Cramped Quarters
From Project Rebearth
Cramped Quarters is a choice that increases population growth by 30% at the cost of a significant -30% happiness penalty. It allows settlements to grow their workforce faster by packing more people into existing housing.
Effects
[edit]| Effect | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Population growth | ×1.3 | Increases population growth rate by 30% |
| Happiness | -30% | Reduces settlement happiness by 30% |
Cramped Quarters boosts the rate at which new residents move into housing by 30%. This means all housing buildings, from Shacks to Villas, fill their population capacity faster. The trade-off is a steep -30% happiness penalty, reflecting the overcrowded and uncomfortable living conditions.
Details
[edit]Cramped Quarters has no resource cost to enact and has a 1-day lock period, meaning it cannot be toggled more than once per day. The policy is not part of any exclusive group, so it can be active alongside any other choice.
Cramped Quarters is not a default choice and must be actively selected by the player. Once enabled, it remains in effect until manually disabled (after the lock period expires).
Strategy
[edit]Cramped Quarters is a high-risk, high-reward choice for settlements that need to rapidly grow their workforce. The 30% population growth boost is significant and can help new towns fill housing quickly, getting production buildings staffed sooner. However, the -30% happiness penalty is one of the harshest among all choices, matching Taxation in severity.
The happiness penalty stacks with other negative modifiers. Combining Cramped Quarters with Taxation (-30%) results in a combined -60% happiness hit, which will almost certainly trigger strikes. Players using Cramped Quarters should either avoid other happiness-reducing choices or pair it with happiness-boosting options like Lavish Rations (+20%) or Worker Safety (+10%) to soften the impact.
Cramped Quarters is most useful as a temporary measure during periods of rapid expansion. Enable it when building new housing, then disable it once the population has grown to the desired level.
