Starting Population Amount

DonCorazon · #1 July 28th, 2008, 01:10 AM

I have been messing around with some pretender designs / scales, starting new games just for a few turns and notice that the starting population seems to vary each time, even though I am not changing growth / death scales and always starting in the same province. Anyone know what causes this?

Thanks

Omnirizon · #2 July 28th, 2008, 01:35 AM

sex.

sex causes change in population.

leasts that's i heard.

DonCorazon · #3 July 28th, 2008, 02:19 AM

That's "unprotected" sex Omni - don't believe everything your momma says, including the stuff about blindness. Oh wait, maybe that's what is ruining Utgard.

JimMorrison · #4 July 28th, 2008, 03:54 AM

Giants touch themselves!

I always wondered why even capitals have a variable pop. I think it's mostly aesthetics, so that they're not always pegged at exactly 30000. Though, it seems to me that the variance is a little wide, I think it can go anywhere from 29000-31000, which is a decent chunk of people, especially if you DO have a Growth or Death scale that is going to compound directly from that value to the end of the game.

It takes ~11 turns to get from 29k-31k. So, one year of game time worth of your Growth can significantly impact the actual benefit of a strategy involving that scale.

konming · #5 July 28th, 2008, 03:58 AM

I agree. There is no reason not to set starting capital pop to exactly 30K (except for LA Ermor, obviously). If we can have the flucuation in population, what next? Randomness in starting army? Starting leader?

Tifone · #6 July 28th, 2008, 09:13 AM

Ouh c'mon, now let's not start with super-balancing issues ^^

I dare to disagree, it is fun (and quite irrelevant i think) this way. Surely it's an advantage. But a casual one in a big game involving many things - this time happens to you, next time to me. ^^
If we start complaining this we go back to the Monkey PD and the blessed Jarls topic ^^