Optimal number of duplicants?

[Seleck]

Should I stop receiving more after a certain number? Every time at some point between 10-20 my colony goes to sh*t as I struggle to get enough resources

[AquaX]

Before u accept new dupes, u Ned to know do u have enough food and o2 production to keep them alive. If ur getting massive surplus of food and ur o2 is always at max pressure then yes accept a new 1. There is no given limit since I have seen ppl remain self-sustain with 30+ dupes.

[Ackranome]

I don't go over 5-6 for at least 200 cycles.

[Storm0267]

I stayed at 3 and that actually kept me alive on record time. good stats too are a must. cook. scientist, and artist

[Thorin]

Around 6-8 you can keep the base and resource drain small, in theory, you can feed any number quite easily (wheat is simple and can be scaled to any size), energy is selfsustained, since you can put them in hamster wheels, so only O2 generation and CO2 removal is your limit, both is limited by water. A single geyser can sustain 10+ dupes, maybe even 30 with carefull planning, so for each geyser you can have around 10-30 dupes, more, if you create a water boiler and recycle the pulluted water from gas genertators.

[Naid]

My colony self destructed when I was on cycle 60 and had 6 dupes.

[Naid]

Originally posted by AquaX:

Before u accept new dupes, u Need to know do u have enough food and o2 production to keep them alive. If ur getting massive surplus of food and ur o2 is always at max pressure then yes accept a new 1. There is no given limit since I have seen ppl remain self-sustain with 30+ dupes.

My colony tends to start the death snowball when I reach double digits.

[AquaX]

So why are u still accepting dupes when u can't feed and let them breath properly?

[L37]

I think no "optimal number" exist, it all depends on how you play/what you do.
I generally like to accept 10-12 dupes right in the beginning, this helps to avoid stress early on and do things faster. Later every expansion is a matter of planning. Add enough oxygen&food production for X dupes, accept X dupes, make sure that everything runs as it should, repeat. Since there are usually multiple geysers on the map i do not think there is any limit, apart from game performance, to number of dupes that can be sustained.

[Pondera the Radio Angel]

Between reading this and my experiences with Don't Starve, I'm starting to worry that the good people at Klei have an unhealthy obsession with death.

[Seleck]

Originally posted by AquaX:

So why are u still accepting dupes when u can't feed and let them breath properly?

Because it's not obvious when things start going downhill until it's too late.
I had 16 on my last colony with an stable supply of food and oxygen all the sudden I ran out of fuel for the oxygen machine and the water base ones couldn't keep up with the demand, I try rushing the construction of a bigger water supply and more oxygen machines but my colony started filling up with toxic gases and everything when to sh*t

[Pondera the Radio Angel]

Originally posted by Nito:

Originally posted by AquaX:

So why are u still accepting dupes when u can't feed and let them breath properly?

Because it's not obvious when things start going downhill until it's too late.
I had 16 on my last colony with an stable supply of food and oxygen all the sudden I ran out of fuel for the oxygen machine and the water base ones couldn't keep up with the demand, I try rushing the construction of a bigger water supply and more oxygen machines but my colony started filling up with toxic gases and everything when to sh*t

Idea. What if you created little airlocks in your colony, sort of like how bulkheads work in modern naval vessels? Like, compartmentalize various space so if one area fills with toxic gasses, you only lose a few dupes, instead of the entire thing turning into a death hole.

I am, of course, assuming you can do this. I've played precisely 0 minutes of this game, and am speaking entirely in supposition. Though, I do own, and want to play. It just looks....complicated.

[Seleck]

Thanks for the tips guys I think in gonna try 5-10 and see how it goes

[Seleck]

Originally posted by Pondera:

Originally posted by Nito:

Because it's not obvious when things start going downhill until it's too late.
I had 16 on my last colony with an stable supply of food and oxygen all the sudden I ran out of fuel for the oxygen machine and the water base ones couldn't keep up with the demand, I try rushing the construction of a bigger water supply and more oxygen machines but my colony started filling up with toxic gases and everything when to sh*t

Idea. What if you created little airlocks in your colony, sort of like how bulkheads work in modern naval vessels? Like, compartmentalize various space so if one area fills with toxic gasses, you only lose a few dupes, instead of the entire thing turning into a death hole.

I am, of course, assuming you can do this. I've played precisely 0 minutes of this game, and am speaking entirely in supposition. Though, I do own, and want to play. It just looks....complicated.

I use airlocks to keep the oxygen in the "living quarters" things like generators and batteries I keep in a different room with no oxygen, the colony it's not completely dead just yet but I decided to try a new start and see if I can come up with a better design and less duplicants

[Zedd Muddlefinger]

Well it's up to you, I guess. See how many you can provide oxygen for. But keep in mind that some resources like sand fro cleaning water are still finite in the game. So the more people you have, the faster you will have to dig for new resources.

[MegaDON]

I am on cycle 2100 now and I had 74 dupes for the last 500-1000 cycles, can't remember exactly. But my water is slowly decreasing, I think I will have to decrease to 50 dupes at some point.