I don't need a primer on MoM,
I've been playing it since it was released in 1994 and still have the original version on an old computer I keep just to play it. It is my favourite computer game of all time and despite its age, it has that special quality the
Je ne sais quoi other games can only aspire to.
It is obvious to anyone who stops to think about it for a moment that Warlock is an attempt at a MoM like game set in the Majesty universe. Indeed the CEO of Paradox has stated something similar although I can't quite recall his exact wording.
You may not recall it (as you admit), but optimal play in MoM required extensive micromanagement of production, as overflow hammers are lost. On the last few turns a build there was optimisation to turn workers into farmers to avoid lost hammers and maximise food production in the city and hence improve production elsewhere (keeping global food constant) or even to produce excess food for more gold (2 food = 1 gold, as in Warlock). Another major source of micromangement was the use of gold to rush buy units and buildings. In my games a major use of gold was for this purpose and not upkeep of units as you state, I seldom paid much as my Fame reduced the gold costs to nearly zero Another use of spare gold was to convert to mana to pay for spells and enchanment upkeep. Nearly all mana from nodes and cities was channeled into increasing the Great Mage's casting skill. Managing the global tax rate and city happiness was the most important factor in generating excess gold. The economy in MoM was a management nighmare, but very satisfying when done well. It was absolutely nothing like any version of Civ.
Warlock has a much better economy, well thought out, very streamlined and slick. Production (hammers) and gold have been merged simplifying unit production. It allows me to concentrate on the enjoyable parts of the game.
My greatest wish is that the Warlock gets a better magic system, the spell casting in Mom was much better, but that is a subject for another thread, this one is on city spam.
The city spam in Warlock is very much like it was in MoM and so it doesn't worry me at all. Players that feel they have too many cities can just stop building them or even delete some, that's up to them, I just wish they'd stop trying to change the game and make other players, like me, play the same way. That worries me as it would spoil a most promising game.