Trade routes n stuff, I'm lost!

[j0hnnnym]

I'm having problems getting my head around how trade routes work. I'm a verteran civ-er of the oldschool days of civ 1 & 2 but the trade route system is a lot more complex now and I could do with a bit of help. I understand making trade routes with my own cities i guess generates money and allows the city to benifit from all the resources contected to the cities it has trade routes with. But what about trade routes with other civilizations and trade routes by sea? Does a city gain an advantage from have multiple trade routes with many cities apart from the resources gained? For example what is the benefit of +1 trade route by sea (like when you build the great lighthouse)? Do the trade routes assist it speading religion cos I can't be arsed with missionaries? How to I increase the spread of religion, is it just by having more culture? Also if you trade a resource with another civilization does that mean all your cities have it and is there any bonus for having multiples of the same resource for your civilization?

Sorry bout the 20 questions.

One confused civ-keteer

 

[Gazaridis]

Theres a difference between having a trade route and being able to trade. If you see the three arrows symbol next to a city that means they are able to trade with your capital and gain benefits of bonus resources connected to your capital. If a civ has the three arrows then you are able to trade resources with them. If you trade a resource with another civ all cities connected to your capital get it (these are denoted by the three arrows symbol). There isn't a bonus for having multiples of the same resource, apart frorm denying it to other civs.

A trade route is listed in the city screen, the top left hand corner underneath the research/culture sliders. They look like "Madrid +1" and so forth. A trade route adds commerce to a city. The AI automatically chooses the best trade routes to have. If you get bonuses like "+1 trade routes" like with Free Market then each city can have one more trade route with another city. If you have open borders with other civs then your cities can make trade routes with their cities, which are often more lucrative. Domestic routes often are 1 or 2 gold while international ones can be 5 or 6. On an arciphelago map great lighthouse can be great as if you have lots of open borders it can mean +10 gold for each city. If you want to see the effect of trade routes, switch from Free Markets with lots of open borders to Mercantilsm and see how much less income/research you get. Allegedly they also spread religion.

 

[Monkus]

A trade route is listed in the city screen, the top left hand corner underneath the research/culture sliders. They look like "Madrid +1" and so forth. A trade route adds commerce to a city. The AI automatically chooses the best trade routes to have. If you get bonuses like "+1 trade routes" like with Free Market then each city can have one more trade route with another city. If you have open borders with other civs then your cities can make trade routes with their cities, which are often more lucrative. Domestic routes often are 1 or 2 gold while international ones can be 5 or 6. On an arciphelago map great lighthouse can be great as if you have lots of open borders it can mean +10 gold for each city. If you want to see the effect of trade routes, switch from Free Markets with lots of open borders to Mercantilsm and see how much less income/research you get. Allegedly they also spread religion.

And these are set up how? Where in the city or diplomacy screens can you set them up? I have the same problem and I love the graphics too much to rea dthe manual!

 

[Jedoc]

They are set up automatically. The only thing you have to do is connect your road system to the road system of your neighbors and make sure you have coastal connections to as many other civs as possible. If you've got open borders and a road or coastal connection to another civ, your cities will automatically choose the most lucrative trade routes available to them, which tend to be the largest cities and the furthest away. No further intervention is necessary. Free money. Note that if your scientific and cultural sliders add up to 100%, none of the money from trade routes will actually end up in your coffers. They will simply be transformed directly into more beakers or more culture points.

 

[Monkus]

They are set up automatically. The only thing you have to do is connect your road system to the road system of your neighbors and make sure you have coastal connections to as many other civs as possible. If you've got open borders and a road or coastal connection to another civ, your cities will automatically choose the most lucrative trade routes available to them, which tend to be the largest cities and the furthest away. No further intervention is necessary. Free money. Note that if your scientific and cultural sliders add up to 100%, none of the money from trade routes will actually end up in your coffers. They will simply be transformed directly into more beakers or more culture points.

Thanks, that's great, just one more thing. I had a man Marco Polo or whoever be born in my capital so I sent him to the Greek capital to get a trade route. Firstly I think he couldn't enter the border which seemed silly as there were no wars or Greek defenders to notice nearby but also I had the option of setting up a trade route. But these are automatic? What was the point?

 

[Ramboost]

Thanks, that's great, just one more thing. I had a man Marco Polo or whoever be born in my capital so I sent him to the Greek capital to get a trade route. Firstly I think he couldn't enter the border which seemed silly as there were no wars or Greek defenders to notice nearby but also I had the option of setting up a trade route. But these are automatic? What was the point?

A Great Merchant can set up a kind of "virtual trade" route, that has nothing to do with the other trade routes. The trade route created by the Great Merchant gives you a large amount of money instantly (a couple of thousand gold), and that's it.......nothing more. But get your Great Merchant to a AI city as far away from your capital as possible to generate as much cash as possible. This money is deposited to your gold chambers......

 

[Ramboost]

What determines the amount of trade routes fora city? I know that you can build wonders etc. that increases the amount of trade routes for your cities......but what is the "base" number of trade routes per city? Is it determined by city size?

 

[walkerjks]

It's all techs and civics. You start with 1 trade route and get:

+1 trade route for currency
+1 trade route for free market civic (economics)
+1 trade route for corporation
+1 trade route for... somebody help me out here, I am drawing a blank

 

[Prince David]

+1 trade route for all coastal cities once you've built Great Lighthouse

 

[petey]

Also, building a harbor gets you +50% on all trade routes in that city.

 

[Monkus]

It's all techs and civics. You start with 1 trade route and get:

+1 trade route for currency
+1 trade route for free market civic (economics)
+1 trade route for corporation
+1 trade route for... somebody help me out here, I am drawing a blank

And the city chooses the best ones of gold, marble, iron etc to pick on what unit you want to make?

 

[Pentium]

You're messing things up here. Resource trading and trade routes are 2 different things.

For trading resources, you need a connection, but you buy those resources in the diplo screen.

But your cities automaticly establish trade routes with other cities, giving you commerce (and nothing else). It automaticly chooses the one that gives the most gold.

 

[Zaius]

Ok I have more questions about trade routes:

1. If I have a city with 1 trade route bringing in 1 commerce, and I get a harbor, since I heard Civ 4 rounds downs, does that means I will get "1.50 commerce rounded back down to 1 commerce" from the trade route for a net total gain of 0?

2. Now if I have 3 trade routes bringing in each 1 commerce for a total of 3 commerce, and I get a harbor. Will the harbor add 50% to each individual trade route thereby giving me no bonus and 3 total commerce since each individual trade route gets rounded down? Or will the 50% bonus apply to the total commerce gained for that city from trade routes, thereby making it 3 + (50% of 3 = 1.5, rounded down to 1) making it 4?

3. Can multiple cities in my civ each have a trade route to the same city in a far away civ?

4. The farther away the city you have a trade route with, the more commerce it generates: is this a confirmed fact?

 

[Xerol]

Airports also give +1, I think.