Just consider which GB is more useless, Capitol or the GB that offers the cultural coin boost?
The GB that offers Cultural Coin boost. As SC notes, it distorts what is a well designed part of the game.
Capitol is the worst of the Pop GBs but for newer cities and unsophisticated players it's not horrible.
As far as how the balance of the game mechanic goes, The Arc is way too strong compare to other higher era GBs, so not balanced at all, Time to reduce the strength of The Arc.
Yeah. You complain about a GB that effects (Good ol' Arc, warps everything it touches.) or if you prefer distorts the game.
You want to introduce a GB to one of the few aspects of the game, Cultural Settlements, that are not directly affected by GBs? Knowing that any GB will be warped by Arc?
Poor thinkery.
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Silly concept to say the game isn't balanced. It is, just at a far different balance point then if Arc was not so powerful.
Wishing for Arc to be rebalanced is indeed wishful dreaming. We're way too far down the road, too many players have put too much time, effort, money into developing Arc and with Arc for INNO to attempt to change Arc.
Instead, INNO has been doing some engineering at the other end, developments that are not quite so submissive to Arc's strengths. Look close at the few areas of the game that are not directly influenced by Arc and you can see both complete, err, shall we say, innovations and subtle changes over the last 18 months or so. Cultural Settlements as an example of the former, the most recent Eras of the Tech Tree as an example of the latter.
I doubt that FoE can ever come within a country mile of getting back to the pre-Arc pristine state, but I am curious to see what INNO comes up with next. I'd look towards new aspects that are not directly affected by GBs.