Please help with economy!

I'm pretty new at the game and I don't understand the concept of military production, social production and research.
If I build a factory I get some kind of production capacity. If I don't use it, then it's wasted. Wasted military production doesn't waste BC, but social production does. But if I change the production assignement, then I can 'save' BC by moving social production to military production. With a production focus I can reduce the problem a bit more, but it then also reduces research. I guess the best thing would then be to have one production planet with a focus on military production, constantly building ships and let all other colonies on minimum production because their production is wasted anyway and buy all planetary improvements.

I'd also like to know how to find out the max population of a planet and how to increase the population growth rate.

Approval seems to be some kind of moral, just more complicated. I don't understand how the population size can affect this value. I'd have guessed it's just a percentage value of the happy/unhappy part of the pop.

I had a look at the Wiki, but it wasn't really helpfull.
5,078 views 7 replies
Reply #1 Top
I usually put military spending at 10% or less and the rest divided between social and research. If I want to build ship, I just don't build any social improvement on that planet and let the social production carries over to military. I'd left military production at 0%, but it won't work though (you will not get any mil production at all, even with no social project going). This is on 1.1 though. Focusing will cause some lost production, i.e., the total production will be lower than what you spend.

Max population of planet is just X billion people when X is your total food production on that planet. Your initial colony support 5 billion, your capital initially 10 billion and so on. Pop growth rate depends on your racial ability, morale, and food available. You can get trade good Aphrodisiac to increase pop growth rate by 50% too.

Larger pop = lower morale, higher tax = lower morale. That's it.
Reply #2 Top
m pretty new at the game and I don't understand the concept of military production, social production and research.
If I build a factory I get some kind of production capacity. If I don't use it, then it's wasted. Wasted military production doesn't waste BC, but social production does.


Actually in 1.1 Social production (only for normal none racial bonus) is not wasted either.

But if I change the production assignement, then I can 'save' BC by moving social production to military production. With a production focus I can reduce the problem a bit more, but it then also reduces research.


Personally though I think I understand the system, I have given up trying to micromanage every BC. The system is setup such that it's hard for a human to micromanage the economy, so I just do it on a macro level seat of my pants way, like increasing social when I finished researching a new infrastructure tech, or increasing military if I'm on a war footing, so focusing to social for new colonies. That's okay I like to give the AI a little edge.

I guess the best thing would then be to have one production planet with a focus on military production, constantly building ships and let all other colonies on minimum production because their production is wasted anyway and buy all planetary improvements.


That could work. I have research planets with focus on research, industry worlds churning out ships and wonders, and economy worlds for high PQ planets....




Reply #3 Top
In 1.1, unused social production capacity is redirected to military capacity. Unused military capacity is not charged until you start to build something. So nothing is wasted as far as your treasury being drained. It's only when you're actively building something that you start paying.
Reply #4 Top
For 1.2 I suggest a change that unused military production is transfered to Soical production if any.

It should both ways.

Currently, if I have planet with no starport (like many small research colonies I have), I always put focus on social production during build up so there is less unused factory ponential.

Yes, mony is not wasted if not building military, but factory potential is. After everything is build up I toggle focus to reseach.

I have no problem with unsed factory potential if city is not having neither military or solical production. That's logical, since factories are for mil and social, not for something else.
Reply #5 Top
p22 that's a good idea. I do that too.
Reply #6 Top
You may have a good point p22. Speaking personally for myself, I do not have any planet without a Starport. They are very cheap and I usually just buy it. And by doing that Military production is in use right away. I feel I do not want any planet without the capability of building a ship! But that's just me. Yet, I digress. One small reason I feel that way, however small it might be, is because of what you mention p22. There's some wasted pontential going on there when you don't have a Starport. So yeah, I would have to agree it should work both ways... unused military production should go over to Social or Research. In the overall scheme of things I think it's probably pretty minor. Still, a good idea.
Reply #7 Top
Yeah it threw me the first time i realised that starports was so cheap!