Region and City Development Questions

[HawkDawg 12]

I hope this is the right forum for these questions. If not, Mods - please feel free to move this topic.

I'm new to this game. I've been through the tutorials a couple of times each and decided to start a project on a friend of mines region.

It's a small region and it looks like a good one to start on, since I don't really like flat land.

My questions are:

1) When moving to another tile to start a new city, is keeping the same Mayor name general practice or should a different name be use, or does it matter?

2) I have this thought to build residential and commercial in one tile, industry and commercial in another tile, and farming in another tile. Is this a bad idea? Will it work, or is it best to build residential, commercial, farming, and industry in all tiles?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[SimCoug 5,972]

@HawkDawg
To answer your first question, no, it doesn't matter a wink what the mayor name is - so go nuts
Second, it is possible to separate each city by zone type, but as your cities grow it will become more difficult to keep your sims moving speedily between them.  I would suggest keeping a balanced approach, although you can certainly have some city tiles 'specialize' more in certain zone types (a tile with a port may have more industry, while a scenic lake may be better for residential).  As you experiment in the game you will learn what works best with your own style of play.

 

[HawkDawg 12]

Great! Thanks SimCoug. I appreciate your advice and wisdom.

I've started with the idea I had the question about; having industry and commercial in a different area of the region and agriculture in another, both separate from the residential and commercial, so I'll see how it goes.

I'm still experimenting; playing around to see what I can do and can't do. I haven't even installed any mods yet.

[SimCoug 5,972]

13 minutes ago, HawkDawg said:

I haven't even installed any mods yet.

That is actually a smart way to go about it.  It's best to learn the mechanics of the game first before you go on a downloading binge with custom content.  Have fun

[HawkDawg 12]

I want to install the NAM, but from the videos I've seen it adds a whole bunch of stuff I may not be ready for. Although, A Nonny mentioned a custom install of NAM. Basically what I want right now is just smoother roads over hills and better curves. The default slopes and curves just look terrible.

[InvisiChem 121]

To keep things simple with this, run the NAM with the custom setup. At the very bottom is the wide radius curves. Install those. Leave the traffic driving side and traffic simulator boxes alone, Uncheck everything else it will let you uncheck. This will give you a very minimal setup. I would suggest installing most of the NAM, just slowly get used to using the options. The maxis like stuff is still there regardless. Roads are still roads, avenues, one way roads, etc. Maxis highways are still there, just look a little different and operate better.

To smooth your roads over hills, I use the ennedi slope mod. There are a couple of others for use. Instead of a total slope mod, you could use the RHW slope mod and Bullet Train Slop Mod with NAM. You would have to lay some tiles of RHW or BTM to slope the land, bulldoze and place your roads, but it works and is not too difficult. There is also a popular older slope mod by Big Red Fish. Be sure to only be using one total slope mod at a time if you go that route (i.e. ennedi's or Big Red Fish).

[SimCoug 5,972]

Yeah, it sounds like you are looking for a slope mod.  Ennedi's hasn't failed me yet.  

[HawkDawg 12]

I've downloaded Ennedi's slope mod. I'll install it and see if that's what I want. Then I'll look at the custom setup for the NAM.

Thanks for the advice folks. I really appreciate it.