i think this is another one of those things that is up to your imagination i think it  means that all the major cities were destroyed so the land could be used

I think he is going for the record for new posts creator.

hehe more than likely didnt he ask about tdn also?

except the two areas are completely unrelated, let alone mutually exclusive 

to the question, the game is referring to the colonial government, not its citizens.

 a110, wouldn't the colonial government be centered in the major cities, along with much of the population?

soo true!!!

This brings up an important point:

The game needs invasions.  No extra graphics would be needed; just reuse the envoy as a troop transport.  While your troops are invading, you see explosions rage across the planet's surface.  

Add in planet-based weapons systems, and invasions might sometimes be preferable to nuking from orbit as your troops struggle to take over the enemy installations.  As the fleet battle rages overhead, you try and drop as many troops as possible to turn the tide of the battle. The bigger the planet's pop, the bigger the militia there, so send in lots more transports!

Then again, nuking from orbit *never* gets old, why is that?