Revel Optimization

Revels are the primary mechanism for boosting Beauty and Stimulation needs, generating mood modifiers, and creating shared cultural experiences. Optimizing them means better morale and longer elf retention.

When to Schedule Revels

The Dummy Curator schedules revels automatically based on:

  • Food availability: needs ≥ 5 (or ≥ 15 in Winter)
  • Cooldown: a minimum time between revels
  • Feast Hall: having a Feast Hall improves revel quality

Player tip: if you're using the LLM Curator, you can request revels via chat. The curator considers settlement state before scheduling.

Timing Considerations

  • Avoid scheduling during storms — elves shelter indoors and may not gather at the revel location
  • Autumn revels benefit from peak beauty terrain — Ancient Forest gains +1 beauty in Autumn
  • Winter revels are expensive — food threshold is 3× normal (15 vs. 5), but they're the best morale tool during the hardest season
  • Spring revels pair well with high inspiration — the renewal season often coincides with creative output spikes

Performer Selection

The compositions performed at a revel determine audience satisfaction. Key factors:

  • Quality matters: higher mastery, originality, and emotional scores create better experiences
  • Aesthetic alignment: audience members enjoy compositions that match their aesthetic position. A Traditional composition played to innovation-leaning elves won't land well.
  • Variety: a diverse composition portfolio creates broader appeal

Strategy: encourage a mix of genre families (Traditional, Radical, Pastoral) so revels have something for everyone. Use Artistic Direction set to "Balanced" for maximum variety, or target specific genres to match your colony's dominant aesthetic.

Maximizing Satisfaction

Revel satisfaction feeds into the Satisfaction system. High-satisfaction revels:

  • Generate positive mood modifiers for attendees
  • Satisfy Beauty and Stimulation needs
  • Can rescue discontented elves through satisfaction spikes

The satisfaction spike mechanic: when an elf attends a great revel, the satisfaction boost is buffered to survive the 10-tick recompute cycle. This means a well-timed revel can save an elf approaching the departure threshold.

Saving Discontented Elves

If you see the discontented indicator on an elf:

  1. Check their needs — address the most critical deficit
  2. Schedule a revel — the satisfaction spike can buy time
  3. Assign them near friends — the Company need matters
  4. You have 500 ticks after the warning before departure

Interactions