[Master Belisarius]

quote:

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Originally posted by Lisif Deoral:

Anyway, every time that I want a challenging game against the AI, I like settings like this:

Just out of curiosity, how do you set up a challenging single player game?
My setup is usually like this:

• TDM (latest -& Last- Version for SEIVv1.49)
• (standard, unmodded) large quadrant
• all warp points connected and located anywhere within the system
• standard events (low/catastrophic)
• high technology costs
• low starting resources
• 1 average starting planet
• empires are neither evenly distributed nor allowed to start in the same system
• Low starting tech
• 2000 racial points
• 19 AI empires (loaded from saved race files)
• no neutral empires, and no random empires
• high computer player difficulty
• no computer player bonus (I hate cheating AIs...)
• simultaneous movement (and, obviously, no tactical combat)

The low starting resources and the high tech cost IMO help even the odds. The main (and insuperable) AI flaw is that it can't adapt to the situation. With limited resources it's harder for the human player to use his "special ability", that is, to quickly adapt to new AI strategies. On the other hand, the AI doesn't suffer much for these settings - it blindly follows the same research/production schedule.

Just as an example, in the initial turns of a solo game I was at war with two AIs which used direct fire weapons (Xi'Chung and Sallega, IIRC). I researched CSMs and easily managed to keep them at bay. Then, the Terrans decided to break our treaty, attacked my home system with carriers and forced me to start another game .
Probably in another game I might have had enough time (I spotted the carrier about 2-3 turns before it entered my home system) to research decent point defense and to build PDC ships/sats, but I hadn't enough resources (I did not expand much due to my 2 other hostile neighbours)...

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Everybody have their own preferences, right? But think that the AI without any bonus, usually have problems managing their resources. Also, with so many AI players, my experience say that they have problems to expand their borders.