I played a ton of version 6, so I didn't even hesitate to buy version 7. It's normal to be a bit hesitant about change, I get that, but in this case, I honestly think the change is for the better. The main differences are the era transitions and the crises before those transitions, plus you can pick a leader from a different civilization than your main one. For me, those are solid changes, and I'm really enjoying it.