I don't really get where the sudoku folks are coming from. You click on emphasize T, (C)ommerce, GP or (F)ood. If you don't like how it set your tiles, you make a change or two. There is no major work or shuffling involved.
Theres also little reason to be using GP unless you are Trying to
a) Speed up the cities production
b1) Rush culture (Emphasize T & Build Culture)
b2) Rush Culture (Ephasize Food & Artists GP )
c) Raise your Gold/Turn above a deficit ( > 0 )
d) Build GP points
As it stands, doing most of those things, especially the first two - have consequences, they slow down your city growth.
This idea has no consequences at all. It grows you have money, you buy.
And after all this time, no one has come up with a decent idea of how GP will even fit into this scheme.
People praising this idea for the Trade (inter-city & foreign) should realize the Trade options could very easily fit into the current framework - Without throwing balance and GreatPeople out the window.
[Edit]
While pondering more, it occured to me - it might make sense to be able to de-Pop a City to gain a Gatherer.
CityBar Display is the same;
CityView "9 (+1) Rome" (if you dePopped one citizen on a size 10 city)
The Gatherer (w/ wheelbarrow), can primarily do two things:
Work a Tile &
Transport those resources.
A City must be at least size 6 to de-Pop.
Working a Tile: Must be within your borders; Can't be worked by another City.
Transporting: The Gatherer can deliver the resources to any of your cities.
When delivered to the Gatherer's Home City, F & T add to a tradeable/useable Pool.
When delivered to another of your Cities, they are added that turn (not pooled).
Commerce is added to whichever City initially gets the resources (not pooled).
The Home City can USE, SELL, STORE, or TRANSPORT Pooled resources.
Pooled Resources would show up under Commerce Trade, clicking on them would open a menu
to allow you to offer Trade to another CIV, or to move the resources out of the
Pool so a Gatherer/Settler can "pick up" the resources.
Settlers can also Transport resources, which would add to a new cities first turn income.
NOTE: A Gatherer's mission to work a tile, and walk to a city, should be stackable with "SHIFT" and
a new Icon for "GoTO City/Repeat Gather"
CAVEAT: The Gatherer if killed, reduces your population by one.
Synergistic Idea: The ability to reduce +/- T & +/- F, Adding takes from the Pool, Subtracting adds to.
Possibly only allow Cities with a Palace or Forbidden Palace to dePop.
Gatherer's might have a Worker's MV + 1.
====================================================
This allows you to:
1) Sell Excess resources.
2) Work tiles outside of a Cities FatCross.
3) Bolster weak cities.
4) Foster initial growth of new Cities.
This prolly belongs in another thread, sorry