Impressions of BNW Leaders

What are your first impressions of the new kids?

I find Pedro to be a respectable but somewhat indecisive man. He's willing to trade resources and accept/give out trade routes but still won't be my friend. After capturing a settler of his and engaging in merely one battle, he sued for peace. It didn't take long at all for him to forgive me and resume our previous trading system. He's too preoccupied trying to boost his tourism and build wonders.

Casimir reminds me of Ramsses; desiring solitude, overseeing the construction of many wonders, not overly active in global politics all the while quietly building a small empire. Despite my hard charging, Buffalo Hide, Horns and Loins spearmen absolutely crushing his nation in two wars he remains somewhat dignified, or delusional, offering a standard peace treaty to horde his +200 gold with his farms burning and my army at Warsaw's gates.

I apologize in advanced for the inevitable spelling and grammar mistakes.

Small sample size? It all depends upon the situation. I've had games where the Aztecs were completely harmless and weak and other, not.

Circumstantial, but Gajah Mada didn't expand inland at all, which is a strange sight to see for an AI. Everybody hates me because I either build wonders too fast or I kill a city state or two. Penalty for warmongering so bad man.

If you know there is a significant penalty for killing city-states and you complain of the consequences of doing so? That makes sense.

I played my first game on emperor just to get the feel of things, and observed the following:

Shaka was against me in my first game, and he used Religion, his UU, and Great General bombs frequently against me and other AI's. They were crazy good.

I also had Venice, and they were still sporting warriors when I attacked them with Crossbows. They built a ton of wonders too so conquering them was a fun bonus.

Dandolo's mannerisms are like Emperor Palpatine's. I half-expected Force Lightning.