Bug or feature? Volcanic planets in home system shown as colonizable

[sbach2o]

In my recent game i have no race yet in my empire that can colonize volcanic planets, and only access to the basic colonization module.

The expansion planner shows exactly three volcanic planets as colonizable, all of them in my home system. No other volcanic planets are listed there out of dozens I have explored.

I am wondering whether this is a bug or a hidden feature. What can make a volcanic planet colonizable, except of having a race that natively lives on these in your empire? Why only my home system, that with the capital?

Edit: There are several issues

It turns out that that through migration I received a majority of volcanic planet dwellers on two of my colonies.

One issue is that the race description (Gizurean) in Galactopedia didn't indicate that it is a starting ability. The wording (something like "desert planets, but can also be found on volcanic") rather suggests that they can initially inhabit desert planets and volcanic maybe after some tech advances in habitation.

Also: Should Gizureans migrate to Ocean planets? Both worlds they have taken over from Wekkarus are ocean.

The next issue is the Expansion Planner only showing my home system's planets. Hadn't there been any volcanic worlds in my starting system, I'd never have noticed.

Here is a related report on that, with more concise info by someone who started out with a race that can inhabit volcanic planets. Gid73 had at one time the impression the issue may be related to him having a German locale on his computer. For me this is also the case.

[richieelias]

Perhaps because "your" race is able to colonize volcanic planets.

[Joram]

Yes certain races can do this.  I can't remember the name of my race (it's a lizard one) but they start with that ability.  There's other races that I know start with desert abilities and another with marsh (the froggies I think). 

[Fishman]

Lots of races have special colonization abilities. Shandar, Boskara, Gizureans all have volcanic colonization and need no special equipment to inhabit those worlds.

[sbach2o]

ORIGINAL: richieelias

Perhaps because "your" race is able to colonize volcanic planets.

I know that certain races can colonize volcanic planets. My race (Kiadian) is not one of them. I have none of these races in my empire (I think... I did not check through all of my fiftysomething colonies). If I had, *all* volcanic planets would appear in expansion planner, at least if I have a race with that capability as a majority on one of my planets. Just as it is the case with desert and ocean planets.

So, why did I see the three volcoanic planets in my home system under 'potential colonies' in expansion planner and not the I-know-not-how-many others?

ORIGINAL: Fishman

Shandar, Boskara, Gizureans all have volcanic colonization and need no special equipment to inhabit those worlds.

Maybe I should check again, Gizureans are in the game and the last I checked, in my empire as well, though not as a majority anywhere, but I didn't make sure of that. The race description for Gizureans didn't state clearly that they can colonize volcanic worlds from the outset. I thought that they maybe need special colonization tech for that and only get to desert planets for free.

It is still inconsistent to show only three colonies where otherwise you get a listing of all that are explored. Unless there is a special condition for volcanic planets. IIRC, all the colonies in question had Mining Bases and they might well be the only ones.

[Joram]

Shandar, that's right.  That's the race I play.  Happiness = money.    Anyway, I've been kind of wondering if there's a bug here myself.  They seem to start with the ability to colonize volcanic worlds but none of them display on the empire planner.  However, I can manually right click a volcanic world and colonize it fine.  Is that something you can do too sbach2?  Outside of those starting three.

[BigWolfChris]

What sbach2o is asking, is why is it only showing certain volcanic planets are colonizable instead of all of them If you can colonize one, you should be able to colonize them all

My only real suggestion would be, are you sure a population isn't already present on these planets?

[sbach2o]

ORIGINAL: Joram

Shandar, that's right.  That's the race I play.  Happiness = money. 

Anyway, I've been kind of wondering if there's a bug here myself.  They seem to start with the ability to colonize volcanic worlds but none of them display on the empire planner.  However, I can manually right click a volcanic world and colonize it fine.  Is that something you can do too sbach2?  Outside of those starting three.

I will have to try that out. The planets where the Gizurean appeared where initially populated by an ocean-dwelling race and I had already built a couple colonizers there.

If my guess is right and the Gizureans have taken over... Then the real issue would be that volcanic worlds do not appear consistently in the Expansion Planner. About the 'why' my guess would be the presence of a Mining Base in orbit. But that is also to be seen. I could order another Mining Base´on a different planet just for kicks. [;)]

ORIGINAL: BigWolf

My only real suggestion would be, are you sure a population isn't already present on these planets?

Actually I am sure there are many on at least two colonies I had originally purchased from a Gizurean empire, but initially they were pure Weekarus. Later I found to my total surprize a sizeable population of Gizureans on each (in the hundreds of millions).

They didn't have the majority then, I think. But I do not know whether a majority is really needed to produce a colonizer with that type of population. I wouldn't know how to pick the type of inhabitants, if a majority isn't required, anyway, except maybe by choosing the colony via expansion planner.

[D.W.O.H]

i am a human race but ran across the frog people ( dont remember the name ) living on a volcanic planet and when i colonized it i then had the ability from that planet alone to send out colony ships that could colonize any volcanic moon or planet, the 4 continental colonies i have up to this point in my home system cannot produce volcanic world colonizers & only continental.

[sbach2o]

Above, I had speculated that the presence of a Mining Station on a volcanic planet could have to do with it showing in the Expansion Planner as target for colonization. On closer inspection this turned out false. Out of three volcanic planets in my hoem system, only two have Mining Stations after all.

ORIGINAL: D.W.O.H

i am a human race but ran across the frog people ( dont remember the name ) living on a volcanic planet and when i colonized it i then had the ability from that planet alone to send out colony ships that could colonize any volcanic moon or planet, the 4 continental colonies i have up to this point in my home system cannot produce volcanic world colonizers & only continental.

This is the normal course of things. Only planets with population that can live on such a 'special' world can produce the colonizers to land there - actually stock them with people, err creatures, who want to live there. They probably must be in the majority as well.

[Joram]

Yeah, that's normal DWOH and I in my opinion makes sense.  Your humans didn't suddenly become immune to fire.  In colonizing planets like that, don't think of it as suddenly getting some special technological advance but just as the inhabitants innate ability to live there.