I've been a big fan of 4x games for some time now and GalCiv 2 is no different. Countless hours exploring and exterminating... fun fun. BUT, the drawback to these games eventually always becomes the AI. At some point, the game is just no longer any kind of challenge. The AI is so predictable that you know what to expect every game.

Now, I understand that there is some work going on right now to improve the AI for 1.12 and look forward to trying it out. I for one am willing to give up several minutes of CPU time between turns to put the spark back into the game. However, I also know that these will be limited modifications.

The common fix to this from a developers point of view seems to be to throw a multiplayer function onto the game. While this might seem like a fix, it is really a poor replacement to the expansively hour sucking single player experience we have all grown to love.

I understand that writing AI code is an art form of CPU economy but my challenge is this: Build an AI that truely challenges and they will come. They will come in droves.

Speaking for myself, I would actually rather pay for a true AI expansion and rebuild then any multiplayer function. Adressing strategy not just from assessing the current situation in the game world, but how to deal with that situation creatively is key. Having multiple AI's in the fullest sense, ie. multiple strategies so you never know who you are playing against.

Most 4x game developers have decided not to truely tackle the AI question. Instead they release more and more expansions that offer graphic inhancments or other bells and whistles that really just amount to window dressing. If you took a poll I would hazard to guess that most 4x gamers leave a game not becuase of the lack of graphics or "new functions" but because of the AI and boredom that it eventually causes.

This is a challenge no 4x developer has truely mastered yet, and the team that does will reap the rewards. You guys at Stardock seem to be a great group of designers. My faith is in you.