diff --git a/LuaRules/Gadgets/Include/startbox_utilities.lua b/LuaRules/Gadgets/Include/startbox_utilities.lua
index 785a6bd68f..63cbaf84e0 100644
--- a/LuaRules/Gadgets/Include/startbox_utilities.lua
+++ b/LuaRules/Gadgets/Include/startbox_utilities.lua
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ local function ParseBoxes ()
 		
 		if not startboxStringLoadedBoxes then
 			if Game.mapSizeZ > Game.mapSizeX then
-				startBoxConfig[0] = {
+				startBoxConfig[1] = {
 					boxes = {{
 						{0, 0},
 						{0, Game.mapSizeZ * 0.2},
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ local function ParseBoxes ()
 					nameLong = "North",
 					nameShort = "N"
 				}
-				startBoxConfig[1] = {
+				startBoxConfig[2] = {
 					boxes = {{
 						{0, Game.mapSizeZ * 0.8},
 						{0, Game.mapSizeZ},
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ local function ParseBoxes ()
 					nameShort = "S"
 				}
 			else
-				startBoxConfig[0] = {
+				startBoxConfig[1] = {
 					boxes = {{
 						{0, 0},
 						{0, Game.mapSizeZ},
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ local function ParseBoxes ()
 					nameLong = "West",
 					nameShort = "W"
 				}
-				startBoxConfig[1] = {
+				startBoxConfig[2] = {
 					boxes = {{
 						{Game.mapSizeX * 0.8, 0},
 						{Game.mapSizeX * 0.8, Game.mapSizeZ},
@@ -155,20 +155,13 @@ local function ParseBoxes ()
 		end
 	end
 
-	--[[ If the boxes start from 1, shift down (allyteams start from 0).
-	     At some point the internals could be rewritten so that configs
-	     starting from 0 would be shifted up instead (since this is how
-	     Lua generally works) but from the PoV of somebody writing map
-	     configs this is transparent so it's just a code neatness thing
-	     that can wait until later. Note that this deprecates 0-indexing,
-	     even though that is how ~all gameside configs still look (that
-	     would be another mechanical task to perform at some point). ]]
-	if startBoxConfig[1] and not startBoxConfig[0] then
-		Spring.Echo("1-indexed startbox detected, shifting")
+	-- If the boxes start from 0, shift up (Allyteams start from 1)
+	if startBoxConfig[0] and not startBoxConfig[1] then
+		Spring.Echo("0-indexed startbox detected, shifting")
 
 		local ret = {}
 		for boxID, box in pairs(startBoxConfig) do
-			ret[boxID - 1] = box
+			ret[boxID + 1] = box
 		end
 		startBoxConfig = ret
 	end
diff --git a/LuaRules/Gadgets/start_boxes.lua b/LuaRules/Gadgets/start_boxes.lua
index ceb7f540e2..daec7de9f2 100644
--- a/LuaRules/Gadgets/start_boxes.lua
+++ b/LuaRules/Gadgets/start_boxes.lua
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ local function GetBoxID(allyTeamID)
 	if not teamID then
 		return
 	end
-	local boxID = Spring.GetTeamRulesParam(teamID, "start_box_id")
+	local boxID = Spring.GetTeamRulesParam(teamID, "start_box_id") + 1 -- default to 1-indexed
 	return boxID
 end
 
@@ -337,6 +337,7 @@ local function GetTeamNames (allyTeamID)
 	then
 		local boxID = Spring.GetTeamRulesParam(teamList[1], "start_box_id")
 		if boxID then
+			boxID = boxID + 1 -- default to 1-indexed
 			local box = startboxConfig[boxID]
 			if box.nameLong and box.nameShort then
 				return box.nameLong, box.nameShort, clanLongName, clanShortName
@@ -417,7 +418,7 @@ function gadget:Initialize()
 
 		for i = 1, #allyTeamList do
 			local allyTeamID = allyTeamList[i]
-			local boxID = allyTeamList[i]
+			local boxID = allyTeamList[i] + 1 -- default to 1-indexed
 			if startboxConfig[boxID] then
 				local teamList = Spring.GetTeamList(allyTeamID) or {}
 				for j = 1, #teamList do
@@ -520,6 +521,9 @@ function gadget:AllowStartPosition(playerID, teamID, readyState, x, y, z, rx, ry
 	end
 
 	local boxID = Spring.GetTeamRulesParam(teamID, "start_box_id")
+	if boxID then
+   		boxID = boxID + 1 -- default to 1-indexed
+	end
 
 	if (not boxID) or CheckStartbox(boxID, x, z) then
 		Spring.SetTeamRulesParam (teamID, "valid_startpos", 1)
@@ -539,6 +543,9 @@ function gadget:RecvSkirmishAIMessage(teamID, dataStr)
 	end
 
 	local boxID = Spring.GetTeamRulesParam(teamID, "start_box_id")
+	if boxID then
+    	boxID = boxID + 1 -- default to 1-indexed
+	end
 
 	local xz = dataStr:sub(command:len()+1)
 	local slash = xz:find("/",1,true)
@@ -573,8 +580,9 @@ function gadget:RecvSkirmishAIMessage(teamID, dataStr)
 					local enemyteams = Spring.GetTeamList(value)
 					local _,value1 = next(enemyteams)
 					if value1 then
-						local enemybox = Spring.GetTeamRulesParam(value1, "start_box_id")
+						local enemybox = Spring.GetTeamRulesParam(value1, "start_box_id") 
 						if (enemybox) then
+							enemybox = enemybox + 1 -- default to 1-indexed
 							enemyboxes[enemybox] = true
 						end
 					end