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[Captain Goatse]

I have set my pop cap to 80 and I think I will never set it higher. I can do everything I want with 80 dwarves and adding more will just add confusion. I already have dwarves specialized in every possible skills, 20 legendary military dwarves and a lot of haulers. My Mayor has Legendary in all conversation skills (a child that spent all his formative years in a meeting area). Have you set your pop cap higher than me? Why? Can you name one advantage of having more people around?

[MehMuffin]

More ‼fun‼?

[Kinezin]

I prefer mine about around 50 or 60, anymore and I would probably start lagging too much (that being said on a laptop, though so).

[Tiruin]

While generally, a small population would benefit from the enormous amounts of tasks (as I've never crossed the 100 line), a larger population would help in growing the fort. Branching out and climbing the technology scale. It helps you in engaging in innovative projects by lessening the time taken and also in creating your very own paradise, other than giving meatshields Militia for those Goblin sieges.

Also, mega projects! Better Nobility will become available at higher populations.

[KtosoX]

Every fort meets a point in which more dorfs = less FPS which leads to less speed in mega project construction. In my forts it's about a 90, so I set my cap to 60-80

[Malarauko]

I have my current pop at 187 with 80 militia and huge megaproject above ground. I like the dwarfpower to build big and fast. I can designate massive projects and get them done quickly. It lets me fiddle with them much more easily because even big changes and tasks can be done speedily. I have ran minimalist forts with like 100 dwarves though and I can see why you would use them. If you want to remain purely as a technical fort with survival as your goal then its probably for the best.

[Thudde]

It cool to watch 200 idle dwarfs run out all at once to pick up all the goblinite in one go.  Other than that, nothing really you need a bigger population for.  Unless you want a King?

[Captain Goatse]

What do you mean with "climbing the technology scale"? And BTW, anyone knows the minimum pop for the nobles? With 80 dorfs and a lot of wealth I got a barony, maybe I should relax my limit and get some more annoying noble...

[Catastrophic lolcats]

I can and often get by with 20 Dwarves. It's fairly easy and you get to know each one by name. 
I often even have a fully working military, although I do play rather defensive with such a low population. Usually narrow walk ways funneling goblins over pits while being pincushioned with some crossbowdwarves and a couple axedwarves to clear up the remains. Generally try to ignore the use of traps as much as possible.

[schismatise]

Wiki states 140 population requirement for the Monarch.

[Girlinhat]

I've been playing with the default 200 cap and enjoying it, actually.  I haven't gotten that high yet, but it's entertaining to see 30 dwarves come in one migrant wave, and then 20 die to the next ambush because there's not enough metal armor to go around.  In these situations I'm generally mass-producing coffins and setting up a big sloppy militia.  Eventually, I want to reach a point where all 200+ dwarves have private bedrooms, dining rooms, studies, and closets, perhaps with private statue gardens or zoos for the important.  Probably not though, because I don't want to assign 400+ rooms.  More likely, give everyone a royal bedroom and a few grand dining halls.

[schismatise]

I agree with Girlinhat.

Actually, my experience with population caps has been interesting lately. In my last 2 forts, the outpost liason for my civilization has disappeared (perhaps died? normally i would notice such a thing, i check the reports screen obsessively), and i've stopped receiving caravans and migrants. The first time this happened around ~100 population. It feels rather epic - like my fort is the last bastion of hope for a dying race. I thought maybe it was bugged or something, that fort ended up dying to orcs, but it happened again in my recent fort, this time around ~180 population. Having such a large fortress to take care of just feels epic, that's probably the best way to put it really.

Interestingly enough, almost 5 years or so after the liason disappeared again, a new one arrived. So i guess they can be replaced if they die, which is pretty cool.

Anyway, i enjoy playing with mostly vanilla settings, so i leave the pop cap as is.

[Girlinhat]

Caravans don't arrive during sieges, you know.

[schismatise]

Caravans don't arrive during sieges, you know.

I'm not sure whether to be happily amused at your accurate assertation of the militaristic nature of my forts... or insulted that you think i'm that daft

I'm talking several years of "The fortress attracted no migrants this season", and the concurrent lack of an outpost liason in the 'c'ivilization screen (until 5 years later when a new one popped up). Without a liason you get no caravans, and without a caravan to report your fortress wealth to your parent civilization, you get no migrants. Makes for quite a cool sort of survival scenario, really.

Edit: details, details.

[smeeprocket]

Caravans don't arrive during sieges, you know.

I'm not sure whether to be happily amused at your accurate assertation of the militaristic nature of my forts... or insulted that you think i'm that daft

I'm talking several years of "The fortress attracted no migrants this season", and the concurrent lack of an outpost liason in the 'c'ivilization screen (until 5 years later when a new one popped up). Without a liason you get no caravans, and without a caravan to report your fortress wealth to your parent civilization, you get no migrants. Makes for quite a cool sort of survival scenario, really.

Edit: details, details.

I did not know that, that's awesome.

I want my liaison to die so I can try to tough it out for five years!