Do you build zoos/stadiums?

[kb27787]

With the change to consulates perma-friendship (well the change is to the bonus from PtP), there's no longer an auto +3 happiness for each mercantile CS on the map.
I find with the new patch that my empire of only 3 (admittedly tall) cities is struggling to stay happy (happiness in single digits) most of the midgame without using all my lux copies for lux trades (previously I'd just trade them for gold/bribes) until I get into ideological tenets.
I was wondering if the top players build zoos/stadiums; to me they cost an ungodly amount of hammers and seem not to be worth it.

 

[FeiLing]

Well before consulates "unhappened" I was already always struggling with happiness, especially when/since the ai hardly has surplus copies of their luxuries that they'd be willing to trade. And even back then I did build/buy Zoos/Stadium late game if money allowed it and growth/production would otherwise have suffered.
Ivory and Horses are much more valuable to me since BNW too

 

[justanotherturn]

mid game, the AI got their luxury duplicate online and you can trade for them, you just need to be really on to it and check every turn, because you usually dont have many turn before one AI sell it to another AI. (in deity lux are rarely available more than 1 turn unless nobody is buying it)

I never build stadium / zoo in "standard" science game with tall city, but sometime i need them on a warmongering game to create a happiness "buffer" allowing me to take city quickly. (at this point it's faster to build this sort of happiness building in you main city than waiting the news city come out of rebellion.)

I didnt have time to play a full game since the patch so my opinion may be totally biased.

 

[sun8119]

Sometimes zoos yes but never stadiums because they come too late. If you take Order + happiness from factories/workshops and monuments and ally 1 merc city state you can take even -30 happiness hits and still stay happy when almost all AIs take some other ideology

 

[Forkandles]

Zoo's sometimes. Stadiums pretty much never.

You have to be on the ball and pick up the AIs spare luxs whenever they are available. I quite like setting up lux for lux ancient era deals and it can be possible to keep them going all game.

 

[ense7en]

I almost always have to build zoos to maintain happiness.

Stadiums less likely.

I really love the policy in Autocracy (Militarism) that gives +2 happiness from barracks/armory/military academy...it's extremely useful if you have a lot of cities, as that's an extra +4-6 happiness per city just with that one policy.

 

[Matthew.]

I was wondering if the top players build zoos/stadiums; to me they cost an ungodly amount of hammers and seem not to be worth it.

Well, if you are struggling with unhappiness... I'd say they are worth it

Zoos usually get built but it is usually later... like industrial. I usually try to keep excess happiness sources so I can focus on other buildings first.

 

[sendos]

Depends on my type of empire and situation:
- Tall: rarely build zoos and stadiums because happiness is strong enough already.
- Wide: I almost always build zoos and if happiness is still unstable, I would build stadiums.
- Ideological pressure: I build both, enough to offset the pressure. If pressure dies down, I cease building them unless I experience happiness issues from other causes.
- warmongering: I always build both, they're a top priority when expanding.

 

[Light Cleric]

Sometimes Zoos, but Stadiums come too late to really be a factor because you should have Ideology happiness by then.

 

[Fire0rb]

I just had a game with new Japan and 4 cities all on the coast. I did use mostly of my traderoutes internally and with only 5 unique luxuries i had some problems in the midgame with happiness so i was forced to build some colosseums and zoos.

The only other occasion i build/buy stadiums is when i connquer the whole map in late game but nowadays i tend to xcom/stealth bomb the capitals when i am too lazy to conquer everything properly and just wanna win

 

[joncnunn]

I always play tall.

Zoos: I used to build those pre-patch when I had only a +1 city from religion sources instead of +2.
Post patch which took care of the overpowered pledge to protect + consulate problem this is even less likely as the Exploration tree has an easy to get additional source of happiness early if religions aren't.