tu_79
Deity
First, let's take a look on how happiness is handled in June's release. (Based on information published by @Gazebo and @Rekk on the release thread)
Happiness is local. There can never be more happy or unhappy people in one city than its size. Global effects are distibuted secuentially among the cities, so they act locally. For example, +6 global happiness in a 4 cities empire, the first twp cities get 2 happiness each one, the other ones get 1 happiness each.
The local effect is based on the net unhappy people (local unhappiness - local happiness). Net unhappiness in a city reduces its growth and production towards units (?). Net happiness produces golden age points.
The global effect is based on the total unhappiness vs total happiness ratio, and this is shown in the map top bar, its current value and its posible outcomes.
1 Unhappiness
Unhappiness comes from global factors like war weariness and ideological pressure, but mostly from local factors: Needs, Religious divisions and Urbanization.
1.1 Needs
The formula for getting the number of citizens affected by a need is this:
UnhappyFromNeed = ((NeedThreshold - CityYieldEfficiency) / Disorder) - NeedReduction
NeedThreshold is the Median of the CityYieldEfficiencies in the world, multiplied by a Modifier. This modifier includes: Technology penalty (from 0 to +100%), Empire size penalty (+4% for every city), base penalty (+x%), infrastructure bonuses (-x%)
CityYieldEfficiency is how much of that yield the city produces per citizen.
Disorder is a scaler, currently 0.25.
NeedReduction is the sum of flat need reductions from buildings. For example, Barracks reduce unhappiness from Distress by 1, period.
1.2 Religious divisions is proportional to the people not following the majority religion in the city. Not much to say about.
1.3 Urbanization
Every specialist causes 1 unhappiness from urbanization. If a city has no spare happiness, it cannot work a specialist. (This blockade is verified at the start of the turn, so the player can try different specialists during his turn). So, in a sense, working specialists is a reward for spare local happiness. Or that it is trading GAP for GP.
2. Happiness.
It comes from global sources, like luxuries, policies, expended musicians, religion or events, and then distributed among cities, and from local sources such as the zoo line, or happiness boosted buildings such as the castle with Fealty.
************************************
Now, there are three main uses for the UI. Knowing what is going on (situation), knowing why (mechanics exposure) and knowing what to do about it (tips).
SITUATION
It must show what the current number of happy/unhappy people is in every city and at the empire level, along with the effects it is causing.
MECHANICS EXPOSURE
This is optional, but helps with debugging and planning games. If the player knows how the values are obtained, he can think ahead how to achieve the optimal ones at the best time. There are some players that just can't enjoy a game if they must play with some uncertainty. The problem with such porn, is that it distracts, confounds and frightens more casual players that actually don't need this information to play the game. So far, mechanics exposure consists in showing some of the intermediate values such as Modifiers, Reduced needs and NeedThreshold, formula hidden.
TIPS
Also optional, they make it easier to handle unhappiness, even when not understanding it completely. If all the mechanics are exposed, then a player can make his way into handling unhappiness, but it takes some effort. We already have a tip forecasting happiness changes upon city growth. Tips providing the required number of each yield for changing unhappiness is also on implementation.
************************
A main problem here is that there is too much complexity, and very little space for showing it.
In the city view we can see the local situation, but just two lines: unhappiness and happiness, and we must infere that what matters is the difference, or look into the tooltip where it explains it a little better. Having this in just one line is even worse, as it leaves us with only one tooltip. We might use the tooltip in the top bar for global effects and sources, and leave yields briefing in the city view for local effects and sources, but they are also intertwined (the Modifiers include both local and global sources).
Also, infrastructure is very difficult to follow up, some of it applies to the Modifiers that affect the Threshold, some applies directly to the Need value.
If both Empire size and Technology penalties were moved to global, it would be much easier to show modifiers, each one in its own tooltip, but this would require a lot of changes, again.
Another problem is that the biggest part requiring lots of text is the local unhappiness. So, no matter how we divide it, one tooltip is going to be much larger. Needs is what requires the most space, so maybe it makes sense to separate it.
*********************
PROPOSAL
1. Have one line in city view for Net Happiness, replacing current Happiness. Have another with just Needs, replacing current Unhappiness.
2. In Net Happiness, show in this order:
2.a. Current effect
2.b. Happiness received from Empire happiness sources
2.c. Unhappiness received from Empire unhappiness sources, war-weariness and the likes.
2.d. Total local unhappy people from Needs
2.e. Urbanization
3. In Needs, show in this order:
3.a. Every need
3.a.1. People suffering from this need
3.a.2. Yields required for need variation, upwards or downwards.
3.a.3. Need Threshold in absolutes (call it Demand).
3.b. Modifiers and Reductions
3.b.1. Empire modifiers
3.b.2. Local modifiers and reductions
3.c. Expected growth effect
**************************
It will read like this:
-------------------
Happiness : 2
Happiness Tooltip:
Happiness local effect:
2 GAP
per turn
+10%
Growth
May work up to 2 specialist slots
There cannot be more unhappy or happy than
citizens.
8
from Empire (see Empire Happiness tooltip)
3 from Buildings / Wonders
1 from Religion
2
from War Weariness
8 from Needs
0 from Urbanization
--------------------
Needs : 8
Needs Tooltip:
Citizens are unhappy when yields are lower than demand. *
* 4 from Distress: Providing 13 / 15/
-2/ for +1 ; +3 / for -1
* 2 from Poverty: Providing 24 / 27
-5 for +1; +1 for -1
* 3 from Illiteracy: Providing 4 / 5
-1 for +1;+2 for -1
* 0 from Boredom: Providing 12 / 10
-2 for -1
Demand is based on world's median yields per citizen, and it is affected by:
* Technology +13%
* Empire size: +22%
* Local modifiers: -15%/, -10% , -15% , -10%
* Building reductions:
-1 from /Distress
-1 from Poverty
WithGrowth, unhappiness from Needs
estimated to modify by 4 as follows:
* 4/ Distress
* 4 Poverty
* -2 Illiteracy
* -2 Boredom
Happiness is local. There can never be more happy or unhappy people in one city than its size. Global effects are distibuted secuentially among the cities, so they act locally. For example, +6 global happiness in a 4 cities empire, the first twp cities get 2 happiness each one, the other ones get 1 happiness each.
The local effect is based on the net unhappy people (local unhappiness - local happiness). Net unhappiness in a city reduces its growth and production towards units (?). Net happiness produces golden age points.
The global effect is based on the total unhappiness vs total happiness ratio, and this is shown in the map top bar, its current value and its posible outcomes.
1 Unhappiness
Unhappiness comes from global factors like war weariness and ideological pressure, but mostly from local factors: Needs, Religious divisions and Urbanization.
1.1 Needs
The formula for getting the number of citizens affected by a need is this:
UnhappyFromNeed = ((NeedThreshold - CityYieldEfficiency) / Disorder) - NeedReduction
NeedThreshold is the Median of the CityYieldEfficiencies in the world, multiplied by a Modifier. This modifier includes: Technology penalty (from 0 to +100%), Empire size penalty (+4% for every city), base penalty (+x%), infrastructure bonuses (-x%)
CityYieldEfficiency is how much of that yield the city produces per citizen.
Disorder is a scaler, currently 0.25.
NeedReduction is the sum of flat need reductions from buildings. For example, Barracks reduce unhappiness from Distress by 1, period.
1.2 Religious divisions is proportional to the people not following the majority religion in the city. Not much to say about.
1.3 Urbanization
Every specialist causes 1 unhappiness from urbanization. If a city has no spare happiness, it cannot work a specialist. (This blockade is verified at the start of the turn, so the player can try different specialists during his turn). So, in a sense, working specialists is a reward for spare local happiness. Or that it is trading GAP for GP.
2. Happiness.
It comes from global sources, like luxuries, policies, expended musicians, religion or events, and then distributed among cities, and from local sources such as the zoo line, or happiness boosted buildings such as the castle with Fealty.
************************************
Now, there are three main uses for the UI. Knowing what is going on (situation), knowing why (mechanics exposure) and knowing what to do about it (tips).
SITUATION
It must show what the current number of happy/unhappy people is in every city and at the empire level, along with the effects it is causing.
MECHANICS EXPOSURE
This is optional, but helps with debugging and planning games. If the player knows how the values are obtained, he can think ahead how to achieve the optimal ones at the best time. There are some players that just can't enjoy a game if they must play with some uncertainty. The problem with such porn, is that it distracts, confounds and frightens more casual players that actually don't need this information to play the game. So far, mechanics exposure consists in showing some of the intermediate values such as Modifiers, Reduced needs and NeedThreshold, formula hidden.
TIPS
Also optional, they make it easier to handle unhappiness, even when not understanding it completely. If all the mechanics are exposed, then a player can make his way into handling unhappiness, but it takes some effort. We already have a tip forecasting happiness changes upon city growth. Tips providing the required number of each yield for changing unhappiness is also on implementation.
************************
A main problem here is that there is too much complexity, and very little space for showing it.
In the city view we can see the local situation, but just two lines: unhappiness and happiness, and we must infere that what matters is the difference, or look into the tooltip where it explains it a little better. Having this in just one line is even worse, as it leaves us with only one tooltip. We might use the tooltip in the top bar for global effects and sources, and leave yields briefing in the city view for local effects and sources, but they are also intertwined (the Modifiers include both local and global sources).
Also, infrastructure is very difficult to follow up, some of it applies to the Modifiers that affect the Threshold, some applies directly to the Need value.
If both Empire size and Technology penalties were moved to global, it would be much easier to show modifiers, each one in its own tooltip, but this would require a lot of changes, again.
Another problem is that the biggest part requiring lots of text is the local unhappiness. So, no matter how we divide it, one tooltip is going to be much larger. Needs is what requires the most space, so maybe it makes sense to separate it.
*********************
PROPOSAL
1. Have one line in city view for Net Happiness, replacing current Happiness. Have another with just Needs, replacing current Unhappiness.
2. In Net Happiness, show in this order:
2.a. Current effect
2.b. Happiness received from Empire happiness sources
2.c. Unhappiness received from Empire unhappiness sources, war-weariness and the likes.
2.d. Total local unhappy people from Needs
2.e. Urbanization
3. In Needs, show in this order:
3.a. Every need
3.a.1. People suffering from this need
3.a.2. Yields required for need variation, upwards or downwards.
3.a.3. Need Threshold in absolutes (call it Demand).
3.b. Modifiers and Reductions
3.b.1. Empire modifiers
3.b.2. Local modifiers and reductions
3.c. Expected growth effect
**************************
It will read like this:
-------------------
Happiness : 2
Happiness Tooltip:
Happiness local effect:
2 GAP
per turn+10%
GrowthMay work up to 2 specialist slots
There cannot be more unhappy or happy than
citizens.8
from Empire (see Empire Happiness tooltip)3
from Buildings / Wonders1
from Religion2
from War Weariness8
from Needs0
from Urbanization--------------------
Needs : 8
Needs Tooltip:
Citizens are unhappy when yields are lower than demand. *
* 4 from Distress: Providing 13 / 15
/-2
/ for +1 ; +3 / for -1* 2 from Poverty: Providing 24 / 27
-5
for +1; +1 for -1* 3 from Illiteracy: Providing 4 / 5
-1
for +1;+2 for -1* 0 from Boredom: Providing 12 / 10
-2
for -1Demand is based on world's median yields per citizen, and it is affected by:
* Technology +13%
* Empire size: +22%
* Local modifiers: -15%
/, -10% , -15% , -10%* Building reductions:
-1
from /Distress-1
from PovertyWith
Growth, unhappiness from Needsestimated to modify by 4 as follows:
* 4
/ Distress* 4
Poverty* -2
Illiteracy* -2
Boredom
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