There were some mods for H5 that decoupled AI behavior from starting resources.
Usually after some time you would like to play with the smartest AI but starting with zero or close to no resources is not always desired. )Especially in multiplayer where action needs to start ASAP).
So make 2 settings. One for AI difficulty. and another for starting resources. Do not change anything, just decouple them.
Side thought. Maps should have 2 fields. Intended difficulty settings (for what difficulty settings was the map designed) and Difficulty level (as in how hard is the map on suggested difficulty settings).
The AI is well decoupled from anything else. At the moment there is absolutely no way to control or parametrize it. This is another big issue to take in the future, when AI is complete and fully-functional.
Doesn’t it already?
If map is designed for particular difficulty setting only, it should be handled by script or at least provide such info in description. There is no point in ‘suggetsing’ player right difficulty if he can set another.
With suggested difficulty I am on another opinion.
Difficulty settings are there so that players of different levels (or different expectations) can enjoy a map. Apart from this there are maps (some not all) that are made with a difficulty setting in mind and work best on that difficulty. While this can be in a read-me file I always missed it to be readily available right where you select difficulty settings for that map.
This is just a small unobtrusive info that can be easily added. Usually, map description is stuff like “The king died and over his former reign…” so the map maker readily omits technical descriptions because they do not fit there.