I didn't want to create a comprehensive thread covering multiple mechanics, but as i kept thinking about this, no mechanic can be changed without affecting others so i had to compile everything in one thread.

I am mainly dissatisfied with the way food and population is handled in the game; ghost cities functioning normally, and the weird way population growth is handled has always bugged me.

I am not against the decision of making military units literally reduce the cities population, but given the way it combines with population growth, it seems kinda silly.

Here is my idea regarding food and population:

Population Growth

populations grow at a base rate; given they are being fed properly, going under the optimal food / citizen ratio will slow down growth and eventually reach negative growth, or population loss. going above the recommended ratio does increase the growth rate, but with diminishing returns.

the base rate it self is still modifiable through policies, technlogies, buildings or any other kind of bonuses.

Food network

your cities can transfer food between one another, each city does not have to be self sufficient in food production, as long as the empire can is producing enough for everybody. this should be an automated and optimized process, no need for micro-management, but there should be a few options for controling the way the network functions (explained later)

Food is transported through domestic trade routes, meaning it can be disrupted / blockaded by hostile units; so its not just the sum of your empires food production being destributed even across your cities; strategic planning is required, especially for big empires; if your mainland is highly dependent on your oversees colonies food supply this might prove fatal if disrupted.

Army supplies

citizens do not suddenly lose their appetite as soon as they are converted to military units; armies now need food to survive.

using the same food network mechanic explained earlier; Armies are connected to the food network and use it to supply their needs. armies need an undisrupted connection to the network in order to keep going, if an army lost its connection to the nework due to disruption by hostile armies or simply going out of range, they survive a few turns on their local supply before it runs out and they start receiving gradual losses.

An army can refill their food supply by pillaging enemy food trade routes or by ransacking districts.

Exporting food

New deplomatic options allow signing a treaty for food exportation, allowing connecting foreign cities to your food network, allowing cities to sell excess food and generate revinew.

Controlling food network

As mentioned earlier, the process is automatically optimized and cities will exchange food to ensure all cities have optimal growth, however, this process can be customized through a new lens that shows the route nework on the map. The player can limit or block certain routes; allowing cities to keep their food inside even if other cities on the network are in more need of it, or to amplify certain routes, forcing cities to export more than just their excess food in favor of other cities.

this also applies for routes to/from other empires, allowing the player to limit imports to reduce costs even if the domestic network is still demanding more food, or to over-export for extra revenue even if that will push the domestic network into defeceit.

Forced Labor

Forced labor does not work like a buy-out mechanic but using pops instead of gold; population is hard to earn and hard to lose.

Forced labor instead

I feel that this overall makes food a more dynamic system in the game, with more strategic value, and it can make agrarian cultures more interesting and give them a strategic leverage.