Luxury Trading Seems Very Basic

[steveg700]

So the role of luxuries seems to be to provide them to families or other nations. The families desire specific ones which can be provided to negate relationship penalties. Nations are less fussy and will take anything and provide a positive diplo modifier.

And...That's it. They're not commodities that can be traded with other nations for compensation. They're not incorporated into ambassadorial trade deals (AFAICT). A player can't examine another nation's inventory and thereby make offers.

I've been wrong before, so maybe I'm missing something here.

 

[InsidiousMage]

I've been wrong before, so maybe I'm missing something here.

You can give extra luxuries to your own cities, in the city menu with "manage luxuries," for, if I remember correctly, +2 culture and -2 discontent, which is amazing if you can do it early in the game. Otherwise, yeah, luxury management is kind of dull. Really disappointed that you can't trade with other nations for luxuries and can only trade them away.

 

[Heathcliff]

I like that you cant trade them with other civs. Brokering deals with ai every turn are probably the most boring thing in civ.

 

[steveg700]

I like that you cant trade them with other civs. Brokering deals with ai every turn are probably the most boring thing in civ.

Don't see how *not* having an option is a positive. Don't want to employ the option, then by all means do not.

No different in practice then sending ambassadors on trade missions or simply giving them away. Again, if there's no desire to have ambassadors perform missions or it's preferred to let luxuries sit in stock not doing anything....well, those are more options one can choose to not avail themselves of.

 

[Heathcliff]

Don't see how *not* having an option is a positive. Don't want to employ the option, then by all means do not.

No different in practice then sending ambassadors on trade missions or simply giving them away. Again, if there's no desire to have ambassadors perform missions or it's preferred to let luxuries sit in stock not doing anything....well, those are more options one can choose to not avail themselves of.

Take civ 4 as an example. If you watch a lets play of an experienced player, the first thing they do every turn is to check what they can trade and will probably make some deal every turn.

 

[InsidiousMage]

Take civ 4 as an example. If you watch a lets play of an experienced player, the first thing they do every turn is to check what they can trade and will probably make some deal every turn.

The problem is that the game tells you need these luxuries for your families but then the only way to get them is through either conquest or good RNG, which is kind of frustrating. Trading for them allows you to change but I would be fine with a limit to only trade for luxuries for that your families need and if you aren't missing any luxuries than you can't trade for them.

 

[steveg700]

That's right. There's a baked-in reason to seek out luxuries, Other nations have them. The player can send them to other nations, yet there's no reciprocation. It's a one-way street that treats the player differently than the AI. If the AI can't trade with the player, seems likely they can't trade with each other. So the player nets the diplo mod, the AI doesn't.

Trade is part of having an empire. It has a place in a 4X game. If a player wants to spend his orders trading, that's their choice.

There's other ways to do it. It can be incorporated as a type of trade mission. It can be made a type of common event.

For that matter, if it's limited to nations who have friendly relations, that does a whole lot to rein it in.

 

[PiR]

It's a one-way street that treats the player differently than the AI.

There are so many ways all games treat the player differently than the AI.
To stay in topic, players can get luxuries through events. I doubt events apply on AI (I think not, iirc).
Although, I'm saying that's enough to compensate for the family needs that can be unfair depending on whether you find what they want or not. @InsidiousMage has a very good point here

 

[Fistleaf]

I find that with high legitimacy and state religion opinion bonuses, I do not need to give luxuries to the families, they are already at >200 relations. I give the luxuries to individual cities to reduce discontent. Maybe the missing family luxury negative should be set higher.