.. the game of mutual self-destruction ..

[Arralen]

mindless plants:
How likely is it that R'lyeh casts an Astral-4, Thaumaturgy-6 spell in turn 30/31?
They can do it, maybe.
It was recorded as random event, not an attacking spell (does it ever?). There was a battle with some mandragoras and manikin attacking. Look very much like a servere Version of the vine man attack too me (text is nearly the same).

Nevertheless the thing is broken: Judging from the description, it should kill some inhabitants, not 95% or 30.000 of them.

You cannot grow back such losses - it would have needed 500 turns (!) of growth+3 (remember, pop doesn't move so I would have had to start out with the remaining 1500 pop). That takes me to the second topic:

pop growth
At first, choosing growth+3, order+3 and some luck to get the hero commanders at all costs some 240+ design points. Most designs simply don't have so much points to spare.
Second, growth is too slow initially:
0,6% growth will give you +20% pop on turn 30, +80% pop at turn 100 - sounds great, isn't worth it.
All those pesky 7000-pop provinces will be at 8400 30 turns later, which doesn't make much of a difference .. one turn of quelling heay unrest or pillaging will reduce it to rubble anyway - with no chance of recovery.

S.

[ November 22, 2003, 09:30: Message edited by: Arralen ]