Question about the trade system

[CapTVK]

I finally got some answers about the trade system. Here's a quote from the manual for you budding economists about the trade mechanics.

A city that’s connected by road to a strategic resource or luxury (one that’s inside your borders or on which you’ve established a colony) has access to that resource.That city can build the units made possible by the strategic resource, or it enjoys the happiness
benefit of that luxury. Here’s the tricky part: any of your cities that are connected to that city are also considered
connected to the resource.The connecting road goes through the intervening city after all. (It’s the road that counts, not the city.) The network of roads that snake throughout your empire is the basis of your trade network. Of course, each city can only benefit once from each particular type of strategic resource or luxury, but any extras are available for trading with other civilizations. There’s one big caveat about roads. If you are at war with another civilization, any road that passes through your enemy’s territory (inside his or her borders) can’t be used for
the transfer of resources and luxuries.This is not true of peaceful rivals, only those nations with which you are at war. Portions of your trade network can be disconnected by this effect, so be careful and set up alternate routes if possible.

So if I've got a specific resource it can only be used if the cities are connected by road, right? And how do harbours factor into this, do all the cities connected to this harbour receive the goods?

So let's say I've got a long stretched out territory and discover uranium near a city at the right end of my empire. This means all the cities connected can build nukes. But what happens if my main road is cut right in the center by enemy troops. Half my empire would now be unable to build nukes?

See the attached picture as an example (the brown line represents the main road)

[Adam Smith]

One Obvious Question

Sounds like the road connection algorithm is even more important that in Civ 2.
Anybody know how the algorithm works, or willing to do some tests??
Is it like Civ II, or will any connection do?
I dont have game or manual yet, so if there is something readily available about this, please say so.

[SerapisIV]

Probably not, if you have that extensive a road network, odds are you have quite a few harbors as well. Thus, even though the road is cut, seaborne transportation between the left and right halves of your civ is still viable as far as the trade engine is concerned.

Once two harbors connect the two halves, all the cities connected to the harbored city will get the resource. Consider the harbors sort of like a warp gate or something, barring a physical blockade, there is an instantaneous connection between two cities with harbors

[Hose]

Is there anyway to donate city improvements to other civs... i like to trade with the french, they have quite a lot of luxury resources they don't need... but are on another continent and have no harbors. So i like to give them a harbor for one of they're costal cities.

[CapTVK]

Then the problem I sketched won't be a major issue once you've established a few harbours across your empire. The AI would have to destroy your road network and blockade your major ports. I don't see that happening soon if you've reached that size.


P.S
I have a strange sense of foreboding that it will be almost impossible to cut off the AI from their strategic resources except by taking/razing that specific city. I would have to disable the road network and sabotage all their harbours with spies or bombers.

[BLackraven42]

The answer to your first question is yes, unless one of your cities on both halves had either and airport or harbor, and yes roads are very, ery important.

[Admiral PJ]

Sounds like its easier in some cases to just lay siege to the resource by placing some of your units on it/destroying the colony thats on that resource. Dosen't sound likely you'll be able to cut off their trade route that easily by pillaging roads.. maybe you can use Smart Weapons or spies to bomb harbours out of existence

[Dan Magaha FIRAXIS]

Originally posted by Admiral PJ
Sounds like its easier in some cases to just lay siege to the resource by placing some of your units on it/destroying the colony thats on that resource. Dosen't sound likely you'll be able to cut off their trade route that easily by pillaging roads.. maybe you can use Smart Weapons or spies to bomb harbours out of existence

In my games, pillaging the roads of enemy civs is a way of life. I rarely have enough strong units capable of full-on assaults (go ahead and laugh, culture is my weapon of choice), but there is nothing more fun than pillaging a road that connects a luxury to another civ and watching their city start smoking on the next turn because the citizens are mad they lost their precious silk...

If you're *really* sneaky sometimes you can find and pillage roads that are outside the enemy's borders but that connect resources inside one border to another city. That way it isn't an act of war but they still suffer the consequences...

When I come across enemy colonies I get giddy... they can guard that colony but there's no way they're gonna have soldiers on every section of that road

Dan

[Travathian]

Why don't some civs make it a point to connect all of their cities with roads? A nearby civ had 3 sources of silk right next to each other, built a city next to it, but never connected it to the rest of his empire. Plus, almost a third of the computers cities were unconnected, and remained so for long long periods of time. Then again, another civ had a road system almost equalling my own?!?

Secondly, in the manual it says that harbors on the same sea have a trade connection. Define a sea? Just overgrown lakes, or do oceans count?