I'd be OK with slightly extending the turn timer, as long as we're all in agreement that we're trying to maintain a turn pace of one turn per day. Less frequent turns than that can cause interest to wane, which is detrimental to the game (people may drop).
AI takeover should only be used as a last resort. Imagine that the player you border drops out of the game and his empire is now controlled by the AI. We all know how to exploit the AI...that would give a huge advantage to anyone neighboring the AI as their land gets snapped up by more tactically competent humans. So game balance goes out the window. The AI takeover option should definitely be set to ON in game setup to allow us to regain control of an abandoned civ if needed, but we should not play the game under AI stewardship unless there is absolutely no replacement who can be found. Just my opinion.
AI takeover should only be used as a last resort. Imagine that the player you border drops out of the game and his empire is now controlled by the AI. We all know how to exploit the AI...that would give a huge advantage to anyone neighboring the AI as their land gets snapped up by more tactically competent humans. So game balance goes out the window. The AI takeover option should definitely be set to ON in game setup to allow us to regain control of an abandoned civ if needed, but we should not play the game under AI stewardship unless there is absolutely no replacement who can be found. Just my opinion.
Played: Pitboss 18 - Kublai Khan of Germany Somalia | Pitboss 11 - De Gaulle of Byzantium | Pitboss 8 - Churchill of Portugal | PB7 - Mao of Native America | PBEM29 Greens - Mao of Babylon