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Notes -
I just went and replayed Civ V this evening and it gave me a good perspective on all the things Civ 6 and Civ 7 have done better that I should be greatful for.
I think the towns and cities distinction is far more interesting than the cities only. The pointlessness of most luxury resources other than just box checking was improved upon. Weather and terrain effects were good. I think adjacency bonuses make for a more interesting settling dynamic around city planning and location, beyond the usual "find a 3 radius that doesn't overlap" or a strategic choke point. Culture is actually a bit more interesting, it's not just a collect resource-take bonus. I think 7 created the Culture Tree "tech" tree and separated it from the Science Tech Tree. I find that much more challenging, enjoyable and allows for greater complexity of play. It also helped the wonder spamming problem by splitting wonders. Actually having to place the wonders also helps not spamming them. This is getting long, but I could ramble on about how 6 and 7 are better than 5. (it's been awhile since I've played 4).
Oh, I agree that Civ 6 is better than 5 (though I still enjoy 5 and go back to it sometimes).. I just don't think Civ 7 is particularly good, let alone better than other Civ games. They made their main design objective for the game solving a problem I didn't agree was a problem (late game snowballing) using methods that I think aren't fun to play (era transitions and forced civ switching, though at least they dropped the latter). Pretty poor showing from Firaxis, IMO.
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