sea trade

[fester]

How do I police my sea routes properly to ensure optimum trade ??? I seem to have very little trade going on compared to my enemies. Do I have to have ships spaced along the dotted trade lines at regular intervals or what?

[a_ver_est]

just build ports and their upgrades

[Ar7]

There can be two reasons why you are getting less trade income.

First, have you gotten trade rights from the factions nearby, I believe if you haven't then you aren't able to trade with them.

Second, what faction are you? Trade income largely depends on the province, there are rich ones, like Athens and much worse ones.

[KiOwA]

Also, check for any bandit gangs on the roads. They tend to bring down trade revenue, so get them off ASAP.

[Didz]

Can you trade with countries you are at war with?

If not that might be another reason you are not getting the revenue.

[Shadow]

I don't think you can trade with countries that you are at war with but you can still trade with countries at war with each other.

[Didz]

I don't think you can trade with countries that you are at war with but you can still trade with countries at war with each other.

I imagine then that rushers must have problem with securing decent revenue from sea trade as they are probably at war with multiple factions at the same time. Personally, I try to limit hostilities to one faction at a time and finish them completely before starting on the next. That seems to result in quite a health trade income.

[Ar7]

Look at it another way, rushers have so many towns early on that they usually trade between their own cities, so being at war with others ain't much of a problem.

[Didz]

Look at it another way, rushers have so many towns early on that they usually trade between their own cities, so being at war with others ain't much of a problem.

I doubt the two are compensatory, by my reckoning there are 49 sea trade ports dotted around the coast of the mediterranean theatre. My Egyptian Empire holds 13 of them and my Roman enemy about 15. That means I am still free to trade with 21 neutral or allied ports in the Mediterranean theatre.

But if I were to rashly attack the Thracians, Corinthians and Spanish in order to exploit some minor weakness, I might seize one or two additional provinces but I could easily lose my ability to trade with all or most of these ports and it would be sometime before I could actually compensate by capturing them all.

[Exodus]

rashly attacking multiple factions would be silly... if u see a neutral settlement making alot of money, take it ...then ask for a cease fire. =P

i usually expand in one direction in the beginning / middle stages so i dont go to war with more than 2 factions at a time.

[Didz]

rashly attacking multiple factions would be silly... if u see a neutral settlement making alot of money, take it ...then ask for a cease fire. =P

Every time I've tried to make peace with an unwanted enemy I've found the conditions they demand are the return of all their former settlements I've captured.

In the case of Macedonia they expected me to hand over all of the Greek City States now under Roman control before they would even consider it. I've yet to come across a faction that will let you grab a city and then make peace.

[Ar7]

I've yet to come across a faction that will let you grab a city and then make peace.

I assume you are playing on either H or VH, since they let you do that on medium

[Didz]

I assume you are playing on either H or VH, since they let you do that on medium

No, don't think so. Perhaps, I've just been unlucky.

[Ar7]

Well to this day I played my campaigns on M, preparing to go hard or very hard, but only once did the enemy ask for it's territory back, usually when I ask for a ceasefire they pay me around 10-20k to stop the war.

[Didz]

Well to this day I played my campaigns on M, preparing to go hard or very hard, but only once did the enemy ask for it's territory back, usually when I ask for a ceasefire they pay me around 10-20k to stop the war.

Weird