Alexander campaign questions

[Patronus86]

Just started up an Alexander Campaign with DEI. Very challenging thus far (even on normal difficulty), but then again the real-life story of Macedonia taking on Persia was very much a David vs. Goliath scenario. I just launched my invasion of Anatolia (after securing Thrace) and have a few questions:
1) Are all build slots (6 for cities, 4 for minor settlements) supposed to be available? Because I only have access to 5/4 unless on the coast.
2) Are economic nerfs applied to the player while economic bonuses applied to the AI? I ask because Thrace (the entire province) is only cranking out about 2k (despite a heavy focus on slaves, industry and farms); meanwhile I see backwater cities/settlements in the North (Dacia) offering much more income.
3) What is the procedure for fighting with phalanx units? Do you single click to make them engage the enemy? Or double-click? I had heard that double-clicking can make a phalanx unit break the bracing formation.
4) Has anyone done a let's play or campaign guide for this Alexander campaign? I've found it extremely difficult. On my first play-through, I got rushed by 5-6 well-built stacks after invading the nearest Persian satrapy (Lydia); given that I was only able to afford 1.25 stacks, I didn't see any long-term success with that campaign. On my next play-through, I took time to sack Dacia to get some funds (and to prevent them from steam-rolling my neighbors). This time I was able to afford nearly 2 full stacks, which still wouldn't have been sufficient to invade Lydia as there were 5-6 stacks (in addition well-garrisoned settlements). I was only successful because Egypt decided to war with Persia and its satrapies, which resulted in most of Anatolia getting stripped of regional armies. I understand that the phalanxes weren't the death-churning machines that we see in Vanilla Rome 2, but I don't know how 2 Macedonian stacks are supposed to fight all of the armies that Persia (and satrapies) can bring to bear.
5) Do the Persian factions have access to spear units which can also shoot bows? I seem to be under constant fire when fighting certain Persian armies, and the projectiles tend to go further than the standard javelin.

All in all, an interesting campaign so far. My army comps have evolved over time; I've learned to dial back the phalanx to about 1/3 of the overall army comp, with a strong force of cavalry (my main killing units) and good supporting jav and sword/ax infantry. I can deal with single enemy armies without much problem. But I am fearing the moment when I'll have to deal with multiple enemy armies simultaneously. The AI units (even the low tier spear and melee) are grindy enough that the can withstand charges while I get flooded by arrows and javelins. Not sure how to proceed for the remainder of the campaign.

[KAM 2150]

1. Alexander campaign does not have expanded building slots as its very long process and was not yet in place when Alex campaign was made. Maybe in the future but not anytime soon.
2. There are no eco nerfs to the player but AI needs eco boosts as it can't plan its eco at all. With time, player eco will heavily outperform AI one. Thrace is good example as you make 2k from it but I have seen people show numbers from 17k to 25k from it once built properly.
3. Always make sure to give attack orders for phalanx to engage enemy properly but you can do that after your lines are already charged. Single click will ensure they fight enemy back but most likely won't move unless phalanx formation was a bit messy, then it will reform. Double click ALWAYS forces them to take few steps forward, which pushes enemies back and phalanx reforms and makes phalanx kill a bit faster (but they also shorten the distance for a bit so elite infantry can deal them some casualties).
4. Try to finish of satrapies one by one. Deleting one will stop it from sending any force but just taking parts of them and leaving other cities, will mean they will try to muster new force.
5. Yes, their Sparabara/Elite Sparabara and Satrap Guard units have spears and bows. They have worse damage and much less ammo than regular archers.

[Patronus86]

Many thanks for the feedback.

One additional question: Why do I see some armies (Alexander's for example) are able to replenish (when regional pop allows) but armies led by other generals, located in the same region as Alexander, are not able to replenish? Is the unit replenishment feature enabled by a general's trait in this mod?

[KAM 2150]

All units within an army need enoug population to replenish as game does not allow to replenish some units while not replenishing others. Sometimes there are also other effects that prevent it.

[Patronus86]

All units within an army need enoug population to replenish as game does not allow to replenish some units while not replenishing others. Sometimes there are also other effects that prevent it.

I checked the settlement population - I had enough of the relevant citizen types. There must have been some other issue affecting the replenishment, I just couldn't figure out what it was.