first things first, it would be better to ask these things in the rise from erebus subforum ^^
Other than that, if you want to look at what's required for making a new civ, i think the best is to look at one of the modules of AoE ( Dural, Frozen and Hamstalfar are three modular civilizations that give a good idea of how much work is needed to make one).
If you need some further explanation, don't hesitate to send me a pm