How difficult would it be to make a mod to the effect that the AI cannot retreat from battles? I really like to watch the space battles, but if I get too far ahead of the AI they never stand and fight which makes things a bit boring. Obviously this might have the effect of making the game a bit easier, but if it means actually getting to see the late game fleets I make in action it would be worth it.

Very easy.

If you're gonna make it AI-only penalty, than do it at Simulation/SimulationDescriptors[GameDifficulty].xml

If you want it to be galaxy-wide, just set BaseValue of <Property Name="PreventsEnemyRetreat" MaxValue="1"/> to 1. (you can find it on Simulation/Battles/SimulationDescriptors[Ship].xml)

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll give it a look. I'm no stranger to xml edits, but I wasn't sure where to begin.

you can also use the no-retreat module on carrier/behemoth