I just finished my first game on v5. A couple of quick observations then a question:
1. Overall an outstanding mod. A lot of fun to play, and the escalating difficulties really make the game more challenging in the end game. Started a 12 civilization game on level 6 (I cannot remember the new level names, but I think emperor), and by the end, there were 3 civs left. I pulled out to a lead and all of a sudden, Siam decided to buy up every city state in sight. It was an arm wrestle to the end which was the most fun I have had in a long time on Civ 5.
2. Probably the biggest exploit is the great merchant that can be used to "culture bomb" territory from other civs. I used this a few times to "surround" enemy cities that made them easy to take once war started. Using this should have had major consequences and probably a war declaration with it. Or restrict the usage to one tile and not two.
3. The economics in the end game can become very difficult. My empire grew too fast population wise, and then I ran into a major issue between growth, resources, and gold. So did Siam as well -- there is a point of virtual no return in terms of too large of an empire. This is actually a good thing as it forces you into major decisions around growth in the end.
4. At first, I thought the AI wasn't building some of the special wonders that unlocked special units, but lo and behold, they did. That made me feel good about these new units/wonders.
5. I see a lot of folks are still having trouble with loading/playing it.....I literally do not have anything else running other than vanilla Civ5 BNW and the mod. I also clear out all cache as well prior to starting the game each time.
So my question is very simple....is there an update planned anytime soon? If not, I will probably start another game this weekend....if there is, I will probably wait.
Again, thanks for a great mod. Am really enjoying it!