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.

[Fyron]

You know, 120 seems to be the magic number with troops. At least, that many on every planet got them all back from rioting to jubilant in only a few turns, even with a few more minor losses coming in.

[Gryphin]

/political humor
Using troops to increase happyness: Do you create a mod that produces research points and call it , "Kent State"
/political humor

[Slick]

"The beatings will continue until morale improves!"

[Stone Mill]

The way this game is designed, the impact of rioting is severe, grinding your empire's production to a halt.

I would refer you to the FAQ for Newbies for ways to limit/reduce rioting.

First, on planets that are angry, I would discipline myself to build many cheap troops (hard to do when you are getting your butt kicked; you are foregoing a valuable warship).

Second, don't give up. Accept the losses you cannot defend. This may mean an entire system, where your enemy has the advantage. Rather than plunge scattered forces to the front to continue battle losses, consolidate a fleet that can challenge the attackers and win. Control the damage, establish a chokepoint or line. Winning battles has the most powerful affect on happiness in my experience. So you must calculate a way to win based on what your foe is throwing at you. If you can't... your opponent is better than you, so learn from him.

Third, come up with ways to harass your opponent's territory. Destroying his planets will make your race happier and divert resources away from you.

Every smart player in this game is cognizant of the effects of rioting, so they will press the advantage to freeze your economy by taking advantage of it.

If you have not anticipated war from the first turn of the game against every opponent, you are wrong. Even if an opponent sneak attacks and sends you reeling, you can pull out of the bad situation by having a counter punch and defense in depth. If you are not a military minded player, your foe will thank you for all those nice planets you built up for him.

My point is that you can lose many fights, systems, and planets and stay in the game, as long as it is not terribly consistant...

I have lost tough games where my opponents' planets were all rioting and angry... but he countered well and reversed the situation. And I have won by doing the same.

So rioting in itself is not something you can "switch off" to remedy; it has to do with your overall strategy and preparedness for war.