Riots

[Saxon]

But two systems and a fleet are a big loss, you should expect things to get unruly. Look at how certain countries treat the loss of even one service man, the reaction is well out of proportion to the real, military cost. As for the logic of rioting and shutting down the local space yard when the enemy gets close, it may not seem logical, but it is realistic. Russia in 1917 can be seen as a “riot” against a poorly managed war. Vietnam war protests are cited by many as the reason the US had to withdraw, a clear case of “riots” at home hurting the ability to prosecute a war. I think it is a reasonable way of representing this sort of situation.

Of course, the easy response is dictatorship. As far as I can see, building troops early on quickly pays off, as they will lift your happiness quickly, boosting production. They pay for themselves with the extra production kicking in a few turns earlier. If you do take a few hits to happiness, martial law sets in right away and you recover more quickly. The main cost is the lost turn building them, so you have to decide if having that extra mineral miner and losing the productivity is worth it. For the more resilient empire, I feel it is. Of course, I had to buy a copy of Castle Wolfenstein after losing a game to a friend when 16 of my planets started rioting in the middle of the big war, so perhaps I am overly emotional about this.