Masochistic diffuculty: Starting AI has huge Production?
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As a relatively experienced player, one thing has really got my attention - it has to do with my latest Masochistic game (Gigantic, loose clusters, uncommon habitable planets) with all AI on default alignment and "Incredible" intelligence:
I start the game and notice one thing immediately out of place - Production. Using the little Production wheel as a guide, I see that the AI has HUGE production over mine, usually 2x to 3x mine. This is before a turn has taken place, before anything has happened. Thinking it to be a mis-calculation, I play a few turns, and see that the gap is actually correct - they have a massive production advantage over me.
My question is thus: Do the AIs have a better starting position in the harder difficulty levels? I.e. better home planet facilities, or population, or other benefit? Because, as far as I remember, the AI start with exactly the same as the humans, with one key difference - they know in advance where all the yellow suns are (we lowly humies need to get Stellar Cartography).
Is this still true? Or on these insane difficulty levels do we start in an even worse position? I struggled to win my last game (that wasn't Ctrl-N'ed) that I didn't stuff up at some point.
Cheers
~SDC~
I start the game and notice one thing immediately out of place - Production. Using the little Production wheel as a guide, I see that the AI has HUGE production over mine, usually 2x to 3x mine. This is before a turn has taken place, before anything has happened. Thinking it to be a mis-calculation, I play a few turns, and see that the gap is actually correct - they have a massive production advantage over me.
My question is thus: Do the AIs have a better starting position in the harder difficulty levels? I.e. better home planet facilities, or population, or other benefit? Because, as far as I remember, the AI start with exactly the same as the humans, with one key difference - they know in advance where all the yellow suns are (we lowly humies need to get Stellar Cartography).
Is this still true? Or on these insane difficulty levels do we start in an even worse position? I struggled to win my last game (that wasn't Ctrl-N'ed) that I didn't stuff up at some point.
Cheers
~SDC~
thus don't want to trade; c) ALWAYS have the monopoly over trade goods (like the essential Gravity Accelerators) like 2 YEARS before I even get the tech that ALLOWS them...; d) have a HUGE armada of higher-class ships (Battle Cruisers to my Corvettes) and thus wage war on me, a war I can't even buy off (because there are no techs/trade goods I have that they don't)!