Question on Advanced Starts

[Saygame]

Last night my friend and I used advanced start and teams on BTS to start a game. We formed 5 teams of which we were one team against the computer. We started in the Ancient Age on continents and gave everyone 50,000 points (gold). The computer teams came out waaaaay behind us in score points and technology at the start (we each had 750-760 score points and the computer nations had 130-150. In addition the computer started with almost no technology. While its fun to clobber the computer, we seek more starting balance.

Anyone else experience this imbalance with advanced starts?

[jbp26]

ive only played one advanced start but i felt it was a little skewed. it was nly a 900 gp start. in t he time it took me to research bronze working, 4 whip up 4 axemen, and walk to my nearest neighbor, they still only had a single archer defending each city and one or two on patrol.

i think its a given that the AI isnt optomized for an advanced start thats as big as the one you gave it, but it could be a little smarter for the default one.

[Palpster]

50,000 points??....might as well start in the medieval age and cut back on points, same effect but with slightly better AI opponents.

I've only used Advanced Start once myself and didn't really like it. It just feels wrong somehow, as if I'm cheating when I don't build and research everything myself. I used it for a Renaissance start that time cause I wanted to fool around with Corporations and not wait an entire game to do so. I did notice the AI came out a lot weaker than I did though, although they caught up pretty fast when I left them alone cause I was only interested in seeing how corporations worked not in winning a Conquest or Domination.

[snoopy369]

AS is mostly intended for multiplayer. The AI does not do a particularly good job on advanced start. It tends to not spend its points...

And yes, you should advance yourself to a later age if you're giving yourself anything over 1000 or so.

[marvinkosh]

Yes, with the Ancient start it could be that there aren't many improvements to spend gold on, but the AI doesn't cotton on that spending gold to buy some extra starting tech will enable various improvements and thus allow it to spend more gold for a better start.