Caliban - I've played your version and I don't know if you are still working on this, but...
-There aren't nearly enough resources on the map. I played as Germany and not only did I not have access to Iron or Horses, there were no countries in the world with a surplus of those. The only Iron in europe belongs to Scandinavia.
-Cultural conversions should be off, they don't jive well with the close confines of Europe.
-Players need more money at start to establish embassies.
Otherwise it's a fun scenario, right now I'm on my way to conquer Iceland, then it's off to the Dutch East Indies.