[Erax]

Well I think many (such as myself) might be a bit hesitant to trade or give away that really expensive tech when you know it will eventually be used against you.

And you will use his tech against him. And you will use your tech and his tech against everyone else. As long as the trade is fair, both of you are better off than if you had not traded.

This point is completely independent from whether team wins are allowed or not. Players who trade will have an advantage over those who do not. Players who trade as much as they can will have an advantage over those who trade in a limited way.

Which means everyone should get into an alliance right away, correct ? Yes, however :

- Alliance-type players assume their alliance will hold until everyone else is eliminated. A clever player may turn on his allies (or create an 'alliance within the alliance') when the non-allied players are almost, but not quite, beaten. Ironically, this tactic is often called 'gamey' by alliance-type players.

- Trades are not always fair. If you are receiving less than you give then it might be better not to trade at all, or at least to find another partner.

My opinion is that full cooperation with my partners, in the long run, beats isolationism and/or backstabbing. But that's just IMO.