[TIP] It's because you don't have a metro line close to your bus lines!

[Chainspell]

So I've tried playing this game over and over again trying to get it right... it's kind of addicting that way! It's 3AM and I think I finally figured it out. I uninstalled the anti-traffic jam mod and the increased capacity mods, so it's basically all at default settings... the way we're meant to play it!

This is me August 1920 normal mode. 8 months into the game.



As you can see on the mini map my metro lines and bus lines already cover 50% of the city, and my income is at 12k.

Don't get me wrong, at first the game seemed pretty unbalanced (and probably is unbalanced lol), like for example:

• capacities are unbalanced
• too many people waiting in line
• vehicles getting stuck creating traffic jams
• ticket prices are unbalanced
• the budget is hard to balance
• overall the game is unabalanced!!!

okay, enough with this unbalanced BS... I think the reason why all of the above seems true at first is because you don't have a metro line near your bus lines. Thereby flooding your bus lines... I think this is by design.

When I first played this game, I don't know why I always start building my bus line infrastructure first, and play the rest of the game just trying to make money off it so I can build my metro line. well it doesn't work like that... why? because you'll clog your roads trying to keep up with demand and experience all sorts of problems.

So the key is to take as much loan as you can at first so you can build your metro line close to important spots of the city. then build bus lines around your metro line to increase your coverage area.

I think the game is pretty balanced once you know how to play.

• increase wages to happy face (green) to keep reputation up
• increase fares well beyond dark red to know your limits (balance with demand)
• lower fares when no one is using your system
• build metro lines as your backbone to important places, then build bus lines around it

It's only been 2 days for me so I'm still a newbie, and I know alot of what I said might be wrong. But I just wanted to share it with everyone

 

[GamingFather]

I have started of like you did with buses only and its hopeless. Will try with an early metro

 

[unmerged(273040)]

Great advice chanispell! Will try it as soon as I can play the game. How high did you set your prices for bus and metro? $$ ??

 

[Chainspell]

Great advice chanispell! Will try it as soon as I can play the game. How high did you set your prices for bus and metro? $$ ??

at first I was conservative, about $6 for bus, $8 for metro. but the more you become popular or the more your services are needed the higher you can take it. when I took that screenshot I was at $6-$8 for buses, and $16-$20 for metro.

EDIT:
LOL so I played till 1922, and cash was flowing in like crazy... and I can take 50k loans from the banks again. anyways, I tried cramming 60 trains into that single metro line, haha it turns out they bottleneck at the end of the line. I have like 12 trains queued up on both ends, just bumper to bumper...

I guess now that I know how to make money and balance the budget, now it's time to learn how to create multiple efficient metro lines!!! need to keep up with the demand!

 

[unmerged(243766)]

at first I was conservative, about $6 for bus, $8 for metro. but the more you become popular or the more your services are needed the higher you can take it. when I took that screenshot I was at $6-$8 for buses, and $16-$20 for metro.

WOW at those prices! Considering it goes red if you get over like 6.50 it suggests that maybe its not quite working right.

I've just tried tutorial town again and started off by taking out an 18k loan giving me a total of 36k. I built up my metro and then added a couple of bus routes and everything was working just fine. There is still loads of traffic but I'm not part of it so I could care less.

Now i need to try and figure out water busses. They are very popular but they are getting stuck when a couple meet at a stop and the only way i can get them un stuck is to close and re open the line ><.

 

[Chainspell]

WOW at those prices!

yeah gotta keep prices up to keep those passengers from raping my bus lines lol

 

[unmerged(243048)]

Best way to operate the metro is actually having just lines connecting two adjoint stations. The next line leaves from the second platfrom then, and so on. This pretty much gets rid of the bottlenecks, since you'll only be running 2-3 trains a line.

 

[unmerged(272717)]

I managed to complete the first scenario without metros, if you want to have a look at a alternative way of doing things, you can see more details over at my thread. http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?523383-Scenario-1-Berlin

 

[Wakeupcall]

Best way to operate the metro is actually having just lines connecting two adjoint stations. The next line leaves from the second platfrom then, and so on. This pretty much gets rid of the bottlenecks, since you'll only be running 2-3 trains a line.

I loop off the ends of my metro back on to itself with a small loop

Works a charm

 

[crossmr]

I've done that. I always run mega metros with tons of feeder lines. Traffic still sucks.

 

[unmerged(266800)]

Best way to operate the metro is actually having just lines connecting two adjoint stations. The next line leaves from the second platfrom then, and so on. This pretty much gets rid of the bottlenecks, since you'll only be running 2-3 trains a line.

There is a bad problem with this, though. If you have a line that goes from A to B to C to D, and line 1 goes from A to B, line 2 goes from B to C, line 3 goes from C to D: a passenger going from A to D will need to walk onto a train three times. It takes a very long time for a passenger to walk onto a train!

Until Paradox fix the bug that metro trains wait for CiMfolk who've just arrived on the platform (and have a long way to walk to get to the train, in which time another passenger will arrive and the train will wait for him too until the train's full and you're bankrupt), for really busy lines the best solution might be to run lines side-by-side. So there's stations and tracks from A to B to C, and separate station and track going from A to C but missing B.

 

[unmerged(243048)]

There is a bad problem with this, though. If you have a line that goes from A to B to C to D, and line 1 goes from A to B, line 2 goes from B to C, line 3 goes from C to D: a passenger going from A to D will need to walk onto a train three times. It takes a very long time for a passenger to walk onto a train!

Until Paradox fix the bug that metro trains wait for CiMfolk who've just arrived on the platform (and have a long way to walk to get to the train, in which time another passenger will arrive and the train will wait for him too until the train's full and you're bankrupt), for really busy lines the best solution might be to run lines side-by-side. So there's stations and tracks from A to B to C, and separate station and track going from A to C but missing B.

Having finished the first amsterdam scenario, I think that they fixed the time it takes the passengers to get on. At least my metro is WAY quicker now loading/unloading.