22-02-2003 18:47									#1
	GPT Deals Support Apolyton

Im not sure this is solely a PTW thing since I just got it the other day, but i've never noticed it before.

Im playing on Monarch as Carthage and I have had few opportunities to get techs that others don't have. I started this game wanting to play a "cripple AI economies" strat, but I can't seem to get the AI to accept a gpt trade for more than say 2gpt (if I can get one at all).

I can trade for lux and everything else and I haven't broken any deals or declared war so I have a good reputation and most AI's are polite to me so what's with the low rates I get when they ask me for rates of 40gpt+ for their techs?

Is it an income thing for them? (I see that France is definitely making money each turn so maybe not) Or is the trading rate at Monarch that far out of proportion?

	23-02-2003 19:22									#2
	Increase Your PM Length

Yes, it is only related to PtW and I know what you are speaking about. In Civ3 computer signed per turn deals quite willingly, now he doesn't does so and wants to pay per turn only in certain deals and even here it pays much less than it would pay in one time payment.

	23-02-2003 20:56									#3
	Re: GPT Deals Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

quote: Originally posted by Roadrunna I can trade for lux and everything else and I haven't broken any deals or declared war so I have a good reputation and most AI's are polite to me so what's with the low rates I get when they ask me for rates of 40gpt+ for their techs? Is it an income thing for them? (I see that France is definitely making money each turn so maybe not) Or is the trading rate at Monarch that far out of proportion?

I think how much GPT you are offered for something you offer depends on a few things, for example how much they need the stuff. If the civ you are bargaining with is larger than yours and the impact of a luxury item will be more, then the bid will likely be high. In that respect, checking out if the other civ is in general happy or not may also help in determining the wisdom of offering a lux item. I mean, if at present they can barely keep their cities content, the lux item you offer will enable them to utilise their citizens that now had to be used for entertainment, so they may even end up getting more trade than they are offering you in gpt. But if a majority of their citizens are happy, your luxury item will not change the situation much, so your gain is more. The only way I can think of to have an idea of 'the happiness situation' in a rival civ is to investigate one or two of their biggest cities. There, you can see the luxuries already available to them and the proportion of happy faces.

This can also be connected with why they charge a hell of money for luxuries they offer, if you are a large empire, your windfall in utilising the entertainers in production probably makes the AI go for an outrageous amount.

On the other hand, if you are offering a strategic commodity like saltpeter or oil, the bid will also probably be high. I remember once I was offered 80 GPT for oil (and I'm sure this is not the highest amount people came up with during their games). But be careful with deals involving strategic commodities, as your oil can help your trade partner to build up on tanks, destroyers and battleships. Conversely, if you realize that someone else can supply the guy with the strategic commodity you are having hesitations about selling, then you can go for the bargain anyway (well, no easy way to get that unfortunately, other than checking the map thoroughly to see who has how much of what, or just see if they still ask for the commodity every few turns on the diplomacy bargaining screen, and if they do, just load the previous turn and sell the stuff yourself ).

Another moneymaker is, of course, technology, particularly ones involving wonders or spaceship components. In a recent game as Carthage (monarch, large, raging barbs), Indians offered some 120 gpt for Synthetic Fibers. I sadly refused, because the Indians had the Hoover Dam (I didnt have ANY rivers at all in my entire empire! Their industrial capacity was immense! ) and I didnt want to lose my edge in producing the spaceship

	23-02-2003 21:50									#4
	Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

to complement what Ancyrean said,

be absolutely sure, especially on the higher dificulty levels (emp/deity) that there is no way the AI civ will get a strategic resource from any other. Trading at these levels is extremely aggressive and the AI will most likely get a resource as soon as possible from another civ, faster than you think. So therefore, even for strategic reasons it might be best to sell it if you have the chance to get major $$$ for it.