Woo! I completed this game earlier today.
It's quite an achievement... as I've played all the other Settlers games, but have never been bothered to complete them because they have been such a pain in the ass with all the crappy micro-management crap that goes on in them. This game is a change for the better where all the macro management seems to have been got rid of. There's a few hints of it... like being able to change the tax rate... which I never did throughout the game...
It can be a frustrating, but then I suppose that's what makes a good game. It's got to give you the feeling that the computer is going to beat you, but when you beat it it feels good :-) I'll have to find something else to waste my time on now! Hummmmmm!