Keeping conquered aliens alive

[ArchRylen (OP)]

I just knocked over a primitive NPR. I'd like to keep them alive. Unfortunately, they currently have a -40% growth rate. Is there a way to fix that? With SM?

Planet details:
Nitrogen 67%: 0.3055 atm
Oxygen 33%: 0.1505 atm
Total pressure 0.456
Surface temp - 27.88 C

Alien Ideals:
Temp: -27.9 C (+/- 24)
Grav 0.81 (+/-0.52)
Oxygen 0.151 (+/- 0.060)
Max pressure (1.32)

My guess is they have run afoul of the 20% Oxygen rule. If so, why weren't they in trouble before I took over?

Thanks.

[Erik L]

I believe conquered populations function at reduced capacity until the integrate into the Empire.

[ArchRylen (OP)]

I figured out how to use SM to adjust the environment. I added enough nitrogen to push oxygen below 20%, the colony cost went away, as did the huge negative growth rate.

My remaining questions -- were the aliens created on a planet that couldn't support them, and if not, why did conquest make it uninhabitable? I didn't drop bombs or anything.

[Bgreman]

I figured out how to use SM to adjust the environment. I added enough nitrogen to push oxygen below 20%, the colony cost went away, as did the huge negative growth rate.

My remaining questions -- were the aliens created on a planet that couldn't support them, and if not, why did conquest make it uninhabitable? I didn't drop bombs or anything.

Just as a note, the threshold is 30%, not 20%.

[alex_brunius]

Just as a note, the threshold is 30%, not 20%.

For humans yes. These aliens seemed to have the following tolerance:

Oxygen 0.151 (+/- 0.060)

Shouldn't that mean between 9% and 21% or am I confused here?

[Paul M]

Actually I think that you have to look in the upper right hand corner of the page to see what species is being used as the reference.  My guess is that the aliens were perfectly happy with the % of Oxygen in the atmosphere of their homeworld, not matter how poisonous it might be to humans.  The colony cost and the growth rate were for humans not the aliens.  The SM intervention was not required as the aliens were fine, what was adjusted was something to make the world habitable for humans.

I don't know this for sure and certain however.

[Bgreman]

For humans yes. These aliens seemed to have the following tolerance:

Oxygen 0.151 (+/- 0.060)

Shouldn't that mean between 9% and 21% or am I confused here?

There are two different factors at play.  

One is the partial pressure of oxygen (or methane for methane-breathers) in ATM.  That is the value you're looking at there.  0.151 atm +/- 0.060 atm, so between 0.091 and 0.211 atm.

On top of that, there is a hard cap on the PERCENTAGE of oxygen (or methane).  This hard cap is 30%.  In the OP, the oxygen percentage is 33%, which makes the atmosphere instantly unbreathable and means there probably isn't enough infra on the body for the existing population, which causes the negative growth rate.

[sloanjh]

There are two different factors at play.  

One is the partial pressure of oxygen (or methane for methane-breathers) in ATM.  That is the value you're looking at there.  0.151 atm +/- 0.060 atm, so between 0.091 and 0.211 atm.

On top of that, there is a hard cap on the PERCENTAGE of oxygen (or methane).  This hard cap is 30%.  In the OP, the oxygen percentage is 33%, which makes the atmosphere instantly unbreathable and means there probably isn't enough infra on the body for the existing population, which causes the negative growth rate.

If this is the case (and it sounds like it is from the OP's description of what happened after adding nitrogen), then the OP's situation is a bug - either the hard cap needs to be adjusted for alien races on such homeworlds, or alien races need to be adjusted on such homeworlds, or the atmosphere needs to be adjusted to be non-poisonous for worlds on which alien races are generated.  Someone should log this is in the official bugs thread and refer back to this thread.

Thanks!
John

[Paul M]

I think you need to look in the colony list (Fwhatever) and make sure you have the race in question selected.  It should say the colony cost for the planet in question (as you have done SM intervention this probably won't work).  In that case it will show you what the colony cost is for that race.  I would guess that the cost you see in the status overview page is for humans (or whatever player race you have), not the race currently occupying the planet.  Only on the colony listing page can you swap races around.

I also assume that races homeworlds don't play with those hard cap values.  If that is what the race considers normal that is what it considers normal.  I think the 30% applies only to player races.

[ArchRylen (OP)]

I'm leaning towards the bug interpretation for why the world was like that. I don't have those game files around anymore, let alone a before and after, so submitting it would be tough.

I know that the aliens had a colony cost and a negative growth rate. When I planted some spies, and later some soldiers, I had a human colony on the world. After conquest, I flipped back and forth between the humans and the aliens. Both had colony costs. Alien colony cost was 2.0, typical of a bad O2 percentage. (The humans did not have a negative growth rate because no human population was present and I can't recall their colony cost. I think it was 2.0, but am not certain.)

[sloanjh]

I'm leaning towards the bug interpretation for why the world was like that. I don't have those game files around anymore, let alone a before and after, so submitting it would be tough.

You don't need all that stuff to log a bug.  Just stick a post in the official bugs thread that summarizes the issue and refers back to this thread.  That will give Steve enough to know to check the relevant bit of code.

John

[ArchRylen (OP)]

You don't need all that stuff to log a bug.  Just stick a post in the official bugs thread that summarizes the issue and refers back to this thread.  That will give Steve enough to know to check the relevant bit of code.

John

Good point. Posted there.