Good to hear that's a thouroughly well-put-together mod and that GA goals can be set by the modder as part of creating a new playable faction.
I think the thread I read, warning of crashes when clicking on the shields was in reference to looking at GA goals for other factions, like Novgorod, when the player was another faction entirely. That WAS because no GA goals had been set, at the time, but the thread was probably from 2003 and this is an issue long since resolved, what with mods being updated frequently. Sorry I even raised this issue and hope this clarifies things for casual readers.
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