Rushing Wonders with Caravans..what to bring?

[IamRonin]

Hello All,

One of the things I like to do is to build lots of caravans when the race for a wonder is tight.

I was wondering which ‘item’ is best to bring to the target city?

Is it food? But how much food does that subtract from the source city of the caravan?

Is it goods? But does that mean that the (friendly) city has established a trade link of that good and you WON’T be able to trade in that good with other cities anymore?

I don’t want to waste food but I don’t want to waste a potential gold mine in trading good either.

Help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sharkbait]

Any van or freight you use towards a wonder has no impact on the contributing city - no food is subtracted and a supplied commodity is only blocked until the van is used for the wonder. After the van has been used for the wonder, you should see that commodity become avilable to produce in the source city (unless you have in the meantime sent a van from another city to this source city).

A food van has no effect on the source city's food situation until it a food trade route is established with another city.

Given the above, IMO it is always best to build a food van if you are sure that the van is going to be used for a wonder. It means that you keep your supply routes open so you can then build another van and send it somewhere to get the gold and science boost. You can always use other types of vans if the AI has almost completed a desired wonder - the key is to try and always have enough vans near a single city so they can be dumped in the city immediately to deny the AI the wonder (and I really like beating them and they then abandon, meaning a nice waste of shields for them ).

 

[Ali Ardavan]

... it is always best to build a food van if you are sure that the van is going to be used for a wonder. It means that you keep your supply routes open so you can then build another van and send it somewhere to get the gold and science boost.

Well said. Another reason to use food vans for wonder building is to make it easier to keep track of things. This really helps when you have dozens of vans to manage every turn (in mid and late game).

 

[ElephantU]

If I have an unblocked commodity I always build the commodity before building a food van, even if I'm pretty sure (note qualification) it is going to go to a wonder. Too many times I've needed a quick cash boost, or a demand has opened up unexpectedly, that I change my plans for commodity delivery. Once all commodities are blocked (and cannot be unblocked by a van swap or WonderBread) I let it build food, but if there is an opening I take whatever I get.

 

[IamRonin]

Yes a good point there ElephantU.

Definitely a point in favour of goods caravan even if its for WoWs.

 

[CharlieChuck]

Once all commodities are blocked (and cannot be unblocked by a van swap or WonderBread) I let it build food, but if there is an opening I take whatever I get.

What do you mean by the terms van swap and WonderBread? I've noticed commodities unblock themselves at various points, and if you deliver something to a city with all 3 supply routes blocked it reopens, but is there some other way I don't know about?

 

[Magic_gorter]

What do you mean by the terms van swap and WonderBread? I've noticed commodities unblock themselves at various points, and if you deliver something to a city with all 3 supply routes blocked it reopens, but is there some other way I don't know about?

In the great library at the apolyton site there is a document (IIRC the one for early landing) which explains all kind of things about trade. It also explains what wonderbread means. I have to read the article myself again because I don't remember how it works (IIRC it has something to do with building a wonder with caravans).

 

[ElephantU]

WonderBread is an unblocking trick that triggers the reexamination of commodity supplies outside the Solo Cycle (every 16 turns). This works if a city has a blocked supply that is not involved in a route (because it was delivered to a city smaller than one of the three already on the list, it will not create a new route). You take a food van, start a wonder and add it, then switch to the van and finish. Putting a van toward a wonder is the trigger for unblocking any supplies that are not in use. The van swap is where two cities trade back and forth, a van from A causing a new route that releases a supply in B, followed by a van from B that releases the blocked supply in A. Again it works only with three routes already establised in each city.

 

[CharlieChuck]

Thanks ElephantU, however I'm a little confused by one part of it..

You take a food van, start a wonder and add it, then switch to the van and finish. Putting a van toward a wonder is the trigger for unblocking any supplies that are not in use.

Is the food van delivered from the city that needs unblocking or to the city that needs unblocking?

EDIT: It's ok I found the apolyton thread mentioned above, I think I understand it now.