I've been following these AI threads with some interest. I would probably follow them with more interest if they didn't automatically turn into complaint threads. Anyway, interesting stuff combined with some ridiculous statements such as "AI is easy", etc.

Programming AI is not easy. Nothing about it is easy. I can't think of one single game that I would consider to have outstanding AI. The path-finding difference between the RTW strategy map and the old Risk-style maps is huge. The difference with Civ-type games is also huge. I assume, in a completely uninformed way, that the Civ games use a shortest-distance-between-two-points method combined with a check of nearby squares for movement point bonuses/penalties. RTW appears (again uninformed) to use the same basic principal with the added headache of impassable terrain, ford points at rivers, etc. I would imagine that right now there is a guy at CA cussing at his keyboard, throwing things at his monitor, trying to work out just how to get the strategy map path-finding just right. I would also imagine that if you walked in and said "Hey bud, it's easy. Just do it like gamexyz.", that you would not walk out alive. It's one thing to criticize, which is natural and legitimate. It's another thing to assume that it's easy.
Sitting back, coming up with a logical solution to artificial decision making is easy. Actually implementing that solution, taking into account all the variables and factors (some of which have nothing to do with the logic of the solution, such as cpu usage, available animations, budget, schedule) is pretty damned hard.

Since this is in a MTW2 forum, I should say that I am optimistic that the strategy map AI will be much improved in that game, and for me it is a welcome improvement over the old Risk-style maps. The changes to the battles are not so welcome, but, as that has been well-complained about, I don't see the need to add mine here.

As far as the bashing goes. That, I think, is the result of having been spoiled. So RTW didn't have the magic you've come to expect from a TW game. So what? Get over it. It was still quite fun to play (for me anyway). I've got an old hard-drive that I bootstrap into all my computers that has my "magic" games on it. The ones I keep coming back to long after I should have let them go. Right there next to Quake and Alpha Centauri and NWN sits Medieval Total War. I'd say I've got my money's worth from CA. I don't expect every game in the series to make it to that hard-drive, but maybe that's just me.

Man, that was pretty long and rambly and preachy for a noob post, wasn't it? Sorry 'bout that.