trades

[lockandload]

Having recently discovered the joy of trading with the AI I have started wonder about limits and whether we are getting what we think we are. As most people know, when you get a new tech. you can take it to the AI civs and sometimes come back with 2-3 new techs by trading and re-trading the new techs you aquired. Traditional (nonvirtual) economics treat this as a win-win scenario, but that assumes you are not trying to take over the world. In the quest for world domination, are you really benefiting as much as you think? Or are you just moving everybody up on the tech ladder thereby promoting equality rather than domination? I would like to hear the opinions of more seasoned players than myself on this.

Some specific questions:

1) Like probably most, I look through the trades and take the best offer. Do you then continue to trade the same tech. to other Civs, even if their offer is less than what the tech is worth, just assuming that they will get it anyway since the AIs trade with each other?

2) Related question: Do you trade military techs with your neighbors? Agains assuming they will get it anyway.

I hate to pass up a chance to soak the AIs for a little gold, if they are just going to get the tech. anyway. But on the other hand, obviously the AIs don't always immediately trade or they would all have the same techs.

 

[Turner]

If you don't trade the tech you just sold to one AI with the others, you're going to lose out on the deal. Because the Ai will trade that tech with others. Might as well be you that gets the gold, no?

As for military techs, Sure, I trade them. Why? Because the tech does the AI no good if it doesn't have the gold to maintain a proper army, or afford upgrades. Or if I know they can't get the resource associated with that tech. And if I'm in a MA with a civ, sometimes it's advantagous for me to trade it to my partner, as that's that much more fight it can bring to the AI I'm at war with.

But if I'm in a peaceful situation, I might wait a few turns to build up my army first with the new unit, instead of trading it right away. But if I'm in economic meltdown mode against the AI, I'll trade it to them and cripple them that much more. Al those GPT deals add up real quick, ya know?

 

[IbnSina]

1) Yes
2) Yes

As you say, if I don't sell it to them, somebody else will, probably for less money. Even if somebody else won't, I trade it. That way, I can keep some of the weaker AIs in the game a little longer to counterbalance my chief rivals.

 

[Peck of Arabia]

1)Yes
2)No

If I trade a tech I will trade it with as many as possible until it becomes practically worthless, but I'm very paranoid about selling Military techs knowing that somehow I won't be able to build the units that it offers and I end up with dozen of the AIs units appearing out of nowhere to take my capital

 

[Praetorian]

I do very little trading. I get at the AI

 

[Hirachi Dinavo]

I can't trade in my games. 1 AI will be a tech leader so I buy from them, but everyone else is always broke so I can't sell it back.

 

[budweiser]

I think the real purpose of tech trading is to break their bank accounts. I will trade and trade with them until they can't pay anymore. Eventually, in an eight player game, there will come a point when the civs begin to fall, one, two, three techs behind. That's the point where I stop bothering to try and sell them the A techs. Two or three civs will remain competetive and I will keep up the trading game with them until I can finally get the upper hand. But, it sometimes take a war to break them. That's when its easy to gift back some techs to the backwards tribes and get them on your side.

Sometimes you will not want the tech pace to accelerate because you have other goals in mind, like conquest. If you have an advantage in weapons, you will not want the world getting smarter and ruining your advantage. One example is Celtic Swordsman vs spears, you dont want the world learning fuedalism, so you turn off your science and start fighting, or research away but keep your gains to yourself.

I'm not sure if you do this or not, but say you learn a new tech and you use the big picture to trade. But you dont like the deals or maybe only one deal is good and the rest are bad. Dont sell to everyone this round but comeback next turn and the turn after to check, you may find that the ai will offer better deals and can pay more because some of their other financial obligations have been met and they once again have money to spend.

 

[wilbill]

1) Do you then continue to trade the same tech. to other Civs

Definitely

2) Do you trade military techs with your neighbors?

I might wait a couple of turns while I build the new units, but I start trading while the tech is still worth something.

But on the other hand, obviously the AIs don't always immediately trade or they would all have the same techs.

The AI's who have anything valuable to trade will trade asap. The ones who don't are often the ones that aren't really in the game anyway.

 

[Own]

i try to not trade gpt for techs because that money will fund more ai research (even if the ai has thousands of lump sum gold, they won't let themselves spend any towards research). that's not good. also if you need to attack them or a neighbor is attacking them and it's a good opportunity to invade, you don't have to wait 20 turns (unless you want a ruined rep).

the good thing about gpt is it's an incentive for the ai to not attack you, but that dosen't make up for the 2 bad things.