I rarely use universal suffrage... but this game I'm running Heredetary Rule and a heavy cottage economy, so I figure I ought to tech to Democracy and reap the benefits of universal suffrage.

But surprise! As I get democracy, I realize that several of my cities are heavily dependent on the heredetary rule happiness bonus. Switching to universal suffrace would mean mass starvation!

So how do people normally transition into universal suffrage when running a cottage economy? Do you just accept starvation and do it? Do I delay until much later in the game? Something else?

That is why I only switch to US after checking how much :) comes from garrisons and after trying to get all the :) providers I can get. IMHO the best time is when the Hit resources appear in game. Otherwise you can always run culture for a while and restore the HR :) situation later.

Or you can simply acept the loss of citizens....

I see two solutions for that:
- democracy is also the time where you will have gotten astronomy, thus new opportunities for trading ressources you miss or settle near them.
- US is definitely a production civic; why not use that production to make up the infrastructure you need for happiness ?

In order to make the switch, you need the + from temples, luxury resources with proper buildings, having a state religion, and perhaps vassals :devil:. Theaters are good for the +1 :) too and are pretty necessary when warring creates unhappiness that needs the culture slider to keep your citizens from starving themselves to death.

Much of the above can be aided via rush buy, but if you don't have the :) resources it might be hard to make use of US until you get them.

Maybe your economy was too unit-friendly. A few buildings and some resources and you are good to go.

Don't forget the RushBuy feature of Universal Suffrage -- If you only have a few problem cities a couple quick purchases can set them back on their feet (temples, coliseums, etc ).

i only switch to US when i gain quite a lot of land , that way i have enough resource for a switch . Dont do that if you have only 7 city :D

I only find US useful after I get all the happiness resources through conquest/trade.

And rush-buying only becomes efficient if you have the Kremlin.

Efficient compared to what? Basic US gold buying under FS is more efficient than railroaded post-biology grass mines.

It has its uses:

1st: Early game, you have The Pyramids, and are playing for cultural victory. Use it to rush buy temples and cathedrals. It's avaliable for the late game as well

2nd: You are spiritual and you're loosing the race to a critical wonder. Use it to rush buy the wonder. It can be used, as well, if you desperately need units for deffence

3rd: You have a lot of commerce, but limited production, or you have a commerce city with very low production. You can rush buy university and observatory there.

4th: You have more than enough happiness and many towns. So just use the hammer bonus.

5th: You are building your spaceship. Every single hammer counts and you dont care for unhappiness much.

In your case, if you need the military happiness, just dont use it.

And rush-buying only becomes efficient if you have the Kremlin.
QFT

I generally switch to US as a production civic as well, but usually, by that point in the game, I am not relying on my garrisons for the happiness, since I likely have theaters, temples, markets, etc, to cover me. My happiness is generally in the high 20's at the point in the game US becomes available (without the Mids, that is), and my populations are rarely that high, generally mid-high teens.

Even in HR, I rarely find I need more than 4 or 5 units to cover the happiness until I am ready to go into US. I guess I am far too addicted to the whip, and still occasionally use it as a production tool, especially in high-commerce cities that tend to re-grow pretty quickly. Whipping that market just seems "worth it" even if it takes 10 turns to regrow the pop to stick back on the Village I just killed.