A few questions from a semi-$%&^!

[sissonnes 1]

TO SAVE TIME I POSTED MY NEW QUESTION AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS THREAD> MY ORIGINAL QUESTION WAS ANSWERED.

  Edited July 7, 2012 by sissonnes  

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Airports actually don't do much. Your city has built-in "demand caps" - invisible development thresholds that will inhibit further growth. This was probably done with the rationale that a city of a given size should have a certain infrastructure in place. Therefore, to give the player some additional challenge, you have certain buildings that will raise these demand caps (thus allowing further development of your city), but cost you money. The airport is one of these buildings. It does not cause or attract traffic, it doesn't have any traffic-related effect or relevance at all. There is no use of airplanes whatsoever.

Seaports serve a different purpose. Industry generates freight. This freight needs to be shipped to the edge of the map, that's all. Normally the freight trucks use your road network to reach the edge of the map, unless a freight rail station provides a faster access to the edge of the map. Seaports are only offered on maps with a certain proportion of water. They actually serve as an alternative to the edge of the map, i.e. as a "reserve freight destination". My guess is that Maxis included it in game in case a player wants to build a city on an island or on a peninsula, where freight trucks will not be able to reach their regular destination (edge of the map), or only after a very long and difficult drive.

This means that seaports will only be used at all if they can be reached faster and easier than the edge of the map.

Two out of three... now somebody else can take over.

EDIT

I'm not sure, but maybe seaports increase industrial demand a bit, too. It's been a while since I placed one, so I don't really remember.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Since I usually have an industrial pod next to my seaports, I can't say that they have done anything for demand.

However, if you build highways across empty tiles you do need at least one commercial lot (truck stop) in the middle of each one connected to the highway to get the action you want. Be careful not to create a loop back between the various cities. Each intervening city has to appear to offer jobs.

[sissonnes 1]

Thanks to those who replied. Now I'm curious about how much having developed neighbors affects my cities at all.

I noticed I have a lot of freight traffic travelling out of my city on a certain road. However, there is no city built on the adjacent map!

Do I even need to bother with developing nearby cities or should I just have roads, highways, ect that travel out of my primary city to achieve the desired affect?

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Freight dead ends and the border or a data sink (sea port for example). It all goes to be big bit bucket in the sky. It is an interference in the city, but doesn't carry across the region.

Once you start making neighbour connections, the demands become global for all connected cities.

[sissonnes 1]

Thanks for your help. Its much appreciated.

[sissonnes 1]

Okay so new question!

My city is vast now and well developed. I turn a healthy profit, and highrise buildings are taking over the city. Its an exciting time no doubt. However the urban sprawl brings me new challenges, mainly due to travel. Outlying residental buildings are being abandoned due to long commute times and thus affecting growth. I anticipated this time coming, and have already networked my bus lines in the most demanding areas. However this requires more drastic action.

What I'm trying to decide is which route to go: Subways or Highways

Naturally, I'm leaning towards subways because of cost and space, but once if I want 100% development on my map will I ultimately have to build a highway system anyway?

I made a point early in development to leave space through my city so I would have space for highways, but I confess, building them is still a bit daunting. Just wondering which I should do.

[uvapwns 1]

I like to use subways inside of large cities due to the fact that they have high capacities, don't clog up your roads at all, and don't take up space in your city. However, they tend to be very expensive to both build and maintain. Chances are, though, that you'll need to build them anyway.

You'll probably also want to add a highway or two for intercity or across city travel. However, I think that for what you need, subways are definittely the better choice, as long as you can afford them.

[Fatherted 129]

Subways. My city (Great Deanham) relies almost entirely on it's extensive GLR, rail, elevated rail and subway network (with monorail serving I-HT areas, and the link to the inner metropolis next door. If you lay them out correctly, then they will carry most of your city to work inside the city (removing the commuter problem). Plus, skyscrapers don't like highways. (I am still wondering if a large engineering project pushing monorail out to simnation is a good idea.)

[sissonnes 1]

So do you recommend no highways at all? With the ridiculous price tag I have no problem nixing them from my city plans! Or would they provide some benefits if I looped them around the edges of the map and connected them to my neighbors?

[uvapwns 1]

Even though I use the highways, I haven't seen any noticable benefits (but then again, I haven't made any large regions yet), but they work better for more rural areas anyway. You definitely don't need to have them, It's really just whether or not you want to deal with the costs and harmful effects on certain types of demand.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Highways have to be used judicially. You certainly don't want them downtown taking up all that ramp space.

Subways are fine, but if you have the land for it, use Elevated Rail and have it dive into the subway when you get to town. As things expand, move the dive down further out.

For intercity links, if they are heavily loaded, consider taking your EL across the border, as well as heavy passenger rail, and short stretches of highway. Disperse heavy concentrations of commuters quickly on either side of the border.

For wealthier neighbourhoods, consider monorail direct to the workplace or to a multilevel connect with the subway. There are some good stations on the STEX.

  Edited July 7, 2012 by A Nonny Moose  

[sissonnes 1]

I abstained so far from elevated rail and have primarily used subways since the maintainance cost for rails is greater than that of subways. ($30 to $10 I believe)

Are rails more effective?