Rate the SP AI...

[HotNifeThruButr]

I forgot to add, suppose I wanted to play a theme, like Diabolical Faith, then what?

[Wauthan]

Then take air or watermagic to create scubagear. Or a lot of watermagic to launch an immediate water expansion so you can stock up on Tritons quickly.

[HotNifeThruButr]

What scuba gear items are there? How much do they cost? Path requirements? Their effects?

I thought that scuba gear items usually comes pretty late in a game with very difficult research.

[Jondifool]

I find it difficult to rate the AI without discussing the purpose of it.

As a standalone single player experience its one rating.

As a prelude to MP its certainly another.

I also find that even when we talk about a better AI we might not talk about the same.
there is alot differense in wanting it to presure you more in the begining, be cheating, using different strategies or even be more MP like.

[Wauthan]

First scuba gear appears at construction 2. Shamblers Skin (1w) and amulet of breathing (1a) One man gear but enough to send a group of competent commanders into the deep. At construction 4 the first group scuba gear appear. At 6 comes the submariners and at 8 the fabled "Orb of Atlantis" that essentially lets you take on water nations as an equal.

See Zens item reference sheet for information. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Illwinter/d2/6.htm

[HotNifeThruButr]

Yeah... more specific, Wauthan?

[Firebreath]

The A.I. is great for learning the game.

Since learning the game takes a long, long time time...well...i'd say the A.I. is fit for its purpose.

Particularly the concept that everyone is bound to declare war on you sooner rather than later, and all together.

One thing that I don't understand though - why do A.I. nations far away from you declare war on you, do a few distance spells (funny how they seem to know exactly where to launch those spells to target your armies even though they're not supposed to know where they are), and then nothing?

The only thing I really dislike is when they cast that unnatural aging global enchantment really early, and you see all your nice expensive leaders, prophets etc get afflictions and die If only leaders could be immune to global enchantments...