Map Trading

[TheImmortal]

I was wandering if anybody else holds off trading maps until they have all the land they can accumulate. When I first started playing the game I always just traded my territory/world map when ever an opposing civ would ask. Soon after I would see a spearman escorting a settler near me and claiming a valuable piece of land that I was wanting or needing. So now I don't trade maps until I have all the land I can get.

 

[Shaitan]

Pretty much the same. I'll trade/sell a territory map if that civ has already explored much of my territory. I'll possibly do territory maps if the other civ has no way to get to my territory (on another continent with no way over yet). Other than that, I'll never give up my map secrets until I've got my lands developed as I want them.

 

[eyrei]

I will not even trade my territory map away until I have built all my cities, or at least have a settler on route to each site. As soon as I am done building cities, I trade my world map to everyone on the same turn.

 

[Sodak]

Hmm... I've always been quick to trade my maps, tho I'll offer the territory map first, of course. Mostly this comes from experience with CivII - even tho the AI hadn't explored more than 2% of the map, they still "knew" where everything was. This seems to hold true with Civ3, particularly with resources. The AI values maps, and will pay good money for them. So I figure, sell it something it already has.

It works both ways, anyhow. If you get the AI map, they do some exploring for you in places you otherwise wouldn't see for 1000 game years. This can open up good spots for you, too.

 

[TheImmortal]

I don't know. It just seems easier for me not to trade my maps until mid to late game. I can always get the other civ's maps by trading techs.

 

[Allemand]

I read somewhere that the AI doesn't use the information until it gets the maps or explores an area. I still don't take any chances. I sell my maps only after I have all the territory I want. After that, I sell the world map over and over again, as long as they are willing to pay.

 

[TheImmortal]

Do the civ's trade maps between themselves? Could you trade/sell your world map to a civ way on the other side of the map and not worry about your world map being sold to other civs?

 

[eyrei]

You can be pretty sure that within a turn of trading your map to one civ, they will all have it. Trade it to everyone on the same turn when you are ready.

 

[enelrad]

In one game where I was trying to keep my head in the sand for as long as possible, I happened upon an unclaimed island of some size. I had an explorer who found all the goodie huts and then I sold the world map to all of the Civs on the same turn for major moolah. sure enough, they had those little gallies out on the sea as fast their little arms would row -- all of them.

Later in the same game, all of a sudden, the English wouldn't trade their map. I knew they had found a piece of land they didn't want any one else to see. So I headed over where it had to be - got the goodie huts and sold my map again.

These maps can be interesting things.

I never do any map trading until I have my land secure. In this game, I had several continental wonders and didn't want to have to build granaries and barracks.

 

[Shaitan]

My current game has forced me to toss aside my map selling reservations. I'm on a medium size continent that had 2 other civs. There are 9 civs on a huge continent that is just reachable by my Lighthouse guided galleys. By the time I found and met these others I was so far behind in tech it wasn't funny. My treasury and infrastructure was nil because of 4500 years of constant war with my 2 neighbors. The only thing of value I had to trade was my map.

I am now a map whore. I peddled that thing to every civ on the planet. Raised cash, got techs, got communications with other civs. By the time I was done, that map had bought me communication with all of the other civs, caught me up in technology and put a nice little nest egg in the treasury.

Since my continent is unreachable until somebody researches Navigation I continue to sell my map at every turn. I'm picking up between 10 to 100 gold every few turns. Without map sales my civ would still be a backwater bully trying vainly to colonize their one continent.

 

[enelrad]

I think we all have strategies that we Like to use but the first thing we learn is to be adaptable. Although, it sounds like you had your land in place by the time you started selling.

Each game has unique circumstances that you have to play to or be lost.

 

[Shaitan]

Actually I only had about one third of the continent colonized. The vast majority of my opponents cities were razed when I took them, leaving huge swathes of prime real estate unused. They kept whipping out spearmen so the cities were size 1 and automatically razed when captured. It was extrememly frustrating.

My continent was secure though. I'm the only one who can get a galley from the homeland to the massive continent where the AI civs live (thank you Lighthouse!). I figured I had time to cover the coasts before anyone got Navigation and this has proven correct.

 

[Sodak]

Originally posted by Shaitan
I am now a map whore.

Allemand, you may be right that the AI doesn't use anything beyond it's own map. As I said, I'm a bit paranoid from the CivII days...

The AIs do trade maps with each other. This is clear from how your world map gets updated after a trade - much more than the trading civ's world is shown or changed.

 

[jssst21]

The AI does not show up until it has discovered your area legitimately or you have traded your map. 99% on this one - though a lot has slipped through that 1% before. I managed to lock up a whole Australia sized (relatively) continent simply because they didn't know it was there. You can't tell me they wouldn't have swarmed it otherwise.
Hold those maps boys.

 

[Evil Ruler]

I find it really annoying that the computer ALWAYS knows where your troops are positioned. Whenever they know a empty spot that is in middle of YOUR empire they started to swarm toward that little spot.

In my going on game I was able to close the route to my western area by 5 workers. Every time I tried to send them to their work the very next turn there was every other civ starting their way toward that empty spot. There was about 15 turn travel across my land before they could ever come and settle. Always I asked them to withdraw from my territory and they say: "oukkidoukki no problemo". Next turn they just travel further into my territory. Again I asked and get the very same result. They just keep going... What the f...ck! Why isn´t that working? Normally the second turn you ask they are forced to move away from your territory, why not now?

Well that just lead to a war with the persians and after a couple of hundred years fighting I took all their cities on my continent (5 of them, 2 was razed). But to my frustation they did have a unit somewhere, so they weren´t totally destroyed.

Í must say that nowadays I don´t EVER trade my maps with anyone, no matter what. Same goes with the communications...

 

[Evil Ruler]

I find it really annoying that the computer ALWAYS knows where your troops are positioned. Whenever they know a empty spot that is in middle of YOUR empire they started to swarm toward that little spot.

In my going on game I was able to close the route to my western area by 5 workers. Every time I tried to send them to their work the very next turn there was every other civ starting their way toward that empty spot. There was about 15 turn travel across my land before they could ever come and settle. Always I asked them to withdraw from my territory and they say: "oukkidoukki no problemo". Next turn they just travel further into my territory. Again I asked and get the very same result. They just keep going... What the f...ck! Why isn´t that working? Normally the second turn you ask they are forced to move away from your territory, why not now?

Well that just lead to a war with the persians and after a couple of hundred years fighting I took all their cities on my continent (5 of them, 2 was razed). But to my frustation they did have a unit somewhere, so they weren´t totally destroyed.

Í must say that nowadays I don´t EVER trade my maps with anyone, no matter what. Same goes with the communications...

 

[Spawnbob]

2nd that on communications, i was on a real world map had s.america sealed off at Mexico, Americans to the North started a war but they had to get through this chokepoint which they couldnt . Anyway also on my side of the line was the Babaloyons ( not real placements ) anyway they where 2 my south so they couldn’t talk to the Americans.

Anyway they where also a bit twitchy towards me and i thought the minute the Babs and Americans get together there be in a pact against me.
Sharing the Americans land was the Greeks who where either way with regards to me, they came knocking and they wanted comms with the Babs, seeing as the Greeks where semi friendly and the Babs rude but peaceful i said yes.

Within a turn or 2 the Babs and Americans had that pact and now my chokepoint was useless as i faced attacks from the south by the Babs, and you know what within 5 turns the Greeks had joined the party as well.

I guess they decided to cut out the middleman, i guess if you can do it you want to be the broker between civs and they all have to go through you for trade and maps.
It's like anything be careful what you sell to countries as you dont know who they gonna sell it to.