Sorry, but I don't think so Richard.
You don't need any cargo containers on a colony ship at all. It has a 'built in' capacity to carry 4 mil colonists (I think this comes with the colony module). I had never thought of adding more cargo space though to boost initial size....a damn good idea, thanks!
The way the colonize order works is best explained from the Malfador site IN THE Q&A Section #23 and #24:
quote:
23. I colonized a planet, but it says that it has zero population. How come?
Colonization has changed a bit from SE3. There are two things you need to colonize a planet, a colonizing component and population. When you build a colonizing ship, it has a colonization module on it. But before you send it off to colonize a planet, you need to load it up with population first. If the colony ship doesn't have any population on it, then you can still colonize the planet, but it will have zero population.
When you have a newly built colony ship, the best way to send it off is to give it the Colonize order. This order will automatically load population first, then send the ship to the target planet, then colonize that planet. If you use the MoveTo order on your colony ship, it will move towards its destination, without loading population first.
quote:
24. I colonized a planet, but its build time says "Never". How come?
Same reason as number 23.
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The Grumbling Grognard