Is this statement true?

[Sarge85]

I was about to send an email to a friend about moving up in levels - but I'm not sure I'm 100% correct:
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As you move up in levels (noble, prince, monarch, etc...) the AI doesn't play any "better." It will initially tech faster and produce faster, but as far as how to handle a war and "war tactics" - there really isn't a change.
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Am I accurate?

Sarge

 

[IAM]

true, they just get more bonuses.

 

[PieceOfMind]

Yes that is right. As you move up in difficulty the AI is basically given more bonuses, paired with the human player receiving fewer bonuses.

The depth or intelligence of the AI, if you will, is the same at all levels.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Just to mimic - it's true. AI doesn't change coding with difficulty.

HOWEVER, at high levels situations like power distances and tech rate will change to such an extent that the presently-coded AI may behave differently, because outlandish situations can occur.

If shaka builds 40 units on noble and gandhi 15, what happens when you increase both 100%? 80 to 30. And, with the way the AI positions its garrisons vs offensive units, shaka is much more likely to have a stack large enough to blow through gandhi's units. So, on one level you might see a runaway AI, on the other a backwards idiot repeatedly throwing his stack away, with identical coding!

 

[Flying Pig]

According to the hints it does - certainly you never get a D-Day on chieftan.

 

[Iranon]

The AI doesn't change its ways, which means it actually plays worse at high levels since it doesn't use the ridiculously cheap exploits it has availale (like building warriors and upgrading to something beefy almost for free, archer rushing the poor defenceless human for a second capital...).

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TMIT raises an excellent point... which also means some aspects become easier at higher levels. Stuck on a few weak cities with no way to win a war under your own power, but excellent diplomacy? Possibly a death sentence on Monarch and a promising position on Deity - just hide under the skirts of your friendly neighbourhood warmonger and take weakened cities from under their nose.

 

[Sic Transit Zeb]

Wouldn't having better advantages mean that the comp would play better?

 

[Peteyboy]

Curiously, I find there is no obvious difference - yet in the description of the level settings, I think its monarch, which says 'the computer is just plain smarter'
All I do find is that its a little more militant - asks more for tribute etc - which leads more often to wars - but maybe thats just from a smallish game basis. But in terms of intelligence, its no better - I mean it still throws 50 units into a lost fight sometimes

 

[Izmir Stinger]

Wouldn't having better advantages mean that the comp would play better?

A bunch of adults who have never played football will still beat a pee-wee football team. Just cause they are winning doesn't mean they are playing better.

 

[PieceOfMind]

i.e. There's always a point where brute force beats anything.

 

[Supr49er]

I was about to send an email to a friend about moving up in levels - but I'm not sure I'm 100% correct:
=======

As you move up in levels (noble, prince, monarch, etc...) the AI doesn't play any "better." It will initially tech faster and produce faster, but as far as how to handle a war and "war tactics" - there really isn't a change.
======

Am I accurate?

Sarge

Yes, as everyone has stated.
The AI also starts out with more units in the higher difficulty levels.

 

[Antilogic]

Curiously, I find there is no obvious difference - yet in the description of the level settings, I think its monarch, which says 'the computer is just plain smarter'
All I do find is that its a little more militant - asks more for tribute etc - which leads more often to wars - but maybe thats just from a smallish game basis. But in terms of intelligence, its no better - I mean it still throws 50 units into a lost fight sometimes

I think some of the AI behaviors, such as demanding tribute, are a function of your relative power to theirs. Thus, if the AI has production bonuses and thus can outproduce you more easily, then they will have greater power and their "behavior" will change. However, the coding behind the AI decision making is not significantly different from Settler to Diety (or whatever the highest one is--I've never played it).