Morale Problems

from Stardock Forums
I have just started to play the game a few days ago, and I am having trouble with my population and their morale. As I start to inhabit over ten star systems, the morale of my population starts with a steady decline. I usually try to build entertainment networks and stadiums to help this problem, but to no avail. I usually leave the tax and spending at defaults, and I don't spend any bc's on propaganda. I also notice that as the morale suffers so does the economy and production. It then forces me to reduce spending to keep with the current tax rate. A couple of questions:

1) What is the correlation between morale and the economy?

2) How do I improve the morale to insure that my economy is humming?

3) My economy seems to get worse as I move to a republic form of government (although it could just be the above mentioned problems). What is the best strategy for changing governments?

Any ideas?
224 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
It sounds like you let your treasury tank.

1). There is interaction both ways between morale and economy (just about everything in GC interacts with just about everything else). The effect of morale on economy is more obvious than the other way, however. Your revenue will decrease as your morale drops. The effect of economy is seldom noticed until you esentially "run into a brick wall". If your treasury goes into the red, you have just a few turns to get it back into the green (or yellow) before your morale starts dropping. If it gets below -500bc then morale really tanks. If you have been buying a lot of ships (it sounds like you went hog wild with the colony ships first, then the morale improving social projects), then you could drive your interest on purchases to the point where you are paying out more than you receive in revenue, even if you move your spending rate to 0.

2). First, keep your treasury above 0 (at the start of a game, I keep mine above 100bc, then as the game progresses I keep it above higher values). Second, be very careful of buying on time. You need to buy on time at the start of a game, but just don't overdo it. (It sounds as if your current game is a total loss, so I suggest you start a new one.)

3). The republic form of government generally does increase your revenue, but if your morale has gone ot pot, you may not be able to see it happen. Also, since morale has a bigger affect in a republic than an imperial government, perhaps your morale dropped even more with the change of government form because of the circumstances in which you found yourself. A new game where you apply what you have just learned from this game should be more revealing.
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
"The effect of economy is seldom noticed ..." should have read "The effect of economy on morale is seldom noticed ..." And I missed it when I proofread my post before submitting it.
WindowBlinds - Free yourself of the default settings, customize your desktop.
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Thanks for the info. You were right on about your assessment of me going hog wild on colony ships. I will try your suggestions. When you say, buy on time, I assume you are talking about the purchase options. Thanks again!
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
"When you say, buy on time, I assume you are talking about the purchase options." Yes, the ones that charge you so much down and so much per month for so many months.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
Is it really necessary to buy colony ships at the beginning? In the OS/2 game I used to just crank up my spending to 100% until my treasury got low, and I could produce colony ships reasonably quickly. Of course in that game you started with a much lower population, so you had to be careful not to drain your population too quickly.
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
John,

It may not be neccessary to buy your first few colony ships (I am now playing a game where I didn't), but it does make it easier for those just learning the game. It allows them to more quickly colonize planets and get their empire established, and helps them to feel like they are keeping the game under control. Don't forget, the alians are building colony ships and colonizing planets just as fast as they can (of course, they can't buy them).
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
Interesting, I didn't know that the AI's couldn't buy ships. Anyway, it does make more sense to buy ships in this game since you start off with a much larger population.
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
My method (which has killed me MANY times due to inattention) that gives me a good boost is the following:

1) Jack up pending to 100% at the start.
2) Build like mad.
3) When you drop to 100bc, drop your spending to a single-digit profit, and continue having fun.