The economy is certainly worth building up! I hope I didn’t say that it wasn’t. The trouble is that the resources (money) are not available to do it in a timely manner and the cost beyond the third level is so high as to present a problem for the player and far beyond what the AI can spend.

The AI has war as a priority. Troops are required for that, any troops, so it builds what is cheapest to recruit and maintain.

I have taken regions where it had not been developed from its at start position and any new towns or ports were still undeveloped. Taxes seem to be set so that most of its troops are required just for garrisons. Few will develop towns until captured. Some regions will actually reverse their previous developments when they rebel. In a couple of regions schools and other development disappear and are replace by other building when captured.

This was most certainly not the case pre-patch. The AI did build massive armies of cheap troops of low quality for the most part but it was able to handle the economy also.

As to the AI being unable to play the game, it does not do the best of jobs. But again it is the programmed priorities that I would blame.

It needs a broader set of instructions and a better sense of what the troops do. You would hope that it could flourish rather than stagnate and give a feel of competent competition with the player and not a fumbling pawn to be exterminated.

The AI factions should be the challenge, not the game mechanics throwing random events and declarations of war at the player. Not monetary constraints, or game cheats that harass the player or cost more time and money.

There is no strategy in randomness. No negotiations the computer god. No way to proactively anticipate where to go. It is all reaction and damage control.

There should be some things the player can have a positive effect on other than who dies next.