I wasted hours trying to build a basic system only to see everything I do cause traffic to pile up and people to wait angrily by the hundreds at crowded stops. I would try to relieve the pressure by adding more vehicles but that only seemed to exacerbate the traffic problem.
What I did, and what I can only assume most other people who are having trouble are doing, was to try and build up, to start from a simple bus system and work up to trams and wait until there was some cash before moving onto subway systems and the other fancy options. I mean, it's a no-brainer, isn't it? Build that awesome cross-town bus line that hits all the major spots and it'll be the best ever. People will love it and it'll make tons of money, right?
This common sense way of thinking seems to be the game's biggest pitfall. You simply cannot approach this game as if it behaved like a real, bona fide city transportation network. I spent so much time trying to rework my bus strategy, smaller routes, less traffic-filled routes, direct routes to popular spots -- I tried all of that and with each failed attempt I only grew more frustrated. Nothing seems to work.
What a lot of people here have already pointed out is that the only thing that really works is the metro. And this is ultimately true. But unfortunately this is firstly not the most practical way of playing. Metros are awfully expensive and can really take time to build if you're not starting with tons of cash. When I started a normal mode sandbox in Berlin I had to take out a lot of loans just to build a tiny two-stop metro line and wait for months on end until I was solvent enough to keep building (by taking out more loans, of course).
But the other, more important (I think) problem with this is that the metro essentially breaks the game and removes the incentive to use anything else. The metro cars can pack up to 70 or so people and zip by underground or over roads while the buses and trams struggle to push over 20 most of the time, and that's only if you're lucky enough to be in a time period that can push over 10 people per bus!
The good news is that you can have a rich experience by using everything. You just have to approach the game from a different perspective. You cannot look at it like an actual transportation network because it simply doesn't work that way. What I did to much success so far is to build FROM the Metro and have the other methods of transportation feeding into the metro stations from SMALL areas around them. Like 5 or so bus stops that loop out from 1 metro stop, trams that stay off the road as much as possible but still don't get too adventurous in terms of length.
The emphasis in the game is the interoperability of the different modes of transportation, NOT on the idea that you can just build a ton of buses and make it work. Maybe that's a detriment to some who would like to make a bus-only city, and who knows, maybe it is possible and I just wasn't clever enough to make it happen. But once I started approaching the game in a different way all of the problems that I had before suddenly disappeared entirely. And this is BEFORE the patch is even out on Steam.
Ultimately this thread is for all the people who are undoubtedly frustrated to no end with a game they bought but can't seem to make work in any way that makes sense. I was about ready to give up on the game and wait for some kind of significant update before even trying it again but now that I can actually do it without failing it's really a fun game. I no longer have problems with sluggish traffic. I no longer have angry lines of 150 people at one stop. I'm no longer hemorrhaging money.
So if you're one of the people who was doing what I was doing, and from the number of people complaining about traffic and lines of people, I assume there are a lot, then please give it another try and approach it as a game with its own rules rather than as a 100% accurate traffic simulator. Change the way you play to match the game's rules.
What I did, and what I can only assume most other people who are having trouble are doing, was to try and build up, to start from a simple bus system and work up to trams and wait until there was some cash before moving onto subway systems and the other fancy options. I mean, it's a no-brainer, isn't it? Build that awesome cross-town bus line that hits all the major spots and it'll be the best ever. People will love it and it'll make tons of money, right?
This common sense way of thinking seems to be the game's biggest pitfall. You simply cannot approach this game as if it behaved like a real, bona fide city transportation network. I spent so much time trying to rework my bus strategy, smaller routes, less traffic-filled routes, direct routes to popular spots -- I tried all of that and with each failed attempt I only grew more frustrated. Nothing seems to work.
What a lot of people here have already pointed out is that the only thing that really works is the metro. And this is ultimately true. But unfortunately this is firstly not the most practical way of playing. Metros are awfully expensive and can really take time to build if you're not starting with tons of cash. When I started a normal mode sandbox in Berlin I had to take out a lot of loans just to build a tiny two-stop metro line and wait for months on end until I was solvent enough to keep building (by taking out more loans, of course).
But the other, more important (I think) problem with this is that the metro essentially breaks the game and removes the incentive to use anything else. The metro cars can pack up to 70 or so people and zip by underground or over roads while the buses and trams struggle to push over 20 most of the time, and that's only if you're lucky enough to be in a time period that can push over 10 people per bus!
The good news is that you can have a rich experience by using everything. You just have to approach the game from a different perspective. You cannot look at it like an actual transportation network because it simply doesn't work that way. What I did to much success so far is to build FROM the Metro and have the other methods of transportation feeding into the metro stations from SMALL areas around them. Like 5 or so bus stops that loop out from 1 metro stop, trams that stay off the road as much as possible but still don't get too adventurous in terms of length.
The emphasis in the game is the interoperability of the different modes of transportation, NOT on the idea that you can just build a ton of buses and make it work. Maybe that's a detriment to some who would like to make a bus-only city, and who knows, maybe it is possible and I just wasn't clever enough to make it happen. But once I started approaching the game in a different way all of the problems that I had before suddenly disappeared entirely. And this is BEFORE the patch is even out on Steam.
Ultimately this thread is for all the people who are undoubtedly frustrated to no end with a game they bought but can't seem to make work in any way that makes sense. I was about ready to give up on the game and wait for some kind of significant update before even trying it again but now that I can actually do it without failing it's really a fun game. I no longer have problems with sluggish traffic. I no longer have angry lines of 150 people at one stop. I'm no longer hemorrhaging money.
So if you're one of the people who was doing what I was doing, and from the number of people complaining about traffic and lines of people, I assume there are a lot, then please give it another try and approach it as a game with its own rules rather than as a 100% accurate traffic simulator. Change the way you play to match the game's rules.
Thanks!
