Idio ,
Thank you very much for the quick response, it appears that I am running Alpha v0.88, so we're all good there (No Darkspacing for me)!
I really appreciate the detailed explanation in regards to the reasons behind why the AI has been set up the way it has. Initially, I was just concerned that I was missing out on some nuance or aspect of the game, since it seemed to be able to become such an economic powerhouse so quickly. For me, the overwhelming AI feels realistic when playing as the UNSC against the Covenant.
Subsequent games have definitely being going better, and now at least I know that I'm not crazy :)
Again, thanks for the quick and detailed response. I'm really enjoying the game and will definitely check out the Discord server.
Regards,