Id like to see a screenshot of your map.

How did you manage to get 2 ai to fight? i cant ever seem to not let myself play.

If at first you don't succeed, fail, fail and fail again.  Finally got an AI vs AI win on 1v1.  I had to abandon the multi and simplify further, and it still took 3 hours.  I used this map:

The winner was a TEC finance AI against an Advent researcher... somewhat of a cheat, because as I expected the Advent AI researched homing mines, and its drone hosts began to carry mines everywhere- making them useless in combat.

More AI notes...

The AI needs to start placing repair bays before starbases.. I haven't seen any AI place a single repair before it has at least three starbases.  The AI seems to stockpile starbases before it has any kind of fleet...

There has to be some improvement in how the AI looks after its caps..  obviously they don't search for repair as the AI doesn't build any, but they could at least retreat when down to 33% health..?

I noticed that the Revelation has a habit of stunning a low health cap- then refusing to finish it off...

Siege behaviour is awful.  The standard siege frigates avoid point defence when circling into the planet... but not starbases!  If the AI builds 5-6 caps it should use them for siege, not build 5-6 siege in addition...  The 'lobbers' seem to prioritise point defence..?

The AI builds single trade ports.. it will also research ships then only build 3-4 of that type...

The fleet composition of the victorious TEC AI was so outstandingly bad that at one point the AI's fleet was 3 Akkans, 3 colony ships and 5 siege frigates.. The Advent researcher managed to put a fleet of 9 heavies together with a Revelation, and several Drone Hosts and defence vessels to keep enemy bombers away.  A good attempt, fatally undermined by the Drone Host bug.

The simpler map helped the AI's.  They avoided the centre but still had problems sending units from one side to another.  Typically they would win a battle, then send the fleet to the other side, while the enemy rebuilt.

Making a 5x resource cheat is no achievement for the AI programmers.... are there any other RTS games that have sunk to that level?  However, scripting good AI takes time.  The AI should be opened up to contributions in order to improve it.  There also needs to be a more appropriate method of testing it... just as the multiplayer game needs balance reports from top players playing 1v1 games if it is to improve, rather than a thread of opinions (though this is far better than the almost complete absence of reports from the single player game)...

I venture to differ with you on that analysis sirrah, though it seems unlikely that we'll ever get the ability to produce custom AI's to settle the matter appropriately, in the style of gentle-androids!  Many of the AI problems caused by Entrenchment are simply due to the nerf to fleet composition, so the Vasari AI becomes superior, as it builds far less mining ships than the other factions build lobbers...

Again as I expected, the Vasari Fortifier was able to dispose of the TEC researcher, though this time it took four and a half hours.  The Vasari AI wasn't especially advantaged by the five neutral extractors (with one of the neutral grav wells entirely empty) as the TEC fought hard for them and held them most of the time up until the end.  This was a pleasant surprise, though it might say more about the Vasari failure to use scouts properly.

However what caused the fight to turn against the TEC was simple- once they had lobbers researched and began to build them as well as siege frigates, their fleets began to lose.  Vasari also have an advantage because the AI is focused on caps, but this isn't nearly as telling as when the TEC AI has about 100 supply more tied up in siege.  The Vasari didn't use their mobile starbases to attack starbases, but this proved no substantial disadvantage, as the TEC AI could not coordinate a defence and their starbases were just overwhelmed.  The Vasari starbases were involved when there was a battle in their gravwell, while the TEC ones were often not a factor- until it was their turn to be destroyed.

So for Entrenchment v1.041 my provisional finding is that any Vasari AI will defeat any TEC AI, and they are both better than the bugged Advent AI, which struggles without its strikecraft.  I'll test further, but this is what I expected and what I've found so far.  So if you must play singleplayer Entrenchment, Vasari are your opponent of choice. 

AI notes-

The AI won't put starbases in gravwells without planets or roids, though they are perhaps too keen to starbase dead roids.  Starbasing Gas Giants is not perhaps a great plan, but given that the AI can't normally put repair near them, neutrals with more restricted space might be suitable?  If you have one or two hanging around that is, as the AI tends to... though the AI places far too many starbases...

There is the potential for an amusing trick on the AI if point defence can be placed correctly.. in theory its siege should then just circle...?  Better at roids where 3 might work...?

AI for patches-

Even if we don't get custom AI, I know that the AI can be much better within the existing hardcoded system, simply because it was, before it was dumbed for Entrenchment.  All the AI's seem to have become variants of fortifier AIs, even the aggressor AIs.  If Advent AIs are debugged and the AI's fleet composition is changed singleplayer will become very much harder, without the need for extravagant and demoralising resource cheats. 

Aggressive and financial AIs should severely limit the number of starbases placed, and all AI's need to have less- the fortifier AI does not need to have a couple of spare starbases already bought!  AIs that have cap-heavy fleets don't need regular siege at all.  AI's especially financial ones should get value from their ship research... why don't the AIs spam?!!  5-6 caps is far too many for a small map like this, even for an aggressive AI, the guideline that caps should be one stage behind supply isn't bad, perhaps with aggressors it could be level?  The lobbers should be a much later luxury item, not an essential element of early fleet composition.  AI's need to prioritise repair bays!

Much can be achieved by production, without the far more difficult alterations to AI tactical behaviour.  However, the most glaring tactical change that could be made is that AI does need to send its fleet to support their starbases when they are under attack. 

I next tried a TEC aggressor against a Vasari researcher.  This nearly became a TEC victory, but after seven hours it was still too level, as the TEC had only taken the Vasari roid...  what made the difference was that the Vasari reseracher stayed a level of fleet lower for too long, and having almost double the supply meant that the lobbers were affordable for the TEC.. also while the Vasari AI had 9 caps at one point the TEC had 2 very well-placed starbases.

So if you want a TEC AI I'd select the Aggressor... the others have lobbers as well, but without the extra fleet points early.

I might produce a full commentary and replay from the next matchup when I run it, if there's sufficient interest?

Ai notes...

The AI might use guidance as to capital selection.. the Vasari AI had 3 Marauders at one point..

Having observed that the Vasari don't use up supply on lobbers, the researcher promptly produced a Ruiner for every grav well it owned, perhaps too many...?

The AI improved the health of its rear starbases and not the forward ones....

When the lobbers appeared in groups of 2-3 they were quite effective, as they don't seem to be priority targets for starbases.. though they didn't prioritise the starbases either...

Neither AI piled up resource heaps even after seven hours, which was another surprise... so still no light on why this might happen.

The AI almost pulled off my 3 point defence trick on a roid before I could attempt it myself.. it was beautiful, three siege frigates were sent almost 270 degrees around, but they just found a gap before they hit the minefield... very near to absolute class.     

This was on the small map posted in reply #4.  Vasari on the left, Advent on the right.  Normal start, I played it on normal speed to allow the AI more time.  Both AIs are Aggressors. 

The extractors seem to produce at the home planets before they have been built.  The three neutral gravwells produce a grand total of one crystal extractor.  The Egg and the Rapture are the first caps- 5 Skirmishers also for Vasari, 5 Disciples for Advent.. 

2:30 Both AIs have colonised the dead roid first?  Perhaps because the direct route to the enemy home is through the dead roid? Two Hostility labs for Advent, 1/1 for Vasari.

8:00 The Advent go for their roid, the Vasari opt to take out a desert with 2 heavies in its militia..

9:40 First siege produced.. an Advent Purge.  So far there have only been dead roids colonised.

11:00 Two Advent Disciples attack the Vasari dead roid, and kill a Migrator which fails to take any evasive action.  The Advent Aggressor AI builds two hangars at its home...? 

13:00 Advent have their roid, and its Purge Ships join the Disciples and kill the Vasari dead roid by 20:00.  The Vasari manage to destroy the Purge Ships, and when Advent return home they reoccupy the dead roid. 

15:00 The desert cost the Vasari 2 Skirmishers and almost its Egg.  Their Imperial lab has done no research at all so far.  Advent have a much easier desert.

21:00 The Egg is badly damaged, but the Vasari have a battleship as well and are researching supply for a third cap...?  The remaining Advent Purge Ships hover around their own dead roid.

25:00  The Vasari siege engage the pirates at the gas giant, where there are no extractors, and a pirate flak is destroyed.  The Advent siege decide to go past the militia at the volcanic to get to the Vasari desert.

27:00 A minor battle at the Advent dead roid between frigates, Advent are distracted from the Vasari siege at their roid, it is flattened and has to be recaptured.

34:00 The truculent Vasari siege then help to clear the volcanic.  Advent acquire a Revelation.  Labs Vasari 3 military 2 Imperial, Advent 2-2, both sides only have the first stage of fleet supply.

37:00 Advent has the ice.  The siege of both sides appear unescorted at the enemy roid and are destroyed.  Vasari colony ships are evident in numbers.

40:00 Egg vs Revelation at the volcanic, Vasari adds a starbase, the Revelation fights to the death and is destroyed. 

45:00 A Vasari siege attack gets the ice planet.  Vasari have their second supply stage.  Advent builds another Revelation.

50:00 Advent researching shield stages to Guardian, though they are outnumbered and with 100 unused of their lower supply stage.  Vasari have carriers, and a cap working each side of the map.

55:00 Another Egg vs Revelation battle this time at the Advent roid, same outcome, Advent lose their roid.

1:02:00 The Rapture plus support vs the Kortul at the ice... the Kortul reached 1000 health, then boldly turned its back and fled.  Vasari are using 395 supply to 235 Advent..

1:07:00 Nine siege at the Advent home, with flak, but all the siege are destroyed.  Advent builds a Radiance. 

1:12:00 The Rapture returns to the dead roid with its fleet, Advent want to attack over the sun...  Vasari building more siege- from their home though.. and a Marauder, the AI loves its Marauders.. 

1:18:00 Advent returns home, but Vasari have 3 siege there and the flak has reduced the hangar based defence strikecraft.  Enter... the Egg, it destroys its 3rd cap of the battle, the Radiance, and the Marauder joins up to make it 3 caps to 1.  Siege are expensive meat.... still Advent has a 5-2 carrier advantage plus hangars.   However the bombers prove ineffective on the Kortul and the Rapture is destroyed- the Egg becomes level 6...   yet another Revelation appears.   Still no forward frigate factory for Vasari, they even build from home rather than the nearer desert... 

1:27:00 The Revelation is destroyed. only 2 Drone Hosts left, 4 Vasari siege appear..   

1:30:00 A Halcyon this time..  but there are 5 siege, the 2 Vasari carriers and 5 flak are still there and all the Drone Hosts have been destroyed... as is the Halcyon.  Advent really missed the money and supply they have tied up in the 5 inactive purge ships...

1:34:00 The home is gone... the end takes another hour but this is it really.  Vasari had a credit advantage only from 1:06 it was 17-17 then and 20-14 at the end.  Metal 3-2 and crystal 2-2 then though it ended 5-2 3-2.  About 70 frigates destroyed each.. however Vasari destroyed 6 capitals to none...  Neither side had more than 6 lf at any stage, max 7 illums 9 kanraks...  10 siege and 5 siege... no Guardians were built and Vasari had 9 flak max to 2... Advent had 5 carriers at one stage but they were all destroyed, whereas the 2 Transporters survived.  The homing mine bug didn't occur though. 

Research: combat, defence, civil Vasari 4-2-10(!) Advent  8-4-5... fleet research Vasari 6 Advent 4... at the start of the 1:07:00 battle Vasari had a 100 supply advantage, just enough to absorb the loss of their vast siege train...