Originally posted by madalchemist
Just to write what you all already got, I hate when the AI cheats and I think it shouldn't be allowed or should be possible to disable (this last sentence being a bit OT).
I home-mod MTW and to the best of my knowledge the AI is not using campaign cheats in "hard" - however he is capable (if you take the valor giving provinces and the bodyguard upkeep out) to provide a decent challenge. The M2 TW campaign AI would sink lower than low without cheating and still even this way he is far from providing decent challenge in vanilla.

The game has so many little features that the AI in all probability simply uses "optimally" through cheating - they are too many for him to trully "use" in the sense that he would have to make decisions/choices about them - i guess the developers would need tons of testing for game progression and subsequent AI adjusting that they have neither the time nor the intention of doing apparently.

It ends up with everyone "ganging" on the player, with Mongols and Timurids and new worlds to keep the challenge/interest up.

TW maintains a certain true value because of the modding community and its fruits IMO. Vanilla releases increasingly offer interest only in terms of potential (what can be done with the engine).

Many Thanks

Noir