Apologies if this has been discussed already, but I searched through a few pages and didn't see anything like this post.  I'd like to discuss and suggest some gripes and things I like about the fame system in general.  I do really like the fame system in general, and think it's more interesting than Civ's "rush to an endgame" mentality.

That said, I do feel like it makes the later eras feel pretty irrelevant.  The world gets a lot more complicated later in the game, but the "weight" of fame doesn't change.  I had one game (Humankind difficulty) where I didn't meet the Black player until the Industrial Era, and when I did, they were 3000 points ahead of me (my 6500 to their 9500) - an entirely insurmountable lead, no matter what I did.  It was off-putting to discover that player so late in the game, especially when I had such a strong lead over every other player (the third-place player had ~4000 fame).  The next game I played, I intentionally held off for a *long* time before advancing, and usually got 10-15 era stars at each era.  I was behind the black player in all terms economically the whole game, but didn't let that deter me - I kept my head low and ended up 2000 or so points ahead of them.  It didn't feel like I'd won.

I'm not sure what the Amplitude team has in mind for victory in the final release, but for whatever reason I just don't feel like Fame in and of itself ought to be representative of who deserves to win.  As much as I love the idea of the early stages marking your domination in history, I also feel like there ought to be a "rush" in the endgame, with alliances clashing over the ultimate victory - similar to the World Wars or a Cold War (which can preclude military action).  I have a few ideas for improving it:

1. More late-game ways of tipping the needle; expensive World Wonders granting no benefits other than tons of Fame; "Endgame" Stars for each of the 7 categories, granting 500-1000 points each, for the player who ultimately reigns supreme in each of the 7 categories; in general, some way for a player 3000 points behind going into the final era to catch up if they can execute on a bold series of plans.
2. Fame giving players an "edge" going into the final era; perhaps the creation of a Historical Society which "solidifies" fame into a tangible historical corpus, which requires influence, money, population, science, and/or production.  "Solidifying" your own fame would cost less, thereby granting players with more an advantage, if they sink the same amount of resources as other players into it.

• A tweaking of cultural advancement.  Rather than an opt-in system based on Era stars, all cultures advance at the same time (either pre-set turn numbers, or when the lead player accrues ~10 Era Stars), and the pick order is based on how much Fame each player has.  The idea here would be that "unbalanced" cultures would encourage players to play the Fame Game to have first picks.

• Something small for reaching a certain population following your faith every era
• Goals to have access to a certain number of luxury resources
• Ancient: Have 3 different luxury resources
• Classic: Have 4 different luxury resources, and 6 total luxury resources
• Medieval: Have 5 different luxury resources, and 9 total luxury resources
• Early Modern: 6/12
• Industrial: 7/15
• Goals to have access to a certain number of strategic resources
• Ancient: Have 2 of both Copper and Horses
• Classic: Have 1 Copper, 1 Horse, and 1 Iron
• Medieval: Have 3 Iron
• Early Modern: Have 3 Saltpetre
• Industrial: Have 2 Coal, and 2 Oil