Worldbuilding: Population Rolls

[Tarvok]

Probably, this discussion has been done to death here. Generally, I can come up with a reason for a high population on a smallish world, or a low population on a large, idyllic world. But then I rolled this thing up:

Unnamed 0102 C2109AB-10 SP Hi In Na

As I think about this, I'm starting to get some idea... but I laughed when the pop roll dropped and I'd love to see what you guys have. Note that the surrounding areas (not finished rolling it all up) have many other far more habitable worlds with negligable populations (and... I'm coming up with more ideas).

 

[GypsyComet]

About the same population as modern Earth with about 5% of the surface area. That's going to be a lot of close-packed people building something. You can build vertical and have orbital cities and it still counts for the world, but there is a distinct possibility that you can't see the real surface of this world from orbit.

 

[AndrewW]

They tried colonies on those more 'habitable' worlds but found something wrong with them, deadly animals, naturally occuring biology that is incompatable with those that tried to settle the world. They couldn't stand the smell of one of the worlds. Something on the planet disrupts the races sleep cycles, but this doens't occur until long term exposure.

Thus with the various problems on the other worlds they all ended up evacuating to the smaller less then ideal world and are trying to make the best of it.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

The planet is actually a moon of a gas giant and the population number represents the population of the entire system; including all those orbital manufacturing facilities supported by the exotic gasses and chemicals being skimmed from the gas giant.

What started out as a refining and gas mining operation has grown into a military-industrial complex encompassing a dozen moons.

 

[Galadrion]

Arcologies gone wild?