Quote Originally Posted by sapi
I've said this before, but I think the major problem with the AI is not a lack of planning but an inability to plan.

A human, while saving to create, say, janissary musketeers, would put off other construction and recruitment tasks in order to raise sufficient money.

The AI always seems to find something to spend its cash on, and thus only lives from turn to turn.
I don't remember where I saw it, but I think there's a slider in the game somewhere that controls the AI's disposition toward spending vs. saving. It defaults to 100% spend. I haven't really played with it much, but it's entirely possible that its default position is what prevents the AI from ever having the cash it would need to make really great buildings or plan for the future. In fact I don't think I've ever heard ANYONE talk about that particular slider... so it should probably be something we try to tinker with extensively ASAP, since it's quite likely in my estimation that it will have a very noticeable impact on AI behavior. Whether that translates into better development and planning, or will just make the AI sit on piles of cash, though, is hard to say without trying it.