I think if Yamato are still a fast civ, Romans must be one too. Minoans? I have my doubts. They have a lot of power, but going dock first doesn't help bronze time much (and I don't ever want to think about what it does to your tool time
). Bronze strength, sure. Minoans can have an amazing economy heading into bronze.I think I bronze faster with Romans than with Yamato/Assyrian, though; and I can tool faster than I can with Phoenician. Now, I won't have a lot for the tool rush, and the Roman bronze age kinda sucks - but (and this is my point) the Yamato bronze age sucks as well.
I would argue that Shang are the only fast civ. After that, I would say:
2) Phoenician/Assyrian - still fast, loads of power in tool and bronze - and good iron ages to boot.
3) Yamato/Roman/Minoan(on water maps only)
40 Hittite/Macedonian/Egyptian(it's not only how fast you get there...military advantages translate to economic advantages in a very short time)/Persian(a great tool age really can mean something)
5) Sumerian/Babylonian/(Palmyran?)/Persian(sometimes a great tool age doesn't mean anything)/Minoan(on inland/highland/hill country)
6) Greek/Choson/Cazthagian - not getting chariot archers or _any_ economic bonus makes these guys unequal to all other civilizations in default settings.
Within these groups it's very possible to play balanced games. Now, you could certainly quibble about some of the assignments here, but I think it's basically accurate. What _I_ wish is that occasionally I could persuade people to play games that are neither any civ, nor random civs, nor slow civs - but reasonably balanced civs.
I think it would be pretty cool if 3 v 3 games could be arranged so that, say, 2 people on each side are playing a civilization at one 'tier', and one is playing a civilization one tier up or down. People say they're bored of all Shang/Phoenician/Assyrian games...well, fine. I am, a little, too. But I'm also bored of all Hittite games. I think it would be both fun and fair to play a game where everyone had to be Roman, Yamato, or Minoan. Or, for that matter, Choson or Greek or Carthaginian...this might be even more fun for playing DM, although, obviously, you'd want a somewhat different ranking of the civilizations. Ah, well. Just my two bits.