India and France don't need a specific map setting to work, though. France needs to be able to toughen out the early game until they can set up their chateaus and see which theming wonders they can snag (Chateaus are more important though). As long as there's some luxuries around, France can do what they want to do.
As for India, the only thing they really want is a Coastal start, preferably with a second coastal spot closeby. Internal trade routes are king for India. Their elephants can ensure early game survival against highly aggressive enemies as well (They are quite underrated) and the Mughal Fort, while far from spectacular, is a decent-ish UB.
I'm not saying either are top tier, but they're less map-dependent than Denmark. Denmark on Archipelago is at worst mid-tier, yes. But any other map, and they suffer. They're not like England, who on Archipelago are God tier and still fairly decent on most other maps, or like the Mongols who trample everyone on Pangaea but can still be decent on most other maps, no, they are pretty piss-poor on most non-archipelago/small continents maps.
As for India, the only thing they really want is a Coastal start, preferably with a second coastal spot closeby. Internal trade routes are king for India. Their elephants can ensure early game survival against highly aggressive enemies as well (They are quite underrated) and the Mughal Fort, while far from spectacular, is a decent-ish UB.
I'm not saying either are top tier, but they're less map-dependent than Denmark. Denmark on Archipelago is at worst mid-tier, yes. But any other map, and they suffer. They're not like England, who on Archipelago are God tier and still fairly decent on most other maps, or like the Mongols who trample everyone on Pangaea but can still be decent on most other maps, no, they are pretty piss-poor on most non-archipelago/small continents maps.