RTW - Game Changes Obsoleting Guide Advice

[RLucid]

Regardless of whether Antioch has a 0%, 3% or 6% growth rate after reaching 24,000 population, you're going to develop a squalor problem. You can't really stop a squalor problem from occuring. To me that's the strawman I was trying to 'knockdown' behind this whole issue. You can't really stop squalor
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If you've ever looked closely at some of your tiny Dacian or German cities whose growth has languised under 2,000 population for years of games turns, they still develop squalor problems. They won't be as big as large city squalor, but they'll still contribute to public disorder requiring additional garrison troops, or whatever.

If you stabilise a city at 0% growth, it looses the happiness bonus due to pop growth, and now remains roughly the same size. The squalor, does not I think increase in this situation, the city conditions stay the same, unless you build some upgrade or alter tax policy.

The tiny barbarian towns, suffer increased squalor as they approach the 2,000 mark, and new public buildings are needed. It is documented somewhere in the game, manual or in Victoria, that upgrading government offices reduces squalor.

The problem that is trying to be avoided is run-away population growth, where your means to counteract squalor, unrest and reduce population, become insufficient, leading to need to lower taxes (and increase undesirable growth or risk rebellion).

The basic problem is, that 1% of 12,000 is 120; which happens to be the large unit size for peasants, so recruiting alone cannot suppress growth in large towns with significant growth rates.

Those focussed on later on in game, building their empire more slowly, have to avoid early population growth, or important chunks of their empire will become very difficult to manage, reducing their finances & combat effectiveness later on. Those aggressively expansionist, probably want strong early game pop. growth to tech up, and then are willing to rely on capturing new territories, and reconquering rebellious cities later on.

The basic land clearance, seems to add about 70dn per turn, and gives a pop growth bonus, similar to trader or market upgrades. Sometimes it's a little higher. I've not seen vastly greater additional revenue in naturally fertile provinces from farm upgrades, so as far as I can see, they're more useful in the moderately fertile regions, which can become large strong cities with sufficient growth. The small slow growers, I try to get past 2,000 for port enhancementss etc, but not worry after that, as they have enough development to be worthwhile, but will never become a key city.