Distinct game based on AOE Diplomacy

One of the best mods in AOE 2 is Diplomacy.

I love Diplomacy. It causes non-binary outcomes and interesting strategies. It creates epic fights. It forces players to think

strategically based on geography.

This game mode is the only reason I play AOE 2... however it has its flaws. The limit of 8 players is too few. The setup takes too long. There is no way to tell who is on who's team/fighting with whom etc etc.

I would like to create a seperate game entirely from scratch based on the Diplomacy model. But I lack the expertise. If anyone is up for this, please PM me and we can start rolling with this idea somewhere.