Just thought I'd start up talk of how the Asian civs should be implemented.
China:
I've always thought of them as similar to Russia: lots of weak, cheap units and an average eco. We should definitely find a way to incorporate the Asian heros. The Chinese Monk, with his Disciples, were a force to be reckoned with playing rush. Another good thing about the China rush were Steppe Riders. Comparable to Russian Oprichniks, but in age 2 and weaker and cheaper. They could raid and pillage like no other in age 2. The Asian mercs will also be useful. The Chinese Iron Troops are a deadly archer with amazing ranged resistance. I'm not sure if you want to incorporate the Embassy at all. They can provide some interesting units for sure, which you could easily take advantage of without bothering with Export. The Chinese Embassy civs are the British and the Russians. The British give 10% land unit combat bonus, have shippable Musketeers, Hussars, Falconets and Rogers Rangers, and for one-time use Sergeons, Spies, and Petards. Russians give -10% settler train time, shippable Cossacks, Culverins and Kalmuks, and for one-time shipment a Blockhouse, a Fort and a Factory. Another amazing aspect of the Asians is their Wonders. Chinese Wonders include the Confucian Academy, which produces Flying Crows, Porcelain Tower, which trickles resources, White Pagoda, which increases the Monk and his disciples, the Summer Palace, which produces Banner Armies, and the Temple Of Heaven, which heals everything. Other interesting units are the Meteor Hammer, which is a ranged hand cav with a bonus vs artillery, they are pretty much made to destroy cannons. The Flamethrower is an interesting Infantry unit, not actually artillery technically, has a reaching flame attack to destroy massed infantry. Hand Mortars are a ranged artillery that is cheap and weak, but can attack buildings and units from a great distance.
My suggestion, more pop, weaker cav, (like Russia), and add Transcendence to the store (heals everything). Definitely easier said than done, but you're the master. For reinforcements Flamethrowers and iron troops (maybe 3 flamethrowers and 3 iron troops)
India:
I see India as a cav nation. With their Elephants and Camels they could dominate any battlefield. The Indian Monks, coming in a pair, can heal and have a mighty Stomp ability which paralyzes the affected troops for a short period. The Indian Jat Lancers are definitely one of my favorite units in the game, a powerful anti-infantry cav. India has a unique eco, instead of villagers costing food they cost wood. Another benefit to their eco is their Karni Mata Wonder, which enhances nearby gathering. The Indians also have cow shrines, giving them extra XP. India also has some nice wood trickle cards. Definitely a wood-loving civ. All of their wonders seem useful, at least more useful to Fort Wars. I've already mentioned the Karni Mata, but there's also the Agra Fort, a fort which can be built as early as Age2 (to get to Age 2), trains units and is upgradeable, with each upgrade allowing more units to be trainable from it; the Tower of Victory, which has a unique ability called Inspiration which boosts units attack HP and speed for a short period of time; Charminar Gate trains Mansabdar units, which are like the normal Indian units, except they are stronger and have an aura to increase the strength of their similar units; and the Taj Mahal which has another interesting ability, Cease Fire, which does exactly that for 60 seconds. The Indian Embassy allows British and Portuguese. The Brits are the same, Portuguese are all about the boats. Trainable Besteiros, Culverins, and Guerreiros, with one-time shipments of fishing boats, a Caravel full of Petards, and Ironclad, and an army of 4 Horse Artillery and some Jinetes. Some interesting units, other than the Mansabdar units, are: Flail Elephant, a strong siege unit, but weak against normal units; Siege Elephant, a strong cannon on the back of an elephant, great range, great against buildings, not bad against units; and Urumi Swordsman, a dangerous merc infantry unit, with a bonus against infantry and a splash attack.
My suggestion: gets EXP (aka wood) faster, which will lead to faster coin a bit. Reinforcements: 1 or 2 Siege Elephants, and 2 Jat Lancers. Also add Inspiration and Cease Fire to the store (again, easier said than done short of giving them the Wonder itself) Maybe as an EXP Bonus let them choose between Inspiration, Transcendence and Cease Fire.
Japan:
With some powerful military units, and a powerful eco, Japan is a favourite in rush and Treaty games. The Japanese monks, coming in a pair, have a stealth ability, and a one-shot-kill at random bonus thing called Divine Strike (incredibly unlucky when facing it in a rush). The Japanese unique merc is the Yojimbo, a strong ranged Cavalry unit. Japanese Wonders include: the Shogunate, which trains Shoguns, a powerful unit that can train other units on the battlefield, as well as recieve shipments; Toshogu Shrine, which is a large shrine and provides a trickle of your choice; the Great Buddha, which has an interesting ability called Informers, which lets you see ennemy units for a short time; the Golden Pavillion which allows you to select a temporary unit bonus, like an aura, but for all your units; and the Torii Gates, which gives an EXP trickle. The Japanese Embassy has Ports, but also a unique option of closing off foreign trade, allowing you to train unique Japanese units, Yamabushi, Shinobi, Ninjitzu-Zukai and Hatamoto Samurai, with on-time shipments of a Military Rickshaw, the ability to train units in groups of 10 instead of 5, a Samurai Muster (at every Castle), and advance to Imperial age (to cost export instead of coin and food). Some interesting units are: the Hatamoto Samurai, which is like a Ronin; The Ninjitzu-Zukai, which is like a Ninja; the Morutaru, a Mortar-like unit; Shoguns!!! Some train only artillery, some train units, all give an aura (attack I think), can only train Japanese units; the Flaming Arrow, which is very similar to a Falconet. Another interesting aspect of the Japanese is they can send most of their shipments twice. They also have an interesting Card: TEA Cheaper Unit Upgrades.
My Suggestion: Cheaper unit upgrades. Reinforcements: 2 Flaming Arrows and 2 Yojimbo. Maybe add Shogun to the store, a killable buyable aura-maker.
Other suggestions:
-obviously add some Asian units to the ones you can spawn
-maybe add a unit to the store that will purchase a small army unique to the civ, to mimic the Embassy, but instead of getting euro units as Chinese, just get Chinese units.
-have the Asian Heros selectable as a bonus
-change the water to cave\cave_top to reduce lag.
