Selling Resources

[Tiro]

Hi!

I was wondering about one thing:

Lots of people on this forum talk about selling your luxeries to the AI.
My question is as follows?

Do you do this always, also if it is your only one?
If so, why?
Isn't it better to keep it to boost your own happiness (of which I always seem to be lacking)?

Thanks!

 

[alpaca]

Hi!

I was wondering about one thing:

Lots of people on this forum talk about selling your luxeries to the AI.
My question is as follows?

Do you do this always, also if it is your only one?
If so, why?
Isn't it better to keep it to boost your own happiness (of which I always seem to be lacking)?

Thanks!

At the very start of the game you sometimes don't need the happiness and 300 gold (or whatever they pay you, depends on difficulty) is more useful - to buy a unit for example. Later, I only sell any useless extra copies of my luxuries, and depending on the game situation may actually prefer trading luxury for luxury.

Also, welcome to the forums

 

[Danceofmasks]

Depends on how fair you're playing.

If you're a total meanie, you can sell a luxury for money, and immediately declare war.
Oh how about that. You stop sending them the luxury.
Then you spend the money they gave you to buy a unit to crush them with.

I don't do that anymore, 'cos it's so incredibly cheesy.

 

[Unearthly]

Depends on how fair you're playing.

If you're a total meanie, you can sell a luxury for money, and immediately declare war.
Oh how about that. You stop sending them the luxury.
Then you spend the money they gave you to buy a unit to crush them with.

I don't do that anymore, 'cos it's so incredibly cheesy.

To be honest selling the AI luxuries at all seems cheesy. If you consider the advantage it gives the player, a smart AI would never do that even if it had a mountain of gold.

Try playing a game where you don't accept gold or GPT from the AI outside of war reparations. Makes playing the game a lot different.

 

[MuteWolf]

To be honest selling the AI luxuries at all seems cheesy. If you consider the advantage it gives the player, a smart AI would never do that even if it had a mountain of gold.

Try playing a game where you don't accept gold or GPT from the AI outside of war reparations. Makes playing the game a lot different.

I disagree, though selling the AI a luxury and then DOW is cheesy selling them period is not. They don't buy it from you if they already have it and so they are getting a happiness benefit from it. Granted the AI is too focused on getting happiness and the money may do them some good but I think the real disadvantage they face is that they don't do it themselves. Even if they have 2 of a luxury they seem to horde them. It is usually difficult for me to get an AI to trade luxury for luxury, and I have never bought one. Honestly I wouldn't mind being able to buy a luxury in some games, wish they would be more prone to offering luxury trades because when I am running the piety tree the happiness translates to culture and the same advantages would apply to any AI too. I just don't think buying a luxury from you is always bad for the AI, you don't know what social policies they are adopting it may actually benefit them.

 

[KingMackem]

Superfluous luxuries may as well be sold to anyone willing to buy... they just go to waste otherwise. If you can afford the hit to your happiness then go mad in my opinion.

Even if you're reluctant to lose the happiness you can use the gold to ally a CS and get their luxury instead.

 

[Carnage04]

I've run into a lot of happiness problems in the middle game. This usually leads to me trying to barter Luxury for luxury, Luxury plus a little gold for Luxury, or more elaborate exchanges. Sometimes I'll sell one resource to one rival for (lets just say) 200 gold and turn around and pay another rival 250 gold for one of his resources. I consider that just trading 50 gold and one extra resource for a resource I don't have.

I don't really like selling resources and turning around and declaring war. That seems unfair. I think the x GPT is probably a more realistic way of selling resources. I doubt many Civs in history have said "I'll give you 300 gold now, you provide me with silk for the next 400 years!"

 

[aimlessgun]

I don't really like selling resources and turning around and declaring war. That seems unfair. I think the x GPT is probably a more realistic way of selling resources. I doubt many Civs in history have said "I'll give you 300 gold now, you provide me with silk for the next 400 years!"

Indeed. They currently have the mechanic where if you try to buy a luxury from the AI with GPT it asks for more. They should probably apply this to sales as well, so lump sum sales give less than GPT sales.

 

[Danceofmasks]

To be honest selling the AI luxuries at all seems cheesy. If you consider the advantage it gives the player, a smart AI would never do that even if it had a mountain of gold.

Try playing a game where you don't accept gold or GPT from the AI outside of war reparations. Makes playing the game a lot different.

Gee, thanks for discriminating against Arabia.
The only purpose of having billions of multiples of luxuries is to sell them for whatever anyone else has.

 

[Unearthly]

Gee, thanks for discriminating against Arabia.
The only purpose of having billions of multiples of luxuries is to sell them for whatever anyone else has.

It was just gold I was talking about, no problem bartering. Or maybe the AI would buy luxuries when they are unhappy, but otherwise just do 1 for 1 trades. But that's just my personal thoughts on the matter. If you feel like having a challenge, try it out. The advantage you get from trading for gold is pretty huge.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Remember that trading your luxury to the AI hastens their next golden age. Because of this, I never trade luxuries to any of the leading civs. However I'll happily trade with small or weak civs.

And I agree. Players shouldn't trade luxuries for cash, and then declare war.

 

[Airey]

In the beginning, having the extra gold is more beneficial than worrying about AI GAs...that extra early setter/worker makes a huge difference.

plus, just coz we don't sell AI the lux, doesn't mean other AI won't
worse case, they get their GA early...
it's prob better the AI having a GA with 2 cities, than have it with 10 cities.

To be honest selling the AI luxuries at all seems cheesy. If you consider the advantage it gives the player, a smart AI would never do that even if it had a mountain of gold.

Try playing a game where you don't accept gold or GPT from the AI outside of war reparations. Makes playing the game a lot different.

Why ok for war preparations and not other things?
Given how AI suck at war, I would say massive gold sale for warring is more cheesy

 

[Tiro]

Also, welcome to the forums

Thanks!

Sorry for not responding in a while, been busy!

And thank you for the tips!