Levels of Difficulty...?

I remember reading somewhere that said in Civ4 BTS when you pick higher levels of difficulty ie Emperor etc that the AI doesn't recieve bonuses and freebies to make it harder but rather the way the AI plays the game becomes smarter.

Am I correct in this recollection? Because I'm tired of playing Prince/Monarch. Its not that I win games per say but its just that I'm never in a position where I might actually get wiped out thats the problem.

But yes from what I remember it said somewhere that on higher difficulties the AI just gets smarter instead of getting tons of bonuses like in previous versions.

The AI is smarter in general... But it doesn't really get smarter based on difficulty. It always has the same intelligence, it's just that when your position is weaker relative to the CPU's (see: a higher difficulty) it tends to do more aggressively nasty things to you.

But you'll be happy to know that the AI tends to do more "Damnit, I really didn't want that to happen" things to you in BTS than in any prior version.

The AI does get fewer bonuses than before, but it still gets some. The most notable change is that AIs now don't get a free worker on Monarch and Emperor as before, a huge difference.

But no game designer would purposely make his AI dumber on lower difficulties. AIs are not so smart yet that it would be reasonable to waste their 'intelligence'. There's little enough of it as is.

They often seem smarter on higher difficulties, but that's because their bonuses put them in a more favorable position, making them more inclined to make daring, high-reward plays.

AfterShafter said:

The AI is smarter in general... But it doesn't really get smarter based on difficulty. It always has the same intelligence, it's just that when your position is weaker relative to the CPU's (see: a higher difficulty) it tends to do more aggressively nasty things to you.

But you'll be happy to know that the AI tends to do more "Damnit, I really didn't want that to happen" things to you in BTS than in any prior version.

Click to expand...

Aha! I knew it! It IS a conspiracy!

I asked this in the less traveled "general section." But is there any chance anyone could fill me in on just exactly what bonuses the AI gets at each level? Any tutorials or guides which outline this?

Merkinball said:

I asked this in the less traveled "general section." But is there any chance anyone could fill me in on just exactly what bonuses the AI gets at each level? Any tutorials or guides which outline this?

Click to expand...

Download dj_anion's BTS PDF Reference Sheet. It gives a detailed list of AI bonuses at each difficulty at the end.