Trade Agreements, Blinking Icons, Negative Cash Flow, RTW faq: Here's an Answer!!

A few days ago in another thread some of use were quite puzzled as to what effect if any Trade Agreements have. Well, Captain Fishpants was kind enough to advise the Forum that over at the .com there's a FAQ that gives some answers long open questions.

Here's the link to the FAQ

and here's what it says regarding:

Trade Agreements:

How does trade work?

Trade is established once there are roads present in two adjacent regions, or a port is built near regions which also contain ports. Ports come with a "free" trade fleet that carries the settlements trade goods to anotehr settlement - your merchants will look for the best price each turn. If you don't have any trade agreements your settlements will only trade among themselves. Send your diplomats out to negotiate trade deals with other factions and you increase the number of markets you can sell to, and therefore the chances of making more profit. But remember: all you have to do is create the infrastructure of roads and ports and then improve them. Your merchants will automatically do the rest.

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Blinking Icons:

What do the flashing icons mean on the city details scroll?

These represent effects that are about to disappear in the next turn. It might be that a trade route no longer exists, a building has been demolished, the garrison has left town, or you've just conquered the place. Think about what has changed for the settlement, and you should soon see a connection.

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Negative Cash Flows:

Why do cities earn negative amounts of money?

They aren't 'earning' negative amounts of money. When a settlement is shown with a negative cashflow it's a sign that it is not 'pulling its weight' in your economy. If possible improve its trade income (improve the markets and ports), look at the governor's vices very carefully, or reduce the size of your military forces. Military upkeep is divided between your cities according to their population, so just reducing the settlement garrison won't have a direct impact.

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What are omens?

It was the habit of most Roman generals to consult seers and oracles before battle, even if they didn't believe personally. Men were happier to fight knowing that there were signs that the Gods favoured them in the forthcoming battle. It was even known for some Generals to call off a battle if the liver of a sacrificial goat was particularly troubled!

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What????? Did anybody see any omens in the game?

In pre-battle speeches, Generals often talk about omens. So I imagine some people were just wondering what 'omen' means.

Speaking of omens is it possible to get good ones? Mine are always bad, even when I outnumber and outclass the enemy by a huge margin. It's beginning to get depressing, doom, doom, doom, gloom with a side order of doom.

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Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

Speaking of omens is it possible to get good ones?

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It wasn't described as an omen, but I distinctly remember one general saying something along the lines of "The hare has been gutted and its liver is as clear as day! Today will be a glorious etc. etc."

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Originally Posted by ToranagaSama

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Blinking Icons:

What do the flashing icons mean on the city details scroll?

These represent effects that are about to disappear in the next turn. It might be that a trade route no longer exists, a building has been demolished, the garrison has left town, or you've just conquered the place. Think about what has changed for the settlement, and you should soon see a connection.

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Hmm never thought I would defy CA (~;p) but I'm not really believing this. At least it's not true for all the things on the city details scroll, especially not sea trade. I've tested it a lot (as evidenced by this thread: https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...ighlight=blink).
In my game, in a confined environment I have blinking icons in my city for the same trade routes for a long time. War mixes it up a bit, but if you don't have war with the cities you trade with and have the trade rights (obviously), then it is always all the sea exports minus the least producing one that are blinking.
So if you have trade routes for 300, 400 and 500, a total of 900 should be blinking. The 300 is added to the land trade, and is static.
If you have only 2 trade routes, the total blinking is of the largest one, and the other is static again (with the land trade).

The only use for this is when you upgrade. If you click a new shipwright (upgrade from port) or dockyard (upgrade from shiwright), watch the static icons carefully. If there isn't a difference between the old or new static icons, the upgrade can't make an additional trade route (because you might be at war, or don't have trade rights, or there simply isn't a port near).
If there is a difference, note down the new static icon number (say 800) and substract all the land trade from it (say 500). that total (800-500) is the income you get from the new trade route once the upgrade is finished (thus 300).
This works because the new trade route is always worse then the ones you already have (merchants always search for the best trade routes and use those first).


It's a bit weird that this works like it does, and it seems like the icons for sea exports have been mixed up (blinking icons should be static, part of the static should be grayed out) At any case, the blinking icons (in the trade exports) do NOT disappear next turn. I never had that happen.

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Originally Posted by Dead Moroz

What????? Did anybody see any omens in the game?

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Listen to the opening speech by your general prior to the battle. He will discuss how the omens portend for the coming battle. If the omens are poor, your troops take a morale hit, if the omens are good you get a morale boost.

The unlucky general trait tends to worsen the effects of omens.

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Originally Posted by Turbo

Listen to the opening speech by your general prior to the battle. He will discuss how the omens portend for the coming battle. If the omens are poor, your troops take a morale hit, if the omens are good you get a morale boost.

The unlucky general trait tends to worsen the effects of omens.

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But if I skip pre-battle speech how it will affect the moral of my troops? Will they ignore General's hallucinations too? ~;)

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Originally Posted by foop

It wasn't described as an omen, but I distinctly remember one general saying something along the lines of "The hare has been gutted and its liver is as clear as day! Today will be a glorious etc. etc."

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That would be one of the omens before battle. There are others, and they're not all negative.

Some generals dismiss the omens, btw, as their destiny is "...not ruled by the flight of some damned bird!"

" Mine are always bad, even when I outnumber and outclass the enemy by a huge margin."

Usually my generals outright dismiss the validity of omens, but I had one guy wax positively eloquent about the superbness of some animals liver or other.

Soulflame, thanks for your comments, and the pointer to that thread. Not sure I'm up to comprehending all that, at the moment, but I willlll......

Oh..for want of some documentation.

the thing about the protected never breaking the alliance is not true. in my first game, i was julii and i made the germans a protectorate and they most certainly did attack me whilst i was occupied elsewheres.

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Originally Posted by ToranagaSama

Soulflame, thanks for your comments, and the pointer to that thread. Not sure I'm up to comprehending all that, at the moment, but I willlll......

Oh..for want of some documentation.

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Well, since it is now a confirmed bug that the combined income of the top 2 sea export (if you have a dockyard) or the top 1 (if you have a shipwright) are blinking, it is not really necessary to get it all, since it will probably be better and more understandable after the patch that correct this bug.

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Originally Posted by ToranagaSama

Negative Cash Flows:

Why do cities earn negative amounts of money?

They aren't 'earning' negative amounts of money. When a settlement is shown with a negative cashflow it's a sign that it is not 'pulling its weight' in your economy. If possible improve its trade income (improve the markets and ports), look at the governor's vices very carefully, or reduce the size of your military forces. Military upkeep is divided between your cities according to their population, so just reducing the settlement garrison won't have a direct impact.

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Does anyone find this system to be a little too confusing... personally, all i want to see on each city is a forumla along the lines of:
sum of all income (trade, tax etc) - sum of all city maintainance expenses (including the wages paid to generals/garrison actually IN the city)

It would make much more sense for me as i would get a better idea of how important the city is and when its income is fluctuating.

About omens...

I think the good-bad seem to be tied to the generals themselves (or maybe I'm making this up). One general I have/had often would get good omens... and he was "devout" or something. Another general *might* have had a negative faith trait (name?) and *seemed* to get more bad omens... and was always saying how he had no need for omens and valor is more important than the gods' favor and stuff. However, I am not entirely sure of this, so don't quote me or anything.

Really like the pre-battle speeches. Usually listen to most of them. :charge:

i think the omens just are an indication on battle odds. IE if your units custom costs are higher than the enemy you will get good omen speech, if ur are outnumbered u will get bad omens.

I don't think you get a morale hit for a omen speech. Its just that you get a morale hit for being outnumbered (same for MTW), and happily, omens are based upon superiority in numbers.

I had a general cooped up in a city for 30 years when some rebels popped up. So I took him out to take care of the rebels ........... oh what a speech!!!

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Originally Posted by ToranagaSama

Negative Cash Flows:

Why do cities earn negative amounts of money?

They aren't 'earning' negative amounts of money. When a settlement is shown with a negative cashflow it's a sign that it is not 'pulling its weight' in your economy. If possible improve its trade income (improve the markets and ports), look at the governor's vices very carefully, or reduce the size of your military forces. Military upkeep is divided between your cities according to their population, so just reducing the settlement garrison won't have a direct impact.

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I think they have done it the wrong way. The garrison cost should be divided up according to a towns income, not population. How can a town pay more towards military upkeep than it earns? That doesn't make sense which is why it's confusing people.

Also, it's not an indication that a town isn't pulling it's weight economically. It's just an indication that the town has a much larger population than the average. Or is there something wrong with the tax collection? It doesn't seem to be directly proportional to the population which results in these huuge discrepancies.

Corruption seems to be my biggest income liability though and I have no idea how to fix it.

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Originally Posted by crushinator

Does anyone find this system to be a little too confusing... personally, all i want to see on each city is a forumla along the lines of:
sum of all income (trade, tax etc) - sum of all city maintainance expenses (including the wages paid to generals/garrison actually IN the city)

It would make much more sense for me as i would get a better idea of how important the city is and when its income is fluctuating.

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Yes, I do.

I don't figure how they thought anyone would comprehend it without documentation.

CA/Activition, this is not making the game more accessible to anyone.