Difficulty vs. AI Intelligence

from GalCiv2 Forums
Hi folks,

Sorry if this has been asked before, but forum search doesn't seem to be working and I didn't see it anywhere. There's a very clear breakdown of AI intelligence levels in the manual (thanks for that, Stardock) but I note that there are more difficulty levels than there are AI intelligences. What, then, is the difference between difficulty levels that leave the AI intelligence the same?

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Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Difficulty levels are a combination of the AI's level and economy advantages/disadvantages.

Fool : No adapting AI, 90 % economic penalty
Beginner : No adapting AI, 75 % economic penalty
Sub Normal : No adapting AI, 50 % economic penalty
Normal : AI evaluates common tactics, 25 % economic penalty
Bright : AI evaluates most tactics
Intelligent : Full AI
Genious : Full AI, 25 % economic bonus
Incredible : Full AI, 100 % economic bonus

Im not sure if this an official list, I copied the first list I saw in a search and wasnt to picky about it
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Those are the civilization "intelligence levels" as listed in the manual,yeah.
But there are more difficulty levels than that. What I want to know is what these mean:

* Cakewalk
* Easy
* Simple
* Beginner
* Normal
* Challenging
* Tough
* Painful
* Crippling
* Masochistic
* Obscene
* Suicidal

The last three, for example, all correspond to "incredible" intelligence, so what's the difference between them?
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I jumped from Tough straight to Suicidal, so I don't know what Obscene and Masochistic is like. However, the AIs don't seem to be using noticeably different tactics from Intelligent to Incredible... so... My guess would be a difference in the bonuses they get (maybe even additional/improved racial abilities via extra points).
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
An answer to this would be really nice since Stardock made all this effort to create an AI that doesn't cheat and is intednded to behave like a human. I really like the idea of the AI playing by the same rules as the player!
An explanation of the difficulty levels would be great!
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
From the Wiki:
Cakewalk - Fool AI
Easy - A mix between Fool and Beginner AI
Simple - Beginner AI
Beginner - Sub-Normal AI
Normal - Normal AI
Challenging - Bright AI
Tough - Intelligent AI
Painful - Gifted AI
Crippling - Genius AI
Masochistic - Incredible AI
Obscene - ?
Suicidal - ?

Play tough if you want the AI at its best without cheating. It still doesn't play that well, but patches are slowly making it a little bit better. For now though, play at least at Masochistic or higher to keep it interesting.