I think organic trade would be nice in the respect that one couldn't control where trade went, so your city could be trading with an enemy city and it would be a huge boom, as you said, to have acity that intersected (or was close) with many trade routes.  You could add hemispherial or quadrantial (I can't spell) good so that each square (Say the map sectonied into 4) would want some 'luxury' resource that was only found in another square, and of course they'd want all of them if possible (IE the luxury from every 'square'.  ..I probably confused 95% of people, sorry.  Tired.

Maybe let trade posts pop up themselves on top of intersections, so a busy road might have taverns alongisde it or roads will deviate from the shortest route to pass through an oasis in the desert. If the intersections are in your territory you can tax it but if its in neutral territory an independent trade city might appear there with its own army. An easy way to starve this city would be to embargo it and block the roads leading to your enemies territory and the city would disappear on its own due to lack of trade. This would be especially cool if they were in the desert with no agriculture and so survived only as a trade post.

I also hope we'll have ports and ships as well, water mages can send elementals at enemy trade ships or even a Kraken to terroize waters, air mages can send storms etc.

I would also like to see trade routes develop organically.   paths would naturally form by themselves even if you did not build a road for them.  

That being said, Rome built roads for other purposes, and I know in Master of Magic roads are pretty much entirely for troop movement.   So I would say, caravans (assuming they are still in the game) should still try to reach places without without a road to them.  However they are at a serious disadvantage in relation to having a road, or perhaps they don't get that global bonus if thats in.  (There was talk about how everybody would get access to a resource, and caravans would give a bonus.  Perhaps its only cities with trade routes get global access, otherwise they MUST rely on caravans.)  It would make road building a very central part of the game.   Of course, Beta should be out soon, so we'll see whats up.

Goodmorning all,


These neutral cities, would span on fertil land, or litterally live off trade profits, shipping in all thier food?

Just curious.

Logically roads should be VERY important for getting resources not found around those hidden citites though.

Also I think the organic trade route could def be in with the way roads are built. 

I would be all for trading with opponents or allies, like you might do in other games where you barter something you don't want for something they don't want. But instead of instantly getting the resource actually seeing a caravan with the cargo go to the other city. If attacked you could loose those resources.

That would make a barting and trading system part of the game but throw a spin on it, unlike other games like Sins of a Solar wheretrading happen instantly.

I am still not sold on random units coming and leaving my city to trade with other cities though. That just feels too heavy and cumbersome. I mean your cities are producing gold every round, but I don't neccessarily want to know how. I don't want to see farmers farming, or blacksmiths mining ore. I like the simplification of "your city makes you money". So I am not being mean hearted or calling names, but frankly speaking wouldn't see trading as previously outlined as a benefit to the game.

Just my two cents.