Secrets to trading with AI?

[Saxon]

Howdy,

As much as I hate to do it, I have to ask a simple question after playing for a few months.

I have seen some other Posts talking about trading technology with AI players and they make it sound like taking candy from a baby. However, I can’t seem to get the hang of it. I can not figure out what tech my allies have, since we don’t fight, and I can’t trade with my enemies who’s tech I know. When I ask to trade, the AI offers some “unknown tech” and I have no idea if I am getting something new or not.

Can someone let me in on the secret?

Thanks,

The Aspiring World Bank President

[dogscoff]

The first trick is to make them a firm offer - don't let them offer you stuff. Rather than trade tech directly, I prefer to trade ships and then analyse them.

I never research ship/ component techs against the AI now (although I rarely use trade exploits either) I let the AI research all the ship construction, weapons, sensors, shields etc while I work on intelligence, boarding parties and troops. When I start falling behind in tech, I just steal or trade a few ships and catch up.

It's an exploit because the AI won't take the components of a ship into consideration when trading - in other words, the AI thinks his top of the range cruiser loaded with tons of spanky high tech weaponry is a fair trade for your two grubby old DUC destroyers and 5000 organics.

Furthermore, the AI doesn't learn from bad trading experiences, and doesn't care if the ships you are offering are out of supplies in a black hole system on the farthest side of the map.

Try building two useless, empty escorts at the beginning of the game. Offer them to a friendly AI in exchange for a coloniser and he _will_ accept. I don't know exactly how the calculation is performed but I'm fairly sure it's based on tonnage.



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"Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
"I think so Brain but, if you replace the P with an O, my name would be Oinky, wouldn't it?"

[Sinapus]

In my most recent game I managed to gain Ice Planet Colonization by trading with a neutral race and asking for it in exchange for giving them Rock Planet Colonization and 5000 each in resources.

It was almost too easy.

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--
"What do -you- want?" "I'd like to live -just- long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I would look up into your lifeless eyes and wave like this..." *waggle* "...can you and your associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?"

[justjake73]

I once offered 5 techs I was sure the AI did not have with a combined resarch total of some seven to 800,000 points, AND I gave him 10000 min and 50000 each rad and org. I asked for only ice planet colonization.

The response was "you need to work harder in determining what we like."

I"M GIVING 5 TECHS AND 70000 RESOURCES!!!! I ONLY WANT ONE!!!!!


???????????

[Phoenix-D]

They're weird like that. I once offered an AI 200000 resources, no trade, a GIFT..

..and it turned me down.

Phoenix-D

[justjake73]

I guess you have to be at better than "warm" relations to effect a trade....

What level were you at when they refused the gift?