scrounge33

Damn nations, this is proving to be more than I can chew. For every result I get, a new question arises. I don't know where to begin. I can prove myself wrong with almost every result if I work hard enough at it, lol. Here is the basic setup: - For a result to be valid the population must remain within relative approximation of the target population (small = 10k & large = 50k). - Each test was completed 3 times, setting the track back to normal (with the station touching the main line [see R1]) and letting the simulator run for 1 year before beginning again. - A test would run for 1 year and a definite "flat line" in the commute time identified to confirm results. - Everything locked down tight and only changed the track between tests. - Track laid out in a zigzag pattern in the large pop test in order to gain some time in the commute and make the results more obvious. [see TrackPathExample] - 'Blocks' of residential, commercial and industrial, separated from each other, were connected via road only to a single station. [see SmallPopTest] - Stations were not pushed past ~75% capacity usage, unless that was desired effect. I was only working with passenger rail at this point and found enough anomalies to put a question mark beside every finding. Sometimes I would simply switch which station came first and the commute time would drop by minutes. Meanwhile the population, number of jobs, usage on stations, etc all stayed the same. On a large scale, I found that it appeared the more track you laid down, even if it all flowed the same direction, commute time would slightly rise for each additional piece. Is the algorithm for NAM sim Z a bit squirrely, does Maxis have some "flip a quarter" logic in there? If anyone else wants to jump in and take a stab at it, please do… stab the hell out of it. I'm going to go outside and get a breath of fresh, clean, just-rained Missouri air.

I have read somewhere, wish I could find it and link it, that you should have your rail tracks 'loop' the station so you can cut down on your commute time. See the attached image. The logic was if the station ahead is congested the train can continue on to the next station without having to wait through it. Given what I have learned about SC4 and NAM Sim. Z, this didn't logically add up. It doesn't know whether or not it has passengers for the next stop, right? I set up a test bed city: high density residential in the upper left-hand corner, high density industrial in the upper right-hand corner and medium density commercial in the bottom middle. NO streets/roads of any kind connect any of the 3 zones. They are completely independent of one another. I connected all three zones via rail and let the simulator run for a year. Noting the commute time, I added more stations to bring the capacity under 100%, noticing that it did decrease commute time a bit (as expected) after the next year. When I 'looped' the rail tracks around each station (same as in the attached picture), the commute time went up. So I continued this on with the following types: Rail, Subway, Elevated rail and Monorail. The simple results are: Rail = 'straight-through-the-station' faster than looping Subway = no difference either way Elevated Rail = 'straight-through-the-station' faster than looping Monorail = 'straight-through-the-station' faster than looping Can anyone else confirm or deny this? Perhaps I've missed something

Slapping down some R did the trick. I had previously given City B almost a year to start populating the streets, subways, etc. I believe the residential helped line things out. EDIT: I also redid all the connections between the cities, just in case. Thanks for the replies, carry on.

Checking my post from work. SHhhh... I knew there would be some issues with it. The No Road zots might disappear by themselves, I've noticed this happen. No job zots are a brown suitcase.quote> Aye, I've read about the 'No Road' zots eluding to different things or being temporary. In this case, I have 'No Road' zots above new buildings. The commute time for the occupants is sometimes short and long others, yet the route query tool shows no commuters! A year has passed and the zots are still there or the building is abandoned. Why is your Industry in the centre? it's best near the side (less polution).quote> City A is the first city I started after some reading and going through a few tutorials. I decided I liked it and didn't want to leave it behind. So I imported that city into the new region and meshed it with the surrounding tiles. You can't tell it was an import. I'll slowly alleviate the problems of the past, while I plan for the future. How far apart are your bus stops? (sims only walk about 9 tiles).quote> Bus stops are on every other corner or closer, depending on density. They are also coupled with rail, el rail, subway and/or parking garages where applicable. What about railways and stations? (sims need to go the shortest way from Home to Work or they are inclined not to go).quote> Rail, el rail, subway and highway give them a variety of ways to reach work. Each transit is connected to another at a super-transit-depot like place in at least a couple of places. ie bus stop, passenger rail station and subway station all touching. It is worth noting also, I keep an eye on capacity of the MT (mass transit) systems. 140k sims : 9k R$, 4k R$$ & 1k R$$$ These figures don't add up! do you mean 14k sims or 90kR$, 40kR$$ & 10k R$$$?quote> lol, bugger. I missed my zeroes all the way across there didn't I. Fixed.

So I've gotten into SC4 (with RH) and love it. This site has done wonders to speed up the learning process and provided answers to just about every question, but here is an issue I can't seem to find an explanation for. NAM installed and running Simulator Z since founding the cities. I started a new region and have 2 cities. City A has the following: 140k Sims : 90k R$, 40k R$$ & 10k R$$$ 20k Commercial jobs : 9.5k CS$, 9.5k CS$$ & 1kCS$$$ : no CO$$ or CO$$$ at all [taxes] 41k Industrial jobs : 32.5k ID, 7.5k IM & 1k HT. Education has slipped just below 120, making the move to HT and leaving the ID & IM behind. Commute Time is listed as 0.6 (not entirely sure what a 0.6 is). City B has the following: 0 Sims 25.8k Commercial jobs : 20.8k CO$$ & 5k CO$$$ 0 Industrial jobs Problem City B Bus stops, subways, etc show no usage, no traffic anywhere on anything. Almost all the jobs (CO$$ and CO$$$) are filled. City A New buildings showing up with the 'No Road Connection' zot. I've read the 'No Road Connection' can also mean no job or too far/too long to make it to work. But there are plenty of connections and various methods of transportation in both cities. Buildings with 'No Road Connection' zots sometimes list the commute time as short, but the Route Query tools states there are no commuters. The residential sector is on the west side in City A (old ID & IM in the center), while the new jobs are on the east side of City B. City B City A | C | R I | Thoughts, suggestions or 'other' are welcome. >>