Some help with resource trading, please

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Here's the deal: in my first regent-levelgame,in spite of having the biggest empire (probably 30% of the available land), I haven't a drop of oil. No one has oil to trade, but the Aztecs (polite) do have 2 oil sqaures on their land, roaded and ready to go.

Previous questions edited out. Okay, now I know that they needed refining to trade oil, and couldn't trade it until one turn after getting the tech. But they still have none to trade with me (the diplomacy screen says "oil (0)" even though they have those two squaures. I assumed that any resource beyond the first was tradeable; shall I assume they traded the extra to someone else first? Is there any way to check? Or does their own pitiful empire need 2 oil for some reason?

BTW, know the "easy" solution here is to just attack and take their oil, but they're halfway around the world and I haven't got much of a navy (partly because I haven't got oil), so I'd like to resolve this peacefully if I can.

TIA.

[Zayxus]

You wrote:
1 - shall I assume they traded the extra to someone else first? Is there any way to check?
2 - haven't got much of a navy (partly because I haven't got oil),

I would try to find out:
-> which nations have this navy built with oil and also no oil on their land?
-> how can another trade be stopped, to get this traded oil free for trade?

[Mad Bomber]

Rufus:

You dont need oil to build ironclads and galleons so my advice is to get building that navy of yours to a level better than the Aztecs, and take the oil. (of course if you war for a resource you should not care if they have another source or not, one will do)

However if you can find out wich civ they are selling the oil to you may cut it off by getting the Aztecs to declare war on that Civ. Then contact them to see what their price is (this is a very costly option, only useful if you really do not want a war with the Aztecs.)

[Datajack Franit]

Otherwise build a ship, send some units in the Aztec territory and raze their road tiles- AI is dumb so it will take them ages to get that oil back. Before they'll be able to strike back at least one of those oil will respawn somewhere else

[Rufus T. Firefly]

The Galleons are on their way. Disrupting Aztec trade turned out to be a bad idea, because they were trading with the French, the other civ on my continent, and the French have a MPP with the English, who have the largest military...

I must say what's interevting about this game, and a way it is superior to Civ2, is the way in which it is able to simulate somewhat more complex positions. Here I am trying to scramble for resources, all the while having to step gingerly around a system of entangling alliances that, if ignored, could ignight a world war. It's 19th century Europe! That's pretty cool.

[fittstim]

Originally posted by Datajack Franit
Otherwise build a ship, send some units in the Aztec territory and raze their road tiles- AI is dumb so it will take them ages to get that oil back. Before they'll be able to strike back at least one of those oil will respawn somewhere else

I'm not sure I understand this response.

If you raze the roads, then the oil won't be being accessed. Unless I'm mistaken, I thought that oil needed to be accessed in order for there to be a chance of it being used up. So if you raze the roads, the chance will be 0% and then the oil will never "respawn" somewhere else.

Correct me if I'm wrong

[Mad Bomber]

Originally posted by fittstim


I'm not sure I understand this response.

If you raze the roads, then the oil won't be being accessed. Unless I'm mistaken, I thought that oil needed to be accessed in order for there to be a chance of it being used up. So if you raze the roads, the chance will be 0% and then the oil will never "respawn" somewhere else.

Correct me if I'm wrong

You asked for it, so here is the scoop. A resource will not disapear if it is NEVER hooked up. Once it is connected it has the chance to respawn. Note though that pillaging a road inside another civ's territory is an act of war, so it still makes the most sense to take it from them by force.

[bongo]

Pillage the road anyway, it will deny the AI that resource and resource-denial is very effective. Even if it's BC and you are denying him iron.

I've destroyed colonies during war-time, does destroying them when at peace provoke a war?(I think it should)

[Mad Bomber]

Originally posted by bongo
I've destroyed colonies during war-time, does destroying them when at peace provoke a war?(I think it should)

If you attack the colony with a military unit then it would be an act of war, but you can wipe out the colony with the use of cultural expansion. The most effective way is to build a city next to the colony. Cultural expansion will wipe out the colony without going to war (unless you ask the unit from the colony to leave your borders)

[bongo]

Originally posted by Mad Bomber


If you attack the colony with a military unit then it would be an act of war, but you can wipe out the colony with the use of cultural expansion. The most effective way is to build a city next to the colony. Cultural expansion will wipe out the colony without going to war (unless you ask the unit from the colony to leave your borders)

Neat trick bulding a city next to a colony is way faster than waiting for your borders to expand. I really don't expect to do it though as colonys are very rare. I've seen like 1 or 2 of them in total.