And prince is a walk in the park if you have won at emperor. It's supposed to be that way. Do more emperor games, when you get comfortable there you'll find AI's are not as pushover as you thought. I often have to keep warring to keep up with another "superpower" in my games. (last game of mine Mehmed vassalized Mao and was score leader most of the game. I had to bribe other AI's into war with him to wear him down so i could finish him.)
I know all that. I knew it would be easy. I purposely played a "warmup" game. However, as I said just above, I don't see why the AI didn't try something. Even on prince, they should have tried to enhance their powers. Why do lower and mid level games have to be "eventless". I KNOW they will be less challenging. But less challenging doesn't have to mean boring. AI should be causing events.
Even on lower level, it's a race! AIs should play accordingly. I know nothing about programing AI. However, it should be pretty clear for the AI that they won't win space race if another player has a significative tech lead. This should then lead them to try something. To try to catch up with me. An expansion war on a weaker AI is a solution if you have to catch up.
For instance, AI should try to use their UU for expansion. They rarely do it.
BTW, I started a game with Shaka, Montezuma, Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Alexander, Tokugawa and Stalin. I'm Ragnar. With Aggressive leaders option turned on... Still on prince, as I'm experimenting and I still need to re-learn a few things before I move back to monarch. Marathon (maybe more turns increases the probability of more wars)
1100 AD: Two wars between AI were fought. (I expected more than that). All very short. A single city was taken. Alexander took Saint-Petersbourg early on.
Stalin has been the lame duck fever since (He's got three cities, on a large map. None are connected to one another: an easy prey if I ever say one).
Montezuma and Alexander are right next to his cities. Montezuma could control the peninsula if he attacks. It'd be pretty easy to do. Nothing's happening. Oh Sorry! Montezuma decided to join Kublai into a distance war against Tokugawa. No city taken.
Alexander, on the other hand, attacked me and is now regretting it miserably. He could have taken Moscow and he attacked me instead.
for 1000 years: Stalin has had a big red sign which said: "if you want to expand, please take me". Montezuma wastes his troops in a stupid which will benefit nothing to him. And Alexander recklessly attacks the most powerful player in the game (me).
I repeat. Something's wrong with the way AIs handle war.