Something Paul said during the 9/4 stream has really stuck in my craw. I know Paul isn't an expert on AI, so there might be some misunderstanding, but Paul said that if they had the AI govern the planets at optimal efficiency using the planetary wheel, it would be so good at it that it would seem like it was cheating.
Isn't this exactly what players want when it comes to AI at higher difficulties?
I am no expert in game AI, but it seems to me if you have an AI that can play the game so well while following the same rules as a human player that it appears to be cheating, is't that exactly what players have been begging for since game AI existed? Isn't that like the holy grail of AI? If you could have made the AI that good at managing the economy and elected not to, I find that infuriating. What most players want is an AI that is impossible difficulty without any cheats, then is programmed to run at less than maximum efficiency to bring it down to normal difficulty. Paul seemed to imply that the AI was potentially so good at individual planet management was a reason to not have planetary management. Instead, it seems to me to be a massive untapped well of power. SD is getting rid of the planetary wheel, but if you can program the AI to use it properly, why not leave it in for the AI as a way to increase difficulty rather than giving the AI conventional bonuses and cheats?