a question......

[Lyban]

I wasn't a part of age 1, so I can't really comment about that but from what I've seen of this age it seems they have tried to get some semblance of balance.

If you didn't have to pay the seemingly large amounts of gold upgrade unit production, then everybody starting the game would have massive armies before they had the DA to protect their turn gold. While that could make things a bit more interesting for those on the prowl for gold, I think the way they've set it up forces people to think about different strategies and provides a number of options. That adds variability and brings a bit more depth to the game.

[Lord Lanair]

Hmph!  It prevents me from getting a lot of turn gold without working for it.  <_<  LOL  

[Lyban]

True, but if it were that easy, would you really get as much out of the game??  

Especially considering that everybody else would be in the same boat and you would have no real advantage...