Now that I am playing my second game of Dread Lords, I see this as a recurring issue. In both games I've played, all Class 4 planets (like Mars) are listed with a maximum population of 6.0 b, but in every case the population hits a ceiling of 2.5 b. Why do they never get to their listed maximum like all the other planet classes do? Unless I am missing something, shouldn't their maximum populations be listed as 2.5 b instead?
Check out the https://www.galciv.wikia.com/wiki/Population article. There's a link to the GalCiv2 Wiki in the "Databanks" section. Just clik on "Databanks" button at the top left of the screen right under the "Home" button.
The 6.0B max pop limit is your "food limit" based on the food capacity of the initial colony building. The initial colony building will support 6B people. The 2.5B limit is actually the planet growth limit beyond which the planet will no longer grow. You could if you wanted to bus in population from other planets using a transport or colony ship. You can do this just by putting a transport/colony ship in orbit and then when you launch it and you get asked how many colonists/troops to load just say 1 (I guess this is the ships minimum crew.
However it's usually not real practical to bus pop around like this and so the "real" max pop is the lower of the amount of pop that you have the food to support and the maximum the planet will grow basd on it's PQ.
The following is excerpt from the above referenced article.
PQ 1 = 0.16 b. PQ 2 = 0.54 b. PQ 3 = 1.28 b. PQ 4 = 2.50 b. PQ 5 = 4.32 b. PQ 6 = 6.86 b. PQ 7 = 10.24 b. PQ 8 = 14.58 b. PQ 9 = 20.00 b. PQ 10 = 26.62 b. PQ 11 = 34.56 b. PQ 12 = 43.94 b. PQ 13 = 54.88 b. PQ 14 = 67.50 b. PQ 15 = 81.92 b. PQ 16 = 98.26 b. PQ 17+ = 100 b.
Notes on maximum growth-achievable population
Yes, a player can still reach planet's food limit by transporting people from other worlds. This would make sense in case a player tries to maximize tax revenue, or wants to make planet less sensitive to enemy invasion. If you transfer to a planet more population than a planet can feed, all excess population will die off when game generates next turn.
Based on your explanation then, the maximum population displayed in parentheses on the planet screen should be the lower of the food limit and absolute Maximum Population for that class of planet. As it is now, the Maximum Population shown for Class 4 planets is misleading, particularly to us novices. I can't imagine that I am the only one who doesn't care about the "food limit" for planet, just the most folks it can handle regardless of the limitations.
Many thanks for the great information and useful tips, Mumblefratz. Your response will be a much-used reference.
A lot of this stuff is on the wiki and you should use that as a reference but also don't be afraid to just ask. I've been playing this game for almost three years and there are a few folks around that make me look like a newcomer. A question like this is such old hat to me that it only takes a moment to answer. But there are many other more subtle questions that couldn't be answered in 20,000 words.
To go all zen on you, life is but the journey itself, not the ultimate goal.
Ah, yes...the complexity is what is so great about Dread Lords! I am still "tinkering" with things in it to figure out what is affected when I change something. It is encouraging that one can still learn something new about it even after three years. Anyway, thanks again for the advice and wiki address which I am sure I will be using.
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