How to make a Custom Map Functional in SP

[Grandmaster_Sherm]

(This is actually for the Extended Edition but I'm hoping I can get some answers here)

I know this has been answered before somewhere but I can't find my exact situation.

I've made a custom map centered around exploration and empire building

It functions almost perfectly in online mode (just booting up an online game, setting the AI, and hitting play) save for the fact that the AI does not try to take unclaimed settlements and only builds their own cities and waits for me to attack. I don't particularly mind this, but the problem here is I can't save my game to come back to it later to just hangout in the empire I'm building.

I found the "scenario" option in single player, which does indeed give me the save option, but it gives me control of Gaia instead of player 1, and even then the AI doesn't seem to really work, Player 2 seems to get rolling just fine but all the other 3 players just stand there.

basically my goal here is to get this map functional in scenario mode as Player 1 so that i can save my game, and at least make all the AI opponents not brain dead, but ideally restore their ability to expand and conquer. If we can accomplish all that, I'd love to share this map as I add detail to it.

(also if someone can help me figure out how to make functional relics that would be awesome, I watched a youtube video for it from RTS Gamer but he had a much older version that had options that this current version of AOM EE doesn't have).