Thats why I think decolonization needs to be an important part of itExpanding ages from maximum turn length of 3x200 to 3x250 might be similar than adding 200 turns on 3x200 on paper. But it would feel quite different imo. A fourth age is another break, another reset, another switch of civs, goals, and mechanics - another new game, so to speak. While expanding the ages - by what would in most cases not be 50 turns played, but maybe 20-30 - is just plunging a bit more in the ages that already exist and try to get more out of them. Even expanding each age by 100 turn would probably feel less long than adding another age.
As to 2.: as I said in another thread, there needs to be something new in case there is a fourth age. Simply continuing from where you left the game at the end of Modern makes no sense. Either expand/change the map to space or have your empire really crumble, leaving only a rump state (or switch to one of your towns and try to gain independence). Most suggestions I read about the fourth age sound like an Age 3.5 (or often just 3.1) and this doesn't have much sense to it. If there has to be another age tacked on, it needs to be fresh, new - something we've never experienced before and that's worth playing. Not a continue your empire on the exact same map with the 1000 year old borders, just with more airplanes, modern units and MAD.
Say it starts with 24 Settlement cap
There need to be Mechanics where
-I make it lower for other civs
-Setllements I didn’t found or ones far away or on Distant Lands should cost up to 2-5 against the settlement limit
-you can liberate Settlements to be IPs
The “Global Age” is mostly about manipulating those IPs (and other civs that get weak enough)
Suzereinity isn’t permanent (either use influence or military Proxy wars to make them your suzerein/steal them from the other)
Put your Military bases in to get a Military Legacy
Spread the Corporations that have “Factories” and “Servers” in your civ to get an Economic Legacy (shut down Factories and Servers in other civs that don’t have enough settlements/factory to support them …using your $)
Exert cultural pressure on IPs and other civs with your Multimedia Great Works to get them to adopt your Ideology, Government, and Culture. for a Cultural Legacy (Ideology and Government can also be
Get them to assist you in building projects to reach into space for a science Legacy
All of this while
spending influence (vote early and often…the more you spend the more votes you get discounted for the first #of IPs you have) to Support or Reject Global Endeavors/ Sanctions
and
Making sure your cities have power/Fuel for those “Factories”+Servers and Transport…and dealing with the effects on the environment of using that fuel.
and
dealing with a massive demographic change (massive food burst, and get other yields from excess food, but an increasing %growth penalty …that only reverses with Future civics)
and
Avoiding using your nuclear weapons unless you want to flip the board for MASSIVE war weariness (AI should never first strike)
…. if you do a full scale nuclear war you can start over again on almost the same map in Antiquity

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