Life Cycle & Needs
The Hierarchy of Needs
SynCity adapts Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to drive gameplay dynamics. An agent cannot focus on high-level goals if their basic needs are unmet.
1. Physiological Needs (The Baseline)
These metrics decay over time and must be replenished daily.
Energy: Depletes by working or moving. Replenished by sleeping in a residential unit. Low energy reduces movement speed and work efficiency.
Satiety (Hunger): Depletes constantly. Replenished by purchasing food from Commercial zones. If this reaches zero, the agent health declines.
2. Safety Needs (Economic Stability)
Once physical needs are met, agents seek security.
Shelter: Agents require a home. Homeless agents suffer a massive happiness penalty and cannot recover Energy efficiently.
Liquidity: Agents attempt to maintain a minimum cash buffer. If their balance drops below a threshold, they enter "Austerity Mode" and stop spending on non-essentials.
3. Esteem and Happiness (The Goal)
This is the ultimate metric for a successful city.
Happiness Score: A value from 0 to 100. It is influenced by leisure time, quality of housing, commute time, and tax rates. High happiness leads to higher productivity and attracts new immigrants.
The Lifecycle Stages
Agents in SynCity progress through defined life stages.
Arrival (Immigrant): The agent spawns at the city border with basic funds and no job.
Settlement: The agent finds a residence and seeks initial employment.
Development: The agent gains experience (XP), earns promotions, and upgrades housing.
Departure: If happiness remains low for a prolonged period or if the agent cannot afford to live in the city, they will despawn (emigrate), removing their wealth and labor from the economy.
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