Which is the most balanced difficulty to play against AI?

[jcikal]

I intentionally left out some difficulty levels on purpose since they obviously would be either too easy or too difficult/impossible where the AI is either very stupid or cheats a lot. So I've left the Warlord, Noble, Prince, Monarch levels since they seem to be the ones where the AI would play more "intelligently" and cheats less.

 

[Jason Fliegel]

I'm not sure what you're asking.

The AI doesn't cheat on any level. On levels above Noble, it gets extra starting units as well as bonuses to production and science. On levels below Noble, the player gets bonuses to production and science. Noble is, by definition, the most balanced difficulty.

 

[LauriL]

Maybe jcikal ment what is the most balanced level by gameplay, not by definition. And I consider those extras human or computer gets a way of cheating. If the AI was smart in this game, raising level would mean raising the depth of thinking as in computer chess. But then again, I'm not sure you could even compare Civ IV to chess.

 

[Artanis]

If you mean "equal to the player's skill", then there is no answer, as it is literally entirely dependant on each player's skill. If you mean in that it's the AI vs. the Human, with neither one getting freebies and discounts, then Noble is as close to equal as they get.

 

[Gaal Dornik]

hard question. I would consider Noble the most balanced, and it also is the level where AI gets same boni as human. Higher difficulties can be easy or impossible with or w/o cheese. Build settlers out of wood at the beginning and Prince will be easy. Dont use exploits and maybe you will be denied that excellent city place in the last moment. Heck, give yourself 20 Modern Armor with a worldbuilder and deity will be a cakewalk

 

[BCLG100]

noble i would say as neither the human or AI gets any bonuses.

 

[jcikal]

Thanks folks, so far it seems that Noble is the one difficulty to play with. If I'm going to play a 1200 turn game, I want it to be the most fair it can be. With neither the AI or human sides getting an advantage over the other. Not that I wouldn't play any of the other higher difficulties, but for such a long game, I want to feel that I'm playing a game where both sides are getting the same deck, no freebies/bonuses/cheats for either side.

 

[Vikings Diehard]

I'd go with Prince, the AI bonuses are minimal and it makes a big difference in how the AI wages a war and makes it more competitive rather than an annoyance AI wars are at noble.

 

[Swiss Bezerker]

I refuse to vote, because you cant just assume that all humans and games are the same

 

[LauriL]

I refuse to vote, because you cant just assume that all humans and games are the same

Canada, the finland of america? What the heck do you mean by that? Cold, dark and dull? Then what is the USA of Europe?

 

[-( i )- Mayhem]

I wouldn't go for Noble as Humans have the huge unfair advantage of being able to come up with unique strategies depending on the situation. I would go for Prince / Monarch as the balance seems closer there

 

[flytyer]

Prince...AI gets a light advantage but it makes it even since a human can reason and the computer can not.