Quote Originally Posted by Chirurgeon
The beauty of alternate history is that you are not chained to what actually happened. The AI does not follow history. You said you quit your last campaign because the Pahlava were killed off. That can happen in EB. Its what makes the game fascinating. The AI does not play by your rules which is why it is easier to adapt to the situations that you are presented with. One of the most enjoyable aspects of AARs is not knowing what is going to happen next. One of the most intense and long fought wars I ever did was when I was Rome and had to face the Macedonian Juggernaut that had taken over everything south of the Danube. It was amazing because I had to come up with tactics to beat them without Legionnaires. I think the AI will frustrate your efforts. Not only will you micromanage your own faction but you will have to do that for the other dozen factions as well. Just trying to save you a lot of trouble later on thats all.
It makes the game a lot more interesting for me having to keep an eye on them. Just focusing on your own faction without a view to the balance of power elsewhere quickly turns into a rather boring game of queuing stuff with the occasional battle here and there.

Furthermore, it gives your agents something meaningful to do. Diplomats, spies and assassins are all active parts of keeping the AI factions balanced, rather than just people you occasionally use for yourself.

Plus it stops you rushing out there, which inevitably seems to be involved in people playing "alternate history". It wasn't actually that much trouble in the other game, and I've started earlier this time around.