I`ve put about 2 weeks and over 200 hours in 10+ game starts into the Game so far playing on large-medium Maps and a medium number of AI players at medium difficult level and am really sick of the screwy AI at this point.
In my Last start, at mid game with about 25 hours into it, a major AI race who was in a Trade-Research Alliance with me with a "Brotherly" attitude turned on me in one turn, with NO prior warning, and attacked and wiped out my forward undefended systems with huge 20+ ship Fleets with the most advance Weapons available.
Natually my Fleets were on the other end of the Map facing the Race who always hated me ...
.
This flippy AI stuff goes on all the time and it really kills the Game since the AI knows where your weak and have no fleets and _always_ seems to research much faster.
Of course it`s forward undeveloped planets have about 5 bases with weapons doing 260 damage each to range 8 so thats 5 heavy mount weapons X 5 = 6500 damage per turn. Good luck taking them out.
Game over....25 hours wasted AGAIN
As an old SE III, player at least in that Version there was some consistency to the AI Races behavior and attitudes toward the human player and they wouldn`t flip so fast, so often, for no discernable reasons.
Very disappointing to waste so much time.
Extremely Frustrating AI Races
Threaded Mode