happiness quirk...

[Marquis de Sodaq]

While punishing the AI in the Delunda Sunt challenge (in the Strategy forum), an odd this happened - odd, to me at least, because I've not seen it before. I'd captured many cities and was in monarchy, and the martial law worked in reverse! This is while playing as the Seleucids, with the Hanging Gardens still in effect. I had approximately 30 cities.

In some size 2 cities, my citizens were actually happier while their sons and husbands were off to war than while they were stationed at home. With a chariot and phalanx defending the town, there was one happy citizen (HG), and one unhappy citizen. When the chariot rode off to slay Celts, the unhappy citizen became content. When the chariot died, the unhappy citizen became content. Apparently these were not very popular units...

This happened in several cities. Due to the race against the clock, I didn't spend much time testing. Does anyone have an explanation?

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"There is no fortress impregnable to an ass laden with gold."
-Philip of Macedon

[Scouse Gits]

You don't play much ICS do you?

Once the two black face situation applies moving troops out of a city will increase its happiness (with the HG). There is probably a definitive explanation around somewhere, but the reality makes for lots of empty cities in most ICS games

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Scouse Git[1] -- git1@scousers.net

"Staring at your screen in horror and disbelief when you open a saved game is one of the fun things of a succession game " - Hueij
"The Great Library has been built!"
"A short cut has to be challenging,
were it not so it would be 'the way'." - Paul Craven

[Marquis de Sodaq]

I didn't think 30 or so cities was ICS... I thought this meant scores more than I had. Anyway, it didn't seem like more than a normal game. Maybe it's just perception, but I think I usually have 30 to 40 cities in my normal quasi-perfectionism. Not intended, you know - this advanced tribe needs a port, how about one 2 squares from their capitol, oh and another on this gold mountain, and so on. This was the first time I'd seen the "happy to see them off" effect. Maybe because of all those colluseums I normally build...

This has been discussed in threads, I even did a search before posting. Just didn't think it applied - how many cities do ICSers settle in a game?

And if it turns out I ICS, have 8000g in the coffers, AND build everything under the sun, discover a new advance every other turn, - maybe I'm a better player than I'd thought...

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"There is no fortress impregnable to an ass laden with gold."
-Philip of Macedon

[East Street Trader]

Marquis

I'm probably going to get this wrong but I'll have a go.

It's to do with the appearance of the black hatted double unhappy brigade.

30 cities in Monarchy is well enough to start getting these gentlemen. DaveV has helpfully posted (more than once) an authoritative set of figures which tell you the numbers of cities which result in the first citizen being unhappy and, later, double unhappy. From memory, it's 8 cities before the first citizen is unhappy and then, once you get to the number which triggers double unhappies some cities get to have double unhappies but other cities don't.

Anyway, the point about the double unhappies is that there is indeed a quirk in the game such that HG (and 2 luxuries also I think) has the unexpected effect of moving the double unhappy straight to happy - missing out both single unhappy and content.

So if the first citizen is a black hat then with no military units in residence HG makes the first citizen a happy, the second citizen stays unhappy but that doesn't send the city into riots.

If you leave one unit in the city then the game takes the martial law effect of that unit into account first and the double unhappy is lifted to being merely unhappy. Now HG operates on that citizen and only lifts it from unhappy to content. So you finish up with one content citizen and one unhappy citizen = riot.

That is what produces the counter intuitive result that if you move the military unit out - or it gets killed in situ, then the riot stops.

[Laertes]

This accords with my recent experience. I decided to try a game on ICS, and have noticed the same effect as described by EST. It is validated when you look at the "Happy" view in the city information screen. The HG has an impact, but not the troops.

As for city numbers, in early AD, I have got about 40 cities (2 conquered. I am not purist ICS - I think I take too many steps before starting a city with a new settler, and I have had to move onto 4 new islands as I started isolated. I am now getting a bit bored with continually building settlers and trying to find places to settle, and am tempted by some very nice city sites to actually stop at 40 an develop like mad.

[DaveV]

Study the "happy" window in the city screen to learn about how citizens are made happier. The order in which the various measures are applied is a key element of the process. That order is:

1. Luxuries
2. Improvements
3. Martial Law
4. Wonders

Two luxuries will convert a very unhappy citizen to happy, as EST reported. Elvis or some luxuries will allow your city to have a happy first citizen regardless of the number of garrison troops. In the case of HG, though, a martial law unit may change that very unhappy citizen to merely unhappy, and HG will now change him to content instead of happy.

As to the troops' effect not being shown in the happiness window: I think that display isn't always exactly right. I used to think that happiness measures became somehow less effective, but I think it's just a display problem. One martial law unit can change a very unhappy into an unhappy, but he cannot be changed to content by martial law alone.

Some examples of how I keep size two cities happy:

Red, blue: one (or more) units (or HG) changes to blue, blue.
Red, red: two (or more) units change to blue, blue. One unit changes to blue, red, then HG changes to blue, blue.
Black, red: two (or more) units change to red, blue. HG will change to blue, blue. One unit changes to red, red; HG will change to blue, red (riots). With no units, HG will change to cyan, red (city is content).
Black, black: two (or more) units change to red, red. HG will change to blue, red (riots). One unit changes to black, red. HG will change to cyan, red (content). With no units, HG will change to cyan, black (content).

[SlowThinker]

The happiness stuff summary:
I have tried to sort out things about the happiness, could more experienced players look if they are correct?

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The effect of happinness items is provided in steps. There are steps of three types:
two positive:

A. "luxury" type:
	if C or VU exist then		C, VU -> H
else	if U exists then		U -> C

this is probably a bug, the idea was probably

	if C exists then		C -> H
else	if U exists then		U -> C
else	if VU exists then		VU -> U

B. "temple" type:
	if VU exists then		VU -> U
else	if U exists then		U -> C

and one negative:

C. "unit in the field" type:
	if H exists then		H -> C
else	if C exists then		C-> U

(VU - very unhappy, U - unhappy, C - content, H - happy)

---

"luxury" type:		luxuries, Courthouse and Palace in democracy, Hanging gardens, Cure for cancer
"temple" type:		improvements, Bach, Shakespeare, martial law (without VU->C)
"unit in the field" type:		units in the field

The order is done in accordance with the city window:
1. specialists are taken (they are chosen from H and VU preferentially),
2. luxuries,
3. improvements (incl. Michelangelo)
4. units (martial law or unit in the field)
5. wonders

Individual items have multi-step effect: For example temple with mysticism causes that the step B. is executed two times (and so two VU are not changed to U but one VU is changed to C).

Shakespeare is executed (city size + 1) times (i.e. needn't turn all citizens content).
Luxuries may do max. <city size> steps. Hanging Gardens may do max. <city size> steps (in the city where it was built).
The martial law may do max. <city size> steps and max. once on each citizen (in other words the martial law can't change a citizen from VU to C, only to U). Sometimes the happiness analysis window shows no effect by the martial law (if at least one VU is present ?), but this is not true.
Bach has no effect if at least 2 VU are present

Many units in the field causes all citizens to be U under republic, but always let one citizen C in democracy.

Specialists are always C, no effect of happiness items.

This post has been edited several times.

[SlowThinker]

Originally posted by DaveV
As to the troops' effect not being shown in the happiness window: I think that display isn't always exactly right. I used to think that happiness measures became somehow less effective, but I think it's just a display problem. One martial law unit can change a very unhappy into an unhappy, but he cannot be changed to content by martial law alone.

I am sorry, I didn't read this carrefuly. I will rebuild my last post probably.

[SlowThinker]

The long post is finished now.

[SlowThinker]

An addition: luxuries may do max. {city size} steps.

Do you know the order the Wonders takes effect? By the order in the rules.txt file?
It would be good if HG and Cure for C. acts as first so that black hats remain black.

Edited: the first sentence

[DaveV]

Mike's is treated as a cathedral and applied at the "temple" stage. All other happy wonders are applied in a fourth, "wonder" stage. This is why you need to move troops around to keep a Very Unhappy for HG to convert to Happy. It's also why JSBC is so beloved by democratic players: it will act to cancel out the unhappiness from one unit in the field, while MC's effects will be undone by units in the field.

[SlowThinker]

Originally posted by DaveV
It's also why JSBC is so beloved by democratic players: it will act to cancel out the unhappiness from one unit in the field, while MC's effects will be undone by units in the field.

But the placement of the MC to the "temple" stage has a negative effect only if a part of MC's effect is redundant, hasn't it?

[DaveV]

Originally posted by SlowThinker
But the placement of the MC to the "temple" stage has a negative effect only if a part of MC's effect is redundant, hasn't it?

An example: size 7 city under democracy, deity level, number of cities is under the first riot factor threshold. 1 content, 6 unhappy. 6 cups convert to 1 happy, 1 content, 5 unhappy. Temple + MC convert to 1 happy, 6 content. A unit in the field converts to 1 happy, 4 content, 2 unhappy; city riots.

But, if you add JSBC, its effects are added in after the penalty for having units afield, and it will change the city back to 1 happy, 6 content.

[SlowThinker]

Originally posted by DaveV
An example: size 7 city under democracy, deity level, number of cities is under the first riot factor threshold. 1 content, 6 unhappy. 6 cups convert to 1 happy, 1 content, 5 unhappy. Temple + MC convert to 1 happy, 6 content. A unit in the field converts to 1 happy, 4 content, 2 unhappy; city riots.

But if the MC would act under the "wonders" stage in place of the "temple" stage, then the result would be equal in your example:
temple converts to 1H 3C 3U
unit in the field 0H 3C 4U (I disagree with you, units in the field turns H to C preferably. But it has no meaning in our example)
MC converts to 0H 6C 1U, city riots.

Only if the city would be of size 6, then 1 positive step of MC would be lost in the "temple" stage (the city would riot) but wouldn't be lost if used in the "wonder" stage.

[SlowThinker]

Originally posted by DaveV
Mike's is treated as a cathedral and applied at the "temple" stage. All other happy wonders are applied in a fourth, "wonder" stage.

But works Gardens and Cure for Cancer before Bach and Shakespeare?