Question on trade routes

[Xanikk999]

I have open borders with egypt, rome, and england and most of my cities are connected yet i dont have foriegn trade routes in all of my cities.

Most of my cities have only domestic trade routes. I dont know why they wont trade with my neighbors since it gives you more gold.

I dont have the mercantilism civic by the way. So i dont know why some of my cities have foriegn trade routes, and others dont. Can someone answer this for me?

Is there something i dont yet know?

 

[automator]

I've been wondering the same.

Maybe you need their maps? Is a tech missing? See what happens to coastal city's routes after you get Optics.

 

[Xanikk999]

I've been wondering the same.

Maybe you need their maps? Is a tech missing? See what happens to coastal city's routes after you get Optics.

Thats irrelevent. Im in the industrial ages and have the maximum trade route potentiel technologies. And im running free market.

 

[Chamaedrys]

hm, maybe your neighbours need some techs before they can build up traderoutes. Or they using mercantilism.

 

[_alphaBeta_]

I think that you can only have trade with one foreign city. For example if one of your cities has a trade route with Washington, none of your other cities can trade with Washington. If you run out of foreign cities to trade with, the excess is taken up with domestic trade routes, which are not restricted.

I haven't exhaustively tested this, just observations so far. Of course if anyone has a counterexample, we'll know this isn't how it works.

 

[Kerrang]

Are you geographically isolated on an island or continent with no other civs? If this is the case, it would account for what you are seeing. Cities need either road/rail access to other cities to establish trade, or a harbor. If there are no other civs on the continent or island, your inland cities will not be able to establish foreign trade routes.

 

[Xanikk999]

No im not isolated. I already said in my first post that i was connected to their cities. Please read what i typed.

 

[Kumagoro]

Mercantilism?

 

[Xanikk999]

Mercantilism?

Please for the love of god... read my post. I said i wasnt running mercantilism.

 

[_alphaBeta_]

Are all the foreign cities you have open borders with being traded with already by one of your cities? Have you considered my post?

 

[maltz]

Perhaps you have exhausted all tradable foreign cities in other cities.

You can check all of your cities and note down which city they are currently trading with.

 

[Xanikk999]

The last two posts are probably right. I never figured it worked that way.

 

[_alphaBeta_]

The last two posts are probably right. I never figured it worked that way.

Well I don't know for sure, but being that far in the game you probably have 3-4 trade routes per city. That will exhaust the possible foreign cities pretty quickly, so you're left with only domestic.

That's assuming it works the way I suggested.

 

[MrCynical]

hm, maybe your neighbours need some techs before they can build up traderoutes. Or they using mercantilism.

It doesn't matter if the other civs are running Mercantilism. You can still make trade routes to their cities.

 

[karmina]

Well I don't know for sure, but being that far in the game you probably have 3-4 trade routes per city. That will exhaust the possible foreign cities pretty quickly, so you're left with only domestic.

If the AI got the let's say 4 largest cities, and you the next 4, and everyone can have 4 trade routes per city, then each of your 4 cities will have one trade route with each of the 4 large AI cities. Simply because the AI cities can also have 4 routes, and the most profitable will be with your cities.

Of course, if you're way ahead of the AI, having all of the big cities on the map, then domestic trade might simply be more profitable for some of your cities.

 

[DementedAvenger]

You obviously are running mercantilism or are isolated.

 

[_alphaBeta_]

If the AI got the let's say 4 largest cities, and you the next 4, and everyone can have 4 trade routes per city, then each of your 4 cities will have one trade route with each of the 4 large AI cities. Simply because the AI cities can also have 4 routes, and the most profitable will be with your cities.

Of course, if you're way ahead of the AI, having all of the big cities on the map, then domestic trade might simply be more profitable for some of your cities.

So you're saying that you have two cities that have a trade route with the same foreign city? I've never seen this which is what lead me to the conclusions above. If that's true, then why do some of my cities sometimes have only domestic routes? This is essentially what the OP is asking.

 

[Older than Dirt]

I am having the identical situation that the OP has apparently. I'm sure that the explanation is somewhere in the very well documented instruction booklet. We just need a program to find the secretly coded messages. I had a special ring that I got from a cereal box in the mid 50's but I can't seem to locate it; my wife keeps putting things away.

 

[karmina]

So you're saying that you have two cities that have a trade route with the same foreign city? I've never seen this which is what lead me to the conclusions above. If that's true, then why do some of my cities sometimes have only domestic routes? This is essentially what the OP is asking.

I'm not sure if I have seen it, but I'm perfectly sure you can have trade routes with different cities of the same AI in one city. And that's equivalent to the other situation, provided AI and human player aren't treated differently.

There are many explanation for only domestic routes in some cities, without the need to assume human/AI are treated differently:

- AI's often don't have 3-4 trade routes yet when you already have
- not all AI cities are always connected to the global trade network
- AI territory blocks trade routes if any of the two traders are at war with it
- this includes coastal tiles...dunno if even open borders are required
- certainly an AI is allowed to trade with another, consuming trade routes
- foreign trade routes simply aren't always better than domestic ones

 

[MrCynical]

- AI's often don't have 3-4 trade routes yet when you already have
- certainly an AI is allowed to trade with another, consuming trade routes

These two aren't relevant as trade routes are purely one directional. Just because your city has a trade route with an AI city doesn't been the AI city has a trade route to you. It doesn't matter how many trade routes the Ai cities have, or where they go to.

- foreign trade routes simply aren't always better than domestic ones

Unless the foreign cities are tiny, or you've already taken over most of the planet I can't see this being the case. Foreign trade routes automatically give 2.4 times as much commerce. Trade route income is mostly based on the size of the cities and the distance between them, and foreign cities are usually further away. You'll need something like a size 20 domestic city to match a size 7 foreign city at an equivalent distance.