How do I raise Happiness? I'm a noob

[ikki5]

ok, so... I have a church, a cemetary, losts of food and variety, Tavern, lots of clothing and stone homes and such.... what could make my people more happy?

[Billy Idle]

http://banishedinfo.com/i/Happiness

This database can help you a lot. Also Mods are there that you can download and make Banished an even better game.

[ikki5]

so I have everything there but the markets... :S though my average stars have gone back up to 4 from 2.5. I did have a massive decline in my population because of everyone dying of old age, that may have affected it too.

[mikeydsc]

Chapel, graveyard, and ale.

[ikki5]

Originally posted by mikeydsc:

Chapel, graveyard, and ale.

you obviously never read the original post... or my reply

[mikeydsc]

Markets wont make your people more happy...sorry. They just distrubute goods. I did read your original post and if you need clarification look in the in game help section.

In game says wells markets, chapel, ale (tavern) graveyards and trading posts will increase happiness.

In my 150 hours playing a market only made a difference for the amount of time a villager spent gathering items for his/her home. I had 5/5 happiness/health with no markets in several games. But to play efficiently you need markets to reduce the walking villagers do so they can get back to their profession. I have never ever seen the difference a trading post made either for happiness.

Once you do the isolationist, uneducated and one with nature achievements you will understand as those are necessary to keep your poulation happy and healthy when missing several key items.

[Arachna]

if people die of old age, others will remain sad if they cant have their own little graveyard spot to remember them, just having a graveyard is not enough, once it is full they will have to resort to dumping them in the river or burning them again.. (or whatever they tend to do with corpses in banished) I don't know whether your graveyard is full or not,

[jensenthecat]

Graveyards are self replenishing - that is after a number of years a plot will become available again. Definitely graveyard (cemetery) is the best tool for happiness.

[kbmodigity]

I have read someone a while ago that wells increase happiness by a small amount too if people walk past them. Not sure how true this is but i find having a lot of wells cant hurt anyways.

[McRib]

Originally posted by kbmodigity:

I have read someone a while ago that wells increase happiness by a small amount too if people walk past them. Not sure how true this is but i find having a lot of wells cant hurt anyways.

that is correct. It is written in the banished wikipedia

[Hat8]

Is everybody living on nothing but beans or do they have a diverse diet?

[ikki5]

They have beans, Potatoes, Wheat, Venison, Berries, Peached, Plums... Alchohol, Chicken and eggs.... and more fish then they could ever need. Their happiness has gone back up. I am wondering if it just crashed because of the sheer number of people kicking the bucket of old age.

[zeral_storm]

Need a cemetary to counter the sadness from elders dying, I assume you already have one though?

[ikki5]

yeah I did, got filled up pretty quick and I never bothered to replace it but... people stopped dying and their happy again. So poor little buggers can cry all they want, i know they'll be happy again someday. lol

[VA gamer]

Some production sites such as mine/quarries lower happiness. If you have a few workers with 1/2 star happiness, it can drag down your average.

[Joe Coffee]

Making sure your peeps are adequately fed, have roofs over their heads, and adequate firewood during cold seasons would help. Within the 1st or 2nd years while you're trying to balance the economy and all that I expect health and happiness to dip a little, but things improve lots later on on their own, it seems if you stay proactive than reactive. I've survived past year 13 (probably tame by some of other players who've lasted far longer), but I never bothered with herbalist or physician's house and my happiness is still 5 star with 5 health. But I did have a brewery with Pear ale and I guess booze would make anyone happy.