I've tried playing against the AI on small planets (size 200 or 300), and it doesn't seem to be able to work. I scout their base after building a dozen or so metal extractors and pgens, and I find a couple economy structures and no factories. I saw the AI on the 300 size planet start an Air Factory AFTER my commander marched into its original base and drove it out. Hope this gets fixed soon, since small planet AI fights can help build early-game experience.
