Can the manpower numbers be based on the old POP numbers?

[pimparel]

In a previous stage of the Vicky development the POPs where 4x that they are now, right?

In every game that I ran, I have to put at least 10-15% of my population as soldiers and something around 5% as officers. So I end with 15-20% of my population in the Army. With the AI, the situation is even worst, almost reaching 30% of the population.

My reasoning is behind the fact that no country in world has this percentage of the population tied into the army. A solid 5% should support a nice army.

So the question is: Can the math behind the manpower calculation be tied to those previous status where the POPs where 4x?

 

[Derek Pullem]

In a previous stage of the Vicky development the POPs where 4x that they are now, right?

In every game that I ran, I have to put at least 10-15% of my population as soldiers and something around 5% as officers. So I end with 15-20% of my population in the Army. With the AI, the situation is even worst, almost reaching 30% of the population.

My reasoning is behind the fact that no country in world has this percentage of the population tied into the army. A solid 5% should support a nice army.

So the question is: Can the math behind the manpower calculation be tied to those previous status where the POPs where 4x?

Your starting point is wrong. The POPs were never 4x the current value apart from a handful of problem nations (and Korea now). Besides 4x POPs means bigger industries higher income and hence larger armies

Many many handsoffs show that AI soldier POPs average around 15-20% at end gane, maybe 25% if a major war is going on. Remember that IRL this is 15-25% of working male population. All of the 75% of the population that is not represented by POPs are non combattants. So as a % of total population armies are generally 4-6% at end of game. This would equate to a German WW1 army of 2.5-4 million men. Which sounds ok.

 

[Theodotus1]

In a previous stage of the Vicky development the POPs where 4x that they are now, right?

In every game that I ran, I have to put at least 10-15% of my population as soldiers and something around 5% as officers. So I end with 15-20% of my population in the Army. With the AI, the situation is even worst, almost reaching 30% of the population.

My reasoning is behind the fact that no country in world has this percentage of the population tied into the army. A solid 5% should support a nice army.

So the question is: Can the math behind the manpower calculation be tied to those previous status where the POPs where 4x?

Historically, 2% of Americans fought in the Revolutionary War, and 10% in WWII. 15-20% would be akin to total war status. (During the Caste War in Yucatan, approximately 17% of the Ladino population was under arms before it was over, and that was a situation in which the Ladinos were confronted with literal extermination by the Mayans.)

EDIT: 4-6% under arms is basically historical for the period, as far as I can tell.

 

[pimparel]

EDIT: 4-6% under arms is basically historical for the period, as far as I can tell.

That's my point! I may had a wrong starting point with the question, but the reasoning should stand.

WWI was an irregular period, and it shouldn't take into account as a reference. Cause you had mobilization working, and if you take mobilization in the count it reaches 50% of the total.

I am talking about a standing army, not mobilized. There was plenty of wars in the period which didn't had mobilization. And they had 5% with officers included in those numbers as army.

 

[Derek Pullem]

That's my point! I may had a wrong starting point with the question, but the reasoning should stand.

WWI was an irregular period, and it shouldn't take into account as a reference. Cause you had mobilization working, and if you take mobilization in the count it reaches 50% of the total.

I am talking about a standing army, not mobilized. There was plenty of wars in the period which didn't had mobilization. And they had 5% with officers included in those numbers as army.

I don't have detailed figures on handsoff games for all periods but I can tell you that on average in 1920 the handsoff games that we ran (and we analysed a bunch of them) showed between 15-25% of the world pops as soldiers.

Now you may point out this includes a whole load of non-combattants. But if you look at Germany it had a standing army of around 1.25% of total pops, rising to 2.5% on mobilisation in 1914. So 6-12% in our terms. This rose to around 6% of total population (24%) by 1916.

The only time I'll see 50% of the adult males in the army is if the AI is fighting or a player is extremely silly in the number of reserves he has created. And its normally a sign that the player or the AI is going to lose in a long war.

I guess what I'm saying is that I occasionally see very high mobilisation rates but on average it seems to be ok compared to WW1. Which was in the Vicky timeframe Don't see it as a bug anyway.