The effect of trading resources

[Metal Bunny]

I have a question and couldn't find an answer, so I'm asking it here.

I realize that the AI, much like the player, (most of the times) has a happy cap first, and then a health cap, and later on, depending upon whatever civics/buildings/resources the AI has, it will become interchangeable.

My question is basically, at what point (to give the AI a far less of an advantage) is exporting a happy resources for gpt actually preferred over exporting a health resource?

I know, especially in the higher difficulties where the AI has a (comparative to the player) higher happy cap than normal, that when hereditary rule, or representation with the pyramids, is used, that health becomes more important than happiness.
But is this always the case? The AI tends to only have 4 units in a city, along with any happy buildings, but also has the grievances, such as war weariness and whip anger.

Should I look at city size and what resources the AI itself has? Or should I look more closely at civics and religion?

And what about resources like spices, which give both a happy, and a health if the appropriate buildings are made.

I ofcourse, realize that if you have enough esp. points, that I should just investigate, but still, it is handy to know, especially when emancipation anger just starts to kick in with the slightly more backwards AI.

 

[Sisiutil]

Rather than spending too much time digging around in the settings, I just follow a few basic rules of thumb to minimize the benefit of resource trading to the AI.

• First off, always try to trade resources with the lower-ranking civs. If you want to obtain gems, let's say, from either Mansa or Sitting Bull in exchange for dye, and Mansa is above you in score while poor ol' SB, as usual, is wallowing near the bottom of the scoreboard, make the deal with SB.
• If you have to make a deal with a high-ranking rival, give them the resource with the least benefit. I particularly like trading things like copper to such a rival (when they have iron), as the AI values the resource even if they gain little real benefit from it.
  • Health is usually easier to deal with than happiness, so I'll trade health resources before happy resources.
  • Also, trade away the resource with the least effect. For most of the game, for example, livestock (cows, deer, pigs, sheep) give only +1 , because they require supermarkets for the health bonus. If your rival has few coastal cities, trade him seafood rather than grain, because he'll have few harbors for the bonus.
  • Along similar lines: if you build Broadway, Rock & Roll, or Hollywood, cancel your other deals where you're trading away happy resources; the late-game wonder happys require a radio tower for a bonus, a building that comes along very late.
• Don't be too reluctant to trade away strategic resources (ivory, horses, iron, copper, uranium, oil). If your trade partner is relatively far away and relatively friendly, you're unlikely to be the target of the units they'll be able to build. Those resources are also highly valued by the AI, so you can usually get some sweet deals for them--often 2 resources and some gold. And by giving them war matériel, essentially, you might be stirring up things in their neighbourhood, keeping them and another rival embroiled in conflict while you progress to victory. This is especially true if by trading a strategic resource, you enable a smaller, lower-ranking civ to fight more evenly against one of your bigger rivals.

 

[goodolarchie]

Early happiness is rarely easy to achieve. This is why the forge and market are such great early buildings. I would gladly trade a health resource or two for precious gem or luxury. The AI has it very easy at emperor+ in terms of city handicap. It's not uncommon to see size 12 or size 14 cities at 1 AD in some civs, mostly due to HR unit spamming, or whoever grabbed mids.

Unit spamming for the player is really only viable when investing in an early war, or got unlucky with fogbusting needs.

If your AI's are starting to feel emancipation anger and revolting, there's really nothing they can do to threaten your position in the mid game. Either use their resources/diplomacy to your advantage or go dominate them. I would be more concerned with the civ that made you have to rush to emancipation yourself.

It's worth repeating Sisiutil that the civs HIGHLY value strategic resources, even if they are obsolete. Copper, Iron, Horses, Ivory can often times be worth more than a gold tile

Copper/Iron you can give away to anyone who isn't a threat or you aren't going to go sword and board against. Horses are no threat after rifling, and ivory after engineering.

 

[Maeztu]

^^^^^ thanks, those are really good tips.

 

[Infantry#14]

also, you can get up to +2 point in diplo for trading resources. That may just bump you up to a better diplo status. In addition, trading spare resources for gold is a good way to fund deficit research.

 

[Metal Bunny]

Yeah, I more often than not sell ivory when they have civil service and I have engineering, as well as copper and even resources like coal and oil if it is obvious that they don't even have the appropriate techs yes, like combustion or railroad.

So, with higher difficulties, it is probably better to keep selling happy resources, as well as the more useless strat. resources.

Thanks

 

[Sisiutil]

One other thing to watch out for: remember that various resources accelerate certain wonder build times. If you're going to build such a wonder, you should cancel any deals where you're trading the accelerating resource to a rival civ who is also capable of building it.

For example, if you have a long-standing deal with an advanced rival where you're trading copper to them, and each of you researches Democracy within a few turns of one another, and you start building the Statue of Liberty... cancel that copper deal! (Yes, this particular circumstance bitten me before. )