Pop distribution question

Terrible prince player here with some dumb questions.


Is an even pop distribution stronger/weaker than an uneven one at a particular happiness cap? ex: (13...14...14...14) vs (20...15...10...10) vs (30...10...8...7)


I lean toward the 2nd case but am still learning.
When we start comparing different city numbers is there a strategy to analyze these factors and come to some helpful conclusions? I assume any detailed analysis would consider the spread or variance (from statistics) in addition to the familiar aspects like city connection gold, city specialization, etc,.

I get that the answer depends on map and overall strategy so maybe this line of thought is futile. If we restricted the discussion to Science Victory or Modern Era Domination push would that help find a general idea of "best practice"?

If you have most of tradition policies you want your capital be as big as possible because it has -50% unhappiness. Other cities you want have population that can be divided by 10 (10,20,30...etc)
Happiness wise. Otherwise you want your cities be as big as possible when going science victory just stay positive happinees

Why divisible by 10?

salocin097 said:

Why divisible by 10?

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+1 Happiness for every 10 pop in cities; aristocracy under tradition.

Mantic0re said:

....Is an even pop distribution stronger/weaker than an uneven one at a particular happiness cap?...

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Neither just grow your cities, the quicker the better. This will lead to unhappiness but if you settle in good locations with at least 1 unique luxury you should be OK. Since you are playing Prince Notre Dame is almost guaranteed. You might find researching Metal Casting before Education beneficial without too much of a delay in science.

I ask hoping that i improve and can play immortal/deity. If notre dame is unobtainable in most games at that level then I prefer to play without them.

Which leads to a follow-up question: is a single lux enough to justify an expo (before printing press or similar midgame point)? Seems like i get more unhappiness from extra city than the lux generates which makes it a null or net negative transaction.

You can generally go with x-1 cities with x being the number of unique luxes available once you settle all your cities. Coloseum should be built regardless, but depending on how tall and how fast you grow (and other things like Circuses or Religion), you might need to trade new luxes or build some zoo.

If you're talking Pop, the lowest benchmark to aim for the capital is roughly about (Turn No/10) population during the first 150 turns. Obviously the higher the better but watch your happiness. Expos should ideally be within 5 pop difference with the Capital, 10 pop difference is the limit, any lower and your expos probably grow too slow.

If you grow too fast, the happiness can spiral out of control very easily, especially if you count on unstable sources such as trades and/or CSs. That's still the biggest problem for my games

Mantic0re said:

I ask hoping that i improve and can play immortal/deity. If notre dame is unobtainable in most games at that level then I prefer to play without them....

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Good idea, ween yourself off the need for wonders.

Mantic0re said:

....Which leads to a follow-up question: is a single lux enough to justify an expo (before printing press or similar midgame point)? Seems like i get more unhappiness from extra city than the lux generates which makes it a null or net negative transaction.

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Is the location good then yes, otherwise no. Another consideration is how many cities do you have. If you already have 4 and have completed Tradition the answer could be no. It's usually a bad idea to settle for settling sake around mid-game. If you don't already try and improve your religious games getting 2 religious buildings in your religion never a bad idea.