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In Cities XL you can try to develop all businesses and that is of course the most interesting way to grow you city. However you'll soon realize that "Pollution is killing everything" and how fun is that? This is the main problem with game play in Cities XL. Easy to solve if we could build structures/trees/parks that reduce pollution, but for some reason MC:s point of view is that we have to make the citizens happy enough to accept the pollution. Why, it only reduces the fun of playing? The second problem with growth is that you can only develop one freight business and one (or possibly two) passenger businesses. If you try to develop two freight businesses you'll end up losing money because it's too expensive. The main reason for this is that the cost of freight is too expensive. Highway Road Link = 1000 per freight. For your first freight business you can build Expressway Road Links = 5 for one freight. This makes it impossible to develop a second business and without losing money. If you are happy enough to build your city on a map where you can build a harbor I believe it's possible , the cost for one freight if you build a small harbor is 200 and if you build a big harbor it's 150. That could work, but then of course we're back we are back where I started, “Pollution in killing everything”. Another problem with freight businesses is that you can't build more than a small number of the "exceptional" buildings that increase production (MBA etc.). So it's not only more expensive to expand a second freight business but also the potential income is reduced. The result is a loss and how fun is it to develop a business when you know that your income will decrease in the end. The result of this is that I end up building cities with one freight business and offices, offices, offices and perhaps a few high tech industries. I buy waste, fuel and manufacturing. That might be fun for a while but it would be more interesting to use all the potential of this game. Now don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the maps and I don't want to develop all businesses on the same map but if I have oil and water on the same map I want to develop both without losing money.

I don't play on-line so I didn't know this. Yet another reason not to go on-line, I definitely don't want to spend half an hour a day/week renewing contracts.

I have the same problem when I play big cities. Restarting the game helps so I believe it's a memory leak.

Originally posted by: soltangris Hm, yeah, maybe trading retail as you propose makes some sense too. They have these huge Outlet malls in the US, although not in Europe. However, they're usually away from the big cities....quote> Well, we usually don't have agriculture areas and fuel fields in the cities either. I believe the cities in Cities XL is not only the city itself but also the surrounding countryside.

I believe that trading retail could be the answer. I mean if we can sell holidays why not selling retail using Passenger Road Links. What I mean is that people are travelling a long way to go to, for example, to IKEA stores, it's not only for the local citizens.

Good guide, but I don't agree with you on not building high density buildings. I always start building high density offices and I believe it's the best way to make money in the beginning. With high density offices I can easily get a monthly profit around 30 000 in less than half an hour. That's good money when I start developing resources. Developing resources is really expensive and it takes a long time before it's profitable so you need a good economy to start with.>>

Originally posted by: pete1061 True, trees don't eat pollution. But... nice, green parks make citizens feel better about the environment. Currently, there is only one item that appears to have a positive effect on the 'environment' overlay, the avatar park. I've proposed that the wooded park have a similar effect. Something else I brought up in another thread is that manufacturing shouldn't create much air pollution, that it actually crates more noise pollution than anything. And maybe to illustrate the negative impact on ground waters, heavy industry and manufacturing could cut away from water resource nearby. Maybe there could be a new unlockable "environmental institute" that helps significantly reduce citywide pollution. Or maybe when cities get really big, a (costly 100k or more to maintain) CO2 scrubber utility building under the waste treatment category. I know such technology is being researched in many places. Also, I haven't noticed, but sections of heavily trafficked road should add significantly to air pollution. Having lived in Los Angeles, I would see obvious brown clouds of smog directly over the freeways there. Though honestly, this is a game, I'm kinda tired of having all this 'green agenda' stuff shoved down my throat everywhere I turn. I play this game to relax and take a break from the real world. The fact that there is currently so much pollution generated in the game, and so much is adversely effected by it feels as if MC unconsciously embedded the ever present "green agenda" into the game mechanics. quote> Hear, hear.

I'm not sure but I have a strong feeling that you get that message when to many are out of work.

There is demand for Heavy industry in the city even if I don't build any structures that demands it. A bug?

No I don't want power lines.

You can also find more detailed informaton on the Cities XL support pages. www.citiesxl.com/content/view/797/134/

I miss a mini-map.

I can't say I had any problem with this. It's explained in the tutorial and in the manual. I don't even think that selling or buying office service is that hard to understand. I bet your own business has to consult a law firm, an accountant or use mail order service now and then. If you can't find it in your home town you have to find it in another town.

Originally posted by: Attachtatuk .... But the most impressive improvement in this city building genre, is the global economy/ressource systeme and how every economic sectors of your city interact with each other. Let me explain in a simplified way. You start your game by creating dirty industries to attract citizens, those citizens will need retailed goods provided by retailers, those retailer will need food and manufactured goods to sell, all those industries will need offices to manage their businesses etc etc...and keeping all these well balance require some careful management and some skillful negotiation on the planet trade systeme if your online..... quote> That's exactly what I like with this game and also the freedom to decide whether you want to produce the resources yourself or trade for them. That way it's easier to build the city of your dreams. I must say that Cities XL is a big step forward since City Life.

I voted NO. But I might want to try it someday. I don't like to use my credit card on the Internet but f I can get an invoice or buy it in my local shop I will probably try it.