Plus we need higher diplomatic penalties for purchasing tiles. Are there any negatives to it atm? Didn't Leaders start complaining in Civ 5 whenever you bought tiles?
Careful there!
Two specific factors stand as brick walls to our minimal control over rational tiles development.
1) Strategic resources unlocking. That juicy (rare) Oil is standing just outside our current border range. We need it -- rapidly! Why should we be punished for spending precious money while we still could be patient?
2) The automated growth algorithm has a wacky habit of pre-selecting the "wrong" tiles for the next pink unlock step. How many times have i seen silly worthless priorities when a solid prospect remains idle for many extra turns.