We are very close to release day! In this development diary I will show you how I myself would use Mass Transit to transform a city I have built earlier. While you can of course start with an empty map, I am always excited to create things that enhance existing cities and give new ways of playing in your old cities.
This is my city, naturally called Colossal City. Working nicely, lots of different zones and public transport. What could I add? Well, first of all I want to see if I can make my busiest intersections better with stop signs and adjusting traffic lights. The roundabouts are my first concern, as they usually benefit a lot from some traffic rules.
A couple of clicks later my roundabouts now have some stop signs and traffic looks like it is doing better. Some of my main roads are priority roads and occasionally I’ve removed traffic lights from intersections that have a lot of traffic going in only one direction.
Stop sign at the roundabout in Colossal City
Then on to public transportation! I have a very good spot for a Blimp or a Cable Car line. This is an industrial area which needs workers, but also needs to send out trucks with the materials they produce. Getting less private vehicles on the roads will leave more room for the trucks and make the area run better. I choose Cable Cars, as they are a bit cheaper and don’t need as much space.
Cable Cars taking citizens to work in the industrial area
Now my Cable Car line is up and running, supplying the industrial area with employees. I want to find more places where new lines would help a lot, so I’ll use the Traffic Routes info view together with Traffic Congestion info view. With Traffic Congestion info view I will locate one of the busiest streets in the city. Then I switch over to Traffic Routes and select the street. Now I can see recent trips made through the street.
It looks like much of the traffic comes from this residential area and goes to my biggest industry area. So that will be where I build my line, despite having already the Cable Car line, as that doesn't seem to be enough. I want it to be a Monorail line, because Monorails are cool and I don’t have one yet. Also the Monorail carries large amounts of people, and this is one of the key routes in the whole city, so it will definitely be busy. So Elevated Monorail it is!
Probably the coolest monorail line ever, running between elevated roads and on top of roads!
I placed my Monorail to run partly on top of avenues, because I had some conveniently placed. I’m expecting a busy line, so I will have many stations to get citizens as close as possible to their destinations. The line is not very long, but I can extend it if I see that it needs more length or it is not used much.
As the traffic is now pretty much under control, I will construct a new area, as the demand for residential has risen. Here the new visual road building aids come to play. I want a tight grid with no free space between the zones. The “ghost” roads tell me where existing roads would continue, and the dots give hints for optimal placement to get the zoning grids to match.
So there it is! My old city, but tweaked with new things. Still the same city, but in many ways much better than what it was. The traffic flows smoother, there are more public transportation options and a new area build faster and more efficient than before. There's still many places where toggling traffic lights on or off could help, some stop signs here and there, and I think I do need that Blimp line still.
Have you got plans on how to develop your cities further? Do you have the perfect futuristic city for a monorail line, or a city built on islands that will have many excellent spots for ferry lines? Show them!
Cheers,
Karoliina
Lead Designer of Cities: Skylines
This is my city, naturally called Colossal City. Working nicely, lots of different zones and public transport. What could I add? Well, first of all I want to see if I can make my busiest intersections better with stop signs and adjusting traffic lights. The roundabouts are my first concern, as they usually benefit a lot from some traffic rules.
A couple of clicks later my roundabouts now have some stop signs and traffic looks like it is doing better. Some of my main roads are priority roads and occasionally I’ve removed traffic lights from intersections that have a lot of traffic going in only one direction.
Stop sign at the roundabout in Colossal City
Then on to public transportation! I have a very good spot for a Blimp or a Cable Car line. This is an industrial area which needs workers, but also needs to send out trucks with the materials they produce. Getting less private vehicles on the roads will leave more room for the trucks and make the area run better. I choose Cable Cars, as they are a bit cheaper and don’t need as much space.
Cable Cars taking citizens to work in the industrial area
Now my Cable Car line is up and running, supplying the industrial area with employees. I want to find more places where new lines would help a lot, so I’ll use the Traffic Routes info view together with Traffic Congestion info view. With Traffic Congestion info view I will locate one of the busiest streets in the city. Then I switch over to Traffic Routes and select the street. Now I can see recent trips made through the street.
It looks like much of the traffic comes from this residential area and goes to my biggest industry area. So that will be where I build my line, despite having already the Cable Car line, as that doesn't seem to be enough. I want it to be a Monorail line, because Monorails are cool and I don’t have one yet. Also the Monorail carries large amounts of people, and this is one of the key routes in the whole city, so it will definitely be busy. So Elevated Monorail it is!
Probably the coolest monorail line ever, running between elevated roads and on top of roads!
I placed my Monorail to run partly on top of avenues, because I had some conveniently placed. I’m expecting a busy line, so I will have many stations to get citizens as close as possible to their destinations. The line is not very long, but I can extend it if I see that it needs more length or it is not used much.
As the traffic is now pretty much under control, I will construct a new area, as the demand for residential has risen. Here the new visual road building aids come to play. I want a tight grid with no free space between the zones. The “ghost” roads tell me where existing roads would continue, and the dots give hints for optimal placement to get the zoning grids to match.
So there it is! My old city, but tweaked with new things. Still the same city, but in many ways much better than what it was. The traffic flows smoother, there are more public transportation options and a new area build faster and more efficient than before. There's still many places where toggling traffic lights on or off could help, some stop signs here and there, and I think I do need that Blimp line still.
Have you got plans on how to develop your cities further? Do you have the perfect futuristic city for a monorail line, or a city built on islands that will have many excellent spots for ferry lines? Show them!
Cheers,
Karoliina
Lead Designer of Cities: Skylines
.png){kind=avatar}
.png){kind=avatar}
