Industrial Ploppables with jobs

[buckbeach 8]

I have posted this over at SC4 Devotion and Peg's sites also.  If it catches and no problems are discovered with the concept, it could open up the game in areas previously not explored.

This post is more than just a request for new lots or BATS, it's a concept, so I thought I would start this here.  After seeing a new creation (can't remember whether it was a lot or BAT) of a rather nice power plant that was under construction, I started thinking that it would be nice if somehow the jobs needed in RL to construct such a large complex project, were assigned to it.  After all these RL projects sometime take many years to complete.   

This got me thinking (dangerous for my old shunken brain).  There are many Industrial plopables that have been create that do have functional jobs but the problem is they do not generate freight.  Well, construction and other labor service industries do not generate much freight in RL if any, only the manufacturers.  Why not have these workers captured for use by creating a series or class of Industrial Plopables. Examples:  carpenters, plumbers, air conditioning and heating workers, iron and sheet metal workers, etc, etc.

These companies could be large ground up builder's (residential, commercial, civic and industrial buildings, bridges, road/street, tunnel, railroads), or smaller service outfits.  They could capture the carpenters, plumbers, air conditioning and heating people,  iron and sheet metal workers, oil well diggers, agricultural support companies, on and on.  The list of this class of mid-level educated working citizens is sorely missing from our game.

Here is the part I do not know, are there any other game issues that are skewed (screwed up) when you have these type of Plop Industrials, like taxes.

You builders please think about this.  I don't have the talent to create such items.  Think of the possiblities here to add industrial jobs to a smaller community.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

The game mechanics simply don't work like that. There is no property to edit and no way to create a property that would make separate industries. Also, I don't really see how that fixes the freight problem.

[buckbeach 8]

There is no freight to worry about because there is no product to ship for the various ploppables that I suggest.  Example "Jasoncw Roto Rooter Plumbing"  small industrial shop with 10  IM jobs would generate no freight. and neither would American Home Construction Co.  200 IM jobs or BB Custom Home Builders 25 IM jobs.  How about "buckbeach Ready Concrete"  50 jobs.  The fact that the Sims would go to the shop site rather than a job location site would not be RL but that doesn't seem too material.

[Gn_leugim 853]

so you mean to make a lot of construct related ploppable with jobs right?

[buckbeach 8]

Gn_leugim.  Yes if there are no other problems with this type of lot/BAT.  I have been going through the Industrial lots exposed with the Extra Cheats and have plopped some of them as such companies(renaming them).  When plopped they produce no freight but do attract workers (IM & ID).  One issue may be that they may generate to much in taxes and they may not drain down utiliities (water & power) but they do need these to function.

I really like the idea of a small town not needing to utilize a major industry plop with hundreds of immediate jobs and not generating freight shipping for their product.  With this method (again if it works right) would properly divesify the starting town so that you don't have to rely on thousands of ag fields.

With this concept  you could have say a Peg's Mountain Theme town supported by local companies with jobs.

As a sidenote Nexis Used Lumber (one of my favorite starter lots) is such a business but there is a need for more of this type.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

This isn't really changing anything, it's just making normal industrial lots and calling them things that wouldn't normally produce freight in real life. I think I'm missing something.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Besides, it's rather easy to make these lots for yourself. Just use jestarr's, gascooker's, and SimGoober's MEGA prop packs, and you can assemble dozens of individual lots using all those tanks, silos, sheds, factory halls, cranes, smokestacks, pipes, trucks, forklifts, crates, cable drums etc. inside.

[buckbeach 8]

Easy is a relative term.  Anybody can just throw a couple of props together.  Good lot building is an art form and both you and jasoncw belong to that club.   I do not.

Besides it was the concept I was selling and apparently you guys are not buying.

Bye

[nihonkaranws 88]

Shouldn't this be placing in the Official BAT Request Thread anyway?

[buckbeach 8]

Doesn't matter subject closed here and thread could be deleted, moved or whatever.

[nofunk 1,933]

I think your ideas are really good, buckbeach, but I think most of the BATers on here are busy working on other projects. (I know I am.) You should take the time to learn the Lot Editor, and create some of these lots yourself. I know I'd like to have them in my cities, but I just don't have the time with all the other projects I'm working on.

Good luck!

[T Wrecks 10,209]

In fact, I've already remodded the entire industrial sector for my game... now dirty industry only grows on medium density and hi-tech only on high density... besides, I remade all dirty industry lots and added ~20 new ones, and made a large bunch of filler lots for the manufacturing industry. With jestarr's recent Mega prop packs, there is even more stuff to play around with, and citynut's Newman Inc. mega props are another item to look at.

Of course, I made them all growable, because I'm not into plopping. Your concept sounds interesting, but I hardly have any time at all these days... sorry.

[Gn_leugim 853]

Originally posted by: T Wrecks In fact, I've already remodded the entire industrial sector for my game... now dirty industry only grows on medium density and hi-tech only on high densityquote>

well well.. I like this idea.. just wondering: what about the I-M lots? lol anyway.. when I get time I'll do the same on mine

and the buckbeach's idea is not bad at all, and makes some sense.. it would be a great oportunity for him start his "loting\bating" career

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Originally posted by: Gn_leugim well well.. I like this idea.. just wondering: what about the I-M lots?quote>

I made that depend on their looks. If they look more "old-school", I put them into the "dirty" category, if they look sleek and modern (think of modern warehouses and logistics centres), they end up in the "clean" category, and if they look rather neutral and nondescript, I allowed both densities to grow.

That's a primitive and dead simple approach, but it allows for industrial areas with a uniform and plausible look. Besides, it's rather game-friendly as well since manufacturing industry gets along rather well with both other industrial areas. It doesn't mind all the pollution caused by the dirty industry too much, while at the same time its own pollution doesn't scare away high-tech companies.

But now we're hijacking this topic, I'm afraid...

[Gn_leugim 853]

well.. we are still talking about industrial mods eheh.. I'll try out your approach when get time for it

[buckbeach 8]

I'm glad you thought that the idea had/has some merit.  RippleJet at SC4 Devotion thought it was good and Peg was VERY enthusiatic.  I hope he doesn't mind me quoting him here:

I believe you have hit on a great idea.      

Although many of the occupations/service oprganizations you mentioned could be argued to be commercial, not industrial...  I suspect you have revealed how we can turn a negative into a positive.

The negative of which I speak is the missing element of custom industrial and commercial ploppables. For industry, that is freight. For commercial, it's customers.

Technically, all custom ploppable IND & COM lots still generate freight or attract customers... but those lots can't make a connection to the network. So all freight trips are long... and all customers are low.

Traditionally, I have cheated my way around this by altering the queries.... so that Freight Trips would read as "Productive" or "Profitable", etc...  and Customers would always be "Happy"... or I would just omit that stat altogether.

The positive then, would be to embrace that negative as a desirable feature for a custom industrial lot that does not normally generate freight... or a commerical lot that does not normally attract customers. Edit out the productivity stat from the queries... and we can embrace the lot as fully functional and glitch-free... instead of considering it as just "mostly functional".

Of course, you will have to give these new types of lots a catchy name and acronym... so they can be easily identified by the downloading community as fully functional ploppables. Remember... marketing is everything.  Give them less and convince them its more... that sort of thing.

Something like:   ZOP (Zero Output Ploppable) or NOP (No Output Ploppable).

* You'll probably want to dust off the old thesaurus and come up with something better as neither of those are making me want to rush and buy it...IMO. 

You have no idea how I wish I had the talent to put some of these together.  I even downloaded the various tools but quickly became lost.

I still hope someone of  SC4 "clout" (regardless of his board preference) will start the ball rolling.   I do believe our small towns in rural and mountainous areas are in need of these.

[Gn_leugim 853]

man, as mentioned before here, we all have our own works and schedules.. =1 but if you wish, we are all here to help you out as advisers ans mentors believe, once you do one somehow good bat\lot, you won't stop