With Mass Transit, you can take control of not only the waterways, but also the sky. Last week I wrote about Ferries and how they offer excellent solution for connecting isolated islands to the city with fast routes. Blimps are another way of doing that, but work better for larger settlements, as they have a higher passenger capacity than Ferries.
A blimp gliding over the city
The basics of Blimps are much like Ferries. Since they do no work on roads, you need to mark Pathways for them to travel. Blimps fly from stop to stop and need a route to the Depot. Pathways are two-way, basically like virtual roads for Blimps, so you have exact control over where they travel. Stops need a road connection, but other than that, can freely be placed anywhere on the map. Depots need to be connected to roads as well, but can send vehicles to any line they have a Pathway connection with. The amount of Blimps per line is determined by the public transport budget for them, but can be adjusted more carefully with the new slider for vehicles per line. Blimps glide over the city, ascending and descending on their own, following the marked routes.
That's some quality education right there
As an extra benefit, there is space on the sides of Blimps for advertisements. By default they show adverts from various companies, but if you wish to use the space to your city’s benefit, you can set a policy so that Blimps show educational posters. This boosts your city’s education facilities a little bit, and of course looks quite cool.
Cable cars operating on a slope
And then there are the Cable Cars. Don’t think of the San Francisco Cable Cars, but the type that travel steep hills suspended on cables. The Skylines Cable Cars are very useful on slopes, but can also be placed on level ground. There are two types of stops: end-of-line stops and stops where Cable Cars can pass through and continue to further stops. Pass through stops can also be used at the ends, but end-of-line types can be used to get that finishing touch. Cable Cars lines are somewhat easier to set up than other types. Built the stops you want to have in the city and connect them with cables. When any two or more stops are connected, the line will start to operate automatically. All stops connected to each other are considered one line. Cable Cars do not have Depots, so no Depot connections are needed.
Cables can go over roads and their height can be adjusted with PgUp and PgDown, just like roads. However the cables cannot pass over houses. Cables can be built on water, even so that the concrete bases of the pylons are standing in the water.
Cable Car stop in action
Cable Cars don’t have a huge capacity, but they run often, allowing a constant stream of passengers to be transported. Avoiding roads is a huge plus, that’s less vehicles on the roads so less traffic congestion. Operating on level ground, slopes and allowing cables to go on water makes sure Cable Cars are very flexible as means of transport and can be used in many different cases.
What will your city get first, Cable Cars or Blimps?
A blimp gliding over the city
The basics of Blimps are much like Ferries. Since they do no work on roads, you need to mark Pathways for them to travel. Blimps fly from stop to stop and need a route to the Depot. Pathways are two-way, basically like virtual roads for Blimps, so you have exact control over where they travel. Stops need a road connection, but other than that, can freely be placed anywhere on the map. Depots need to be connected to roads as well, but can send vehicles to any line they have a Pathway connection with. The amount of Blimps per line is determined by the public transport budget for them, but can be adjusted more carefully with the new slider for vehicles per line. Blimps glide over the city, ascending and descending on their own, following the marked routes.
That's some quality education right there
As an extra benefit, there is space on the sides of Blimps for advertisements. By default they show adverts from various companies, but if you wish to use the space to your city’s benefit, you can set a policy so that Blimps show educational posters. This boosts your city’s education facilities a little bit, and of course looks quite cool.
Cable cars operating on a slope
And then there are the Cable Cars. Don’t think of the San Francisco Cable Cars, but the type that travel steep hills suspended on cables. The Skylines Cable Cars are very useful on slopes, but can also be placed on level ground. There are two types of stops: end-of-line stops and stops where Cable Cars can pass through and continue to further stops. Pass through stops can also be used at the ends, but end-of-line types can be used to get that finishing touch. Cable Cars lines are somewhat easier to set up than other types. Built the stops you want to have in the city and connect them with cables. When any two or more stops are connected, the line will start to operate automatically. All stops connected to each other are considered one line. Cable Cars do not have Depots, so no Depot connections are needed.
Cables can go over roads and their height can be adjusted with PgUp and PgDown, just like roads. However the cables cannot pass over houses. Cables can be built on water, even so that the concrete bases of the pylons are standing in the water.
Cable Car stop in action
Cable Cars don’t have a huge capacity, but they run often, allowing a constant stream of passengers to be transported. Avoiding roads is a huge plus, that’s less vehicles on the roads so less traffic congestion. Operating on level ground, slopes and allowing cables to go on water makes sure Cable Cars are very flexible as means of transport and can be used in many different cases.
What will your city get first, Cable Cars or Blimps?
