How is the AI any better than before??

[Mephisto]

The AI is much better now, much more aggressive and competent.
The AI will surrender to you if you have 300% of their score. Reaching this score is quite difficult for me but then again you might just be better then me...
You seem to be some sort of power player (no harm intended). You did pick gas giants (somewhat unfair as most races use rock/oxygen and gas giants are - well- giants most of the time).
You take medium tech so you can bring up good designs with ECM/ECCM. The AI isn't using this due to a bug. So the AI has to fire against a +60% shift every time, you get a -60% shift all the time. Guess what, you hit every time they never.
And you make the tech very cheap so you can get in tech what you need. The AI has a script to work down and cannot adapt quite like you so again you give yourself an advantage.
You can find the MODs at http://www.shrapnelgames.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi at the very top.