Gameplay question on Farms

PQ indicates how many planetary improvements can be build.
It does that indicate the maximum population supported by planet.

The maximumm population is given by the amount of farms you have. Farms raises the population cap.

Larger population means more money from tax, more influence, and more potential troops.
It does not contribute to manufacturing or research.

So theoratically even my Class 5 planet can support 30 billion ppl if all the tiles were filled with Xeno Farms (feed 6 billion souls each).

And each will contribute to the cash flow... hmm...

No, not quite that simple. There's also a cap on planet population according to class, but I can't remember the figures for it.

Also with such a high population and no entertainment, morale is going to be sub-zero levels and you'll have all sorts of problems.. Quickly followed by the planet not being a problem at all since someone else will take it from you or they'll rebel!

The simplelest way to think of farms in GalCiv2, at least until you get a handle on more important things: Don't build farms.

I'd like to see an analysis of the monetary effects of adding either a farm or another economy bonus building to a planet with a bunch of economic booster buildings. Will you make more money by raising the population than by adding another banking center or whatever if you already have a couple in place?

As with anything else it is a balance you are looking for here. Yes the immediate affect of a farm is that you increase the total population of the planet. However you need to weigh those extra people standing around based on your current approval on that planet. While a high population does boost the tax rev from the planet it can also create a nightmare in terms of revolts if you aren't careful. Generally I do not build farms unless I have enough space to include just as many happiness enhancements.

As for whether more people are better then an economic enhancement that really depends on your current tax rate. I'm sure someone can run the numbers for us here but my best guess is that if you can handle the negative approval hit then more people is better.

Depending on the PQ I build anywhere from 0 - 3 farms depending on what I think I can support. What I'm not sure on cause I've never tried it is what happens if you destroy a farm after the population has grown to the cap that farm provided. My guess is that people would start to starve and the population would shrink.

There is an absolute limit on the population a planet can support: 100 billion.  However, before that point you're likely to hit the limit that's based on planet quality, which is determined by this formula: 20 * ( ( PQ + 1 ) ^ 3 ).  In English: take the planet quality, add one to it, and raise the resulting sum to the the power of 3.  Multiply that result by 20.  That gives you the population limit for that planet, in millions.  Note that it's possible to overshoot this limit slightly.  Therefore, on planets with a quality less than 6, it's useless to build farms of any kind.

If your population ever exceeds food production, it will immediately (well, on the next turn) drop down to a level that can be supported by the existing food production.

CaretFarmer,

Then why do so many pq 6 or less planets have farm boosting squares? What a waste. I know it is probably random placement but if it cant be used at all why is it there?

Indeed, the farm boosting squares generally end up being a BAD thing, rather than a bonus. I know I avoid any of the farm boni over 100%. I had a class 18 planet with the rare 700% increase farm square, built a farm on it, and after 2-3 turns, my approval rating went from 85% to 45% on ONLY that planet. I had to build 4 (quick buy) happiness augmenters before it climbed above the yellow zone in approval!!!

Talk about a waste of planet quality. It was 18, but 5 of them went to basically nothing. So effectively, the PQ could have been 13 without the farm bonus square and I'd have been better off.

CmdrHarker Morale Mining is your friend in those cases ... yeah unless you feel you can manage those kind of planets dont worry about it. Conversely those kind of planets i turn into economic powerhouses so they arent wasted tiles because it keeps the most important resource on that planet going....the people.

I don't mind a low morale that much, unless I'm in some influence war or an election year. If the pop ain't dropping and the taxpayers ain't revolting.

As for whether more people are better then an economic enhancement that really depends on your current tax rate. I'm sure someone can run the numbers for us here but my best guess is that if you can handle the negative approval hit then more people is better.

Economic enhancements are relatively puny compared to an increased tax base. However, while your taxes grow with your population, your per capita returns diminish.
Check this thread
http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=149177

I've been digging into the taxation system, trying to see how it works. I haven't finished yet, but I thought some of the information would be handy.

Tax Rate(%)-Approval(-%)
100-398
090-347
080-192
070-163
060-090
050-068
040-048
033-036
025-027
015-016
010-010
005-005
000-000

Billions of people-Income (BC) 10.0-107 09.5-105 05.0-072 03.5-066 01.1-039 0.19-017 0.10-012 0.02-005 0.00-001 Why oh why does this forum murder by BBcode and editing efforts?