Morale is a measure of how happy your colonists are and, by extension, how productive they are. A happy colonist has all of his needs met. Below are the various factors that affect it.
Factors affecting morale
- Air quality : The colony is hermetically sealed to counterbalance Aven's low-oxygen atmosphere, so air quality can deteriorate quickly.
- Commute : Colonists prefer a short commute along tunnels between home and work. They dislike walking through buildings on the way to work.
- Consumption : Whether colonists have access to the consumer goods they crave. Provided by retail centers.
- Crime : A higher crime rate makes colonists more paranoid and less trusting, decreasing happiness. Managed by security drone hubs.
- Crowding : Colonists grow less happy as their residences become more densely packed and as the colony's population increases.
- Entertainment : The availability of various forms of entertainment to distract and entertain the colonists.
- Food : The colonists quickly grow unhappy when they do not have enough food to eat or when their food choices are too limited. Variety and quality are two special statistics.
- Freedom : The joy of freedom. Invasive micromanagement of the colony through social policies lowers this.
- Health : Whether colonists are healthy and have access to satisfactory levels of health care affects happiness.
- Purpose : A colonist's sense of purpose in helping build the colony. Tends to be higher when the colony is smaller.
- Substances : Many different types of enhancers are available. Some have side effects that cause a reduction in morale.
- Unemployment : Unemployed colonists are unhappy without jobs.
- Water : Colonists grow unhappy and fast without access to adequate water. Sufficient quantities in storage are necessary.
Importance
- Morale-affecting factors can be divided into several levels of importance, depending on their general impact on morale.
- Vital: Food, water, and crowding are the three most important elements of morale. Food and water are self explanatory. Crowding is doubly important: If a habitation block is destroyed, any colonists without a place to live in will be euthanized.
- Important: Crime, commute, air quality, health, entertainment: General elements related to quality of life.
- Least concern: Freedom, purpose, substances, and unemployment: Not a whole lot you can do about these, except try and keep them minimal.