Hold up, time out, what was this post about?

how technology like the new dual and quad core processors open up a lot of potential for better AI in games without causing noticeable performance hits.

Not really that far off topic. Very similar to the "REALLY Nasty AI!" thread, but without the discussion of the "Wife AI".   

I don't normally post to these discussions (though I do read them with interest), but the AI has been an issue in the two gigantic challenging-level DA beta games I've played so far. Simply put, why doesn't the AI attack more? In both games I was able to expand like crazy and not build any military ships until I had over thirty worlds. By that time, I already knew I could beat the game and it wasn't as much fun to play. I don't like playing at the highest difficulty levels without modding because the AI "cheats" and what I really want is smart AIs, not cheating AIs. I recently played Medievil II: Total War at medium difficulty and the AI recognized when I had failed to adaquately defend a province and attacked. That recognition of vulnerability and ability to exploit it is what makes the game fun. I don't remember CGII being so easy (especially if the Drengin were on my border).

I love to play CGII. I play it more often than any game I currently own, PC or console, so my expectations for DA are pretty high. Do I have to set the difficulty higher to get a more challenging game, or is it possible to make agressive AIs be, well, more aggressive?

Please don't complain about the AI until you're using it at it's full potential, which i believe is the notch right before masochistic. Everything else the AI still makes dumb moves. I know you don't want to give the AI "cheats", but challenging is pretty low on the totem pole

Agreed. Actually I don't think you can even begin to complain until you play the AI at the 125% bonus level. The extra 25% bonus is hardly noticeable and in my opinion makes for a "fair" game.

I'd like to see an in-between of the 25%+ and the 100%+.

AFAIK there were levels added in between these two in v1.31 although I'm not exactly sure what they're called or their exact bonus. The jump from 125% to 200% is a big one. As you say something in-between is helpful.

In my next game I want to try out an entirely different strategy, and I'm probably going to drop the difficulty to help me master it. I think that playing at pretty much any level where the AI isn't intentionally handicapped is as much a matter of choice as it is of ability. Certainly, the higher the AI's level the more concentration, tedium and time the game takes. I can't blame anyone for preferring a shorter, perhaps more carefree, game.

What I meant by "fair" was that at the 125% level the AI does a decent job without having an unreasonable bonus. I know the first time I played that level it was a bit of a shock compared to lower levels and I only won with great difficulty.

By the time the AI for DA comes out i may need to start at normal again.

I do believe you're right here. Pretty much everything will be different. Certainly there will be aspects of play that will be similar, but all strategies will need to adapt. Lowering difficulty is helpful but lowering it too much may just lead to bad habits that need to be unlearned as you then try to raise it back up. All this tinkering can be part of the fun, but that doesn't keep me from complaining about it though.

In Dark Avatar you can play around with the exact resources and aglorithms per player. I.e. 110% economy for the AI for instance (which I think is the fairest level as the AI isn't as good at the human in avoiding tactical resource round-off waste).

Would it be possible to put a global "cheat level" into the game creation menus in the final version of DA? The only way to do this now is to create all custom races. There is no global value (that I saw) that can be set from the menus. I played a maso-level game last night and got my backside handed to me. The AIs played much smarter (good) but I couldn't compete with the economic bonuses they received (bad). Granted, better strategy would help (for you hardcore gamers out there), but what I really look for in a game is a reasonable chance to win but challenging enough to keep my interest. Games like CGII are my way to relieve stress, not create it. LOL.