...but which games/mods are similar enough that I can incorporate capabilities for multiple games/mods in a single AI?

I know that BA, CA, NOTA and XTA are all similar in that they are derived from TA. But I've never really played any except BA (tried some of the others but was turned off for some reason or another) Do they all have similar goals (destroy the enemy)? Are they mostly resource based like BA?

I know some bots are cross-mod capable....(some have config files specific for certain mods/games).

Am I to assume that if they use the spring engine, a unit is a unit and a map is a map and they all have common characteristics that can be queried and utilized....?

Sorry if it is such a basic question...but as I write my bot, I didn't want to hem myself into BA (especially by targeting specific unit names and such)

Any input would be appreciated.

CA is completely different, XTA somewhat, NOTA is kinda similar, but not quite. you might have luck with BOTA.

also i'd like to suggest to try focusing on games which are not OTA derivatives; try making an AI for e.g. Spring 1944, Evo RTS, Kernel Panic (good for a start IMHO), The Cursed, PURE, whatever. plenty of projects to choose from.

Try not to make too many assumptions and always build in logic to auto figure out things based on stats but let it be guidable via user input, whcih is essentially how NTai and a few other AIs operate, using user guidance and automatic algorithsm to varying extents, with NTai at one end and AAI at the other.