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Ok, so after reading all the threads on corruption, and whether the AI suffers from it, and whether they're getting unfair production or settler bonuses, I did some (ok, lots) of experimenting.
Myth: The AI doesn't suffer corruption.
Fact: They not only suffer it, the fact that they are slow on improvement building means they tend not to have courthouses, and they suffer more than you.
In many many save and reloads over a period of about 10 turns, (the reloads because I was short on gold to investigate AI cities) I've found that they lose the same production/commerce to corruption you do. You can see this in investigating a city, for example in one Persian city, they were losing 6/11 production to corruption. Consecutive investigates over several turns show that they clearly were NOT getting any more than the 5 shields towards their projects that they should, so it's not just there to make you happy. It affects them.
Myth: The AI gets unfair production bonuses.
Fact: Nope. The only bonuses they get are the increased/decreased 'costs' for difficulty level. On Warlord, they get a 20% (2 row) penalty, meaning for example, a 30 shield horseman costs them 36, and a 60 shield temple costs 72. Regent is straight up. Monarch they get 10% off. (I think, I didn't have an advanced game on Monarch, as I prefer Regent, so it was a quick check)
They only get the number of shields you would expect per turn, and the few times I saw a surprising project finish, the AI treasury dropped appropriately. They rush buy. Dunno if they force labour under Despotism, but I can't see why not.
Myth: The AI doesn't lose population points for settlers and workers.
Fact: Wrong again. I saw two cases where the AI had completed production on a settler in a size 2 city, but the settler was delayed until size 3, then the city shrunk appropriately. Never saw a delayed worker, but they did shrink the pop.
So far, it seems like the AI doesn't cheat. The one thing I'd love to find a way to confirm, is if they have to PAY for all those units. In one of the games I checked, (Early middle ages), the persians had 2 cities/8 towns under Monarchy. This allows for (2x4)+(8x2) or 24 units supported. I know they had 16 units just as garrisons, and I could see at least 6 workers. I KNOW they had more, plus military units, and most of those cities were churning out horsemen or immortals. The AI only had a tax rate of 30 or 40%, with the rest to science (you can tell by seeing how the commerce divvies up in the city screen), so I'm unsure if they should have the money they do. Without a global sort of spy, I can't tell.
Myth: The AI doesn't suffer corruption.
Fact: They not only suffer it, the fact that they are slow on improvement building means they tend not to have courthouses, and they suffer more than you.
In many many save and reloads over a period of about 10 turns, (the reloads because I was short on gold to investigate AI cities) I've found that they lose the same production/commerce to corruption you do. You can see this in investigating a city, for example in one Persian city, they were losing 6/11 production to corruption. Consecutive investigates over several turns show that they clearly were NOT getting any more than the 5 shields towards their projects that they should, so it's not just there to make you happy. It affects them.
Myth: The AI gets unfair production bonuses.
Fact: Nope. The only bonuses they get are the increased/decreased 'costs' for difficulty level. On Warlord, they get a 20% (2 row) penalty, meaning for example, a 30 shield horseman costs them 36, and a 60 shield temple costs 72. Regent is straight up. Monarch they get 10% off. (I think, I didn't have an advanced game on Monarch, as I prefer Regent, so it was a quick check)
They only get the number of shields you would expect per turn, and the few times I saw a surprising project finish, the AI treasury dropped appropriately. They rush buy. Dunno if they force labour under Despotism, but I can't see why not.
Myth: The AI doesn't lose population points for settlers and workers.
Fact: Wrong again. I saw two cases where the AI had completed production on a settler in a size 2 city, but the settler was delayed until size 3, then the city shrunk appropriately. Never saw a delayed worker, but they did shrink the pop.
So far, it seems like the AI doesn't cheat. The one thing I'd love to find a way to confirm, is if they have to PAY for all those units. In one of the games I checked, (Early middle ages), the persians had 2 cities/8 towns under Monarchy. This allows for (2x4)+(8x2) or 24 units supported. I know they had 16 units just as garrisons, and I could see at least 6 workers. I KNOW they had more, plus military units, and most of those cities were churning out horsemen or immortals. The AI only had a tax rate of 30 or 40%, with the rest to science (you can tell by seeing how the commerce divvies up in the city screen), so I'm unsure if they should have the money they do. Without a global sort of spy, I can't tell.
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