If I remember correctly, there were only a dozen (or so) planets, and the surface area on each planet wasn’t too large. It was very manageable… but the different levels of abstraction completely hosed the AI.[/quote]
That’s right. About a dozen planets in The Empire and a half dozen or so in various alien marches. You could opt for a randomized start which would mix up the locations of the world and the jumpweb connections though what the worlds were and what was on them (aside from variables like vault cache contents) remained the same.
I think the AI factions biggest problems were that it wouldn’t build higher tech units or new cities to grow their economies. As far as the wargame went it seemed fairly aggressive and deployed units properly if not optimally. It also played the diplomatic game and would move aggressively between worlds. What appeared to be lacking was a killer instinct in dealing with other player factions. It wouldn’t necessarily instigate wars when it should nor would it effectively press an advantage. Of course I haven’t played in quite some time and could be remembering incorrectly.