trade and relations

[unmerged(2454)]

After hours upon hours of gameplay I seem to see a trend in my ability to keep my merchants in the CoTs. It seems that the better my relations with other nations are, the better my ability to keep the merchants put.

Can anyone confirm this? How does the game decide which merchants are pushed out when you place a merchant in a CoT? Is it the merchant from the nation with the worst relations towards you?

Playing as a defensive and popular pope I have absolutely no problems retaining 5 merchants in all european CoTs. While playing as the first protestant power in Europe, I lose all merchants at once.

Another trend is, that no European States seem to want me to establish monopolies in Europe. I can have 5 merchants in a CoT for years on end, with no merchants being traded away, but as soon as I gain a monopoly in Europe (unless it is in my own CoTs) I lose my monopoly at once due to trade losses.

Outside of Europe this does not hold true. I seem to be able to gain permanent monopolies in all non-european CoTs. The Mughals do tend to get annoyed at some point, but the CB from the tradeban is quite useful. I just hate to take those stability and BB hits from war without a CB.

 

[Carlos Duarte]

I don't know if I can answer but I can give a hint... kicking merchants out of a COT (by your own merchants) lower your relation towards the merchant's home country... so my reasoning is that if you're in bed with a nation, they'll try and keep that good status by NOT kicking any of your merchants out of the COT...

Carlos

 

[unmerged(1302)]

I think it's completely random.

Do the following: send 1-3 merchants to the COT, save the game, exit, open the save file and check that all of your merchants have success = yes. Now go back to the game. Wait a month, and see what happened.
Reload the game and do it again and so on. You'll see that results will differ.
As far as I can tell, success = yes can be one of the following:

a) gain one spot (eg from 3 to 4)
b) displace another merchant
c) if another nation puts a merchant in at the same time, they'll cancel each other out - this is the first thing that is checked.
d) nothing - that's right it can kind of succeed without changing anything.

As for which merchant is being displaced, it's more or less random, but depends on the following:

a) your trade level and trade level of all other nations in the COT;
b) distance from the homeland.

In other words, a merchant from far away and with lower trade level will have a greater chance of being displaced. As far as I can say relationship play only a minor role.

The most disturbing thing though, is that AI merchants with success = no still can dump you from a monopoly setting.

My 2c in.

 

[unmerged(2454)]

Thanks for the replies.

I am still a bit confused. How come I only lose my merchants playing as England after I converted to protestantism?
- It seems as if religion/or relationships does in a mayor way effect your merchants ability to stay in the CoTs.

I may be wrong - and I am sure there is quite a random effect involved - but am I the only one to have experienced this in a game? It seems impossible or at least very hard to maintain a high number of merchants in the catholic CoTs after conversion to protestantism!!!

Could the computeropponents in any way *know* which merchants are traded away - as Carlos implies???
- That would explain the problem without touching the randomness in the game engine...

 

[unmerged(3544)]

losing merchants after conversion

I experienced the same thing. I converted around 1520-1525 and I lost merchants left and right from all the cots. Before that I had no problems placing and having my merchants sit there earning ducats.

It wasn't until after 4-5 years that I managed to get 5 merchants back in Flandres, all the other cots I gave up on. 60 years later I payed back those heathen catholic merchants by controlling 3 cots and kicking their merchants out with 2 ducat merchants. I don't own Flandres, but the London exchange took most of its business so it doesn't matter.

 

[Sindai]

Originally posted by Andersen
I may be wrong - and I am sure there is quite a random effect involved - but am I the only one to have experienced this in a game? It seems impossible or at least very hard to maintain a high number of merchants in the catholic CoTs after conversion to protestantism!!!

Could the computeropponents in any way *know* which merchants are traded away - as Carlos implies???
- That would explain the problem without touching the randomness in the game engine...

D'ya think it's possible that you're simply smarting from the Stability hit of changing religions? Instantly falling to -2 cuts your yearly merchant supply quite a bit.

 

[unmerged(2454)]

Stability losses shouldn't affect my merchants already in the CoTs. Should it??? I think it can only be my poorer relations, due to the religious conversion.

I seem to be loosing more merchants when I play as the mayor BB - rather than the good boy - as well.

I can't seem to find anything in the faq or elsewhere explaining excactly how it works. - But maybe I am not looking hard enough!!!

 

[Bosox]

I've noticed something similar myself. It seemed to me in my last CG as Russia, that when I was at war, my merchants were getting kicked out of COT's at a lot higher rate than when I was at peace. In fact after a peace was made I usually spent the next year or so reestablishing my trade. Anyone else notice this?

 

[Elijah]

As I remember the manual actually says that lowered stability lowers your merchants ability to compete in COTs, in fact its here on page 25 us edition. So yes