provinces: trading them is easy.

[lsteve]

I'm playing now a game with the Turks, after I completed a game with Portugal.

In both games I easy recieve provinces from other country's. Especially France is easy in this matter.
As turkey now: the pope called a crusade on Jerusalem and France and England joined it. They never reached it, because I blocked their way. I sent a diplomat to them and for a ceasefire and a few coins, less then 5k I received: Caen and Toulouse.
As the French are backstabbers the went on several wars with me, just ships blockading my ports, and I recieved Angers, Rennes, Dijon. For a total amount off 30K now.
With Venice I made an agreement too: I got Bran, they ceasefire. So my kingdom is divided in 3.
Picture here:

With my Portugal game I got the whole of France for less then 60K, they just didn't learned it. Only Paris I needed to sack. Even got the castles Metz, Bern and the third one in one negotiation.

Whats your experience with this matter?

[Leutnant]

Impressive, but how? Are all your generals chivalric? What about your reputation?

[Wheelchair]

Interesting o.O

Usually I have 5 of 6 parts of my Empire all over the world, But I usually don't buy my settlements, Interesting post though ^^

[High Chunker Greens]

Sweet Im playing as the turks I have all of the middle east, Mongols have arrived but I am owning them with assassins, and the french (grrrrr) are sending lots of armies at constantinople (hello, the crusade finished 10 turns ago...retards lol) I might have to try your tactic.

[Player989random]

As the Danes, in order to help my Russian allies without actually going to war with the Polish I just bought all of their castles for 10k a piece. After that, the Russians had fun time conquering the all milita army.

[sumicus]

I will have to try this.

Besides this, diplomacy in this game really sucks, but I guess that's a very well known fact.

I especially adore enemies that would not sign a peace treaty, no matter what, so you have to destroy them in order to stop them boring you all the time. In reality, they would beg for mercy after you conquer half of their country and win 5-6 battles...

[Old Geezer]

Somewhere I read that, if you give an enemy a small gift of money or map info, (and your rep isn't too bad) that after doing so they will enter into negotiations and you can get settlements for ceasefires. I had that happen once when France gave me Dijon; I think that I had a trustworthy rating at the time.

[lsteve]

The chivalry-aspect off the game doesn't appeal to me. I don't develop my generals to chivalry or dread generals.
In France, when I received Caen and Toulouse, there was no general near. My diplomat recieved Rennes, Angers and Dijon without a general in France.
Lost Rennes and Dijon due to rebellion. Thats why I always ask for castles.

My reputation always drops in the game, while I never backstab other nations. I try to follow my ceasefires, until they break it.
Starting position off Turkey was dubious, dropped to untrustworthy, now I'm back to dubious. Why this is, I don't know.

Now with I traded provinces with Denmark. They joined a crusade, but one turn after they want ceasefire already.


My reply to them was:



For the nice amount of 410 florins I received a nice castle in the north of Europe.


Nine turns later they want to extend our peace, and bargain for trade rights. I asked for an city in return, Hamburg as it is a castle in other games.


They want to much for it:


Some negotiation later I've got them to a third from the original price, wich I accepted.



Now my empire is in four parts, and with a jihad on its way to Rome, , it soon will be 5 parts.

[Leutrim]

I usually wither an empire down, make them vassals but only if they give me all but one city.

[sumicus]

I have to ask you: how do you get your reputation to a decent level?

In any of my games, I never back-stabbed anyone, tried to be non-agressive at the start, but the neighbouring factions always declare war soon.

And after that, if we are in war and I attack them and defeat them, our relations become worse (like abysmal or something else very stupid). Hello! I am in war with these guys, of course our relations are bad. Peace treaties follow wars and they are being agreed by countries which are in very bad relations. So, that's my main negative opinion about the game. Diplomacy really sucks!

They should look to other games like Europa Universalis 3 and try to adopt a diplomacy system more similar to that one (keeping some kind of score during the wars...). That system is not perfect also, but better than this one.

And concerning buying provinces, I tried it yesterday in my game as Byzantine Empire and not one of my opponents would accept, even if I just give them the money, let alone if I ask for a province!

[Viking Prince]

I tried the province acquisition game with the Danes. Turn 40 and 14 settlements and a solid economy. Almost too easy.

I am trying to buy out the HRE one province at a time. It seems to work. At 40 turns HRE is now at 4 (Bologna, Metz, Staufen, and Frankfurt). I had to purchase Brelau, Innsbruch, and Nuremburg. No one has taken Bern?!?

Hungary was giving me problems so I captured Vienna and then traded it without military structures plus some florins to the Poles in exchange for Thorn. Sealed me off from the Hungarians and then I grabbed Bucharest for the ceasefire. This can be trade bait for the future (for what I do not know). It might come back to haunt me, but the Polish trade solved the immediate problem and added another settlement to the Danish lake project.

The Russians have only their capital and Moscow. No trading posibilities with them. I guess I will need to complete the Danish lake the old fashioned way.

[Sargon_of_Akkad]

I do this all the time, currently in the Kingdoms Grand Campaign mod.

I find getting Smyrna off the Byzantines a piece of cake, and it's a fortress in this mod, so a great base of operations for the takeover of the mediterrainian.

I regularly get far-flung territories off the Russians for peace, so I trade them with someone local to get a territory off of them.

It's a very effective tactic, especially if you have just looted 30k out of Constantinople. Buying or bribing territories is a good method of war against an opponent you do not actually want to start a war with, yet.

Not sure why you'd use this method with the Danes though - Scandinavia is not a rich area in the early game. I'd use Venice or Milan probably.

[Viking Prince]

Not sure why you'd use this method with the Danes though - Scandinavia is not a rich area in the early game. I'd use Venice or Milan probably.

Stqarted out as a way to play a short campaign without using my usual stategy for a long campain. Just trying to buy HRE out of existence. The Danes are rich enough locally. Just do not spend on troops and military buildings for Hamburg and ...

[Musthavename]

I have to ask you: how do you get your reputation to a decent level?

As far as i'm aware:

-Executing / Exterminating settlements (not sure about sacking) decreases reputation.
-Starting any war (responding to an attack is fine) lowers reputation
-Backstabbing drastically damages it. However, if you cancel an alliance diplomatically, this also lowers it (damn Pope wanting alliances broken )
-Eliminating a faction lowers reputation
-Occupying / Releasing increases reputation
-For every alliance that you have, you slowly increase reputation.

So if you want a good reputation, don't start any wars, ally with everyone you can (who you don't intend on breaking it with), and occupy every settlement that you do take. Keep in mind if two of your allies go to war and you have to break one, this will not damage your reputation.

For example, in my current Lithuania campaign, as the general im using constantly sacks / exterminates / executes to level up his dread, my reputation is down to Dubious and will probably descend further, despite having 4 alliances and only starting one war.

[Viking Prince]

off topic -- response to reputation question --remember -- also breaking trade rights is also a no-no

edit: back on topic -- This buying and trading and other diplo province activity almost seems like a cheat. Perhaps this should only occur when acquiring a ceasefire. This can maintain a degree of historic accuracy. Yes, there are exceptions. Exceptions should probably not be driving game play though. Any thoughts?

[Ex Tenebris Lux]

okay i play hard/hard all the time and i never ever have this easy a time buying or trading cities/castles or getting the ai to accept ridiculously lopsided peace deals even if they are on the verge of extinction and im offering a 5 years with of gross national product.

[Viking Prince]

okay i play hard/hard all the time and i never ever have this easy a time buying or trading cities/castles or getting the ai to accept ridiculously lopsided peace deals even if they are on the verge of extinction and im offering a 5 years with of gross national product.

I play on VH/VH Retrofit Mod. Nearly all trades are with allies, some with ceasefires. I tend to feed a few florins a turn to the ally. Help in seiging nearby cities. Always, if I take possession of the city, I feed a special lump sum. I try to use my best chivarous generals for conquest.

I try to not negotiate. I figure the best deal that I can afford and offer. If no, I gift a few florins and try again next time. Once the rebel provinces are all taken, I think the trading and purchasing gets harder. Trading is just based on what the AI "knows" from the last sighting. If you have stripped out the military structures, the AI may not know if you have not hit end of turn. Just guessing.

I do not what of this matters, so good luck.

[lsteve]

I guess it has little to do with your reputation-stand. But more with your relationship with the other faction(s).
I did a succesfull jihad on Rome, my reputation stayed at dubious, but no one wants to exchange settlements. I even can't get a ceasefire with my enemies. And they add up now. England, France, Portugal, HRE, Sicily, Hungary, Byzantium. The Mongols want my blood also in Tiblisi. But I defended four sieges very well.

[♔The Lizard King♔]

You also have too remember the problem is, the Garrisons stay French or whatever. You may own the territory, but you still have little french armies all over your land. Thats why I never really bothered with trading provinces lol.

[sumicus]

I have to say that in my opinion there is no way to keep your reputation high during the game, if that plays any role at all!

I am playing the standard mode of the game, at medium or hard, and the AI almost never accepts peace deals, no matter what is the situation on the field. In my latest game, I didn't start any wars but look at the scenario:

Venice attacks me, sends in the troops by land and by sea. I send my fleet to intercept, my fleet destroys theirs and I get a message saying "my relations with Venice are now abysmal"?? Like: if I had let them sack Constantinople, our relations would be good and they would agree to sell me some provinces?

Come on, that's just plain stupid and as I said: Diplomacy sucks in this game, big time!