[JCrowe]

Tim (Brooks) -

If they are reworking the AI, make sure a little birdie tells them to do something about its "Island Fatality Syndrome".

Any computer player starting off on a small island-ish territory (3-13 territories?) seems to hit a total mental block. AI will not build transports - sea or air - even when it has the funds and available targets are RIGHT NEXT DOOR. Instead, the AI just sits on the island, conquering what it can and then falling into a deep, unrecoverable stasis.

Tonight, I conquered half a "Gigantic" map before I checked nation stats ... and found that while I was wasting neutrals and pushing to the ends of the earth, the other dictators-to-be were pushing pencils and playing with dollies as their futures ran to end. I had the world, and they had ... Australia, or Madagascar, and that was fine enough for them, thank-you-very-much indeed. Frankly, I find myself getting more mileage out of the neutrals - and only then because they have more to shoot at.