I really don’t get this obsession with towns being convenient just because there’s no building queue. There’s like a 30 settlement limit max at the end of modern. Meanwhile you constant have to click on which ploy to expand with growth when in earlier civ games builders could just be automated.
This seems very much like a party line thing of “the official reason for towns is I can set them and forget them”. But you don’t. They’re constantly growing and requiring attention.
I don't share that view of convenience and I don't dislike some types of micromanagement in Civ. I love optimizing worker turns and switching tiles in Civ4, but I enjoy having a different kind of game too.
Like I said above, the main advantage I see in the town to city conversion is that it adds a tradeoff for spending vs. saving of gold. It's less interesting in later ages when gold becomes too cheap, but that's a general symptom of the lack of balance late game. Like how population growth occurs way too often with stacking fish, leading to more aimless specialist assignment in that phase of the game.
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