I just can't overcome "abandoned due to commute time"! >_<

[Wveth 2]

So like the title says, I always have this issue and I can't figure it out.  I have the NAM mod, my streets are clear of traffic, my budget is fine, but whenever I start zoning up to medium-density residential, those darn jobless zots just start popping right up.  And then they get abandoned due to commute time.  Will they get abandoned due to commute time if the problem is that there are no jobs?  I may be allowing too many medium and high-wealth Sims without enough low-wealth.  Anyway, here's a pic of my city.  Maybe someone can tell me what the issue is.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Relax.  That's the game's default error message when it hasn't got anything else to say and things are dicey.

Abandoned due to commute time with the NAM present is maybe more serious, but what it is telling you is that the pathfinder couldn't find a job for the Sim(s) within the commute time limits which with the NAM are very much larger than the original game.  It usually means you need mass transit, or to move your residentials closer to the jobs, but sometimes it mean that the jobs are smarter than your Sims, and you need to up your education levels.

It is tricky, and it is intended to be so.  Part of the fun of this game is the problem solving aspects.  Sharpens up the little gray cells, as Hercule Poirot would say.  This is not your typical play and be happy game.  It is a task to figure out just what little twist it is throwing at you now.

It is not as if there wasn't enough instrumentation.  All those displays and graphs are meant to be looked at and interpreted, especially the desirability and the population by age displays.  Also, the second traffic display tells much more than the congestion display.  Choose the second radio button, especially if you have the NAM.  If you have yellow, orange or red streets, they are not big enough.  You need wider roads or more roads in parallel.

One mistake that new players often make is to run the game flat out (cheetah mode).  You don't have enough time to see what's happening and you miss the animation that may give you some clues.  If in doubt, run in turtle.  I normally run in rhino now because I can follow it, but in cheetah, it is just too fast.  You are building a city, and cities start as villages and grow slowly into stately metropolises.  These things do not spring up like bamboo.  This is a leisure time game, not a type A personality game that will run you into a heart attack.  Slow down, and enjoy the animation while you figure out what is happening.

[Wveth 2]

Thank you Nonny.  Trust me when I say I'm not in a rush.  I kicked the crap out of SimCity 2000 and 3000 back in the day, but with this one, I never get past about 30,000 Sims before nobody has a job.  But I'll take your advice and try to watch things as carefully as possible, and maybe post here once my new city hits that roadblock (though I am trying a different layout to see if that's the issue).

So you didn't see anything on the pic that jumps out at you, concerning a possible big mistake?  Thanks again for your time

[gviper 922]

Ya know, I have played SC4 for a long time, and it seemed that if I didn't work with low density for a while (perhaps even via some regional cities) and jumped straight up to medium density, things got outta whack really quick. I am not sure what might drive such a thing, but developing a strong low wealth stratified population before medium density might be to your advantage. In this way it's more a transition and less of a jump.

[Wveth 2]

I'm actually doing a lot better this time around, gviper.  Since I didn't realize the "commute time" problem could actually be tons of different problems, I'm managing to mostly solve them as they come up, and I've got a great mayor rating and a big budget surplus.  I'm doing better than I ever did!  I'm looking forward to managing a 50,000+ population city.

[gviper 922]

I'm actually doing a lot better this time around, gviper.  Since I didn't realize the "commute time" problem could actually be tons of different problems, I'm managing to mostly solve them as they come up, and I've got a great mayor rating and a big budget surplus.  I'm doing better than I ever did!  I'm looking forward to managing a 50,000+ population city.

Right on!

[Indiana Joe 1,750]

First thing that jumps out at me is that you've got all the commercial way to the other side.  Best place to put C early on is between R and Industry, so "Sims can shop on their way to work."

Notice  you've got all that commercial demand, and very low residential demand.  The balance is off.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Best place to put C early on is between R and Industry, so "Sims can shop on their way to work."

This also has a technical advantage: commercial desirability is strongly affected by traffic. High traffic = interesting place to open your shop because there will be many customers. And where do you have high traffic? That's right, between residential and industrial, because people need to get to work and back home. The area alongside busy connecting roads would be too loud and undesirable for residential, but commercial can thrive there.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Best place to put C early on is between R and Industry, so "Sims can shop on their way to work."

This also has a technical advantage: commercial desirability is strongly affected by traffic. High traffic = interesting place to open your shop because there will be many customers. And where do you have high traffic? That's right, between residential and industrial, because people need to get to work and back home. The area alongside busy connecting roads would be too loud and undesirable for residential, but commercial can thrive there.

As a refresher, if you run the initial tutorial in Timbuktu, that's exactly what it does.  Res <> Comm <> Ind.  And of course there is the balance that the original game wanted, and that algorithm is still there.