Trading technigues

[Tesuji]

Recently I have played a few old COTM quick-score games to compare my play with that of some of the top-ranked players. I figured I could learn some tricks that way that are hard to learn otherwise.

It turns out my play is more or less on par with the players ranked 5-15 when it comes to production / expansion. Where my play seems to fall short is mainly in tech. After studying a few game logs of top-ranked players I noticed the main difference comes from trading with the AI.

One technigue I saw used was to give away all your tech for free to undeveloped AIs. Apparently the idea is that an AI that is behind in tech isn't helping you to advance up the tech-tree either. What I wondered though, is this a sound strategy? Or is it mostly due to the fact that quick-score looks at how many techs you have at 1000BC, and not how much you're ahead of everyone. Although I do sometimes give freebies to weak AIs to help them in a war with a common adversary, it doesn't seem wise to me to do this in the expansion phase.

Another thing I saw is that the good players buy workers from the AI. Somehow I never get around doing that. Maybe I don't value buying workers enough. Does anybody have an idea of a general value I can put on a worker? What are good circumstances to consider buying one and what not?

 

[berserks01]

Good questions. I too would like to know the answers to some of his questions pertaining to tech strategies and worker buying.

I only obtain workers from other AI through trading/peace renegotiation, but never through purchasing.

 

[DaveMcW]

Workers cost 30 gold in vanilla Civ3, which is a great deal. Use one of the approved utilities to notify you when a worker is for sale.

In PTW/C3C Workers cost 120 gold. I would never pay that much in cash (unless I can immediately get it back), but trading extra techs works well.

The best time to give techs away is when you are researching up one branch of the tech tree at 100%. You are guaranteed to get monopoly techs to trade around, so you are never in danger of falling behind.

 

[Doc Tsiolkovski]

I buy as many Workers as possible. In preparation for Republic.
You don't get full value for techs from the weaker Civs anyway early, so a Worker for a non-monoply tech is a good deal. And if I have cash at all, there isn't much use for it in the AAs anyway: If you have cash, you should be the tech leader. And trading cash for techs is no that great; the price is too high.
And, it does not only help me - at foremost, it cripples them.

Another concept is to give away certain techs cheaply, to ensure several AIs research techs you don't want to bother researching: Like Writing once it is no longer a monopoly, and you're sure to rab Philo (or it is already known): The AI will go for Map Making in 95% of all times from my experience. No need to ever research that.

 

[Twonky]

Giving techs away for free is often done as a part of the double scientific slingshot, as described by DaveMcW in his great article .
As this becomes relevant on the brink of a new era, this is probably not want you meant though, talking about time up to 1000 BC.