Aside from being on the other side of the map from my teammate, my start is actually quite good - excellent even. But again, I think that the disparity of a team thats close versus a team thats really far is so great that it will really throw the game if not addressed.
I believe the point of the simple part, is that it wouldn't require roping an admin to preset the starts. thus it's all very simple to run, albeit a little imperfect on the balance. but i came in late so i could be wrong.