It is not necessarily sloppy by Firaxis because the product is vintage 2010. They may not have had a way of limiting the frame rate back then other than to limit it to VSYNC (which still unnecessarily heats up some graphics cards). There are also support and compatibility issues with frame rate control because it is hardware and operating system dependent......
For a game like the upcoming Beyond Earth, technology has moved on and you should expect Firaxis to implement an in-game frame rate limiter (at least VSYNC/2) for people so that they can choose how hot they want to run their graphics cards with respect to the performance they want. I bet they won't however, because it is easier just to get freeware apps like MSI afterburner and/or Nvidia Inspector to do the job on their behalf (or the behalf of Microsoft). If they don't tell people about this issue, that makes their job even easier.
*I don't know about OSX, it is an entirely different operating system and it might control the frame rate automatically for you*
If PC people want to protect their hardware, don't thank me, thank the people of MSI afterburner who have provided tools for us for free, when actually it should be built into either the game, or the operating system. Like I said before, it only affects some people (like me). I am glad that I can choose the option to keep my hardware running cool and keep the eye-candy on maximum, just by turning the frame-rate down.
NOTE: VSYNC is normally 60fps which really heats up a lot of graphics cards in 4X games for NOTHING. Some games reduce it to VSYNC/2 which is better. I slow it to 25fps and all that it means is that the scrolling is a bit slower but it is still fine and within minutes you are used to it.
EDIT: The issue about graphics card heating is a thorny one and that is why nothing has been done. Game companies can claim that it is the responsibility of the graphics card makers to ensure that people's hardware can survive 1000's of hours of Civ play at VSYNC frame rate. The hardware companies claim that it is people's jobs to keep the dust out of their laptops and PCs.....
However, in reality the hardware's life is usually shortened (even with excellent care), but only shortened enough so that people don't realise that their hardware was being stressed more than it otherwise should have been. If a software company is nice (like Firaxis should be), they would realise that VSYNC frame rates are unnecessary for a 4X game and offer solutions built into the game to slow the frame rate down. However they could claim that it should be built into the operating system, or they claim it is not their job to maximise the longevity of peoples computer hardware.
THE POINT IS THIS:
People increasingly want to protect their hardware because they paid a lot of money for it and it is not going to go obsolete for many years. BUT IF WE DON'T DEMAND that 4X games that are played for 100's if not 1000's of hours have built in optional ways to control the frame rate (and there by control the heat stress on the hardware), we just push the problem onto MSI Afterburner to solve, but somebody should be paid to take responsibility and it should not be left to freeware to solve. Donate to the good people at MSI then at the very least!