Trade routes

[Gl]

Trying to establish trade with as many empire factions as possible, but some countries show the message "cannot trade - a route to the capital cannot be established" Is this a geographical issue from roads or a political issue in that they are neutral and not friendly?

[Jerroser]

Its really both, there must be a road (or port) link between your capital and that of the faction you're trading with. It cannot pass through the land of a 3rd faction and if its with a faction you have no land connection with, then both of you need to have access to a port connected to your capitals.

[SamtheCossack]

For land trade routes you need share a land border with them, the land border you share has to be connected to your capitol through roads or ports. Realistically this means you won't have to many available trade partners over land. However every port is automatically connected to every other port for trade, so if you control a port that is linked to your capitol, then you can trade all over the map. So if you want to maximize trade income, send out heroes to establish diplomatic contact with as many friendly factions as possible, and start sea trade routes with them all. Obviously you have to own a port first, and Riekland doesn't start with one. So grab Marienburg (You should anyway)

[Ysthrall]

If it's a physical issue, they CAN'T trade.... they need either a road/land route from their capital to yours, or a port to ship things through.

If it's a political issue, they WON'T trade.

On the diplomacy screen, if that trading scroll symbol is crossed out, they CAN'T trade (landlocked away from you).

Note this means that, playing as Reikland, some adjacent powers can't trade with you (Karak Ziflin, for instance, only has trade routes facing west, into Brettonia. And some won't trade with you (Norsca has ports! You have a port! But they'll only send you boatloads of angry vikings...).

And some are vulnerable to events. If Courrone loses it's little port town to the west, while Marienburg still bars a land route, they can't get a route from their capital to yours....

Note also that if your one port/main trade route gets besieged, you'll have Trouble. I had this with a dwarf campaign as the High King.... Barak Varr port was mine, international trade opened up.... Barak Varr was besieged, all that trade revenue vanished until I freed it.

(SamtheCossack, Altdorf is a port, Reikland starts with one....)

[BIG E.]

Lol that is like only mechanic i will never understand with TW games. Like sometimes we have borders but we still cannot trade.

[Gl]

Well excuse me for assuming I could move trade goods through allies territory that isn't immediately adjacent

[Jerroser]

Originally posted by Gleck:

Well excuse me for assuming I could move trade goods through allies territory that isn't immediately adjacent

I'm pretty sure that in earlier TW games you could, past Empire they changed it so that it had to be directly be tween capitals rather than being city to city.