Population, Morale and Max Cap

from GalCiv3 Forums

Hello, long time player of Gal Civ here, it's been a while since I've played it but I now have a PC capable of playing GalCiv3.

I have found GC3 mostly similar to GC2, apart from the Hexboard obviously, but I have a bit of a problem with the Population cap. In the previous game, there was a generally agreed upon limit meaning 10 or 12 Billion peeps was basically as far as you were going to get. In the new game however there doesn't seem to be, as far as I can tell, any limit whatsoever, Morale be damned. Checking the forum I read a thread with someone saying that the bigger the Population then the more of everything (Manufacturing, Research, Economy) you produce even with Morale penalties because Population is directly linked to Production. Having played GalCiv and other Civ-type games before I can't help but cringe at all those angry, red faces but I feel I have no choice if it means falling behind in the Production race. I also know from past experience that GalCiv has a tendency to hide gameplay mechanics, that go largely unexplained, under the bonnet.

Is there an unofficial population cap in place like GalCiv2 or is pumping a ridiculous amount of farms pretty much the only way to play effectively? Now, I'm pleasantly surprised farms finally play an important role but this is too much and I'm thinking perhaps a Population cap might be linked with Planet size but I'm not certain.

Essentially what I am asking the more experienced players here is whether there is a sweet spot between Population, Production and Morale? Is it possible to have an Empire where everybody is happy?

Thank you.

24,417 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

There is no hard limit to population. I play usually on gifted everything, and for my play style I don't find it difficult to keep the population reasonably happy (mostly by techs and starbases, only in the beginning I also need approval buildings), but I seldom have more than 40 pop units on any one planet. I don't play for mathematical exercise, but for fun, and so don't tend to try to exploit the rules to my best advantage, so I cannot provide you with a mathematical formula for the best ratio between pop, production and morale ;)  

Since Crusade will change all this, my limited knowledge may soon be outdated ;)

Reply #2 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting lyssailcor, reply 1

Since Crusade will change all this, my limited knowledge may soon be outdated
End of lyssailcor's quote

This is the best comment. Even the devs noticed that the population/farms were a bit overrated. Crusade will bring massive changes to the economic system. Including a population cap/control.

Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

no caps , except for synthetic races.  Keeping population happy is good for extra bonuses.  I usually go for the malevolent Eager ideology because it gives +1 moral for every planet conquered.  Eventually i am able to delete all planetary approval buildings.  If you do some quick math you'll find that generally the best build out for a specialized planet is to have about the same number of farms as your improvements. e.g For a class 15 research planet i would typically do 1 factory (or solar plant) 1 approval 6 farms 7 research; but a lot depends on the planet layout and bonus tiles.  Star-bases can really boost happiness so don't overlook them.   of course ALL this will change greatly with the fantastic Crusade update.

Reply #4 from GalCiv3 Forums Top


.

Essentially what I am asking the more experienced players here is whether there is a sweet spot between Population, Production and Morale? Is it possible to have an Empire where everybody is happy?

Thank you.
End of quote

 

You started your post with a seeming assumption that Morale did not matter. "Morale be damned". Then you ask this question.  There is a contradiction in there somewhere.

First of all, Morale does matter.  It affects Raw Production and population growth rate, two very key factors.  It is not quite crippling, but pretty close.  

There is no one sweet spot.  In late game I dedicate 4-5 tiles to population improvements and 2 to morale.  I get populations of 50-65 per planet.  With techs and a couple Morale Relics I can maintain high 90s for Morale.  That is one example.  It includes much Terraforming and leverage of adjacencies.  I have had occasional planets up 80-85 pop, but generally I get to a tech victory before there are enough turns to get to those levels, or I keep taking away population as soldiers.  Again, this just me

This is on wide open maps with few factions.  Closer factions lead to other priorities and you won't have the opportunities to achieve such levels.  War gets in the way of everything else. Any other kind of map will lead to different results.  The vast differences in results based on maps and playstyles lead to reporting of results that sound extreme to people that are playing under different conditions.  For example, my 100 planet empires yield impressive numbers which scare others.  They don't take into account the mind numbing micromanagement involved and the obsession required. Or that the AI had time to grow in their territory. Also, a lot of gamer claims need to be treated with skepticism.

It can be done, whether it is worth it for each person is another question entirely.

BTW, I am quite possibly the person you cite as saying population is the basis of everything.  It sounds like what I have been preaching and how I have been preaching it.  :)