ok, so observations so far on my MON game playing as 'Liz.
Settings: Giant/B&S w/MulIsl/Max Civs/RB/LR/MP/Epic Spd... Currently in Med Era.
Overall the game is progressing nicely. While first in score, the game isn't a runaway by any means.
1) Map; I'm liking it. especially the way the hills/mtns are depicted. Additionally, the coast and ocean are pleasing to the eye. Resources are avg, but using the GP (since 'Liz is PHI), I've managed to get lucky on a few critical necessities. Really enjoying this concept.
2) Barbs (RB chk'd); I'm loving the challenge, especially since the barb xp has been upped. Makes the decision on whether to use a injured unit or not critical, especially if it's a lvl 4 or better. I also like the visibilty modifiers as well, since this makes sure you have to maintain more than a couple of defenders, fast movers especially. On the downside, with RB checked, the AI doesn't adapt as fast as the human. Six civs have been ghosted by barbs so far, 3 of which I wouldn't have expected (Spain, Greece, Egypt). Ironically, Lincoln and Sitting Bull are doing fine (PRO). The other thing is poofing barbs deep inside of your cultual borders. If you have a solid CB, that should mean everything inside of your CB should be visible. Barbs magically appearing two tiles away from your cap shouldn't be happening if you have a large enough CB.
3) Diplo: Religion seems to play a key factor in positive relations, with trade being a secondary. This is the 2nd game in a row where I have gained reli 1st, spammed missionaries, and have all nearby civs stay pleased or better with me. I'm thinking once I start crowding another civs border, that this may change, because SB went from friendly to pleased when I popped a city on his southern border (of course it may be that he caught my spy as well). Map size also may have something to do with this as well, since there is plenty of room for growth.
4) I agree about the water techs, as sight modifiers are crucial off the coasts. Having triremes with no visibility until they're lvl 4 is proving somewhat costly due to rampaging pirates.
5) ECO/TECH: I really like this aspect. You have to carefully manage this, AND maintain a solid military. Which means you can't maintain a high sci slider. This is where your GP are critical, and you have to weigh the costs of insta tech, or using them for a long term gain. PHI seems to have the advantage so far, especially if the Parthenon and National Wonder get built early enough. It isn't a huge advantage (so far), but it is definitely noticeable.
6) UB/UU's: These seem to work at an improved percentage that the AI uses quite well. Mansa got the Vedic event, so I was curious to how he would handle it. Using "chipotle" so I could see the map, Mansa used his Skirmishers to great effect. Additionally, 2 of his cities were building Mints. But I'm still curious as to why an AGG civ got taken out by barbs, so on my next game I think I'll play closer attention to what each civ is doing (take notes as well

).
7) I rarely if ever manage to get to the FE as well (ROM AND, RI mods being the exceptions) in most mods. However, this seems to be one of the rare mods that may be an exception. So eventually fleshing out the future era may prove to be quite fun.
I'm really enjoying this mod a great deal, and I would definitely rank this up there in my top 5 of constant play. Keep up the good work