Quote Originally Posted by Martok View Post
I'm glad that at least the military and diplomatic AI is no longer being programmed separately like they were in the first four games, but it's still no guarantee that it will actually make smart strategic decisions. Even in MTW, few things irritated me more that having my 1-province ally backstab my 30-province empire (that it had no chance of beating).

I'm cautiously optimistic, but there's really no way to know what the AI's like until the game is released.
Good example with MTW, yes that was a pain in the butt. I am no expert in the time period but there are a couple of gems here that almost require a robust alliance system. The war of spanish succession, The american revolution, Russian Turkish wars and then the numerous ins and outs of the napoleonic era.

they cant keep the old alliance system in place, it has to be more dynamic, not to mention potential revolutions and whom your allies choose to support. I have no doubt CA will make a superior graphic depiction of battles but the diplomatic AI is the potential hidden jewel of this title.