Rep hits

[HungryMouse]

Some questions about reputation:

1. Does trading with AI improve my reputation? let's say if I simply trade territory map for territory map?

2. having read some threads I discovered that my reputation is hit if a civ with whom I am trading resources or luxuries gets destroyed. on the other hand if I break a trade agreement before it expires I also get a rep hit. So does this mean that I should not enter into trade negotiations with a civ which is under the threat of elimination?

3. if I have a "bad" rep, does this mean that I will get less favourable trade deals from AI?

That's it... for now.

 

[Tatran]

Well,Nibbles,you can't improve your reputation.
Second don't make any agreements with civs that
about to be destroyed.
If you had a reputation hit you can't make the
same deal ever again.

 

[gunkulator]

The AI's attitude affects how good of a deal you can get.

Your reputation affects what kind of deals the AI will consider with you. If your rep is shot, the AI typically won't accept gpt or luxes in exchange for something immediate and permanent like gold, maps or tech. I believe they also prefer to pay you gpt for tech instead of a lump sum.

 

[wilbill]

1. Does trading with AI improve my reputation? let's say if I simply trade territory map for territory map?.

It can improve the AI's attitude toward you, not your reputation. Your reputation is either good or it's ruined, no in-between.

2. So does this mean that I should not enter into trade negotiations with a civ which is under the threat of elimination?

It's not a good idea, no.

3. if I have a "bad" rep, does this mean that I will get less favourable trade deals from AI?

If your "treaty" reputation is blown, you won't be able to negotiate ROP, MP, etc. If your "trade" rep is blown, they won't accept gpt from you in trade deals.

 

[HungryMouse]

Thanx for the answers everyone. Here is another bunch of questions:

1. let's say I have an ongoing trade deal with a civ and in the meantime they declare a war on me. Is my rep hit in this case? what if another civ with whom i have MPA declares war on that civ and i am forced to declare war on them?

2. where can I check what my current rep status looks like?

3. i know its rather a rhetoric question but what is the logic behind the situation when my rep is hit as a result of death of a civ, with whom I had a trade deal? or is it just a "mistake" of AI who is not able to make difference between deliberate break of trade agreement and inevitable cancellation of all trade relations with a civ, that does not exist anymore?

4. in a dialogue screen with another civ there is sometimes no such options as "resources" or "luxuries". Does this mean that they simply do not have anything to spare (or at all)?

5. if I make a ROP rape, do all civs immediately get to know about it and remember it forever, so that I will not be able to make ROP with any of them in the future?

6. In case I happen to have very aggressive neighbours next to me (e.g. Zulus, Germans etc) what should i do to minimize risk of attack from their side, especially in the expansion period when I really do not want to engage into a prolonged warfare? do trade agreements really help? or should i take a deep breathe and try to conquer as much of their cities as possible, before they take mines? simply put, what should i do to make them smile at me?

 

[TimBentley]

Thanx for the answers everyone. Here is another bunch of questions:

1. let's say I have an ongoing trade deal with a civ and in the meantime they declare a war on me. Is my rep hit in this case?

no

what if another civ with whom i have MPA declares war on that civ and i am forced to declare war on them?

yes (that's why MPPs can easily ruin your rep)

2. where can I check what my current rep status looks like?

Try buying 20g for 1gpt (make sure you lower science/lux if necessary to get your income positive). If your advisor says they would never accept such a deal, you've harmed your reputation. If you ask for the deal, they'll tell you who you broke a deal with. You can try other per-turn agreements (eg ROP, MA) as well.

4. in a dialogue screen with another civ there is sometimes no such options as "resources" or "luxuries". Does this mean that they simply do not have anything to spare (or at all)?

It means they have no resources you don't have, so they can't sell them to you. If they have a resource you don't have but are using or selling all of them, it would show something like Iron(0).

5. if I make a ROP rape, do all civs immediately get to know about it and remember it forever, so that I will not be able to make ROP with any of them in the future?

Yes, unless they don't know the civ or are at war with them.

6. In case I happen to have very aggressive neighbours next to me (e.g. Zulus, Germans etc) what should i do to minimize risk of attack from their side, especially in the expansion period when I really do not want to engage into a prolonged warfare? do trade agreements really help? or should i take a deep breathe and try to conquer as much of their cities as possible, before they take mines? simply put, what should i do to make them smile at me?

Giving them gold (or luxs, resources, etc.) per turn may reduce their chance of attacking you. It also means if they attack you, you get out of paying them early. The better method is to just have an army that can withstand their attack.

 

[HungryMouse]

Giving them gold (or luxs, resources, etc.) per turn may reduce their chance of attacking you. It also means if they attack you, you get out of paying them early. The better method is to just have an army that can withstand their attack.

You mean giving them gold, luxs, resources for nothing in return? Basically, it means giving away for free? What if I trade luxs for luxs (spices for coffee for example)? Does this make them happy with me?

 

[TimBentley]

You mean giving them gold, luxs, resources for nothing in return? Basically, it means giving away for free? What if I trade luxs for luxs (spices for coffee for example)? Does this make them happy with me?

I meant as part of a deal.

 

[HungryMouse]

I meant as part of a deal.

OK, thanks for the answers. They will surely help me to improve my skills.

 

[Willem]

It doesn't hurt to give them away for free now and then either, that can go a long way to keeping an aggressive civ off your back for awhile. And you'll get it back in order to trade in 20 turns, so it's not a permanent loss to you.

 

[SJ Frank]

2. where can I check what my current rep status looks like?

I have a theory about rep: if you have to ask "how do I check my rep", then you probably don't need to worry about your rep. This is because rep is only important with some strategies, and if you're not playing that strategy, then you don't need to keep a clean rep.

First, we have to be clear about one thing: rep and attitude are two different things. Attitude is how much the AI's like you. If they don't like you, they are more likely to declare war on you, etc. Rep is if the AI's will take your credit. If your rep is broken, then they won't accept any thing that's "per-turn" in your payments.

Rep is useful if you're playing the tech broker strategy. I.e. you buy tech A, sell it to another civ for tech B, then sell techs A+B to another civ for tech C, getting 3 for the price of 1, etc...

When playing the tech broker, because the first tech that you buy is usually expensive, and since no body has 5000 gold sitting in the bank all the time, you usually have to play some gold-per-turns in order to get the ball rolling. If you lose your rep, then you can't pay gpt anymore. It makes tech brokering a lot harder.

Now, if you play tech broker all the time, then it is very obvious when you broke your rep: you try to buy a tech, 800 gold + a world map is "close", but after adding another 10gpt, it becomes impossible!

However, if you're not playing tech broker, then you don't need to pay any gpt to the AI's, then your rep is not very useful anymore.

6. In case I happen to have very aggressive neighbours next to me (e.g. Zulus, Germans etc) what should i do to minimize risk of attack from their side, especially in the expansion period when I really do not want to engage into a prolonged warfare? do trade agreements really help? or should i take a deep breathe and try to conquer as much of their cities as possible, before they take mines? simply put, what should i do to make them smile at me?

Put at least 1 unit in each of your cities that has some kind of resource, preferably 2 in an iron city (note: they don't have to be defensive units).

Put at least 1 unit in each of your border cities.

Put at least 1 unit in each of your cities that can be reached by his units this turn.

Leave some expansion room for them. AIs usually don't attack before they run out of expansion room. This is especially true if you're planning to attack them later. There are going to be some cities that will be too corrupt to help either you or the AI in the war effort. Let the AI found those cities. Those cities will be easy to take later. It will keep the AI in expansion mode longer, meaning less troops for them, and allow you to start your invasion sooner.

Plus what TimBentley said. If you have a choice between buying a tech with gpt from India and from Germany, buy from Germany first.

 

[HungryMouse]

Leave some expansion room for them.

BTW, about expansion. In what way AI usually expands? I mean what priority does AI give to its expansion? Does it try to produce settlers at maximum when where is room for expansion or does it try to balance between settlers/military units/city improvements, or does it vary from civ to civ? I noticed that AI does not produce as many settlers as he could even when there were enough land to grab.

Another question is about starting a war and peace negotiations. In my situation I have Aztecs with some 8 cities and me having 12. I do not like my neighbours because some of their cities split my small empire into 2 parts, that's why I need to capture only two of their cities. However I do not want to be in war for a long time and it would be nice to end the conflict in 4-5 turns. Question is: how to do it quick and painless? Maybe I should aim at certain number of their cities to be conquered, for them to accept my terms of peace? Maybe I should ruin their capital? In other words, what hurts them most?

 

[tao]

However, if you're not playing tech broker, then you don't need to pay any gpt to the AI's, then your rep is not very useful anymore.

I disagree. Example: You have lots of luxuries for sale, the AI cannot pay 50 gpt but has 1000g cash. You can't get a deal with ruined rep.

 

[citizen001]

Rep is even more important in peaceful games with lots of trading partners. If you screw your rep then, the game is lost almost.