Is it worth it to send settlers to a colony once it has reached the 700, city size? If so, what are the breakpoints for advantages gained?
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I don't usually send colonists out after the 700 mark as I usually have other places for them to go.
But there are some notable milestones:
- a city cannot be reduced below 1000 by attrition so building up some colonies to that point can be worthwhile, especially in Africa.
- at 700, its a level 1 colonial city; at 1400 a level 2; at 2800 a level 3. Each level pays better, a cheap (less than 30) colonist might be worth it to push it over.
- at 5000, it becomes a real (not colonial) city and pays better. At this point you cannot send colonists to it any more.
Hope this helps!
But there are some notable milestones:
- a city cannot be reduced below 1000 by attrition so building up some colonies to that point can be worthwhile, especially in Africa.
- at 700, its a level 1 colonial city; at 1400 a level 2; at 2800 a level 3. Each level pays better, a cheap (less than 30) colonist might be worth it to push it over.
- at 5000, it becomes a real (not colonial) city and pays better. At this point you cannot send colonists to it any more.
Hope this helps!
In North America and most of South America there is not too much value in sending colonists once the city has reached 700 because you get about 7% growth or more on that continent. If you grow a colony to 700 early in the game it should be at several thousand people by the end (1792).
In Africa you will suffer negative growth until you get over 1500 people (I believe - it might even be more) at which time it will finally turn positive. I usually find that this is not worth it. Once you hit the 700 mark it will never drop below that so the negative growth doesn't matter - the city will just stay at the same population forever. Most African provinces are not rich enough that having extra people (and revenue) is worth it.
In Asia you will suffer negative growth until you get over 1000 people so in this case it is worth sending colonists until you hit the 1000 mark because then the city will grow, providing you with more money in the long-run.
In Africa you will suffer negative growth until you get over 1500 people (I believe - it might even be more) at which time it will finally turn positive. I usually find that this is not worth it. Once you hit the 700 mark it will never drop below that so the negative growth doesn't matter - the city will just stay at the same population forever. Most African provinces are not rich enough that having extra people (and revenue) is worth it.
In Asia you will suffer negative growth until you get over 1000 people so in this case it is worth sending colonists until you hit the 1000 mark because then the city will grow, providing you with more money in the long-run.
As Tim suggests, there are provinces where growth rates are negative even at the 700 level. Thus, it makes sense to keep sending colonists until the growth rate is at least 0 if not positive.
Ah, so if you send enough colonists, you can eventually make any place positive growth? I was under the impression that certain places were just too hostile to have positive growth.
...a new colonist will convert the religion of the province to your current state religion.
Yes, and this religion change can be hugely useful, even in moderately established provinces. As Russia I managed to convert all but 2 Finnish provinces to Orthodox this way, which drastically reduced my revolt problems.
Generally though once I hit 1000 I find I have better things to do with my colonists, at least as a colonial power.
Generally though once I hit 1000 I find I have better things to do with my colonists, at least as a colonial power.
I think that every province in the game is capable of positive growth. I certainly haven't checked this, though...
- a city cannot be reduced below 1000 by attrition so building up some colonies to that point can be worthwhile, especially in Africa.
Depends on where in the world it is.
- at 700, its a level 1 colonial city; at 1400 a level 2; at 2800 a level 3. Each level pays better,
Not according to what I have found.
Check my FAQ
at 5000, it becomes a real (not colonial) city and pays better
The difference is really really minor.
I was under the impression that certain places were just too hostile to have positive growth.
No, once you up to 5000+ location hostility is removed as a factor entirely.
Depends on where in the world it is.
- at 700, its a level 1 colonial city; at 1400 a level 2; at 2800 a level 3. Each level pays better,
Not according to what I have found.
Check my FAQ
at 5000, it becomes a real (not colonial) city and pays better
The difference is really really minor.
I was under the impression that certain places were just too hostile to have positive growth.
No, once you up to 5000+ location hostility is removed as a factor entirely.
Once you reach 1000, you're sure to have a 'stable' colony, i.e. it cannot decrease in the number of inhabitants.
In Asia were you get quite bad growth rates in some areas, I always send colons to reach that 1000 limit.
After that, the growth rate may be at best 1%, but I'm sure the colony will keep it's 1000 inhab.
I have never seen a colony with 1000 inhab and a negative growth rate (but my stability is always +3, which helps a lot...).
In Asia were you get quite bad growth rates in some areas, I always send colons to reach that 1000 limit.
After that, the growth rate may be at best 1%, but I'm sure the colony will keep it's 1000 inhab.
I have never seen a colony with 1000 inhab and a negative growth rate (but my stability is always +3, which helps a lot...).
In Asia
It might very well be enough with 1000 people to get positive grothrate.
However in Africa, with -14 in local modifier, you can forget that idea. You'll still be firmly in the read even with 1000 inhabitants (including manufactury & govenor bonuses).
It might very well be enough with 1000 people to get positive grothrate.
However in Africa, with -14 in local modifier, you can forget that idea. You'll still be firmly in the read even with 1000 inhabitants (including manufactury & govenor bonuses).
On page 62 of the manual (American version) it states 'Also note that if the population size reaches 1000 inhabitants it can never decrease to less than this amount.' While I realize that not everything in the manual is 100% accurate, I have never (in version 1.07c) run into an instance that proved this statement wrong - even in Africa.
Indeed, I had an interesting situation in which I had an African colony with 900 colonist that had a negative growth rate. I expanded to the colony to exactly 1000 and the growth rate went to 0 exactly. I expanded it again and got a positive growth rate. That's basically always been my experience in areas where colonization is difficult (Africa, Asia).
Indeed, I had an interesting situation in which I had an African colony with 900 colonist that had a negative growth rate. I expanded to the colony to exactly 1000 and the growth rate went to 0 exactly. I expanded it again and got a positive growth rate. That's basically always been my experience in areas where colonization is difficult (Africa, Asia).
Well, not to disagree with you Fleetwalker, but in 1.07c, I built an African colony above 1000 & still had a negative growth rate. Believing the manual, I figured the growth rate indicator was wrong, & went on to colonize other places. The next time I checked, the colony had dipped below 1000 - which the manual said wouldn't happen. I sent in a two more colonists, & got a positive growth rate, so everything was fine - but it is possible for a colony to drop under 1000 after it has achieved that level of population.