Matrix Games Forums

How is a planet´s or moon´s maximum population calculated?

I assume both size and quality play a role, presumably also planet type and possibly inhabitant race, but I can´t see any direct correlation.

Hmmm, good question.

I know I seen worlds cap out at ~8 Billion, and other near 18 Billion. May have to play with the editor and see the correlations of size, quality, race etc...

Wiki - Colony Growth

Population growth

Small colonies have faster population growth: when a colony has less than 500 million people, then population growth receives a 50% bonus.

Migration of your citizens from large colonies to smaller ones is a major factor in achieving fast growth of new colonies. Citizens will be naturally attracted to nearby colonies with low taxes and good development levels. They will board passenger ships and migrate to those new colonies, boosting the population there.

Some areas of colonization research can also accelerate population growth at particular planet types.

Colony populations eventually reach a natural limit, at which point no further population growth will occur. This limit is determined by two factors:

Quality of world: more hospitable worlds with higher quality allow for higher maximum population levels
Size of world: larger worlds allow for higher maximum population levels
Native planet type: if the type of the planet or moon is the native type for the race living there, then the maximum population is 10% higher

I did some work on this a while back. It's not straightforward, and I'm not sure I got a handle on every variable, but I think my formula was accurate in many cases.

Essentially what I came up with was this:

Assuming you don't get the native planet bonus, the formula for working out the maximum population of the planet is:

Max pop = 2.5x[(Planet Size/10000)^2]x[(Planet Quality/100)^2]

If you do get the native planet bonus, add 10% to the figure calculated from the above equation (i.e. multiply the figure by 1.1).

The max pop is in billions. Please be aware that planet size is given in thousands, which is why I have a divisor of 10000 in the formula. So if the game gives the planet size as 29.5k, then you have to use 29500 as the planet size in above formula.

You can read the full post here:

tm.asp?m=3342485

Osito

Thank you - especially to Osito. That is very useful.

Any way we can have the game display the maximum population in the planetary report screen?

Same formula, but simplified slightly...

- Max Pop in Millions = ( Size * Quality / 20 ) ^ 2

For a planet of size 29.6k and Quality of 86%, this gives...

- Max Pop = ( 29.6 * 86 / 20 ) ^ 2 = 16,200 M

ORIGINAL: MatBailie

Same formula, but simplified slightly...

- Max Pop in Millions = ( Size * Quality / 20 ) ^ 2

For a planet of size 29.6k and Quality of 86%, this gives...

- Max Pop = ( 29.6 * 86 / 20 ) ^ 2 = 16,200 M

I'm not able to figur out what "*" and "^ 2" means in your formula.. [&:]

can you please explain ?

A*B is a notation meaning multiply value A by value B; A^B is a notation meaning raise A to the power B.

Edit: Also, if you're getting confused trying to go from Osito's to MatBaile's formula or vice versa, note that Osito's formula gives maximum population in billions whereas MatBaile's gives maximum population in millions.