(As a bonus, graphics designed so the game might still work at 1000 might give me a smooth ride at 200. Changing the population limit in AoE3 is not as easy because of how some houses work. I don’t mind having the option of a 500 or 1000 setting on a game that runs best at 200, because people will be playing it at 200. Add a 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 pop ceiling options (scaling building limits and population bonuses like China’s accordingly) and let each player choose what he or she want to do. You can select the population option in a lobboy, scroll down with your wheel in your mouse (Or click on the ball that is situated in the right bar) and select 500 population there. That said, for all the Aoe games I’ve played I think 200 is a very reasonable number, and I find games designed to run at a pop limit of around 200 often strike a pretty good balance between gameplay element for me. (As a bonus, graphics designed so the game might still work at 1000 might give me a smooth ride at Calvus” said: I don’t mind having the option of a 500 or 1000 setting on a game that runs best at 200, because people will be playing it at 200.
If I need to have 100 villagers collecting stuff just so I can keep a single stable running (extreme example) a higher pop limit is probably welcome. It also depends on how quick units are build and their cost. In those games 80 units are about as easy to manage as 1 unit, while in the current aoe games groups of larger than 20 units can get cluncky at times already. If a game has a lot of units with special abilities and such the ideal number will probably be lower, on the other hand if the game is centered around formations like Cossacks the number can go higher.