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By Dr. Nikolaus Wilson, September 20, 2010 22:55

Parts of GRUNEN are a bit off-balance when it comes to residential and jobs. This is especially true for Zweifingern, a city that invested a lot of money and effort into social facilities, hence became a magnet for immigration.

On the other hand we can find areas with huge industry parks but with no workforce in sight; e.g. the Philipp Mine Industry Park in Bai-North. What to do? Easy: send the residents from Zweifingern to work in Bai-North. Easy, really? Sims tend to not travel more than one city tile to find work. And if they do they take the shortest route to a further city tile – not the best.

That is what the Multi-City Commute Project is all about: Making the sims travel more than one tile in a direction I want. The Project is splitted in five parts that can be found here:

No. 9a: The idea of Multi-City Commute

No. 9b: Problem Overview

No. 9c: The Residential Part

No. 9d: The Industrial Part

No. 9e: The Finale – the sims are commuting two tiles.

I hope you enjoied this project as much as I did. Comments are very much appreciated!

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By Dr. Nikolaus Wilson, September 8, 2010 17:32

Fanfare!

It has been done. The Multi City Commute Project is finished (see here (idea) and here (problem overview) and here (residential part) and here (industrial part) for more information).

Our honorable mayor eventually decided to solve the problem of commuting from Zweifingern to the Philipp Mine by installing a dedicated rail line. Looking at the regional traffic view (to be found here) this was the logical thing to do.

Building a road from Zweifingern to the Philipp Mine would have taken years. And it would have cost hundred-thousands of simoleans for the tarmac needed for that road. Ironically, that costs was what made the decision difficult! Why? Hmm, as you know the mayor and the CEO of Trembling Tarmac Ltd., regions big guy in the tarmac business, have the same surname. Do I have to say more? Its always good to have some money in the family !

But the mayor’s wife felt that the decision for the road would have caused difficulties not only with the voters but also with the state prosecutor. Therefore the mayor decided to skip the road idea and to remember that there is already a rail line starting at the mine and leading to Zweifingern for transportation of the mining goods. Why not use the rail line the other way around? Transporting passengers from Zweifingern to the mine. That’s it! Cheap, easy, fast (but – regrettably – not attractive in terms of personal gain; but that could not be helped).

The first passenger train station in the region of GRUNEN was built in Zweifingern. Watch the building process:

Near the existing cargo station some land was available for the construction. The place was also nearly optimal for a passenger train station as it was located in the heart of Zweifingern (between Zweifingern and Zweifingern-South).

Trees were taken down and the planned tracks were prepared with dirt and gravel.

Track were laid out. The station was built. And a tarmac entrance street was built. Tarmac is the up to date material for streets, so now wonder they used it. Or was there some other reason? Hmm, let’s see who the contractor for the street was: hmm, “TT Ltd.” it reads here. Puh, what a luck, I momentarily thought it had been Trembling Tarmac Ltd…

Parking space for the commuters was cared for.

And eventually everything was nicely decorated with trees and all the dirt from the rail tracks was hidden under a fine layer of no-dirt-mod.

The other end of the track was also cared for. A second train station was erected in Bai-North near the Phillip Mine. Before:

After:

After (zoomed in):

The rail line was opened in 1928 GY. And … it worked. My sims are now travelling across two tiles from Zweifingern to the Philipp Mine for work. Multi City Commute can be done by the SC4 simulator! Want proof? Watch:

Commuters leaving Zweifingern:

Commuters crossing the city tile of GRUNEN:

Commuters arriving at Bai-North:

Still not convinced?

The next shot will get you. It shows the commuters coming from Zweifingern via GRUNEN and the routes they take to their workplaces:

Isn’t that cool?

Multi City Commuters arriving in Bai-North, switching from train to bus, leaving the bus and going on by foot to their workplaces in the Philipp Mine’s factories.

My God, I love this game!

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By Dr. Nikolaus Wilson, September 2, 2010 18:59

Today we want to have a closer look on the industrial part of the multi-city commute project I am working on (see here and here and here for more information).

As said in my previous posts my idea is to get the sims in Zweifingern moving to work in the Philipp Mine in Bai-North. The mine, as the biggest industrial player in the region, has seen a considerable growth in the last years. Here is the mine as of 1910 GY:

The next picture shows the mine in 1924 GY. It was the year the 3rd stage of the mine was opened. You can clearly see that more and more industry is settling around the mine. That industry is not only mine-related, it is also industry dealing with further processes and industry that processes that further processes industries further processes. And we also see the first further processes industries further processes further processed by further further processing industry. See what I mean?

Next picture shows the mine as of 1927 GY, the game year I am playing at the moment. This is the latest shot of the mine. You can see the 4th stage of mining has already opened and the 1st stage is already depleted. The years of mining caused the first stage to run full of water. No solution for that is available at the moment. So, the Philipp Mine lets the water stink.

The last shot shows a more detailed view of the mine.

You can spot all the small yellow dots: places for industrial use that can not be build on at the moment due to the lack of workforce. The Philipp Mine hopes the mayor will not continue posting about the Multi City Commute Project in all eternity without doing it actually! He should take his mouse and make the sims commute! Hey, admin, do you her me?

See you soon for the next entry on Multi City Commute.

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By Dr. Nikolaus Wilson, August 30, 2010 15:57

Today we want to have a closer look on the residential part of the multi-city commute project I am working on (see here and here for more information).

The cities of Zweifingern and Zweifingern-South are the fastest growing parts of the region of GRUNEN. Look at this time lapse animation showing the growth of the recent eight years (1919 to 1927 GY):

(Watch in full size)

Continue reading 'Multi City Commute: The Residential Part'»

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By Dr. Nikolaus Wilson, August 28, 2010 14:23

You know from my previous update, that I am experimenting with multi-city commutes.

I now want to give a short overview to the problem in my region. In the following picture I highlighted the biggest residential area and the area with the most jobs available. As I left the grid on you can see that the sims from Zweifingern will have to cross two tiles to eventually reach the industrial area at the Philipp Stone Mine. That’s a mere 9 km. Easy as pie in real life but not for the sims that typically don’t like to cross more than one tile border.

The street connection seems not to be usable for commuting as it goes an odd way. Further more it is mainly a dirt road. Going via that street from Zweifingern to the mine would probably take more than one hour. No wonder that no one does.

What can be done? If you have any proposals please do NOT keep them for yourself. Be a city planner. Tell me what you think!

Watch out for more information on the problem and my search for a solution. We will see updates in rapid succession!

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By Dr. Nikolaus Wilson, August 27, 2010 10:24

I am experimenting with multi-city commutes.

You all know that the sims can and will commute to the neighboring city if their home city doesn’t provide enough jobs. Why, who would not? What some people don’t know, the SimCity 4 (SC4) simulator can also handle what I call multi-city commute, that means: sims not only commuting to the neighboring city but 10, 20 or 30 km in one direction, thereby crossing multiple city tiles.

The SC4 simulator doesn’t like multi-city commute, though. He has to be encouraged. This can be done by different means, e.g. city planning and layout, dedicated traffic systems, or use of modern high-tech puzzle pieces as ESURE. You don’t believe in multi-city travel? Watch this test picture I made yesterday:

You can see 764 sims entering the city tile on the lower right corner via a single track rail line and leaving the tile in the upper left to head for jobs in the next city tile. That proves multi-city commute is possible.

Region GRUNEN has a lot of residents in Zweifingern (south of the picture) and a lot of jobs in Bai-Nord (west of picture). The distance is around 9 km, a distance every one in real life would easily commute. What I will do in the next week is encourage my sims in Zweifingern to commute to Bai-Nord. You will see glimpses in a rapid succession showing the recent growth in Zweifingern and Bai-North, the reasons why that is and my efforts to make the sims look 9 km further when seeking for a job.

I invite you to follow me on that interesting city developing project. It’s free!