give if he's an important ally that I simply don't want to turn away. Also I would give if it's the score laggers who won't matter a cent.

But I never thought much about what Kracked1 said. Hmm...I actually think it's highly likely that AI civs would be programmed to beg for a tech, then trade that tech out to everyone to get more techs for free. Especially considering an AI is likely to be able to get free techs from a friendly player, but would have to pay something to trade with an Cautious AI opponent.

Maybe I should just start ignoring the insignificant AIs. Hmmm...

 

[Jotakami]

Giving into a request for help can actually cause a MASSIVE swing in diplomatic relations... In my experience, not only do you get the +1 "You gave us help." but if the tech is valuable enough, you can also get up to +4 in "Our trade relations have been fair and forthright." I've had people who are annoyed with me swing all the way to pleased after I gave them a valuable tech. If it's a technologically slow civ, you haven't really lost anything, but if they're competing with you in tech, then you way want to take advantage of the good diplomatic relations and try to ask them to gift you a tech of their own. Most people never really think to do this, and it took me a while before I realized I could take advantage of friendly civs in that way. (I always knew I could get them to wage my wars for me ;-) )