BiteInTheMark
Deity
Gazebo is defining a change to decimal happiness shown in city UI already as a rework, so I think the happiness system will not change that much anymore.I think this discussion should occur after General happiness changes, as that will effect India
And no matter how the final happiness modifier will be, bigger cities will lead to more unhappiness, but India has no extra ability to deal with it.
How would be this, instead of +2% growth/pressure per follower, he gain +1% food/pressure and - 1% need modifier.
High food excess values by growth didn't help with fighting distress, but increased food does. With a food modifier, his UA would still help him, even if he is forced to stop growth by unhappiness. 2% pressure increase per follower is insane, you can easily overwhelm a Pangäa map with a tall empire. So 1% is OK and enough.
1% need reduction isn't big enough to compensate bad play, but it gives him an edge over other players, and with more food instead growth, more citizen in the endgame are free to work non-food tiles and help in fighting the other needs.