AI's achilles heel

[The diplomat]

In your opinion, what's the greatest weakness of the AI?

I have been playing several arena style 1v1 games. I noticed that the AI will protect the core cities in the center of the map with forts and towers and such, but newly founded cities far from the capital are often left undefended.

For example, when I found a new city, I always build a fort and a tower right after completely the town center. Towards the middle to late game, when the AI founds a new city far from the capital, the city has the town center, a farm and an empty university, and that is it. The city is completely defenseless.

It seems to me that this is the AI's achilles heel because it leaves the AI wide open to an outflanking maneuver.

thoughts?

[Solver]

I would still believe it's the AI being relatively unable to handle a rush. At Moderate, rushing can win you the game every time, pretty much.

If you wait till the AI gets solid, though, it's very hard to beat.

[Metaliturtle]

Does the AI do this regardless of difficulty level? The reason I ask is because it would make the game infinitely easier if a posse of whatever random troops could just go raid border towns. On tough and above, an advantage of 1 city could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

[The diplomat]

Originally posted by Metaliturtle
Does the AI do this regardless of difficulty level? The reason I ask is because it would make the game infinitely easier if a posse of whatever random troops could just go raid border towns. On tough and above, an advantage of 1 city could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

I play at moderate level. So, I don't know if my observation holds for higher levels.

[Solver]

Diplomat, your obersvation might change even through the ages. On Moderate and above, actually, the AI will get decent defenses later, if you let it. Of course, you shouldn't, but that's for another story. Point is, the AI does really defend quite well later in the game, unless too bothered to set the defenses up.

[Pulse79]

I play on moderate and my first game it got down to me and the japanese and they were huge and they had most of the wonders so I figured I was out of it. Anyway I built the space program and it revealed the entire map so I could carefully plan my attack. First thing I did was attack by air sending aircraft carriers, bombers and cruise missiles into well placed targets. I had 3 major attack forces...1 at the bottom, 1 in the middle and 1 at the top. I sent the bottom in first and all their units started heading to that town and so when they got close to it I sent in the troops from the top and much to my surprise roughly half of the japanese troops turned back up to confront the other army so then I sent the 3rd army in the middle which was my most powerful right through the middle without a fight. Once I made it completely through I sent half of the troops up and half of them down and met the other two armies.

So I'm thinking that the AI doesn't handle three attacking armies very well.