Keeping people happy when the population increases

Not a good answer, but you could always cram some people into a colony ship. Doesn't matter what you do with the colony ship, as long as the people are in it, they won't count against morale.

This is probably the biggest nusiance in the game. You reach a point where your morale is at 50%, and if you do anything to improve morale, the population grows, and morale drops back to 50%.

1. Build social projects that raise the planet quality
2. Build social projects that raise morale
3. Build trade good that raise morale
4. Try to build a starbase on a morale resource and then research tech that allows you to mine the resource
5. Move people to a different planet

~SDC~

But the net effect of *any* morale increase is to (aside from other things) boost pop growth back up, thereby causing a drop in morale. So the only way to make a morale boost 'stick' would be to either artificially suppress the planet's population (via colony ships, transports, etc) or wait for it to hit it's max population...

... do planets *have* a max population?

~SDC~

'... do planets *have* a max population?'

Planets do have max population based on their class, but it's hard to get extremely high and extremely low class planets up to that point.

I'm planing on eventually trying to put together a table listing the max population of various class planets. This may take a while, though, ans the SDC is being a bit stubborn about downloading GC right now.

~SDC~

Thought I remembered reading somewhere that late in the game, 50% morale isn't really to be considered a bad thing and that as mentioned, it's the level that things are going to head toward as growth continues. That means that at least half the people like you... And even 49% approval would probably get you elected in some countries...

~SDC~

Maybe 50% morale isn't bad, but I think the effects of high population on morale could be curved a bit in a patch.

~SDC~

Anyone think it's strange or normal to have a 25 to 30% approval rating when your tax rate is at *ZERO* percent?

I'm inclined to believe that something this extreme can only be caused by destabilization... the problem is there's no way to confirm, even if I MAX out my espionage slider for several turns. I never get a dialog box confirming I'm being destabilized, although I see a whole bunch involving the other races.

Since I can't confirm it's destabilization from an enemy, it's possible this is just a side effect of overpopulation. In that case, it must be an ESSENTIAL part of EVERYONE's strategy to "throw people off the planet" so to speak, everyone once in a while. Is that so?

I have 50 % approval with ZERO percent tax rate...
and i'm wondering the same thing. Whether it is foreign
influence or overpopulation.

It _is_ unusually low, but there are things that can cause it besides AI destabilization.

Overpopulation rarely will cause something like that, but abnormally high planet classes with out racial morale improvements can get to the point where something like that can happen purely from overpopulation. The population growth, planet quality, and morale interactions were tweaked to make it very difficult to run into, though, as to get to those sort of planet classes you usually need the Planet Quality techs, all of which are after _4D Phasing in the tech tree (and thus you should have at least a racial +50% morale bonus).

The Precursor terraforming event, Earthworms terraforming event, and the Planet Quality racial bonus from the setup screen could possibly get you into that area when you colonize class 26s, but even then, you shouldn't have a problem.

~SDC~

I guess the only answer is AI destabilization then. Perhaps that bit has been overdone a little in the game?

How about doubling the chances of humans "detecting" destabilization... that'll make things a lot more manageable.

Debt also has an impact on morale.

~SDC~

Perhaps there should be a 'stabilisation' slider, which counteracts destabilisation, but doesn't actually improve morale itself. As your espionage rating on each empire improves, you get a better idea of how much they're spending on you, and therefore how much you ought to spend on stabilisation yourself.

~SDC~

Isn't that the purpose of the Propaganda slider?

Astro

Could do with a empire level propaganda slider and possible an empire wide influence resistance slider.

Paul.

~SDC~

That's an EXCELELENT idea! Wonder if it would be possible, since adjusting individual planets is still sometimes needed.

~SDC~

Not quite... stabilisation would only serve to counter destabilisation, it wouldn't improve morale on its own. You could have an estimate of how much you should be spending, which gets more and more accurate as your espionage improves. *shrug* Just an idea

~SDC~