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A big problem with the traffic in this game is that vehicles don't seem to ever change lanes to get around traffic, and busses and trams don't stop off the road, instead when they stop they block everyone behind them. Not sure how to fix this other than slightly less traffic or slightly more forgiving and faster intersections.
 
In the center and busy streets you should avoid the busiest streets (check the data view panel for the traffic). Buses are excellent with the surrounding areas in the city, where the population isn't so dense.
 
In many places you can build tram tracks so that they avoid the busy roads. They are also cheaper to run if you can afford the cost of tracks.
 
I agree the traffic is sometimes a bit too much. Don't think there were many traffic jam's in the 1920's in A'dam, with cars costing a fortune n such... Bit absurd to see traffic jams that reach well out of the city ...

On a different note: could we possibly adjust the waiting time in a future patch? I have peeps on a pier that are too slow to catch the waterbus xD, so they keep hanging around being all grumpy and muttering!


PS: Half the city is in a deadlock now, and it's only 1921!
 
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I have just started a new Campaign in Berlin and I am having the same issues as described above. It makes it very hard to complete the campaign.

The problem is not the amount of traffic, but is in my opinion the gridlocking of traffic.
I do like the fact that you should take traffic in account when planning your routes, but the gridlocks make trams and buses unusable.
 
AltWouss said:
I have just started a new Campaign in Berlin and I am having the same issues as described above. It makes it very hard to complete the campaign.

The problem is not the amount of traffic, but is in my opinion the gridlocking of traffic.
I do like the fact that you should take traffic in account when planning your routes, but the gridlocks make trams and buses unusable.
Click to expand...

I'm finding exactly the same. I've built my trams so that they avoid the busy roads, but every so often they have to cross them, and when they do they have to wait an age for a gap to appear in the traffic.
 
You can alter the following values in your metro/scripts/game.script file (line 80 approx.):

Code: 
// time in seconds after the citizen can move again
$grid.citizens.minCycleDuration = 300;
$grid.citizens.maxCycleDuration = 600;

These values control how soon a citizen can start moving again after arriving at their destination. You can increase these values to reduce the traffic level. However, you'll also be affecting how many citizens are moving around and using your lines at any given time.
 
NullCharacter, I don't really like editing a game I just bought, I also don't want to spend my time tuning a game while instead I'd just like to play it. Also, that probably won't solve the gridlocks (they might just not occur as heavily as they do now).
 
Okay, after playing a bit more, I agree that the traffic is ridiculous. It's not necessarily that the traffic is too heavy.... it's that the traffic sits still for no apparent reason. I had a HUGE traffic jam that backed up all the busses and trams on 3 separate lines in about the same place. I traced it to the front..... and there's nothing there. It's a line of cars that won't turn onto a clear divided highway. They just sit there all day without moving.
 
Polar Mongoose said:
I'm finding exactly the same. I've built my trams so that they avoid the busy roads, but every so often they have to cross them, and when they do they have to wait an age for a gap to appear in the traffic.
Click to expand...

I agree completely. I had one tram going through an all green route (which takes twice/three times as long to get to the objectives) but it still would have to stop repeatedly at intersections and the passengers would get angry.

Then, after one street turns into a gridlock on its down which in turn backs up other streets. In one year on the Berlin mission I had 3 whole blocks locked up right by the train station so completing the missions are almost impossible.


Plus, there is no way to manually route the bus traffic on certain streets without building a bunch more stops.
 
So.. I seem to notice that the traffic isn't actually too bad until my buses start blocking it when they stop at bus stops. After that it's CHAOS. I tried smaller streets, but they just became completely filled with traffic once my buses were introduced there. There were also some cases where a car just stopped the traffic for days before they decided to move away (which I thought might be a bug?).
 
Just because you cannot figure out the nuances to a game in the first few hours does not mean that it is broken. I have been doing a lot of reading from players that have played from beta. There are plenty of people that say once you figure out the subtleties of the game then you will understand how to be successful.
Just because YOU can't figure out a game doesn't mean that it is broken and needs to be fixed. That's just a lame attitude. Especially given the light that many people have posted that they figured out how to run the scenarios just fine.
The problem here, ladies and gentlemen, is that the solutions you're trying are not the correct ones. You need to think and try alternatives. That's what quality games do.

You know... instead of placing your trams and buses on streets that are already busy, try placing them on less-used streets that are parallel to the busy ones. You may find that with some time, the busy streets are relaxed, and then you can place trams and buses on the one you originally wanted to place it on... the busy one.

This is, of course, just one strategy. Some of you guys need to fail a few more times, use lateral thinking, and come up with a new way of solving the problem.... rather than insisting that the solution you're trying is the right one... and proclaiming the game to be broken.
 
I noticed that the game does have a mechanism in place to prevent permanent gridlocks. Apparently, if a vehicle sits in the same place for too long it will removed from the map (vehicle just disappears). Unfortunately, the timer seems a bit long. Also, since the vehicles that were behind it now move up, their timers get reset and the whole lengthy process repeats.
 
SackOHammers said:
You know... instead of placing your trams and buses on streets that are already busy, try placing them on less-used streets that are parallel to the busy ones. You may find that with some time, the busy streets are relaxed, and then you can place trams and buses on the one you originally wanted to place it on... the busy one.
Click to expand...

The problem is the main road gets busy, and that causes gridlock on all the adjoining streets. Then they cause gridlock on all the adjoining streets. Repeat ad nauseum.

Is there a way to take a screenshot built into the game? I'm sure I can show you what I'm talking about.
 
Having played a while now, i have to confirm that the traffic is just getting sick after a while. I started the campain and build two metro lines like a cross, with the busy trainstation as main hub. Everything was fine up to about the middle of 1924, then the usual traffic jam just began spreading everywhere. Its blocking some far out bus lines, since all the major streets are packed. I think I'll manage to complete the scenario but this is definitly more traffic than in the beta ( ok, I know it's Berlin and not Vienna, but Vienna only came to a complete stop when I build the tram and bus stops on the major streets, which i really try to avoid.
 
I've restarted the Berlin Campaign maybe 3,4 times now. The latest attempt seems to be working alright. I'm actually getting positive cashflow for once. Let's see how this goes as the time progresses.
 
One quick and easy change (hopefully) that would solve a major problem is the ability to turn trams around without building in circles. Why can't we have basic junctions for swapping tracks/directions? In the Berlin scenario (for example) one useful technique for reducing traffic jams, for me, was to create a central tram line that ran off the roads (usually on the bisected roads with the grass in the center) but the need to build circles really caused problems everywhere I had to create one.

Edit:
Also the ability to make short under or over-passes for tram lines, so when I do find a route where I only have to cross a street once or twice (epseically without other buildings in sight) I can avoid intersecting entirely with the pavement.
 
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