Also, could anyone comment on the AI of the game? Does it provide a challenge without feeling like they're cheating? Do they act ignorantly? I've still not played GalCiv 2, but I hear its AI is outstanding. Considering Stardock publishes both games, I'd like to hope Fallen Enchantress is held to a high standard when it comes to AI.
The AI for Stardock games is coded by Brad Wardell (aka Frogboy), the owner of the company. It is his passion, and he is rather good at it.
What makes him good in my opinion is that his AI's evolve. What I mean by that is he doesn't just write the AI and walk away. He continues to tweak it as the game changes (and this game is constantly being improved). He listens to gamers critiques on the forum. He takes actual gamer strategies and tries to get the AI emulate them. He holds himself to a pretty high standard.
Where are we on that journey to the perfect (but unattainable) AI? Yes, the AI still does some dumb things, but the game will give you a run for your money even if you pick the settings with no AI bonuses (AI cheating?) (What does that say about the average gamer that Frogboy thinks his AI should be able to compete in that environment?). If you're an experienced 4X strategy player, you can probably win 99 out of 100 times unless you crank up the AI bonuses. However that also depends on how much the human player cheats with saves & reloads. After all, most of us come from the James T. Kirk school of command, we hate to lose.
