All Questions About Trade Answered

[albiedamned]

Civilopedia: Trade and Trade Routes

This screen, which I got from the "hidden screens at ign.com" thread, answers every question we've been discussing lately about trade. Specifically:

- Every domestic city connected by road/railroad to a city with a certain resource has access to that resource.
- You only need one of each resource for your whole civ - everything beyond the first is excess and can be traded.
- Both strategic and luxury resources may be traded.
- Foreign cities can be connected for trade in three ways: direct road/railroad connection, harbor in both cities and visible water route between the cities, or airport in both cities.
- For a water route, the route not only has to be visible, but you have to have the tech to traverse the route safely. Mapmaking, Navigation, and Magnetism are the 3 techs. So if the route goes through deep sea and you don't have Magnetism, it's not a valid route.
- Exceptions: a road/railroad connection does not count if it passes through enemy territory. A harbor connection does not count if either end is blockaded by enemy naval forces.

[Robert]

A harbor connection does not count if either end is blockaded by enemy naval forces.

That's COOL !!!!!

[SerapisIV]

Bad ass, now the question is if you physically blockade a port, does it have diplomatic consequences?

[SITS]

I also wonder if air 'units' can blockad airports as well. I.E. will air cover prevent your enemy from 'flying' over you to get to a resource near an airport?

[Robert]

now the question is if you physically blockade a port, does it have diplomatic consequences?

read the quote again:

A harbor connection does not count if either end is blockaded by enemy naval forces.

there aren't much diplomatic connections anymore with enemies I guess

[SerapisIV]

However, you can be at peace and not have a right of passage. Would this count as a blockade? Also, maps show borders extending into ocean waters, if a trade route has to go through an ocean strait, but an enemy civ's territory includes that strait, yet there is no actual ship blocking the route, does this count?

[albiedamned]

Ok fine, so not every single question has been answered! However I think we now know all the major aspects of the trade system. The details, such as what exactly constitutes a blockade or whether a sea route can pass through enemy controlled waters, are relatively minor. Just think, by this time next week we'll know everything for sure.

[SerapisIV]

I'm just nit-picking. Although nuances, like my question about ocean straits will become important as more and more people look to not just enjoy the game, but master it.

[Marquis de Sodaq]

Woo hoo! Blockades!

Economic warfare, here we come! This will end up figuring into strategy - if your enemy trades to get its raw material to build bad guys, and you can cut off the source... I like this element alot. Even if it is only a secondary factor, it really adds some color to the game.

[Ralf]

Great news!

At one time I was worried about gameplay-unbalance problems caused by getting ocean-based routes automatically without any effort (only coastal cities + foreign map-swaps), compared with the how relatively laboriously one must prepare in order to establish landbased trade-routes.

But according to that Civilopedia screenshot...

- both empires must have harbour-equipped coastal cities (only coastal cities not enough).
- At least one of two trading empires must have a visible & completely map-uncovered ocean-route in between.
- Neither harbour transit-city is blockaded by naval combat-units (requires a blockade-command, I guess).
- At least one of two trading empires must have map-making (for near coastal routes) and navigation and/or magnetism (for offshore ocean-routes).

I hope though that the burden is places upon the human player, in that sense that the AI-civs isnt over-anxious when it comes to establish trade-routes with you. Just like in Civ-2, they establish trade-routes mostly between each other. The human player shouldnt have it all on a silverplate for free - he should be forced to move out and explore to some degree, in order to uncovering his own potential foreign water-routes.

In Civ-2; that map-exporing and trade route-establishing was too labourish and repetitive. But for that sake they shouldnt through out the baby with the bathwater (like they did in SMAC). Some commersially inspired exploring & map-uncovering is only fun and challenging.

[dennis580]

Well I think they made it pretty clear that trade outes cannot pass thur enemy waters when they said a road or rail trade route is not valid if it passes thru enemey territory's. It's safe to assume that a sea trade route will not be a able to pass thur a enemy waters either.

[El hidalgo]

OK, you only need one supply of a resource for your civ, and any excess you can trade. I assume that this means that if you have two supplies you can trade it with one other civ -- in other words you would need three to trade with two other civs, four to trade with three other civs, and so on? I hope so. I will be disappointed if you can trade your single surplus resource with everyone.

[Cre8engr]

When about rivers? When I have a city that's built next to a river, and that river flows either to the sea or another civ's city that happens to be on the same river, is that considered a valued water route? I'm assuming that I have the correct technology, explored a sea route to the other civilzation, that any coastal city have a harbor, and that there are no zone of control issues or that neither port is being blockaded.

[Admiral PJ]

I agree rivers would make a great addition to the Trade rules, especially early on when youve not got the time and defences for a big road.
I'm sure rivers will work, otherwise how do you get trade across them before bridge building?
I'd like to see something like London which is on the coast and a river to transport goods down river and from the harbour to overseas.. to the (old) british empire in india for example.

I hope all this will help to make civs defend their borders properly, with lines of units on frontlines next to the Territory border line and around the edges to stop pillaging of roads and capturing resource colonies etc.
you'll also need ships to defend coastline traderoutes properly now also
but it would be nice to capture trade items from searoutes as well.. our english fleets captured a lot of spanish galleons laden with gold in the 16th century

[Skanky Burns]

Ralf, i remember you before wishing that exploration would figure into the trade routes, looks like you are right This is definately better than in SMAC, where you didnt even need to know where any foreign cities were.