Elemental Forums
I'm playing my second game.
I've tried diplomacy this time. I traded 1 magic for 1 civilization. The trade went through however I have no idea what it did.
If I trade 20 magic for 20 warfare, what the hell does it do?
Thanks
When you complete any research, you get some "points" in that field. Those points are there as knowledge you have gained, and that you can trade.
There is no benefit stockpiling these points, they give you nothing, they are meant just as "coin" for diplomacy. When you trade these points with some othe faction, you get their knowledge, meaning your own research benefit from them and gets shorter.
I'm not sure how the points are distributed, I think that if you buy points in the field you're actively researching now, it shortens the time of your current research. Instead, if you buy points in fields you're not actively researching, they get randomly assigned to techs. That means I may have the Blacksmithing tech bar half filled after a trade, even if I never researched it, for example.
Trading these points is really beneficial for you, but mind to what faction you give them, they'll get benefits too. You don't want, for example, to give warfare points to a warfare-oriented faction that you suspect may attack you later.
Best way I found is to find a "tech-buddy", make a technology treat with them (so you both gain some % research per turn), and keep trading tech with them everytime you get some points.
Also note you can trade these points for other valuables, if you need them or it fits your playstyle (gold, horses, crystals, metal, etc)
I think the points are like the units of research you get every turn. Each tech has a research cost at that given moment of the game. Your research per turn fills up the bar until it is done. If you get tech points from another faction, you'll see a tech in the corresponding tree fill up a little. Some of the research is done for you.
The problem is that they are distributed randomly. You'll get civ/warfare/magic progress, but you don't know which tech in that tree will be partially completed (if you get enough points, it can fully complete a tech).
Simply trading the full technology a la civ2 would be a lot easier, I guess this adds some unpredictability to the process.
I also wish you got points for taking their cities...
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