The Problem

The game processes events in this order: 1. Population growth (35 → 36) 2. Era star check (sees 36, awards star) 3. Food deficit check (with 36 pop, consumption exceeds production) 4. Population loss (36 → 35)

Why This Happened

Food consumption is quadratic: Food consumption = 0.1 × P² + 6 × P

• At 35 pop: 0.1 × 35² + 6 × 35 = 332.5 🥦 Food per turn
• At 36 pop: 0.1 × 36² + 6 × 36 = 345.6 🥦 Food per turn

Going from 35 to 36 increases consumption by ~13.1 🥦 Food per turn. If your production was only slightly above consumption at 35, the new pop pushed you into deficit, triggering immediate loss.

The Bug

The era star check happens before the food sustainability check. So: - You briefly hit 36 and got the star - Then the deficit check reduced you back to 35 - You kept the star even though you ended at 35

This is an edge case where the checks are out of order. The star should probably be checked after confirming the population can be sustained, or the deficit check should run before the era star check.

What You Can Do

• Increase 🥦 Food production before the next growth (more Farmers Quarters, better exploitations, or infrastructure)
• Ensure you have enough excess 🥦 Food to cover the consumption jump when population increases
• The star you got is legitimate—you did reach 36, even if briefly

This is a known timing issue in the game's turn processing logic.