Palmy vs. Shang...okay, you want to make this argument? I'll play you Palmy vs. Shang any day.lLet's see how fast your stupid workers die.
Simply put you gather berries 44% faster. You spend 50% more on each villager. And you start with the resources to build 3 less villagers than Shang. Which means Shang needs less people getting food. Which means I get a faster woodpit, faster dock times, more docks faster, more fishing boats faster. And I spend half as much as you do on each villie.
So your Palmyran villagers can bronze sub-12. To paraphrase Klietus: who cares if you only have 12 villagers?
Palmy can boom at will in bronze? Yeah right, they are really nice for raking it in in bronze but in terms of booming they are downright awful. 75 food per villager at 5 or 6 TCs every 20 seconds? It isn't going to happen.
Shang vs. Hittite in bronze? By the time he hits bronze he won't have a fleet and cavalry will be in his woodcutters.
Shang's Iron can go toe to toe with Palmy's. Shang has better scythes and they also have full priests to nab anything they want. **BONUS Shang villagers with market techs do better than fat Palmy villagers in Iron and they cost half as much**
Newbies who take Roman? Great I'll play you Palmy vs. Roman too. You won't have a chance...Rome is considerably faster than Palmy and has a much better Iron. Bronze is iffy but the towers can usually hold up well enough against Palmy's slow attack.
"Most games have what is called a pop limit. Have you heard of this before?" Yes and Palmy will never reach it due to their fat villagers and slow speed which means they will be dead in tool or early, early bronze at the least.
Shang is planning a bronze rush? They can go Iron too. Cats, ballistae, HA, and FG...not shabby at all. Scythes later on too...