First: Welcome amalgam40!!
2nd, you bet the program cheats
; this is a deity level game - the AI starts with more units than you, and gets additional units every time it founds a city. On top of this, it gets a bonus (30% I believe at Deity) for research and production: this means that 400 shield Pyramids only costs the AI 280 shields. Wonders will pop up at LESS than minimum time, and you're not likely to build any early wonders unless you get a leader. And it researches much faster, also. If you're not winning at Warlord level, well, Deity is a much, MUCH harder level.The article Denyd mentions is a good one, based on this game. There are many more; reviewing them will improve your game options. You should also think about playing GOTM, and use the Conquest variant which gives you some starting bonuses to assist your early game. As the spoilers come out, I believe the discussions about a game that you're also playing will assist you.
