Any AI mods to make it more challenging?

[Alneyan]

Gandalf, do you mean having a program make the appropriate mod given the setup of the game?

I didn't thought of going with average Independents; it should work out quite nicely however, although it looks like the AI can handle its own in sheer expansion. In yet another game with Arcoscephale, Independents 9, some of the best AIs are doing quite well in Orania Nasty Edition, even if I am using a SC (Virtue) for training this time. But then, all nations start up being much tougher than on a usual map, so.

I was wondering if making Pretenders dedicated for the AI would help or not. A benevolent user would create a few series of Pretender files for the AI, featuring reasonable designs, and possibly even beefed up Pretenders. Having a few such files for every nation may help the AI, while still allowing for randomness; that is, as long as the crafty player does not look at the AI Pretenders in advance. Thoughts?