o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o | ACTRAISER | | Platform: SNES | | | | MAXIMUM POPULATION GUIDE | | Version 1.3 (December 14, 2018) | | | | By The Admiral | | Email: Admiral1018@yahoo.com | o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o Introduction ------------ Despite being one of the more integral parts of the game, the exact workings of the population system in Actraiser have always remained mysterious. A player could complete this game numerous times and notice differences in the population totals for some or all regions in each play through. Most sources never discuss this topic beyond general tips and build strategies, and no source has ever quantified the maximum population or explained how that total is attainable. This guide is the first to explore this topic in detail, including discussion of the maximum populations in each region and all the specific factors that influence this number. Everything from the impact of game score, item use, map size, building types, number of structures, and even the direction of roads will be analyzed, as all of these affect population. Whether you are a first- time player or an Actraiser veteran, you will likely learn something new about this game that will help make your future adventures more interesting. ============================================================================== D I S C L A I M E R AR01 ============================================================================== This FAQ is meant for personal use only and cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes under any circumstances. No portions of this guide may be reproduced, in part or in entirety, without the written consent of the author. If you would like to use any part of this guide in your FAQ or website, I will probably give you permission if you ask, but you must ask first (Email me at: Admiral1018@yahoo.com). The Actraiser title and all contents within are copyright of Enix/Quintet. ============================================================================== T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S AR02 ============================================================================== To jump to any section of this guide quickly, use the find function (Ctrl+F on most PC browsers), then type in the index number listed in the right column. DISCLAIMER................................................................AR01 TABLE OF CONTENTS.........................................................AR02 1. THE MAXIMUM POPULATION.................................................AR03 2. GENERAL TIPS FOR MAXIMIZATION..........................................AR04 3. THE SOUL COUNTER.......................................................AR05 4. STRUCTURES AND DEVELOPMENT.............................................AR06 5. FACTORS LIMITING POPULATION............................................AR07 6. MAXIMIZING POPULATION IN EACH REGION...................................AR08 7. THE INACCESSIBLE SQUARES...............................................AR09 8. TIPS FOR SCORING POINTS................................................AR10 9. POPULATION LEVEL CHART.................................................AR11 10. POPULATION PAR CODES..................................................AR12 CONTACT INFORMATION.......................................................AR13 REVISION HISTORY..........................................................AR14 CREDITS...................................................................AR15 ============================================================================== 1. T H E M A X I M U M P O P U L A T I O N AR03 ============================================================================== Population in Actraiser is one of the game's integral mechanics as you attempt to rebuild the barren world. It is the determining factor for your character's level, hit points, and spell points. While it is not necessary to achieve the absolute maximum population to reach the highest level (level 17 at 4,600 people), you will need to come relatively close in most regions to have a chance. Each region has a maximum population that can be attained under ideal circumstances, as shown below. Region Max Population ====== ============== Fillmore 914 Bloodpool 874 Kasandora 874 Aitos 802 Marahna 538 Northwall 650 --------- ----- TOTAL 4,652 The maximum global population in the game is 4,652. This allows you some leeway in reaching level 17 (52 people to be exact). If you have fallen short of 4,652, the likely culprits are shortfalls in Fillmore or Bloodpool. A few tips mentioned below should allow you to reach the maximum with a little work (see "Factors Limiting Population"). ============================================================================== 2. G E N E R A L T I P S F O R M A X I M I Z A T I O N AR04 ============================================================================== The tips below will help you maximize populations in most regions. See the following sections for specific details on understanding how and why population growth occurs, as well as how to maximize populations in each specific region. 1. DESTROY LEVEL 1 AND 2 HOUSES In all stages, houses begin holding more people as the civilization level increases. Once you reach level 3, destroy all the existing level 1 and 2 houses. This will need to be done using Lightning early on, but Earthquakes work much more effectively later in the game, as they leave level 3 buildings intact and affect the entire map with one use. 2. REPLACE CORN FIELDS WITH WHEAT FIELDS In Kasandora and Marahna, you will need to replace corn fields with wheat fields to achieve the maximum population. Wheat fields provide resources to a larger number of people than corn fields do, so fewer of these structures are required. This indirectly allows more housing structures to be created. You do not need to worry about replacing corn fields with wheat in Fillmore or Northwall, as fields are eventually replaced by factories (the large, purple- roofed buildings). 3. RUN UP THE SCORE DURING THE ACTION STAGES Unknown to most people, your score in the action stages directly affects your maximum population. The higher your score, the greater the number of "souls" that are freed. These souls later become the people who inhabit each region. The exact cumulative (Act 1 + Act 2) score that you need varies in each level, but it is between 16,300 and 27,100 (see the "Factors Limiting Population" section for specific point totals). 4. MINIMIZE BRIDGES There has been a long-standing myth that the number of bridges affect the maximum population in each region. As it turns out, this myth is correct. However, it's not the bridges in themselves that limit population -- each region is restricted to 128 total structures, and bridges count towards that total. Bridges become a major limiting factor in Fillmore and Bloodpool. You will need to be creative with build orders to minimize the number of bridges yet still build over each square of the map. For reference, Fillmore's population is maximized with 2 (or fewer) bridges and Bloodpool's population is maximized with 3 bridges. You do not have to worry about the number of bridges in Marahna or Northwall. 5. COVER THE MAP It is important to make sure every inhabitable square is covered. Some regions, like Bloodpool and Aitos, have a few squares near the borders of the map that are easy to overlook. While they may only hold a couple of houses, every structure is important. You will not be able to maximize population in any region except Kasandora if every inhabitable square is not built out. ============================================================================== 3. T H E S O U L C O U N T E R AR05 ============================================================================== According to Actraiser's backstory, Tanzra (the Evil One) transformed the inhabitants of the world into demons after he defeated the Master and forced him to retreat into his Sky Palace to recover. Your main role in the game is to free these lost souls so that civilization can flourish again. This is done by defeating as many demons as possible, both in the action and simulation portions of the game. As you defeat demons and free the souls of the lost people, the game keeps track of this in a hidden statistic called the "soul counter," which records the number of "freed souls" in each region. Freed souls ultimately become the people who end up populating new houses when the town expands. ========================== HOW THE SOUL COUNTER WORKS ========================== The soul counter for each new region begins at zero. So long as it is zero, you cannot begin building the town. You will notice this every time you enter a new area. During simulation mode, you can free souls in two ways: 1. Defeat enemies with the angel's arrows or Bomb (1 soul) 2. Seal a monster lair (souls = number of monsters in lair) Each time a soul is freed, whether from a defeated enemy or sealed lair, you will see a small, white "cloud" head to the temple. This signifies an addition to the soul counter. The soul counter is then decreased once the town is expanded and the population increases (as these people are no longer souls, but now living beings). The easiest way to increase the soul counter, and thus grow your population, is by sealing monster lairs. You can see the number of trapped souls in a monster lair by hovering over it and pressing the B button. You will receive a message that says something like "There seems to be 172 Napper Bats in this Lair." In this case, 172 is the number of trapped souls. If this lair is sealed, the soul counter (and potential population) will increase by 172. At the outset of each region, you will need to defeat at least a few monsters with the angel so that the town can be built out far enough to reach the first lair. You will also need a population of at least 10 to seal a monster lair. If your people are killed, whether by monsters or by you, the souls of these dead townsfolk will be added to the trapped souls in the monster lairs. If a monster kills the townsfolk, those souls will return to the lair of that particular monster. If you kill the townsfolk, the souls will be divided evenly across the remaining monster lairs. o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o |EXAMPLE | |Let's say there is one Napper Bat lair (with 100 enemies) and one Blue | |Demon lair (with 50 enemies) remaining. Below is a table showing what | |happens to the enemy count in each lair when your people are killed. In | |the first case, the Blue Demon uses its lighting attack to kill 8 people. | |In the second case, you use lightning to kill 8 people. | | | | | | Enemies in Lair Enemies in Lair Enemies in Lair | | Enemy Lair (starting) (Blue Demon kills 8) (you kill 8) | | ========== ============== ==================== =============== | | Napper Bat 100 100 104 | | Blue Demon 50 58 54 | o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o If all monster lairs have already been sealed, the souls of slain townspeople will simply be added back to the soul counter. =================================== HOW SOULS AFFECT MAXIMUM POPULATION =================================== Something that should start becoming apparent now is the relationship between enemies in monster lairs, the soul counter, and the maximum population in a region. The maximum population during Act 1 of the simulation mode cannot be higher than the number of starting monsters in all four lairs. The following equation always holds true: Maximum Population = Population + Soul Counter + Enemies in Monster Lairs o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o |EXAMPLE | |You begin a region with a population of 2. You have not killed any enemies | |yet, so the soul counter is 0. You add the number of enemies in all four | |lairs and calculate 600. Therefore, the maximum population you can reach | |during Act 1 is 602: | | | | 602 = 2 (population) + 0 (soul counter) + 600 (enemies in monster lairs) | o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o Note that there are still other factors that may limit population even if you have ample souls for growth. These will be discussed in later sections of this guide. You may be wondering a couple of things based on your past experience: 1. Why is the number of enemies in monster lairs always different? 2. How does the city keep growing after Act 2, even after all the monster lairs have been sealed? The answer to both of these has to do with the amount of points you score during the two action segments of the stage. =================================== HOW SCORE AFFECTS SOULS AND ENEMIES =================================== The number of points you score during the action stages affects both the number of starting enemies in monster lairs (during Act 1) and the soul counter directly (during Act 2). When you begin a new region, there is a starting number of enemies that will always be in each monster lair regardless of the how many points you score during the action segment (the exact totals are in the "Factors Limiting Population" section). This total will be then be increased by 1 enemy for every 50 points you earn during the action stage. o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o |EXAMPLE 1 | |Fillmore will always begin with a minimum of 500 cumulative enemies in the | |monster lairs, regardless of score. Let's say you score 9,600 points | |during the action portion of Act 1. You will add 9,600/50 or 192 enemies | |to the monster lairs. This amount is spread evenly across the lairs, so | |each lair would add 192/4 or 48 new enemies. Therefore, the new total | |number of souls in the region will be 694 (enemies plus 2 for the founders | |This is now the highest population you can achieve during Act 1 of the | |simulation. | o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o In the event that your score is not evenly divisible by 50, round down to get to the number of additional enemies. Score has a similar effect during the Act 2 action stage. However, since all the monster lairs will be sealed, the additional souls are added directly to the soul counter. o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o |EXAMPLE 2 | |Continuing from example 1, let's say the player was able to reach a | |population of 694 in Act 1. Population growth stopped since there were not | |enough souls left to continue growing the town. During Act 2, the player | |scores 10,000 points. This would add 10,000/50 or 200 new souls directly | |to the soul counter. Once the act resumed, you could continue building | |until you either ran out of souls (at population 694+200 or 894) or reached | |some other limiting factor of the region. | o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o The table below summarizes the impact of score on souls: Stage Impact of Score ===== =============== Act 1 action Each 50 points adds 1 enemy to an enemy lair Act 2 action Each 50 points adds 1 soul to the soul counter Given its relationship to the soul counter, the number of points you score during the action stages can actually limit the maximum population of each region. Therefore, there is a minimum number of points that you should try to score during Acts 1 and 2 to maximize population. A breakdown of these point totals can be found in the "Factors Limiting Population" section. ============================================================================== 4. S T R U C T U R E S A N D D E V E L O P M E N T AR06 ============================================================================== In order to understand how population grows (and peaks), it is important to understand the different structures and their impact on how a town is constructed. Also, several in-game events will have an affect on growth rate, and these are discussed below. ================== HOUSING STRUCTURES ================== Housing structures are the basic buildings that your denizens will occupy. Each stage has three different types of housing depending on the current civilization level. Civilization level increases when certain monster lairs are sealed, and the game will let you know when this happens. The housing structures at different civilization levels have different appearances and hold a different number of people. Civilization Type of Number of Level Housing People ============ ======= ========= 1 Mud Huts 4 2 Log Cabins/Tents 6 3 Brick/Stone Houses 8 Each region has slightly different housing after level 1 to match the geography of that area. However, this has no effect on the number of people these buildings can hold. Once you reach civilization level 3, you will want to go back and destroy older level 1 and level 2 buildings (the easiest way to do this is via an Earthquake). This will allow you to fit more people into the same space and helps you reach the maximum population. ===================== SUPPORTING STRUCTURES ===================== While most people ignore their existence, each area requires supporting structures capable of providing food or resources to sustain the population. These are the non-populous buildings like fields, windmills, and even factories (large, purple-roofed buildings) that are automatically constructed along with houses. Below is a list of each structure, along with how many people each will support. Supporting Number of Civ Structure People Supported Level Region ========= ================ ===== ====== Bridge 32 N/A All but Aitos and Kasandora Corn Field 32 1-3 All but Aitos Horse Ranch 32 1 Aitos Wheat Field 48 1-3 All but Aitos Factory 72 3;2-3 Fillmore and Northwall Windmill 72 2-3 Aitos Two of these structures will not be created until you reach civilization levels 2 or 3 (windmill and factory). These structures, along with wheat fields and bridges, cannot be destroyed by earthquakes. Bridges cannot be destroyed by anything and are permanent once built. The "Number of People Supported" column indicates that how many people the structure provides resources for. There must be adequate resources already available before the population can expand. A supporting structure will often be the first building created to ensure adequate resources for the new population. If, however, the first square you build to cannot physically be occupied by a supporting structure, one will be created as soon as possible. Similarly, if you intentionally destroy the supporting structures but leave the houses intact, the game will rebuild all of them before adding any new houses and growing the population. o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o |EXAMPLE | |You have a town with 60 people and 2 corn fields (the two corn fields | |support 32*2 or 64 people). The town expands to 68 people. During this | |expansion, you will also see an additional corn field being created, as one | |is required for every 32 people. Supporting structures will always be | |created in advance of houses to make sure enough resources are provided in | |advance. | o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o The different regions have different supporting structures. Since some supporting structures provide more resources than others, some regions will have fewer structures than others at the same population total. This is important to keep in mind, as the number of total structures is a limiting factor of maximum population (see "Factors Limiting Population" for more). The resources provided also give a rationale for replacing corn fields with wheat fields when you can: wheat will support more houses. You will need to replace corn fields with wheat fields in both Kasandora and Marahna to reach the maximum population. You do not need to do this in Fillmore or Northwall, as the final supporting structure (factory) can replace the fields. The stand-out structure on the above list is the bridge. Unlike the other structures, you do have some control over the creation of bridges based on the direction you expand the town. If a bridge exists, fewer of other types of supporting structures will have to be built to support the people. However, bridges provide the least amount of resources of any supporting structure. In stages where your population is limited by the physical number of structures (Fillmore and Bloodpool), you will want to minimize bridges and instead create more supporting structures of other types to allow for more houses. For some strategies on how to minimize bridges in both regions, see the "Maximizing Population in Each Region" section below. =================== INHABITABLE SQUARES =================== One of the factors that limits maximum population is the physical amount of space in which housing units can be constructed. While it may seem like there is additional space for expansion in some regions that stop growing, you need to consider that houses can only be placed in certain orientations. Each region is made up of 64 squares (8 by 8). You can see the square by selecting the lightning (or similar miracle) or by choosing a direction to build the town. Both of these will highlight one of the 64 squares with a yellow box. Within each square, either housing structures, supporting structures, or roads can be placed. These are restricted to designated spots within the square, and are also limited by natural terrain (like a river or mountain). Within each square, structures will always be built as indicated by the image below. H = housing structures, S = supporting structures, and = designates roads. ------------------- |SSSS|SSSS|====|HHHH| |SSSS|SSSS|====|HHHH| |----|----|----|----| |SSSS|SSSS|====|HHHH| |SSSS|SSSS|====|HHHH| |----|----|----|----| |====|====|====|====| |====|====|====|====| |----|----|----|----| |HHHH|HHHH|====|HHHH| |HHHH|HHHH|====|HHHH| ------------------- Within each square, no more than 5 housing units can ever be created. Supporting units will always appear at the top-left corner, and roads will separate the two. Even if roads or supporting structures do not exist on a particular square, housing can never be built on any part of the square where a supporting structure or road *could* exist. This construction pattern debunks some of the older tips for this game that told you to delete excess fields and supporting structures to make more space for houses. ================== DIRECTION OF ROADS ================== Roads within each square can run north-south or east-west. Roads will typically follow your building direction. For example, if you order the town to be built three units upward from the temple, roads will only appear north- south. Also, if you select a building direction and do not move to any different squares (just press B and remain on the current square), roads will typically be filled out in the square for both directions. This is how you can get N-S and E-W roads on squares in the corner of the screen that can only be approached from one direction. Road direction is important when it comes to regions where bridges are built (particularly Fillmore and Bloodpool). You can minimize the bridges built by ordering the building direction to run strictly parallel to rivers, rather than perpendicular (or right at them). If the roads are built perpendicularly, bridges will automatically be constructed once you build on the other side of the river. o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o |EXAMPLE | |The image below shows 9 squares with a river (river indicated by ~) that | |divides squares 1-3 and 5-7 (similar to the river in Fillmore). If you | |command the build direction to go from 1-7, sequentially, only one bridge | |will be built (in square 5). If you build or enter squares 1, 2, 6, or 7 | |from the east or west, the game will build another one or two bridges over | |the river. This area can have as few as one bridge or as many as three. | | | | _____ _____ _____ | | | | | | | | | 5 | 4 | 3 | | | |~~~~~~~~~__|_____| | | | | ~~ | | | | | 6 | ~~ | 2 | | | |_____|_~~__|_____| | | | | ~~ | | | | | 7 | ~~ | 1 | | | |_____|_~~__|_____| | | | | | |Build parallel to the river and carefully choose where you wish to cross it | |to minimize bridges. | o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o ====================== "PHANTOM" CONSTRUCTION ====================== One of the odder occurrences in the game is when a town's population mysteriously grows in regions when you are not there. This is referred to as "phantom construction" and occurs in Fillmore, Aitos, and Northwall. Phantom construction happens when regions have a square that is capable of holding a house but is partially obstructed on one or more sides. These houses are not built because the game's pathing rules for townspeople forbid them from passing through other objects on their way to build a structure. However, the game is still programmed to build on all portions of a square that are free, so there is a conflict. This produces phantom construction of new houses while you are in another region. A couple of oddities concerning phantom construction: 1. When you enter a different region from the one where the phantom buildings will be constructed, you must wait for the hour glass to empty and fill three times. After the third time, the global population will increase and the new buildings will be placed. 2. Phantom construction will only occur after Act 2 has been completed. You will need to make use of phantom construction in Fillmore and Aitos to reach the maximum population. In Fillmore, this phantom house is constructed either one square left and one square up from the temple (just underneath the corner of the river) or the square one left from that (just underneath the riverbend). In Aitos, there are three phantom houses built in each of the inhabitable squares along the bottom of the screen. You can also use this technique in Northwall to build a house in the bottom-left corner of the square directly below the temple when no bridge or road exist. ================= POPULATION STATUS ================= While you are building, different events and occurrences will affect the population status as indicated on the Status of Cities screen. NONE This is the status in regions that you cannot enter yet. This will change once you complete Act 1. NORM Indicates that all the proper factors are in place for population growth to continue. SLOW Population status is listed as Slow when the soul counter runs low OR when you have reached the maximum population during Act 1. Even if this population is the highest that can later be attained in Act 2, the status will still be Slow instead of Max. STOP There are a few instances in the game where events will unfold that require your intervention before the city can continue to grow. See the next subsection for a complete list of these events. You must remedy these problems before continuing to build the city. MAX Max means that you have reached the maximum population *given* the current limiting factors. You may still be able to increase the population further if you can eliminate or change one of the limiting factors. Max will never be displayed until after Act 2 of a region, regardless of whether the maximum has been reached or not. ================================== EVENTS THAT STOP POPULATION GROWTH ================================== The following events occur in various regions and put a complete stop to population growth. You must resolve the situation before any new growth will resume. Region Event Resolution ===== ===== ========== Fillmore A fire breaks out Use Rain or wait until fire burns out on its own Bloodpool Teddy is missing Take the loaf of bread and use it on Teddy near the lake Bloodpool Conflict engulfs the town Use Harmonious Music from Kasandora Kasandora A plague spreads Use Herbs from Marahna Aitos No wind Use Wind Northwall Townspeople are too cold Use Sheep's Fleece from Aitos ============================================================================== 5. F A C T O R S L I M I T I N G P O P U L A T I O N AR07 ============================================================================== In trying to maximize population in each region, there are always one of three possible factors that will eventually limit your maximum growth: 1. Number of Souls 2. Map Size 3. Number of Structures Every region can potentially be limited by the number of souls you have freed. This limitation will be determined by your score in the action portions of each stage. See the "Souls" subsection below for specific scores. You have control over the number of souls by targeting a high enough score in the action stages, so that this is never a permanent limiting factor. After souls, regions will either be limited by physical size (no room left to expand) or number of structures (you have reached the 128-structure maximum). The table below shows which secondary factors limit population in each region: Limiting Region Factor ====== ============= Fillmore Structures Bloodpool Structures Kasandora Structures Aitos Size Marahna Size Northwall Size ===== SOULS ===== As discussed in the first section, your score during the two action sections determines the number of souls you can free. To reach the maximum population in a region, you must therefore acquire a minimum number of cumulative points. The table below shows the starting number of enemies in each region (this is the sum of the 4 monster lairs), the maximum population, and the combined score you need on the two Acts to free enough souls to reach the maximum population. Starting Enemies Maximum Act 1 + Act 2 In Monster Lairs Population Score Needed ================ ========== ============= Fillmore 500 914 20,600 Bloodpool 330 874 27,100 Kasandora 450 874 21,100 Aitos 320 802 24,000 Marahna 210 538 16,300 Northwall 180 650 23,400 o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o |EXAMPLE | |You are building out Fillmore. In Act 1, you score 10,000 points. This | |adds 10,000/50 or 200 souls to the enemy lairs. Assuming you built your | |town optimally, you should have a population of 702 when you enter Act 2. | |Now, based on the table above, you will need 20,600-10,000 or 10,600 points | |in Act 2 to reach the maximum population. 10,600 points will yield 212 | |souls. When added to the previous population (702+212), you now have enough | |freed souls to reach the maximum population of 914. However, your | |population can still be limited by the other factors below. | o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o Note that in addition to the souls that can be freed from monster lairs, every region starts you with 2 inhabitants automatically (the founders) as soon as Act 1 in completed. The founders cannot be killed or turned back into souls, so they will always represent the minimum population in a region. MAXIMIMIZING SOULS IN ACT 1 --------------------------- In most regions (all but Fillmore and Aitos), it is possible to score enough points in first action stage so that you can reach the maximum population before Act 2. The advantage of doing this in the first Act is that it allows you to hit that region's maximum before some scripted event stalls population growth and forces you to retrieve an item from a different region (e.g. Bloodpool needing the Music from Kasandora, Kasandora needing the Herbs from Marahna after the plague). This allows you to reach the highest possible population sooner and even allows you to reach the highest global population without ever needing to return to most regions after Act 2. Here are the scores needed in Act 1 to maximize population in each region: Maximum Act 1 Act 1 Remaining Act 2 Population Score Needed Score Needed ========== ============= ============ Fillmore 906/914 20,600 400 Bloodpool 874/874 27,100 0 Kasandora 874/874 21,100 0 Aitos 778/802 22,800 1,200 Marahna 538/538 16,300 0 Northwall 650/650 23,400 0 In Fillmore and Aitos, the final houses needed to maximize population are the ones built via phantom construction, and this never occurs until after the Act 2 boss has been defeated. One final observation about maximizing population in Act 1 is that most Act 1 action stages are fairly stingy with points, so attempting to get enough to reach the totals above takes a bit of grinding. I suspect this was done intentionally by the developers for balance purposes to give players a reason to remain in the region after Act 2 and some reward for completing the retrieval quests from other regions. The bottom line is that hitting the scores needed for the maximum souls in Act 1 will take time. The strategy in most of those stages will be collecting points, finding a 1-Up, dying, collecting the 1-Up again, and repeating. Keep in mind that enemies will respawn every 11 game seconds so long as you have moved away from the screen where they originally spawned, so use this to your advantage when grinding. ========== STRUCTURES ========== The game has a hard limit of 128 structures in each area. The game does not care about the size or type of the structures -- a bridge counts just the same as a house, wheat field, or factory. Once you reach the 128-stucture limit, you cannot build any more structures under any circumstances. This limit is most easy to see in Kasandora, where there is still ample space left when the building ceases. If you cross a river once there are 128 structures, the road will continue on the other side but no bridge will be built (however, if you destroy some other supporting structure, a bridge will appear immediately as space is available, so be careful). The table below shows a breakdown of the structures in each region under ideal conditions. The Minimum Bridges column indicates the fewest number of bridges you can construct in each region. This number is only important in Fillmore and Bloodpool, although in Fillmore it is still possible to reach maximum population with 2 bridges. In Marahna, you can have 1 or 2 bridges and it will not affect maximum population. Northwall can have up to 5 bridges with no adverse effect. Housing Supporting Minimum Total Structures Structures Bridges Structures ========== ========== ======= ========== Fillmore 114 13 1 128 Bloodpool 109 16 3 128 Kasandora 109 19 0 128 Aitos 100 12 0 112 Marahna 67 11 1 79 Northwall 81 8 3 92 One note on Bloodpool: even though you should need 17 wheat fields to support a population of 874 (with 3 bridges), the game only creates 16. The reason for this is because there is simply no room left for any more wheat fields. In reaching the maximum population, you will always fill every possible square with a field. The game does not penalize you for this, and instead allows a few houses to exist despite a lack of resources to support them. ======== MAP SIZE ======== The last three regions in the game are limited by the physical size of the maps. Although it may appear that there is still some additional room once the population is at maximum, keep in mind that there are restrictions on where housing structures can appear within each square (see "Inhabitable Squares" subsection above). These regions will simply stop growing once there is no inhabitable space remaining. Since size (and not number of structures) is the limiting population factor in Marahna and Northwall, you do not have to worry about the number of bridges in those stages. ============================================================================== 6. M A X I M I Z I N G P O P U L A T I O N I N E A C H R E G I O N ============================================================================== AR08 Each region has slightly different requirements and idiosyncrasies regarding population growth. The section below will list some of the basic factors for maximizing population in each region. Note that this is NOT a walkthrough of each stage. It is expected that you understand the basics of how to play the game and create cities. If you want more general information on these topics, please refer to a comprehensive walkthrough. ======== FILLMORE ======== Maximum Act 1 Population: 906 Maximum Act 2 Population: 914 Fillmore is one of the pickier levels to maximize. If you want to achieve the highest possible population during Act 1 of this region, you must score at least 20,200 points during the action stage. This is a very tedious task, as the stage is short and does not have many high-point enemies. The stage does have two 1-Ups, however, so you will need to use the "earn points/collect extra lives/die/repeat" strategy. The quickest way to earn a steady stream of points in Act 1 is to abuse the respawning of the gorilla-demon enemies (200 points). They will reappear every 11 game seconds after you defeat one so long as the spawn location is not visible. Simply kill them, move off-screen slightly, wait 11 game seconds, then move back towards their spawn point and repeat. There is a convenient spot to do this just after the second 1-Up before the boss. Once you begin the simulation, your main goal will be to complete the stage with 2 or fewer bridges constructed over the river (the instructions below show how to construct the town with only one bridge). At the beginning, avoid building on any of the squares that border the river. This includes the squares directly NW, W, and SW from the temple. Seal the monster lairs in the south and northeast, and be sure to build over every single square with the exception of the aforementioned ones that border the river. Once the southern and eastern sides of the region are built out, it's time carefully build around the river. You will want to build parallel to the river at all times. It is a good idea to save before you attempt this, just to be safe. The map below shows the northwest portion of the map. Below the map is the specific build order you should follow. _____ _____ _____ | | | | | 6 | 5 | | |_____|_____|_____| |~ | | | |~~7~~~~ 4 | | _____|_____|~____|_____| | | | ~ | | | 10 | 8 | ~3 | T | |_____|_____| ~___|_____| | | |~~ | | | 11 | 9 |~ 2 | | |_____|_____|~____|_____| | | | 1 | |_____| In the above picture, T represents the temple and ~ represents water. Build in the follow direction and do not stop or turn: 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> 6 (seal lair) Square 6 contains a monster lair, if you have not already sealed it. If this is the third lair you are sealing, you will now learn how to build bridges. Now things get a little tricky. From this square, build in the following order: 6 -> 7 (bridge) -> 8 -> 9 -> 8 -> 10 -> 11 (seal lair) If you only built north-south in square 3, you should not create a new bridge when you turn west at square 8. You will stop on the final monster lair. It is very important that you do not move the build direction square from this area. If you move it to any square other than 10 or 11, a new bridge will be created over the river. At this point, your civilization level will be increased. Go around the map and use Lightning to destroy any level 1 or 2 buildings. It will take a little while, but you should eventually cover the map with level 3 structures. Assuming you scored 20,200 in the Act 1 action stage, you can max out the population at 906 right now. If you scored less than 20,600, make up the difference in Act 2. Now, you will notice that the maximum Act 1 population is only 906. The reason this is different from the Act 2 maximum is because there is a "phantom" house that cannot be built while you are in the region. This house will be created in either square 7 below the riverbend or in square 4 below the corner of the river. Leave Fillmore and go to Bloodpool or some other region and wait until the hour glass has filled and emptied three times. After the third time, the global population should increase by 8. When this happens, the final building in Fillmore will have been constructed. Your population should now be 914. Once your population is 914, you can move the build direction square anywhere you want. Moving it over the rivers will create roads but will not construct new bridges. When you return to Fillmore after completing Act 2, you will be informed in the temple that one of the founders passed away. This does not reduce your population, despite that founder originally being included in the count. ========= BLOODPOOL ========= Maximum Act 1 Population: 874 Maximum Act 2 Population: 874 Bloodpool is another high maintenance level. This stage is even easier to screw up than Fillmore, as there are 10 possible bridges that can be constructed. Your goal is only to raise 3 of them: 1 over the north river and 2 over the south river. If you want to maximize population during Act 1, you will need to score 27,100 points during the first action stage. As in Fillmore Act 1, you will want to repeatedly collect the 1-Up, die, and repeat to collect more points. There is an added reward for your persistence, however. Normally, once you complete Act 2, the region will be engulfed with conflict and the population growth will halt until you bring the Harmonious Music from Kasandora. You can avoid the population stagnation (and technically never need to use the music at all to reach the maximum population) if you reach 27,100 points during Act 1. Once the simulation begins and you have cleared away the marshland, focus on developing the area to the north of the temple. Do NOT build east, west, or south at this point. When the northern area is cultivated and the monster lair is sealed, it's time to tackle the bridges. Note that you need to use the Bridge item from Fillmore before you can cross the rivers. As in the last stage, it's a good idea to save before this point. The map below shows the southern portion of this region. _____ _____ _____ | | | | | 1 | T | ~~~~| |_____|_____|~~___| |~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ | | 3 | 2 | 4 | |_____|_____|_____|_____| | | | | | | 9 | 8 | 5 | 6 M | _____|_____|_____|_____|_____| | | ~~~~~~~~~~ | |~~ |16~ | 10 |~ 7 | |_~___|~~~ _|_____|~____| | ~~~~~~ | | | 13 | 12 | 11 | |_____|_____|_____| | | | | 15 M| 14 | |_____|_____| In the above image, T is the temple and ~ represents water. Squares 6 and 15 contain monster lairs. Start at the temple and build in the following order (note that you do not ever need to build on the square east of the temple; it will create bridges but cannot hold houses): T -> 1 -> T As stated, build to the square west of the temple, then build right back. Do not turn south or stop while on square 1. Next, build as follows: T -> 2 (bridge) -> 3 -> 2 -> 4 -> 5 -> 6 (seal lair) You should now seal the monster lair at square 6. Note, once again, the back- and-forth build order between squares 2 and 3. So long as you do not turn inside the square, you will not create roads in a different direction. Once 
the monster lair at square 6 is sealed, build as follows:

6 -> 5 -> 7 -> 5 -> 8 -> 9 -> 8

You should only be able to order the building direction square this far in a 
single command.  At this point, you should have covered every inhabitable 
square above the south river.  If you need to go back north for some reason, 
move right to square 7 before heading north.  Now, the build order for the 
south:

8 -> 10 (bridge) -> 11 -> 12 -> 13 -> 12 -> 11

So far, you have only constructed one bridge over the southern river.  From 
here, finish up the region in this order:

11 -> 14 -> 15 (seal lair) -> 12 -> 16 (bridge)

This final sequence seals the southern lair, constructs an additional bridge 
over the south river, and completes the development of the stage.  Once you 
seal the lair at square 15, you should reach civilization level 3.  Begin 
destroying all level 1 and 2 houses and watch the population soar.

If you scored 27,100 during the action portion of Act 1, you will be able to 
hit 874 people before taking on the second boss.  If not, try to score enough 
points so your Act 1 + Act 2 scores total 27,100.  After completing Act 2, the 
population growth will stop until you bring the Music item from Kasandora. You 
will need to wait until then to maximize the population.


=========
KASANDORA
=========
Maximum Act 1 Population: 874
Maximum Act 2 Population: 874

Kasandora is probably the easiest region to max.  Use the Wheat item on the 
first field that appears and build out as you wish.  If you want to maximize 
population during Act 1, you will need to score 21,100 points during the first 
action stage.  

If score under 21,100 in Act 1, you may wish to avoid building over the square 
with the lost desert wanderer under after you have completed Act 2 and reached 
a population of 874.  Saving this man will immediately trigger the plague after 
Act 2, which halts population growth.  In fact, none of the following events 
will occur unless the wanderer is found:

   1. Discovery of the scroll that the wanderer possessed
   2. Birth of the Harmonious Music
   3. Discovery of the scroll at the southern mountain
   4. Discovery of the Ancient Tablet in the northwest
   5. Spread of the plague

If you rescue the wanderer before reaching the maximum population, you will 
need to wait until finding the Herbs in Marahna to finish the stage.  Even 
without building over the wanderer's square, there is ample room in the stage 
to maximize population.

Finally, while unlikely, it is possible that your population may stall before 
reaching the maximum if your citizens have built more wheat fields than they 
need.  This is rare, but it can happen if you manually use the Wheat item to 
convert corn fields.  A population of 874 only needs 19 wheat fields.  If your 
population has inexplicably stopped short of 874, count the fields and destroy 
any excess ones with lightning.  This will fix the issue.


=====
AITOS
=====
Maximum Act 1 Population: 778
Maximum Act 2 Population: 802

Aitos is also relatively simple to build.  You can construct the town in any 
order you want.  If you want to reach the highest population level in Act 1, 
you will need to score 22,800 points in the Act 1 action stage.  This is not an 
easy task since there is no 1-Up in this stage, but it is possible to do by 
fighting as many enemies as you can until the timer expires. 

During the simulation, be sure not to miss any inhabitable squares, 
particularly in the south by the mountains.

The Act 1 population maxes out at 778, which is three houses short of the Act 2 
maximum.  These three "phantom" houses will eventually be built in the 
southernmost three squares.  They cannot be built while you are in the region 
because they are blocked by other structures and cannot be accessed by the 
townspeople.  After Act 2, go to another stage and wait until the hour glass 
has filled and emptied three times; the global population will jump by 24.  
Assuming your cumulative score on Act 1 + Act 2 is 24,000, Aitos should now be 
complete with 802 people.


=======
MARAHNA
=======
Maximum Act 1 Population: 538
Maximum Act 2 Population: 538

Marahna is the quickest stage to build and does not require any special order. 
Simply use wheat on the first crop and develop the town in any way you would 
like.  You can maximize the population in Act 1 by scoring 16,300 in the action 
stage.  If you choose to go for this score, the second part of the stage has a 
1-Up and is the best area for grinding.  However, it is much easier to make up 
any score difference in Act 2, as that stage racks up points very easily.

It is possible to build up to two bridges in this stage, but these do not limit 
population size.  The first bridge crosses the river leading to the monster 
lair in the southwest corner.  The second bridge can be built two squares right 
of this one.  Place the build direction square on that location. Command the 
game to start and stop the build order on that square without moving to any 
other square.  The build square will not move, but it should create a north-
south road and construct a bridge to nowhere.  Doing that is probably more of a 
novelty than anything else.


=========
NORTHWALL
=========
Maximum Act 1 Population: 650
Maximum Act 2 Population: 650

Like the previous three regions, Northwall does not have any special build 
order.  In fact, Northwall's construction is always pretty linear given the 
restriction from building east of the river until the two monster lairs are 
sealed.  If you scored 23,400 points during the action stage, you can max out 
Northwall during Act 1.  That is a relatively difficult score to amass, but, if 
you decide to do so, take advantage of the 1-Up and 1,000-point token in the 
first indoor cave.  

This region begins with corn fields.  While you can plant wheat, you do not 
need to.  The level 3 supporting structures can replace the fields.

Shortly after the town begins development, the people will complain that they 
are too cold to continue building.  You will need to give them the Sheep's 
Fleece from Aitos before they will resume.  There is no other way to get around 
this stoppage.

This region can have up to 5 bridges, but you do not need to worry about them 
affecting the population; build as many as you'd like.  Once all the monster 
lairs are sealed, destroy the level 1 and 2 buildings (with an earthquake).  
Also, you will want to destroy all remaining wheat fields, as more efficient 
factories will spring up to replace them.

In order to make sure all houses can be built, you will need to have a bridge 
going east-west on the river one square below the temple.  If you don't have 
this bridge, the house in the bottom left corner cannot be built (although it 
can still be "phantom" constructed after Act 2 without that bridge).


==============================================================================
7.  T H E   I N A C C E S S I B L E   S Q U A R E S                       AR09
==============================================================================

The maximum population detailed above in this guide (4,652) is the highest that 
you can legitimately achieve in Actraiser.  However, the game does possess 5 
squares that will allow houses to be constructed that you normally can't access 
because the building direction cursor will not pass over them.  However, if the 
building direction cursor *could* pass over them, the game would populate them 
with houses in a perfectly normal fashion.  

It's possible to experience this using PAR/Game Genie codes and exceed the 
game's maximum population.  This does not produce any negative side effects 
whatsoever, as the game will just treat those squares like any others and will 
follow the same building algorithm it does normally.  The game will also create 
proper roads and bridges in each square.

The additional squares that can be populated are in Aitos (3 squares) and 
Marhana (2 squares).  The specific squares are below, with coordinates in [row, 
column] format (going from the top-left corner; use the miracle cursor to 
easily see which square you’re in).

1. Aitos [3,3]: This square covers the top of the volcano.  One additional
   house can be built here, in the top-right corner of the square.

2. Aitos [4,4]: This is directly on top of the small mountain southeast of the
   volcano.  One additional house can be built here, in the top-right corner
   of the square.

3. Aitos [5,6]: This square covers the cliffs exactly one square up and one
   square right from the temple.  It can hold two additional houses, one at
   the top and one at the bottom.  

4. Marahna [2,2]: This is on southern coast of the northern peninsula.  Two
   additional houses can be built, which will both be in the top-right corner
   of the square.

5. Marahna [6,2]: This is the same square as the temple you enter to fight the
   Act 2 boss.  Building onto this square will even create a bridge that will
   extend to the side of the river with the temple.  One additional house will
   be constructed along the bottom of the square.

If you build out all 5 of these squares, which constructs 7 additional houses, 
you will now have the following populations:


                   MAX
                POPULATION              
                ==========
   Aitos           834
   Marahna         562  
   -------        -----
   Global         4,708


If you would like to build over these squares and experience this for yourself, 
enter the PAR codes below.  There are two codes needed to enable each square 
for building.  Once entered, simply move the building direction cursor over 
each square and wait a normal cycle for new houses to be built.  Note that 
housing construction for these houses are subject to exactly the same 
constraints as for any others, so you will still need to have enough freed 
souls and no other regional conditions that prevent building.


Aitos [3,3]       7F69A3B8 / 7F69A4B8
Aitos [4,4]       7F69B5B8 / 7F69B6B8
Aitos [5,6]       7F69CAB8 / 7F69CBB8
Marahna [2,2]     7F6A22B8 / 7F6A23B8
Marahna [6,2]     7F6A52B8 / 7F6A53B8


==============================================================================
8.  T I P S   F O R   S C O R I N G   P O I N T S                         AR10
==============================================================================

While you can typically score enough points in Act 1+2 by playing normally to 
free enough souls to reach the maximum population, you may opt to reach this 
total after Act 1 to maximize a region's population sooner. The advantages of 
doing this are described throughout the guide.  If you do go that route, some 
grinding will be required.  Below are a few general tips for scoring points and 
hopefully making that process a little easier.


1. GRIND NEAR AREAS WITH A 1-UP
This is probably common sense to most people reading this guide, but the best 
ways to earn points in the action stages are to find some area with a 1-Up and 
then repeatedly kill enemies in that area until the timer expires.  The 1-Ups 
are replenished each time you die, so you can repeat this cycle indefinitely 
for enough points provided you have the patience.

You can find at least one 1-Up in every action stage except for the two in 
Aitos.  Among the two Aitos stages, I personally prefer the Act 1 stage for 
earning points, in particular the area near the end where the waterfall section 
starts.

2. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ENEMY RESPAWNING
Most of the lesser enemies in Actraiser will respawn.  Specifically, they 
respawn every 11 game seconds after being killed provided you've left the 
screen and can no longer see their spawn point.  Use this knowledge to plan 
routes so that by the time you move from one part of the stage to another, all 
the enemies will have respawned.

3. EXTRA LIVES ARE A VALUABLE SOURCE FOR POINTS
After you beat the Act stage boss, you receive 1,000 points for every extra 
life and 10 points for every second remaining on the game clock.  In addition 
to making sure you collect all the 1-Ups in each stage, this underscores the 
benefit of collecting all the Source of Life items, which provide a permanent 
starting increase to your extra life reserves.

For quick reference, here are the locations of the four Sources of Life:
    1. Fillmore: Use the Compass, received in Bloodpool after using the
       Harmonious Music (after Act 2 only)
    2. Bloodpool: Use Rain on the northern part of the lake    
    3. Kasandora: Use Earthquake once the Pyramid is uncovered
    4. Northwall: Use Lightning on the temple



==============================================================================
9.  P O P U L A T I O N   L E V E L   C H A R T                           AR11
==============================================================================

The rationale for focusing on population is primarily because it ties into your 
current level, as well has hit points (HP) and spell points (SP).  The table 
below shows the population required to reach each level, as well as the HP and 
SP at that level.  Level 17 is the highest level you can reach.


     o--------------------------------------o
     |  Level  |Population|   HP   |   SP   |
     |---------|----------|--------|--------|
     |    1    |     --   |    8   |   20   |
     |    2    |     80   |    9   |   45   |
     |    3    |    200   |   10   |   60   |
     |    4    |    400   |   11   |   80   |
     |    5    |    700   |   12   |  100   |
     |    6    |    950   |   13   |  120   |
     |    7    |   1200   |   14   |  140   |
     |    8    |   1400   |   15   |  160   |
     |    9    |   1700   |   16   |  180   |
     |   10    |   1900   |   17   |  200   |
     |   11    |   2200   |   18   |  220   |
     |   12    |   2500   |   19   |  240   |
     |   13    |   2900   |   20   |  260   |
     |   14    |   3300   |   21   |  280   |
     |   15    |   3700   |   22   |  300   |
     |   16    |   4100   |   23   |  320   |
     |   17    |   4600   |   24   |  340   |
     o--------------------------------------o


==============================================================================
10. P O P U L A T I O N   P A R   C O D E S                               AR12
==============================================================================

If you would like to explore the effects of population on your own, there is no 
better way to do it than by examining the memory addresses.  This section 
provides the locations of many relevant statistics that relate to population. 
The following section assumes you have some minor knowledge of emulation and 
memory editing, as no background information on these topics will be provided 
here.


==================
CIVILIZATION LEVEL
==================
Civilization level affects the types of housing structures that can be created. 
The higher the civilization level, the more people each house will hold.  At 
level 3, the highest quality building will be constructed.  In the codes below, 
XX will range from 01 (lowest) to 03 (highest).

Fillmore      7E022EXX
Bloodpool     7E0230XX
Kasandora     7E0232XX
Aitos         7E0234XX
Marahna       7E0236XX
Northwall     7E0238XX


============
SOUL COUNTER
============
Each region has a separate soul counter.  The future population is limited by 
this number of souls.  The soul counter is represented by two bytes.  XX can 
range from 00 to FF on each byte (no value will crash the game).  Setting the 
first byte to 40 (64 in decimal) will be enough to allow for maximum expansion 
in all regions.

Fillmore      7F9EFAXX / 7F9EFBXX
Bloodpool     7F9EFCXX / 7F9EFDXX
Kasandora     7F9EFEXX / 7F9EFFXX
Aitos         7F9F00XX / 7F9F01XX
Marahna       7F9F02XX / 7F9F03XX
Northwall     7F9F04XX / 7F9F05XX


==================
MONSTER LAIR COUNT
==================
These codes control the number of enemies in each monster lair.  There are four 
lairs in every region.  Setting a lair to 00 will eliminate all the monsters in 
that lair.  If you use these codes to eliminate all monsters in a region, you 
must also use the Soul Counter codes above, otherwise you will never be able to 
free enough souls to grow the town.  Each lair has two bytes that can range 
from 00 to FF.  The game will only display up to 999 monsters in the lair if 
the counter is over that total.  However, it will still accurately track enemy 
counts over 999.


                Lair 1          Lair 2          Lair 3          Lair 4
                ======          ======          ======          ======
Fillmore       7F96B8XX        7F96BAXX        7F96BCXX        7F96BEXX
               7F96B9XX        7F96BBXX        7F96BDXX        7F96BFXX

Bloodpool      7F96C0XX        7F96C2XX        7F96C4XX        7F96C6XX
               7F96C1XX        7F96C3XX        7F96C5XX        7F96C7XX

Kasandora      7F96C8XX        7F96CAXX        7F96CCXX        7F96CEXX
               7F96C9XX        7F96CBXX        7F96CDXX        7F96CFXX

Aitos          7F96D0XX        7F96D2XX        7F96D4XX        7F96D6XX
               7F96D1XX        7F96D3XX        7F96D5XX        7F96D7XX

Marahna        7F96D8XX        7F96DAXX        7F96DCXX        7F96DEXX
               7F96D9XX        7F96DBXX        7F96DDXX        7F96DFXX

Northwall      7F96E0XX        7F96E2XX        7F96E4XX        7F96E6XX
               7F96E1XX        7F96E3XX        7F96E5XX        7F96E7XX


==============================================================================
C O N T A C T   I N F O R M A T I O N                                     AR13
==============================================================================

Thank you for taking the time to read through this guide.  I hope you found it 
informative and useful in your adventures through Actraiser.  If you have any 
comments on the guide, whether they be corrections, suggestions for future 
revisions, spelling/grammar mistakes, formatting problems, additional 
strategies, or any other type of feedback, please let me know.  Anything 
contributed will be credited in detail to the sender.

I can be reached at the following email address: Admiral1018@yahoo.com.  Please 
include "Actraiser" or something along those lines in the email subject heading 
if you can, so I don't accidentally delete the email.  I no longer check this 
account regularly (so please don't be offended if you do not receive an 
immediate response), but I can assure you that every email is read carefully.  
In fact, reader feedback was the primary reason for this latest revision.


==============================================================================
R E V I S I O N   H I S T O R Y                                           AR14
==============================================================================

Version 0.99 -- March 13, 2007
  - Preview Version

Version 1.0 -- March 14, 2007
  - Initial Release

Version 1.1 -- July 6, 2007
  - Added specific locations of houses built by phantom construction
  - Added additional information on finding the desert wanderer in Kasandora
  - Clarified tips 2 and 3 in the General Strategies section
  - Reformatted Examples to stand out from descriptive text
  - Edited various sections for improved readability
  - Fixed minor spelling, grammar, and formatting issues

Version 1.2 -- August 6, 2007
  - Corrected populations for Bloodpool and Kasandora in first section 

Version 1.3 -- December 14, 2018
  - Added the section "The Inaccessible Squares," which details 5 additional
    squares that can hold houses but are inaccessible because of the game's
    building direction cursor limits
  - Clarified that the maximum population can still be reached in Fillmore
    with 2 bridges
  - Added a subsection under "Factors Limiting Population" listing the points
    required to maximize a region's population after Act 1 alone
  - Added a tip for earning points in Act 1 of Fillmore and noted the time for
    enemies to respawn
  - Changed the description of "mansions" to "factories" based on their
    description in the game's instruction manual (page 31)
  - Changed the wording of some sections to be clearer and less technical
  - Enumerated the main body sections
  - Fixed minor spelling, grammar, and formatting issues


==============================================================================
C R E D I T S                                                             AR15
==============================================================================

Big thanks to everyone who helped and inspired me with this guide, especially 
the members at the GameFAQs Actraiser message boards -- this guide would not 
have been possible without your encouragement.  If I have accidentally omitted 
your name from this section, please feel free to contact me and I will include 
you immediately.  Special thanks to the following people:

- flamingspinach (genesisreality@genesisreality.dyndns.org): You PAR codes
  guide was a helpful resource during the creation of this guide.  You saved
  me the hassle of having to record all those codes, which was very useful.

- acote80: Thank you for creating the initial topic that sparked my interest
  in this topic again.  It was your posts on populations in Fillmore and
  Bloodpool that ultimately began my research.

- Zidanax (zidanax@gmail.com): For some spelling and grammar corrections.

- Scott Colcord: Emailing me about too many wheat fields stalling growth in
  Kasandora.

- Jason Hildebrand: Suggesting that I split out points needed to maximize
  population in Act 1, which was a good idea.

- Other members of the GameFAQS Actraiser board who contributed to this topic,
  especially: -_-ShockWave-_-, _Kaz, arby64, AR788, comicfire,
  DarkstarRipclaw, DragonAtma, Evil Peer, Hasukawa Kazuyaa, Rec_rm, shinren27,
  SurvivorDude, zeldadude

- Everyone else for taking the time to read this guide and giving me feedback
  on it.  I really appreciate your help.

================================END OF GUIDE==================================