Tech Trading for gold, the minimum?

[FlyinJohnnyL]

I'd like to think I've gotten pretty darn good at tech trading/diplomacy, thanks to all of the pros around here. The one thing I still don't know how to abuse enough is trading for gold. I guess it's a bad habit that I still haven't shook from Civ3, but I always have it in my mind that once I trade a tech to one civ, I better trade it to all civs. Lest the AI I traded to will just trade it around!

Of course, this isn't the case in IV at all. So after teaching myself to break this habit, I've nocited that now I rarely trade techs for gold at all! So my question is, WHEN is it a good time to trade a tech for gold? When he's the only guy left without it? Should I base it on how much I can get?

 

[z0wb13]

be more specific.

usually, the ais will wait at least one turn before they start trading it around, generally.

if you are the only player with a monopoly tech, it will become progressively less valuable the more the player trades it. also, the more players that know a tech, the less beakers it takes for others to research.

so, trade new monopoly techs for other monopoly techs, though you might need to throw in some gold; esp. on higher diff. or, two lesser-discovered, high-beaker-count techs and a map and some gold for a new monopoly tech. or, anything you can get for a tech that's been discovered by more than three or four civs; depending on the player count.

you will never make a fortune by tech trading because the ais don't keep that much cash on hand. you might get lucky, and make around 1k on a trade, but shoot for around 300 and be happy with 100.

 

[FlyinJohnnyL]

I shoulda been more specific, you're right. I guess what I'm really asking about isn't when you have a monopoly or near-monopoly. I'm more curious about when/how much gold to trade a tech that maybe only a couple of civs don't know. Like, I see people trade literature for 40 gold. When is it the appropriate time to dump a tech for next to nothing?

 

[Killroyan]

Something like literature is a good tech to sell if you are about to finish or have finished the GL. Check the tech screen and look how many people have money. If a couple of AI's have something like 10 to 100 gold and don't have lit I will sell the tech to all of them so the AI will not benefit from it.