Why should troops make a population jubilant...

[Baron Munchausen]

Ayup...

The biggest problem is that there is no difference between your troops among your people, and your troops among a conquered people. In general, it does make people feel more secure to have their own military around. They called out the National Guard around the airports after Sept. 11 for a reason, and it had nothing to do with 'improving airport security'. Guys standing around with M16s can't do squat about bombs hidden in suitcases or shoes. I don't think it would have made people feel secure to see UN troops standing around the airports... They parked some US Navy ships in New York harbor for the same reason.

So, morale boosting troops or ships make sense with your own race. Just not with other races. Possibly MM could make some sort of 'special modifiers' for the happiness of non-native races in your empire. When 'happiness' is above a certain level, troops or ships have one effect ('calming' because they intimidate people from rioting) but when 'happiness' is below a certain level they ought to have an opposite effect! Occupied people should quite reasonably be angered by really obvious signs of occupation.

To do this properly would probably require some sort of 'troop to population ratio' controls.

Beyond that, there ought to be some more 'persistent' attitudes for populations, as I have said elsewhere. Every race should not be the same in captivity. Nor should all conquered races become like you own race.

[ July 17, 2002, 21:51: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]

[Ed Kolis]

What if troops simply pulled happiness levels toward some median point such as Indifferent?

Of course, this whole thing would probably lead to way too much micromanagement to optimize your population's happiness...

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
Nor should all conquered races become like you own race.

Actually, attitude is the one area conquered races differ from your own race. However all conquered races are treated the same by the happiness file, and this is not right. Some races should be more passive. An empire conquering a planet full of Klingons would expect more trouble than an empire conquering a planet full of Vulcans. But as far as SEIV is concerned, they are the same, and only slightly different than your own population. They have a different base anger change, but they are affected the same by troops and ships and other stuff.

[Baron Munchausen]

Well, that's essentially the same thing. Yes, I think each race should have a happiness setting, not each empire. Then they could retain it with their other different characteristics when conquered.

[Suicide Junkie]

How many points would this cost?

If it were arbitrary, based on description or something, there would be absolutely nothing to stop everybody from saying "Never give up, never surrender! Riot till they go away!"

[Baron Munchausen]

No 'points' cost should be necessary. It's the character of the race and therefore self-limiting. They should act the same whether you are ruling them or someone else is ruling them, or nearly so. The meaner you make them, the meaner they are for you, too. A slight modifier for 'alien' rulers is a good idea, but could you honestly make a race that's civil and governable while under their own rulership and ugly when conquered and call it realistic?

If they retain this 'happiness setting' along with their various aptitudes life could get really interesting as you try to get a cantakerous race that happens to have great intel bonuses to work your intel facilities for you and they keep rioting. Or even if you get control of a fairly passive race population that breathes another atmosphere and has no 'great' production bonuses do you use them to 'expand' planets of the appropriate atmosphere or wait for atmosphere converters and use your own race which has better bonuses? (Penalties for mass genocide need to be installed to deter the obvious solution that som smart aleck will now post: use them now, space them when you get atmosphere converters and can send in your own race...)

[ July 18, 2002, 02:31: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]

[Suicide Junkie]

I'd imagine the Norak would be dramatically bipolar in just that way.