I love the concept, am less than enamored of the results on my early cities.
But that's realistic, right? Except that it is not so clear as to what to do to counter the plague once it starts, especially in the early days.
I'd like to see the mod continue to evolve, though, don't get me wrong. I very much appreciate the care and attention that went into crafting this...something I could never do myself.
What I'd like to see more focus on is on the health side of things where population growth is either encouraged or hindered by good or bad conditions and infrastructure. It is not just about plagues and their spread, after all.
So perhaps some emphasis on playing with the growth mechanics will accomplish this. I know there are existing multipliers for growth and there is no reason that negative factors could severely slow down growth, without necessarily killing off existing population like the plague side of the mod does.
Yes, historically plagues did kill off large portions of population on more than one continent, but by and large so did volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and floods...none of which events are in Civ V. So the effect of plagues could just as easily be represented by a simple mod mechanic generating random catastrophes on random cities. Yes, it is great to have formulas for disease spread by vector via trade routes, for instance, but not really necessary to simulate plagues that wiped out hordes of people throughout history.
Where your accomplishment shines, IMO, is in the way it can give us a tool to alter factors that encourage or discourage city growth apart from food storage and consumption. We have wonders and religious perks that increase growth percentages, but there is nothing out there like your mod (that I know of) which could be a vehicle to demonstrate how growth can be stifled or ramped up via buildings and infrastructure which impact the growth curve. Example: build a factory, growth curve drops by X per cent. Build a hospital, raise the curve Y per cent. Build a medical research lab, growth curve ascends by Z per cent. Don't found your city near fresh water? Watch the growth curve flatten out compared to one with access to fresh water...and so on.
So, fWIW, I think that population health in general and its effect on growth is what this mod can focus on to good advantage. But obviously it is your mod and it will go wherever your fancy leads it.
