I'm a little confused about the difficulty ratings for Empire; I was pleasantly surprised when I got my arse well and truly handed to me on Expert in a 1v1 battle. Does the AI get bonuses on the battlemap on Expert? What about Hard and Normal?

Can't find a single definitive answer on this, oddly enough.

If there are bonuses involved what is a neutral setting for both me and the AI? Normal? Hard?

Cheers.