Colonists Not Happy

[J-Mac]

I don't know if its the current build or I just started to suck more but I cant even get to 5 colonists now without them freaking out and leaving.  I have individual covered living quarters, plenty of food and other things but I cant keep them happy.  If they mine too much they freak, if they haul too much they freak.  The hauler always sees dead bodies because you cant blow them up anymore.  I have tried three times on the current build and every game ends in disaster. 

Is there a specific series of things you need to build in order to keep them happy?  I always start with food and a table for them to eat followed by a group sleeping house followed by individual sleeping areas. 

[Alandil]

From what you wrote... Have you tried light? ^^

And less fun intended, being in the dark anywhere (mining, walking to the mining site, etc.) Makes your colonists unhappy.
Cleaning the ground helps as well as putting plants everywhere, giving people vast living spaces, cooking meals at a cooking table, creating places where they frequently meet and have the chance to have a chat, using beds instead of sleeping spots, burying the dead instead of depositing them, something in the likes of that.

Also: this has been asked, discussed and answered in many different places on several occasions in the forum, the shortest search would have found you the answer.

[ShadowTani]

If a colonist breaks have them arrested and re-inspired in jail, you get them back soon enough that way. x3

Also, corpses laying about give a huge minus so is something you want to get cleaned up fast after each raid. Personally I build a 5x5 corpse stockpile inside a roofed area (to avoid rain) that I throw a Molotov inside whenever it's full.

[OnyxShadow]

Its really hard to keep miners happy especially if they are drilling really far (worse still if they have seen death lately).

What I usually do to counter this is make the main tunnels part of my home zone which means they are cleaned and less ugly. Then I apply smooth stone to improve the area further.

[Tynan]

Can you post an example of what their thoughts would be when they're really unhappy (maybe a screenshot)? How many days into the game is this?

I'm interested in the balance here; it may need to be corrected.

[HoshiGiniro]

Can you post an example of what their thoughts would be when they're really unhappy (maybe a screenshot)? How many days into the game is this?

I'm interested in the balance here; it may need to be corrected.

Before your rebuild Nutrient paste didn't make them unhappy now it is a -8 for them to eat it and i think that it does imbalance it a bit because guess what they go for to eat before the other right now!  That's right they go to the nutrient paste dispenser before the Simple meals that are laying right there not five steps away!!

[Tynan]

Can you post an example of what their thoughts would be when they're really unhappy (maybe a screenshot)? How many days into the game is this?

I'm interested in the balance here; it may need to be corrected.

Before your rebuild Nutrient paste didn't make them unhappy now it is a -8 for them to eat it and i think that it does imbalance it a bit because guess what they go for to eat before the other right now!  That's right they go to the nutrient paste dispenser before the Simple meals that are laying right there not five steps away!!

Ah yes. Meal choices are already better in A3.

[HoshiGiniro]

Can you post an example of what their thoughts would be when they're really unhappy (maybe a screenshot)? How many days into the game is this?

I'm interested in the balance here; it may need to be corrected.

Before your rebuild Nutrient paste didn't make them unhappy now it is a -8 for them to eat it and i think that it does imbalance it a bit because guess what they go for to eat before the other right now!  That's right they go to the nutrient paste dispenser before the Simple meals that are laying right there not five steps away!!

Ah yes. Meal choices are already better in A3.

that's good i'm glad ...sorry if my last post seemed rude or any thing i had a bad day at work lol

I got another one for you ...how come the boom rats and squirrels prefer to eat out of my hoppers as opposed to eating the Potatoes they leave out in the fields? ....and shouldn't the hoppers protect the food in its own way being a metal bin

[Tynan]

It's no worry, I just tend to reply quickly because there are so many threads that need replies!

Animals just eat the closest food.

[OnyxShadow]

Lately, the only time I have colonists reach mental break is when I get a solar flare. Then everyone is in the dark, and because I can't cook everyone is eating raw food. The problem is compounded further if there is a raider attack and everyone sees death and bodies. Solar flares are incredibly harsh in general since they also disable turrets and leave you defenseless to the raids of 30+ baddies you start seeing after 80 days or so.

[Untrustedlife]

I'm hoping that more threats are added so that we don't have to rely so much on raiders/solar flairs for a dead colony.


Death needs to be interesting and dramatic.

[colonistPally]

Lately, the only time I have colonists reach mental break is when I get a solar flare. Then everyone is in the dark, and because I can't cook everyone is eating raw food. The problem is compounded further if there is a raider attack and everyone sees death and bodies. Solar flares are incredibly harsh in general since they also disable turrets and leave you defenseless to the raids of 30+ baddies you start seeing after 80 days or so.

Unfortunately the AI figured this out, so it's happening to me a lot. I have so many batteries I can outlast eclipse so it either solar eclipses, or I keep having electrical explosions.. which will obviously run me out of metal a long time ago if I didn't keep a trading rotation of metal coming in.

Ironically the raider's firearms selling to the firearms traders to buy metal with the silver is the only thing keeping me going because I'm having electrical failures like daily (game is selectively blowing up about 3 solar plates at a time... thanks AI!) I mean sorry ai! I love you do I need to sacrifice more raiders to your cause!

[NephilimNexus]

Since A2 every colony that I've lost has been to snowballing mental breakdowns and anarchy.

[dd0029]

I'm now of the opinion that batteries are just like turrets. If you don't have them, you won't have electrical failures.

I now build on all of the steam vents I need, even if they are out in the middle of no where.

First and foremost, raiders will not target them at the moment. So your only real fears with them are fires. There are a couple of ways to handle fires. Stone is about the only thing that doesn't exist in one of the two default states, on fire or about to be on fire. Additionally, fire spreads to adjacent squares. You need a fire break of at least one square of nonflammable surface between fire and your conduit path.

So, I started out building giant stone wall conduits out to them, but they really screw up paths around the map. Then I switched to using dumping zones and piling debris up for a fire break. Even with the new massive amount of stone out there, that uses a lot of stone. So, I settled on building a 3 wide concrete path along the conduit path and a one wide path around the generator as my fire break.

You can see my plan here:



Note, to get power through a stone wall, you need to build a metal wall section with conduit. That's a gamble that it won't be in a spot where raiders might beat on your wall. Plan accordingly because metal walls are much less sturdy than stone walls.

[Alandil]

Note, to get power through a stone wall, you need to build a metal wall section with conduit. That's a gamble that it won't be in a spot where raiders might beat on your wall. Plan accordingly because metal walls are much less sturdy than stone walls.

If you have the metal, you can just make the wall thicker. For example, stretch out the metal wall and put stone walls to both sides. Even ~7 doors in a row will be enough of a hassle to punch through that raiders mostly will ignore this possible "path," while your colonists can quickly walk through, given that the doors are powered.