Longer "start phase"

[madman1981]

I usually enjoy the first half or two thirds of a game the most. Exploring new areas, clearing terrain, racing for colonizing an island before someone else does it etc, getting first to a new government type++. When modern times roll around (tanks, marines, flight) I get bored. Building factories is fine, but once you build them, there are soon a huge number of buildings and improvements that i couldn't care less about (plants, recycling+++). Way too much time is spent on builidings and there are way too many of them in my opinion.

So, with this in mind, does anyone have any suggestions for adjustments I can make that could make the game more enjoyable for me? I prefer playing on medium or smaller sized maps.