I was playing around with 'Lands to Conquer' and I came to realize that the main reason why the modifications try to stretch out the time has to do with our hurry and even frenzy towards expansion. I was playing as Denmark with a short campaign. I chose to expand a bit slower and I did not buy off settlements from the AI as a part of diplomacy before war. So I did a slower bit by heading for Stettin and then Thorn.
Then I left Riga for the Russians and took a leisurely stroll over to Oslo via Stockholm. I did not do any auto resolve and no merging of the troops. I left the more beat up units as garrisons and moved on with the Prince and his army. Now Russia
I allied with France and Poland. I set up trade with all who I could do so without a frenzied pace. Eventually, I did commit to war with the HRE and lost the Polish ally. It all starts to set up more historical.
I found that quick expansion can lead to an easy win, but it does not have any sort of historical tension to it. So now I am only allied with the French and I did not sell map information. I kept map info and bought map info. I did ally with Rome before I took out the expansion into the HRE. Russia has not threaten to attack, Poland is massing on the borders, and the Pope has called for me to not attack the HRE for 6 turns. I have let the Papal Rating to fall to midway but no further. I did not participate in the Crusade on Cairo. After the cooling off, I may start a Baltic Crusade on Vilnius. I have a few Cardinals though one will die off soon. The tension builds. I am loving it!
So, how do our other members approach a slower start rather than a frenzied expansion which puts the AI on their respective heels?