[Slick]

Speaking from observation, they will trade if they are getting a good deal as determined by the relative costs of the proposed trade package. There are numerous ways to trick and abuse the AI and after a few times it isn't fun. Some of the modded AI's (See TDM-Modpack) are more challenging overall although I don't think you can affect AI trade decision making. If you read through the history.txt file, you will find a few entries about improving the AI's trade decision making. Here are some tips about guessing what to give and what to ask for:

- Check out the AI ship designs (if you have any) to see what techs they have.
- Giving them a really good deal is more likely to be successful so add up the costs of the trade. Include research, resource, ship kt.
- Colony tech is almost unfair to try to trade for, but you can tell what kind of colony techs the AI has by looking at his colonies (rare exception: he could have captured the planets but unlikely in early game and by late game most empires have all colony techs anyway)
- The more recent your newly researched technology, the more unlikely the AI already has it. You must weigh the benefits of the trade vs. his using it against you later and sooner.
- Even if you don't have any ship designs you can get a feel for some techs by looking at hull sizes and if he has carriers, then he has researched fighters, etc.
- Arguably one of the most valuable things you can get from another race is some of their population if they breathe a different atmosphere than yours. You can then move them to those colonies in your empire and undome them and increase planet population space, cargo space and most importantly facility space. Population can be obtained via trade (and other means) by obtaining a planet or ship likely to have population (pop transport or colony ship). Don't forget about other-breathing population and their natural tendency to get unhappy; use of Urban Pacification Centers or troops is the most common way to address this although there are other ways to increase happiness. See the FAQ.

And welcome to the forums.