Mechanics of Trading
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One thing that I think would be an improvement with trading is some form of auto-balancing of trade offers or automated counter-offers. For instance, I want to sell a couple of pieces of technology, and to find a price the AI accepts I have to start high (or low) until I find the point when the text changes from yellow to green (or vice versa). This can be a bit tedious.
It would be good if you could put something on the table (either side) and the computer automatically matches it with what it considers a fair trade. Another way to do it is to display the approximate monetary value put on everything you own and everything the particular AI owns - then you just have to make the numbers match rather than use trial and error.
Some people might say the trial and error thing makes it look more like real bargaining, but it doesn't because you just keep asking until you find the AI's set price.
If you wanted to simulate bargaining, which could be fun, you put a trade on the table and select what you want from the AI in return (as per the game now) BUT if the AI likes it the deal is done. That is, you can't check whether he would have taken a higher price by putting in a slightly higher number - just like real life, you make a bid for something and if the seller accepts then the deal's done (mostly). Similarly, if the bid is too high and the AI doesn't like it, you should be limited to how many revised prices down you can offer. In real life, you couldn't have a negotiation that let you come down in increments of 1c until you found the exact price the seller was willing to pay - you put in an offer, perhaps a revised offer or two, and a deal is done based on your estimate of the seller's walk-away price and whether they are bluffing and trying to talk you up. You could even simulate the bluffing by having the AI say the price was too high, but in fact if you called their bluff, that is hit the "send" button, they might accept.
I think the send button should be the time when you are really saying "this is my final" offer, and the colour change in text is the negotiating period which may or may not accurately represent the AI's true position, but mostly likely does. To prevent abuse of this the same or similar offer can't be presented in the same month, or maybe even longer to show that you meant it really was your final offer (otherwise no one takes you seriously when you negotiate in the future). Perhaps another way is to spend influence points to let you make a counter offer in the same month, which simulates a kind of loss of prestige.
Anyway, my thoughts for what they're worth.
John
It would be good if you could put something on the table (either side) and the computer automatically matches it with what it considers a fair trade. Another way to do it is to display the approximate monetary value put on everything you own and everything the particular AI owns - then you just have to make the numbers match rather than use trial and error.
Some people might say the trial and error thing makes it look more like real bargaining, but it doesn't because you just keep asking until you find the AI's set price.
If you wanted to simulate bargaining, which could be fun, you put a trade on the table and select what you want from the AI in return (as per the game now) BUT if the AI likes it the deal is done. That is, you can't check whether he would have taken a higher price by putting in a slightly higher number - just like real life, you make a bid for something and if the seller accepts then the deal's done (mostly). Similarly, if the bid is too high and the AI doesn't like it, you should be limited to how many revised prices down you can offer. In real life, you couldn't have a negotiation that let you come down in increments of 1c until you found the exact price the seller was willing to pay - you put in an offer, perhaps a revised offer or two, and a deal is done based on your estimate of the seller's walk-away price and whether they are bluffing and trying to talk you up. You could even simulate the bluffing by having the AI say the price was too high, but in fact if you called their bluff, that is hit the "send" button, they might accept.
I think the send button should be the time when you are really saying "this is my final" offer, and the colour change in text is the negotiating period which may or may not accurately represent the AI's true position, but mostly likely does. To prevent abuse of this the same or similar offer can't be presented in the same month, or maybe even longer to show that you meant it really was your final offer (otherwise no one takes you seriously when you negotiate in the future). Perhaps another way is to spend influence points to let you make a counter offer in the same month, which simulates a kind of loss of prestige.
Anyway, my thoughts for what they're worth.
John