Final Big Editor is the one I would recommend
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You can use text editors just make sure not to use notepad or any other editors that change the formatting of their contents. I recommend using notepad++, it's what I've used for years and works great.
If you're only going to be playing single player, no. That was mainly just a notice for those that play multiplayer to make sure everyone has the same version.
Not sure if that can be changed directly, but there might be another way to achieve a similar result. If you want to give it a try, you'll need this first Moddb.com
After it's downloaded, you'll need it to open up the ini.big and you'll to locate the values you're looking for. Some good places for seeking help with modding are The3rdage.net and Forums.revora.net
If you can't find a value for the resource multiplier, you could try changing the resource multiplier values (ResourceBonus) for each region. These are located in \data\ini\campaigns\gondorcampaign and \data\ini\campaigns\mordorcampaign
The ResourceMultiplerLimit is found in data\ini\gamedata.ini in case you want to mess with that as well.
Once you've figured out the values you want to modify, there's a few ways you can go about it. I recommend either making your own .big or editing morecp.big. The .big files are just a bunch of compressed inis so you can extract the ones you need from the latest patch such as file such as _patch106.big or ini.big if it hasn't been in any of the patch files. You can then add the inis to your new .big file but just make sure the filepath is the same.
Both these methods accomplish the same results, but if you want to play multiplayer, all players have to have the same versions of the file or you'll get an error (something about a mismatch)
I've found out about a mod called Hardcore AI which is supposed to improve the AI. Maybe this is what you're looking for The3rdage.net. I haven't thoroughly tested it yet, but it seems promising. If you're going to be using this mod I recommend using _NewAIFromEvilMod1(1.6.x).big
After some further testing I've found out the skirmish AI does use the higher population just not frequently. They only use the higher population if they have the resources and if enough of their units are still alive to reach that point.
If you're playing the campaign on hard, the ai will utilize the higher population cap. As for skirmish on hard, I don't know if they use the higher population cap since they're always charging their armies at you.
Sir?
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I've Been using ModDB since 2011, but I've only recently made an account. Occasionally, I also make mods.