Orogogus wrote on Nov 28, 2012, 19:23:

Creston wrote on Nov 28, 2012, 18:49:
Galciv II still has the best AI I've ever seen in a strategic game. And as far as I know, it doesn't cheat. Playing that on the top 2 difficulty levels is basically asking to get your ass handed to you on a silver platter.

Galciv II AIs do cheat starting a little past the middle setting (i.e., past "Intelligent").

http://www.stardock.com/screenshots/cheatquery/
- Developer notes that high level AIs get extra money and at the highest level mostly ignore fog of war

http://galciv.wikia.com/wiki/Difficulty_level
- Wikia notes that game difficulties post-1.5 give up to 400% economy/production/research bonuses, as well as miniaturization and sensors