New Player with Quesitons

I am not a avid player due to lack of time but I think that a lot of mods have a better AI than the stock game.

I have played with the so called Balance Mod and it seems ok. ( However I have it on dumb as dirt as I am still fiddling with the game mechanics). Give it a try.

I think that the balnace mod is popular and it does not change the game radically.
There may be better mods out there concerning the AI. (Some change ONLY the AI).

Have fun and best wishes for the coming new year

The two big ones that really have a decent AI: Kwok's Balance Mod and the unnamed mod (author by the same name).

BM as its known, is a good 'repair' of the stock game. Unnamed's mod has a really good AI for attack and defense (he is also working on the politic engine as well).

The one thing that would make the Balance Mod AI really competitive is put in a diminished returns formula for research and intelligence. If the humans couldn't so easily vastly out research and espionage the AI, then... well, I'd probably lose.

But yes, the AI puts up a half decent fight with the two most popular Mods with AI.

I've played both Unnamed mod and the Balance mod, and they both have very good A.I.

The Unnamed Mod is almost all A.I. improvements, and keeps the stock game ...stock. I really like this mod the best so far. The balance mod has a great A.I., a real challenge for me, but many changes were made to the stock game itself for more balance and more of a challenge, which i'm not too crazy about, but only becuase i'm still learning the stock game and am not ready to take on the major changes that were made. All in all, with these mods available you can not go wrong with the A.I. by installing the mods. But if you just stay with the stock game when you get it, you will probobly be upset that dirt, is probobly much smarter than the stock A.I. LOL. just my opinion, good hunting and kill well.

There are some awesome mods out with vastly improved AI, get the full game you will love it.

The balance mod has a good AI. My only complaint (a small one) is that the tech progression is too limited for me. Can I get a balance mod AI with a stock tech progression?

That's what Unnamed AI Mod is, with some tweaks.

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The game is constantly evolving as Mods are updated more and more. The AI will get better with time as more coding tools (read: functions) become available. Having said that, it's already at a respectable level provided you give it the AI bonus (multipliers to construction rate and point generation). There are 3 things you can do if you really really want the AI to be hardcore:

1) Play in Team Mode. All the AI will gang up on you.
2) Customise just how big the AI bonus is. Why not x100 for insanity's sake?
3) Leave Intel on as you do step 1 and maybe 2. The AI of Balance Mod could do with better attack algorithms but it damn well knows how to make it hell for you to attack it. Give it Intel as well and see how you scrape together something to throw at its defences.

Also, there can be more mods born in the future and present ones which become more well-known. GidMod I hear, has made quite some AI advances too.

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Playing Touhou games (Go to this Wiki if interested. No, nobody else is that good/insane as that replay).