Trade question

[unmerged(104169)]

hiya everyone, only recently got myself Rome after a long break from strategy games... guess I found myself a new addiction

Now I am playing Rome in about 495 or so and am not really far into the game. I have a question about traderoutes.

I built a forum in Apulia and as you probably know this region has access to the sea. It now has two empty trade slots which are both greyed out. The game says that's because there are no available internal traderoutes. Thats ok because all surrounding regions indeed have there slots filled. So I decided on building international traderoutes. I have a relation of about 0 with Carthagian Rebels and clicked 'create traderoute'. They have 2 or 3 provinces with available tradeslots. I selected one with a different tradegood but cannot select Apulia as its tradingpartner. It is blue and wont be selected and I don't understand why.

I have thought about needing a port, but I do have an international traderoute with Massalia. I am not at war with anyone, so there are no enemy fleets that occupy searegions between Apulia and North Africa.

So if someone could explain how this works I'd be very happy, there must be something I am missing

 

[unmerged(103275)]

You must build roads I think!!!

 

[unmerged(104169)]

Are you sure? Because I thought roads only allowed me to trade with landregions not bordering mine... but again, I am new to this game so I am not sure Thanx for the tip.

 

[Kasimal]

I think SoneSky is even more clueless than you. Streets in vanilla only help to transport tradegoods through this province.

My best guess for your problem is, that the province you want to trade with, got grain already. A province can't trade in 2 times the same tradegood.

 

[unmerged(98892)]

I've pretty much given up on trying to create trade routes. If one of the AI countries wants to trade, they will make an offer.

Be careful though. If you plan on becoming a sea power, trading wood to a country that doesn't already have their own supply might be a mistake. Ditto for iron unless you want to face heavy infantry instead of militia.

As Seleucid, I was spammed with offers from Aetolia and Achea to trade for my extra wood in Phoenicia. They were in the path of my expansion, so I didn't open those routes. I rearranged my trade routes to eliminate the open route.

 

[unmerged(104169)]

Thanx for the ideas. I am pretty sure though that the province I want to trade with does not have the same tradegood as I am offering. Besides that, it is not that they do not * want * to trade it's that the game won't let me. Apulia is listed but I cannot select it...

 

[Kasimal]

that means, something makes it impossible to create a traderoute between those two provinces. Happens when at least one province has no coast or when one province already got the tradegood, the other province is offering. Don't know any other reason though.

 

[unmerged(103275)]

I think SoneSky is even more clueless than you. Streets in vanilla only help to transport tradegoods through this province.

My best guess for your problem is, that the province you want to trade with, got grain already. A province can't trade in 2 times the same tradegood.

I said "I think" because I prefer war! Sorry for the wrong tip!

 

[icon41gimp]

I've pretty much given up on trying to create trade routes. If one of the AI countries wants to trade, they will make an offer.

Be careful though. If you plan on becoming a sea power, trading wood to a country that doesn't already have their own supply might be a mistake. Ditto for iron unless you want to face heavy infantry instead of militia.

As Seleucid, I was spammed with offers from Aetolia and Achea to trade for my extra wood in Phoenicia. They were in the path of my expansion, so I didn't open those routes. I rearranged my trade routes to eliminate the open route.

I have the opposite opinion. Trade wood to them and let them waste their gold on building ships that you can massacre. The AI is terrible with its navies.

 

[unmerged(104169)]

Thanx everyone! I'll just explore a bit more. My gamestyle fits Edvardus' suggestions most. I prefer realism over exploiting the AI anytime, but then again thats probably the medievalist in me talking

I somewhere found someone saying that at least one of the two coastal destinations need a port facility. Is that true? Because that could be the case. Maybe Marsillia does have a port and thats why that route works. I know Apullia certainly doesnt have one and I fear the carthagian rebel region hasnt one either.

 

[Kasimal]

one of both countries needs are port, not one of both provinces

 

[Ericus1]

Thanx everyone! I'll just explore a bit more. My gamestyle fits Edvardus' suggestions most. I prefer realism over exploiting the AI anytime, but then again thats probably the medievalist in me talking

I somewhere found someone saying that at least one of the two coastal destinations need a port facility. Is that true? Because that could be the case. Maybe Marsillia does have a port and thats why that route works. I know Apullia certainly doesnt have one and I fear the carthagian rebel region hasnt one either.

Yes, for a coastal province to trade with any other coastal province, one of them must have a harbor building (not a port, having a port simply means being coastal in terms of the game mechanics).

All inland provinces can only trade with immediately neighboring provinces, unless you have a road. An inland province can trade with every province it has a direct, unbroken road connection to, including through foreign roads with an agreement.

What I was disappointed to find out is that you cannot plug your harbors and your road networks together. So if you have two distinct landmasses, say Italy and North Africa, the coastal provinces of the two regions can trade together but the inland provinces cannot. So there is no way to say, get elephants to Rome unless you have a road that runs all the way around.