[Uncle_Joe]

OK, after playing a bit more into it, the AI is definitely still pretty brain-dead lol. I don't think it's anything that can't be fixed, but at this point it's just killing itself.

And honestly there are a few game rules changes that could be implemented that would help while not really hurting the game IMO.

Some suggestions:

1) You should not be able to build in just captured Facilities. It makes it too easy to steam-roller an opponent (human or AI for that matter) since you can attack, take their production site and then immediately dump as many units as you want into it.

2) Units should probably only be able to engage in COMBAT once per turn. Again, the AI is not good at doing multiple attacks in a turn and it also causes steam-roller effects. Mobile units are already incredibly good. They really dont need the added bonus of being able to stomp into multiple battles.

3) The whole 'capturing' nukes/neutron bombs etc and being able to use them immediately on the same turn...I mean...really? That is just beyond cruel. And its even worse for the AI since it never seems to actually USE the damned thing in the first play (but it loves to build them to hand over to you and get nuked by their own weapons!).

Beyond that, the AIs really need to be taught:

1) To mass units. Having 1-3 Infantry isnt worthwhile, but having 10-12 is. Unfortunately I never see the AI massing units. It usually just creates a few more expensive units that die and leave it with nothing.

2) To not walk blindly forward into enemy fire, especially when it has either a range advantage or it is on the defense (meaning that the attacker should have to commit first). This change alone would make the game MUCH harder since the AI might actually KILL something once in a while. If it's not possible to do this, then bite the bullet and change the game so that you fire after you move (even if with a penalty). It does no good to have game rules in place that simply allow simple exploiting of the AI in every battle.

Finally, I would suggest adding in alternate victory conditions so it's possible to 'win' within grinding out every pointless territory. You should be able to configure a win on 'x' percent of the territories and you should definitely win by simply defeating all opponents (NOT every silly neutral in the game).

All in all, this game has a fun and addictive quality to it but even in the patched state, it's just not really worth playing against an AI that is that terrible with game rules that just magnify the weaknesses of the AI. But with a few tweaks to the AI and the rules, this game will be real gem IMO!