[Gandalf Parker]

The next idea is NOT No-Indepts maps.

I can see the advantages of no-indepts in improving the AI. It removes all of the recruitable dependents from the game, but leaves the defenders so that you do have to fight your way across the map. I must admit that on really large maps the MicroManagement can get extreme later in the game. I try to make the best use of everything available to me but I cant remember them all.

So the idea is this...
I can write another one of my stupid little basic programs which will count sequentially thru the number of provinces on a large map. On each one it can randomly decide whether to remove the ability to recruit independents there. Im thinking that I would leave about 1 out of every 10 provinces.

That way I can still get some recruitables. But they would be more precious (and memorable). Of course the AI would also get them but I figure it would still limit its ability to use funds so it should still get more national units than the vanilla game. It will also help solve the problem of the AI having too much money and building tons of castles.

Im also thinking that I should drop a +resource site in each one. Each one that gets left with recruits? Or each one that gets it removed? It would boost the AIs resources at castles which should increase the AIs recruitment of elites.

One disadvantage is that in replayability. Whenever you replay the map, the game WILL re-randomize which independents are in a province, but not where. So eventaully you will have a feel for which provinces will or wont have recruitables. It would affect decisions. Of course hopefully, like with any of my programs, I will eventually setup something on the Dom3Minions site to re-randomize the .map file for a map like this and zip it up each day.