Phantom Wonders

I was playing on warlord level the other night and I was behind on tech. I'd gotten into a few major wars and simply fell behind. I did have a lot of extra gold and was paying a premium to Babylonia in order to catch up. Americans were also ahead of me and they were selling tech cheaper. One turn I get a pop up window that says Babylon is building Leonardo's Shop, then a pop up that says America's building Leonardo's Shop. So I go to the Americans to trade for invention. They didn't have it! I thought I imagined it, so I keep playing and soon enough Babylon and America are building Smith's Trading Post. So I go to the Americans and once again they don't have Economics. Is this a glitch? I'm only one or two tech behind them so I don't think it's because I don't have prerequisite tech. Weird huh?



"do or do not, there is no try."

 

And I thought it was just me with that anomaly, not seeing listed the technologies a civlization has when we have an audience.

Great. Another glitch to keep an eye on.

 

You don't see it, because you are so far behind. You need the pre reqs before you can get the techs. If you don't even have banking, you will not see the economics, understand?

 

You mean if I don't have Banking I will not even see Economics on another Civ's technologies??

Don't like it. I should at least know what they are about, even if I would not be allowed to obtain that tech before getting the prerequisite.

 

If the advisor tells you that they are buiding Leonardo's then you know they have Invention. The advisors also give you a clue of which techs A.I. has by telling you the strongest unit that a civ has.

 

Zouave if you want to know everything about a CIV then go research espionage, or atleast pay for an embassey in their capital. You don't get everything for free here. lol

 

That would explain the anomaly I just discovered.

Early game, I see that one of my contacts has iron working, and another contact does not have iron working. Both have bronze working.

So, I pay through the teeth to get iron working from the first contact... and it won't let me trade iron working to the other one!

Started a new game, same thing happened with republic.

If the trade screen sometimes doesn't show all techs, that could easily explain it.

Hurkyl

 

Don´t trust your Advisor too much though. I´ve sometimes encountered the situation that the Advisor told me, that the strongest Unit of my Neighbours is a rather backward Unit, although they already possess more modern ones (in one case, my Advisor told me, the Chinese had Pikemen as their strongest Unit although I could see Chinese Cavalry-Units marching within sight of my own Units)

 

I personally think it is very good that you cant buy economics if you dont have banking... See it this way: How can a people use economics if they dont know what a bank is? A civ who use swordsmen COULD get the plans to make a nuke.... but do they understand the text on the paper of how to make the nuke.... no they dont. And so the paper is useless