why won't the AI take my cities in trades?

[Scaevola]

I have a variety of cities that I don't need but the AI will never trade for them. Not only that but if I put them in a deal the AI likes already the AI doesn't like it anymore. We will be trading techs and I will offer to throw in a city that I took from that civ or a city that is next to that civ and the AI doesn't like that deal anymore.

I am sure this has been discussed somewhere but I can't find it.

Why won't the AI take my cities in a trade?

 

[Ansar]

The AI is made to never trade for cities. Theirs OR yours.

If you really dont want them, just give them away, as a token of good will, and then the AI will accept them. Or just abandon.

 

[TomOC]

They only trade cities for peace. Otherwise you would have an exploit by trading cities for techs, then declaring war and take the cities back without a fight (traded cities do not have a defensive units in place). It would make the game too easy.

 

[Scaevola]

wow, good point.

Thanks.

I wish there was someway to give them back their cities. They really need them and I don't and I should be able to get something for them.

 

[Abdomination]

wow, good point.

Thanks.

I wish there was someway to give them back their cities. They really need them and I don't and I should be able to get something for them.

I've always wished that was the case. Like taking their cities for extra ransom, more than the peace deal

 

[akinkhoo]

I wish there was someway to give them back their cities. They really need them and I don't and I should be able to get something for them.

just give them back the damn city and stop *****ing. why should you be able to get something for something you don't want anyway?

it is like expecting the garbage collector to pay you for the trash.

 

[guspasho]

Is there any way to predict when they will give me cities for tribute? Will they ever do that?

 

[Turner]

Yeah, but you've got to really really hammer them hard before they'll give up cities. But it does happen. And not infrequently.

 

[TomOC]

Is there any way to predict when they will give me cities for tribute? Will they ever do that?

I've done it.... but at that point, I decided to move up a level (to monarch). You really have to dominate the game for them to do it.... from my experience anyway, and if you are in that much control of the game, it is time to move up.

 

[Soil]

Heh, I played my first regent game and archer rushed (dunno if it was a belated one) the byzantines... took about 3-4 cities and they gave me another 4 or so for peace. Then I took their capital. ;D

It was the first time I even tried asking for cities and was amazed they accepted. Only played one or two games of Civ3 so far and figured they didn't like trading cities. Only doing Regent so quick cause of this site.

 

[Cruelsader]

You really have to dominate the game for them to do it.... from my experience anyway, and if you are in that much control of the game, it is time to move up.

You do not have to dominate the game, you have to know how to beat a single AI opponent. In many occasions I have got cities from an AI while being way behind leading AIs. (And eventually lost the game because of the space race) The trick is to focus on an AI and beat it relentlessy for a very long time.

 

[shady milkman]

Not even for a long time in many cases. If you attack with a huge amount of force and hit their cities in quick succession they'll almost always chicken out and give you a few for peace. At least, that's what I've seen in the past, but I've never played anywhere above Warlord until recently so I might be wrong.

 

[berserks01]

Yeah, but you've got to really really hammer them hard before they'll give up cities. But it does happen. And not infrequently.

Not necessarily. I've demanded cities from Civs before and they yielded a couple of times, but always pop 1 cities never pop>1 cities. And I'm not even at war with them.

 

[Tee Kay]

I once played chieftain and as Persia, controlling half the map. San Francisco was about to fall so i sold it off to...someone. He accepted and I got a few hundred gold per turn for it.

 

[Vulcans]

They give more when they are desperate. If you are winning then don’t accept them begging for peace, make them hurt, the more they hurt the more you’ll get. I normally only accept peace when I’ve got them down to about 3-4 cities, I find that’s when I they give up the most and they have something to give up.
They can never trade their capotol so if you knock them back to just their capitol then they have nothing to trade.

Eg you get them down to 6 cities, they beg for peace, and are even willing to throw in a city, that would leave them with 5 cities, but if you take another city from them then they’ll get more desperate, and so maybe be willing to part with 2 cities, leaving them with three cities. But you refuse again and get them to 4 cities and then they will happily part with 3 cities for peace and all their tec, maps gold and anything else. (you won’t get any GPT as they will be broke) this leaves them with only 1 city, and they won’t have anyware to grow, so then you can easily move in later and break the peace treaty and finish them off.

 

[eldar]

I once managed to take a city in a peace deal with no military units left! It was very early on, I spotted a Hittite city founded from a hut, and just walked in and razed it with my exploring warrior. The warrior (my only one) later died to a Hittite warrior, so I sued for peace... and they gave me their only city (besides the capital)!

 

[Dreadnought]

I once played chieftain and as Persia, controlling half the map. San Francisco was about to fall so i sold it off to...someone. He accepted and I got a few hundred gold per turn for it.

Really? I thought they don't buy cities....

 

[TimBentley]

Clearly he's playing unpatched vanilla.

 

[Cuivienen]

Yes, the ban on city trading wasn't added until a patch on Vanilla civ. Unpatched Vanilla still allows city trading and related exploits.

 

[ForbiddenPalace]

Human values cities based on their locations, the terrains/civs/resources surrounding it, which is very difficult for the AI. So I think the AI programmers cannot come up with a good scheme and they get rid of trading cities completely.