Differences between SEIV and SEV AIs

In SE IV, I had to create "Level 0" facilities to guarantee that the AI would build intelligence centers, planetary shields, climate control facilities, value improvement plants and atmospheric converters. I wouldn't use them myself, since it was more useful to build research centers in those spaces and then scrap them and build what I needed later but it definitely helped the AI. Especially the atmospheric converters.

I'll have to figure out a way to make them available, but lower their effectiveness so a human player (me, since I don't play multiplayer) will be better off waiting til they get the actual tech but the AI will at least be able to upgrade the facility and get the full effectiveness later.

Um, no. In my SE IV mod, the level 0 facility the AI would build would have a much lower effectiveness until it got the right tech level, then it would upgrade the facility to the level 1 facility. Level 0 Atmospheric Modification Plants, for example, had a conversion rate of about 500 turns or so, compared to 30 for the level 1 plant. Level 0 Intelligence Centers did maybe 50 pts of intel, which was enough to run a few Level 1 defense projects (the only intel project available w/o intelligence tech in SE IV) for awhile.

What I would do for my race is simply build research centers until I got the appropriate tech and then scrap the research centers and start building the appropriate facility. I'm not very good at coding and SE IV did not really have that ability to script things very well.