The computer was probably cheating too. Creating AI that understands the strategy of resource management is hard so most devs just give the computer a steady stream of resources and faster build times. That way the computer doesn't need to worry about planning, they can just spam build.
It's a lot less noticable these days I will say. And I even see my hard boys acting differently than my friends hard boys. Meaning they adapt somewhat to my testudo ways
One of my favorite things to do in Crusader Kings II is to play as God. First select a character, use console commands to make them an immortal demi god. Step 2 type in observe into the console so you can just watch how it plays out. Then come back a few hours later to see what your champion has accomplished.
So, a few years back, I checked out this game made by a community of AoE2 fans.
I figured, I've played RTSs before, normal difficulty for the AI should be fine.
Man, never have I gotten my ass handed to me so quickly. The AI rushed me before I even had the thought of building defenses. It just slaughtered my whole village.
Anyways, I did enjoy the game after setting the AI to very easy and giving myself an AI ally. 🫠
The game is free, no strings attached, so here is your legally required ad segment: https://play0ad.com