Agriculture/Freight

[dekiscool 6]

I just built several lots for Agriculture. I used the ? tool to see what it was and it said something about Freight time - Long. What does that mean? I did put a road on one side of it and a railroad on the other side. What else can I do?

 

Thanks in advance....

[yayaya1 22]

Can you explain what the tool is called? I may be able to help.

[Prophet42 1,503]

The 'Freight Time' is the amount of time it takes for the industry to ship its product to the neighboring city.  If your freight time is long, that is usually a reflection of the overall commute time of your city.  If you improve the overall commute time in your city then most likely your freight time will improve.  Use the route query tool to see how your freight is being shipped.  This may also give you some insight on how to improve the time (like adding a rail freight station).

[Cefien 361]

It is recommended to build your industrial area near the edge of the city to increase the freights commuting time, because freights will always choose the fastest way to leave your city. How you arrange your neighbor connection will determine the freights commuting time.

[dekiscool 6]

Ok...here is what I have...

 

 

I added some large freight stations and some regular ones. I tried to use the route tool...but when I put it on the railroad tracks, it said..."None". Not sure if I have no trains? How do I get trains?

 

Also...are the agriculture lots too big?? Is there a certain size to stick to? I made these on Wednesday and still have nothing coming up on them....

 

When I said I used the ? tool, I mean the query tool....

[Cefien 361]

Now, you have no industrial buildings suround it. No wonder they are not being used. Where do you think the industrial stuff come from?

[dekiscool 6]

Ok...I guess that makes since...but I was thinking that industrial is dirty...pollution and agriculture needs a cleaner area. I'll try it though....

[Indiana Joe 1,752]

You don't need any industry around your agriculture.  Agriculture is a very basic zone density; all cities start out with demand for it; you can build a completely farm-based town (but once your population starts increasing, demand for it disappears).  You are correct about it not liking air pollution (but remember that it produces a ton of water pollution itself).

 

Agriculture should grow as long as you have demand for it and you've made sure that your neighbor connections work (go into the connected cities, make sure the road stub is there, and save and exit).

 

It might be the fact that you've put it beside that avenue.  Remember that agriculture does not like to be near high traffic.

[Cefien 361]

Well, lad, i didn't mean that you must build the dirty industry surrounding your freight stations and then contaminate your agriculture area. Just wait until the Agriculture you have zoned develop and your freight stations will be used.

 

On the other hand, the main reason why the agriculture does not like to be near the high traffic road as Indiana said is probably due to the pollution but not traffic noise, as traffic noise does no harm at all.

[dekiscool 6]

How do I know if I have a demand for it? I see I have a demand for Residential, no demand for Commerce...and demand for Industry. Do I just wait until something pops up and says...we have a demand for agriculture?

[Cefien 361]

Then the RCI demand graph is your friend. Simply clik it and you'll see demand for every types.

[Ganaram Inukshuk 906]

How do I know if I have a demand for it? I see I have a demand for Residential, no demand for Commerce...and demand for Industry. Do I just wait until something pops up and says...we have a demand for agriculture?

You know the RCI meter, the fancy little graph that has the green, blue, and yellow bars? If you click it, it expands into a highly detailed bar graph. The first yellow bar is agricultural demand. So long as it's above zero, there's demand for farms. Should you fulfil it? Probably not if you're jumping directly to factories.

[dekiscool 6]

Wow...do I feel like an idiot! LOL. I didn't know you could click on the graph...never thought to do that. Thanks for the info....

[Cefien 361]

Wow...do I feel like an idiot! LOL. I didn't know you could click on the graph...never thought to do that. Thanks for the info....

 

For more comprehensive explanation about the RCI demand graph. Read this thread

[dekiscool 6]

Ok...clicked on the graph and this is what I see...I know it is not a $ symbol used...but it is the closest thing I could think of...

 

Industry
I-Ag - no bar
I-D - At least 5500 demand
I-M - At least 5500 demand
I-HT - At least 6000 demand

Residential
R$ - At Least 5500 demand
R$$ - At Least 5500 demand
R$$$ - At Least 3000 demand

Commercial
Cs-$ - 6000 demand
Cs-$$ - 2000 demand
Cs-$$$ - minus 4000
Co-$ - minus 6000
Co-$$ - minus 6000

 

As far as this goes...Residential is pretty straight forward. However, Industry and Commercial, they have more than what's in the menu. So if I go to zone, say Industry...I click on the tiles in the menu...the choose Industry...and I see Agriculture, Medium Density and High and dezone tool. So if there are IAg, ID, IM and IH...what do I use for ID? Or the same for Commercial...only 3 choices besides the dezone tool...so how do you get Cs-$ vs Co-$??

[Turjan 1,048]

As far as this goes...Residential is pretty straight forward. However, Industry and Commercial, they have more than what's in the menu. So if I go to zone, say Industry...I click on the tiles in the menu...the choose Industry...and I see Agriculture, Medium Density and High and dezone tool. So if there are IAg, ID, IM and IH...what do I use for ID? Or the same for Commercial...only 3 choices besides the dezone tool...so how do you get Cs-$ vs Co-$??

 

You can only zone for density, not for subtype, and the only industry that you specifically zone for is agriculture. The rest is decided by the game. So, regarding commercial, look at the overview bar whether it's still positive or not. Regarding industry, as agriculture doesn't play a role beyond 30,000 inhabitants, do the same. Etc.

[Cefien 361]

Developer types have no direct bearing on zoning. When you lay out your zones, there's no obvious way to tell which developer type you will see. There are ways, however, to predict and even control developer type when zoning. When consulting the RCI Demand Meter for current demand, dig deeper into the RCI Demand Graph (by clicking on the RCI indicator) to see demand for each developer type. If there's high demand for one type and none or negative demand for others, you can be certain about what will grow.

Second, consider the desirability factors of each developer type. If you can pick areas to zone that will appeal to a developer type, the chances are that type locating there increase. Display desirability by activating the Desirability Data View - this view developer type desirability of both zoned and unzoned land.

 

Also, are you sure you're not mistaking about something?  There are no CO$, only CO$$ and CO$$$.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Well, you've now taken a new step.  No demand for I-Ag probably means your population is over 30,000.  Any farms you zone when there is no demand will remain empty.

 

The game is progressive on the industrial side and goes from farms to industry pretty quickly.  If you want to sustain I-Ag you could add Simgoober's Ditch Set and lay in a few irrigation ditches.  To get the most out of farms run in Turtle speed.

 

Farms will use rail if there is no intervening road, and the rail time is quicker than the road time to get the freight out of the tile.  Freight dumps are either the edge of the tile or a seaport if it is close enough.

 

Example: Tracks lead to rail enabled seaport.

 

[SimMavGER 8]

I tried the ditches today.

Demand in the city I built them went to 76k+ but in all other cities its still 30k - using the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mod and the query of SimGoobers Ditch Set.

RCI column still at dead zero - I can only get it to -6000 by taxing I-A with 20%.

No growth of I-A of any kind.

[Wiimeiser 452]

Seems like there may be something hardcoded in the executable or one of the dat files in the main directory, will need to be investigated.

[Turjan 1,048]

Whether the ditches work or not seems to be hit and miss. Perhaps, you have to use them before the game switches off I-A demand for that tile. However, I got the game to grow two new farms in one such city directly after game start on a tile that had had blocked I-A growth before.

 

As you said that you use cogeo's "Chamber of Commerce and Industry", it may be worth noting that the smaller building in its "Census Repository" dependency (if you didn't delete everything aside from the query) also increases I-A demand slightly.

[SimMavGER 8]

(if you didn't delete everything aside from the query)

 

 

 

Will try in a fresh new tile - and conduct further test in an all new region - if noone else is faster.

(Note to self: Have to bargain with boss for SC4 gaming allowances in office.)

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

The ditch set only increments I-Ag demand if there is some present.  Lay them down before your demand disappears.

[cogeo 960]

The Census Repository Vault does not "increase" (Inject) I-Ag demand, instead it raises demand cap by 30,000 (res population). So you will only see an increase in I-Ag demand only if your demand is "capped", not if it's low because of other reasons, like high workforce EQ.

[SimMavGER 8]

The Census Repository Vault ... it raises demand cap by 30,000 (res population)

 

As do the cute ditches I presume.

 

not if it's low because of other reasons, like high workforce EQ.

 

So, I would need a small town away from my city with no school and next to something like a federal prison, landfill etc. so only dumb-R$ will live there - but with SPAM R$$ and R$$$ will work on the farms too?

 

Which leads to another question: are there even dumb sims? Does the game calculate with such precision? Or are there only average numbers?

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Sims come in three grades: novice ($), graduate ($$) and professional ($$$).  I think it is a step function.

[SimMavGER 8]

Me silly - there no dumb-$$$ ...

 

Forgot about the direct correlation of education and wealth!

[cogeo 960]

Sims come in three grades: novice ($), graduate ($$) and professional ($$$).  I think it is a step function.

 

 

Me silly - there no dumb-$$$ ...

 

Forgot about the direct correlation of education and wealth!

 

Not per Simcity 4!!! Take a look at this thread on SC4D.

[yayaya1 22]

This is regarding a previous question

Ok...here is what I have...

 

 

I added some large freight stations and some regular ones. I tried to use the route tool...but when I put it on the railroad tracks, it said..."None". Not sure if I have no trains? How do I get trains?

 

Also...are the agriculture lots too big?? Is there a certain size to stick to? I made these on Wednesday and still have nothing coming up on them....

 

When I said I used the ? tool, I mean the query tool....

Ok, so if you want trains zippin' through your city here and there, you need a lot of industry. I would prefer High Tech industry, but it's your city. To fuel the amount of industry, you must zone some residential. So there is one factor. Second, NAM. If you don't have NAM, the NAM fixes the traffic simulator in the game, since nobody is willing to walk a mile or two in the game. It also helps fix the problem with trains going through your city. Without the NAM, nobody will use your trains.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Night shots are so difficult.  I see no tracks here.

 

Example with tracks:

 

  Edited May 31, 2013 by A Nonny Moose