How to use the Market?

[Thales]

When the game ends 0 A.D. displays the closing statistics. There is a tab for "market", which shows data such as income and barter efficiency as two examples. I noted that my income has been $0 and my barter efficiency if very low at 18%. The AI had substantial income and a high barter efficiency rate. I ran across a Reddit which stated that you need to build two markets and trade between them. (As in next to each other?)  Is that correct?

Since I'm playing "single player" against the AI, I was curious as how trade worked, since it would seem to require a "third" player?

Edited September 15, 2021 by Thales

[Gurken Khan]

You need two markets to trade; the further apart, the more profitable. Select one market, right-click on another market (or dock, own or allied) and produce traders to work the route.

Prices for bartering change over the course of the game. The more one resource is sold, the less it is worth; likewise the more one resource is bought, the higher value it gains. Not trading one resource for a while will 'normalize' its prize (~82).

Techs and civ bonuses also have an influence on the prizes.

[alre]

in practice you were buying too much of the same resources. try to gather them instead. you can buy some resources if you have a more or less urgent need, but you need a balanced economy, and try to gather everything you need. be aware of what kind of resources you are going to need in each phase, and plan your economy accordingly.

[Gurken Khan]

Yeah, what @alre said.

P1: first wood, then food (in a balance, so you can afford to build the necessary structures and units, research the gathering techs).

P2: first I 'industrialize' wood & food, then go for stone (to get the gathering techs & p2 structures) and then metal.

[Player of 0AD]

1 hour ago, Thales said:

When the game ends o A.D. displays the closing statistics. There is a tab for "market", which shows data such as income and barter efficiency as two examples. I noted that my income has been $0 and my barter efficiency if very low at 18%. The AI had substantial income and a high barter efficiency rate. I ran across a Reddit which stated that you need to build two markets and trade between them. (As in next to each other?)  Is that correct?

 

Note that bartering and trading are 2 totally different things which have nothing to do with each other except for that you need a market. For bartering, you just need one market, that's it.

1 hour ago, Thales said:

 

Since I'm playing "single player" against the AI, I was curious as how trade worked, since it would seem to require a "third" player?

You don't really need a third player for trading. However, if you trade with an ally and not with yourself you will receive a small "international bonus". Notice that trading is not really trading but just resource generation.

Also notice that trading is not always necessary, gathering and bartering is usually much more efficient.

[rollieoo]

In the late game, when resources are depleted (usually metal and stone), trading can be very useful if not essential.

[Thales]

1 hour ago, Player of 0AD said:

Note that bartering and trading are 2 totally different things which have nothing to do with each other except for that you need a market. For bartering, you just need one market, that's it.

You don't really need a third player for trading. However, if you trade with an ally and not with yourself you will receive a small "international bonus". Notice that trading is not really trading but just resource generation.

Also notice that trading is not always necessary, gathering and bartering is usually much more efficient.

I understand what you are saying, but why is it that the AI has more income and is more efficient at bartering?

"You don't really need a third player for trading." I was just hypothesizing, there are only two players, myself and the AI.

1 hour ago, Gurken Khan said:

P1: first wood, then food (in a balance, so you can afford to build the necessary structures and units, research the gathering techs).

P2: first I 'industrialize' wood & food, then go for stone (to get the gathering techs & p2 structures) and then metal.

Thanks for those suggestions. When the games starts, I was going for all three in a balanced approach. I will revise to focus on wood/food. The wood/stone/metal.

 

Technically, any second market that I would build is in the middle of nowhere. No surrounding village. I guess, the markets trade with phantom entities?

Edited September 15, 2021 by Thales

[Gurken Khan]

7 minutes ago, Thales said:

why is it that the AI has more income and is more efficient at bartering?

If you're not trading at all, any player that is will have a higher income.

If the AI is bartering less, or won't go below certain thresholds, then it's more likely to have a better bartering rate than a player who blindly barters whatever amounts of whatever... If, for example, you need metal and can barter any other resource for it, it may be worth comparing the rates and/or switching the resource. Trade one batch of food and the rate will go down, switch to selling wood, the rate might be better...

[rollieoo]

18 minutes ago, Thales said:

Technically, any second market that I would build is in the middle of nowhere. No surrounding village. I guess, the markets trade with phantom entities?

A second market is best built around a second CC. That gives you more travel distance and thus more profit.

[Gurken Khan]

1 hour ago, rollieoo said:

A second market is best built around a second CC. That gives you more travel distance and thus more profit.

Depending on the map and circumstances a dock (or two docks) might be the better choice: you don't have to own the territory to build a dock, thus you can maximize the distance.

@Thales Also note that you can set what resources your traders are carrying. And truthfully, depending on the circumstances, trade might even not be worth the effort; especially with a25 usually resulting in shorter games. You might put ~2000 res in (buildings, traders, techs) and only get ~1000 out...

 

[davidsrsb]

In A25 the AI still generates high numbers of traders shuttling between two markets, this seems to be the main way it gathers resources

[Player of 0AD]

11 hours ago, Thales said:

I understand what you are saying, but why is it that the AI has more income and is more efficient at bartering?

 

The AI likes it very much to invest heavily into trading, that's why its likely having more trade income than a human player.

What it doesnt seem to like is bartering high amounts for low amounts, rather low amounts for high amounts.

[Freagarach]

54 minutes ago, Player of 0AD said:

What it doesnt seem to like is bartering high amounts for low amounts, rather low amounts for high amounts.

She will also barter excess resources for scarce ones, to drive up the price. Just so you know. ;)