Population Frustration

from Elemental Forums

Hi, I really, like REALLY want to get into this game. There is only one thing keeping me back; the unrealistic population numbers when viewing cities. Theres no way an empire can have 30 to 100 citizens per city ONLY. Is there any way that I can get some help with modding the game to display larger numbers instead of these tiny little ones? 

5,726 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

The civilizations are the first to arise from a global cataclysm. Those population numbers are not so unrealistic for a world in the process of re-population.

But more cogently- this is a fantasy video game. You let realism hang you up?

That said, here is a level 6 city mod

Also, I am developing a level 6 AND level 7 city mod. I can send you the beta build if you want to try it out.

DeskScapes - Bring your desktop background to life.
Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

I agree that the population values seem a bit low for what are essentially the world's major commercial/industrial centers, even presuming medieval levels of technology.  The population numbers as stated don't seem sufficient to sustain the amount of industry/agriculture going on.  If it helps your immersion, you could assume the numbers are to be multiplied by 10, which should be a bit closer to realism (at least on the high side)...

To go back to your initial ask - the ranges that control what population values correspond to which "levels" of city are moddable, (see CoreImprovements.xml, look for the city hubs; the limits are set with XML like this:
Code: xml
  2. <GameModifier>
  3. <ModType>LevelBarrier</ModType>
  4. <Attribute>Population</Attribute>
  5. <Value>120</Value>
  6. <CityUpgrade>CityHub3_Conclave</CityUpgrade>
  7. </GameModifier>
 
...and the factors that control population growth are also moddable (to various degrees) - but, the problem with modifying them is that there are a number of places in the game that use those as factors in various calculations (e.g. there's a spell that converts population to mana at a 2:1 ratio; if you have higher populations, the spell becomes much much more attractive.)  You'd probably need to modify all of these as well - not a trivial undertaking.