My observations on public transportation.
# The Definitive Public Transit Guide (SimCity 2013) # The Great Local Flow Myth First and foremost, let's debunk the myth that local shoppers and workers use public transit to reach their respective buildings during rush hour. Within the city, **only unemployed Sims and unsatisfied shoppers use buses**. # Assessing Your City's Focus Before planning your layout, you must evaluate your city's primary focus: will it import or export these agents? * Tourist City:** The absolute focus must be on moving tourists entering the region. * City with a Local Commerce Shortage:** If your city lacks shoppers because the local population isn't enough, your transit focus will be on moving the external shoppers who arrive. # Scenario: City with Many Unsatisfied Shoppers To understand how to solve this issue, we need to analyze how these specific agents behave: * Shoppers who manage to buy goods:** They will use their own cars or walk to local shops. Upon returning home, they bring back "happiness," which is the mechanic used to increase the density of residential buildings. * Unsatisfied shoppers (no local goods available):** When the goods in your city's shops run out, these residents would originally use their cars to travel to a neighboring city that has available commercial capacity. This initial movement happens in waves, little by little. # The Impact of Public Transit The moment you build the Bus Terminal and place your very first bus stop, **this driving behavior to neighboring cities stops entirely**. From that point on, their behavior shifts: Unsatisfied shoppers leave their homes on foot looking for commerce/goods. They head to and wait at the nearest bus stop, expecting the transit system to move them to these locations. Since there are no goods in your own city's shops, if there is no proper planning in your stop placement, the Sims will simply be shuttled from one point to another until they give up searching. # The Structural Solution Since these unsatisfied shoppers need to reach the shops in the neighboring city (as yours is empty), your planning objective is single-focused: **you must funnel them efficiently into other mass transit systems** that connect to the region. # Practical Placement Planning (The Three-Stop System) To ensure unsatisfied shoppers reach mass transit efficiently, the layout must follow a strict, controlled, linear logic divided into three main points (A, B, and C): * West Side (Stop A):** Position this stop in your densest residential district, exactly where the unsatisfied shoppers are concentrated and waiting. * East Side (Stop B):** An intermediate stop placed further down in the opposite direction to keep the flow moving. * Train Station (Stop C):** This is the final destination and core connection hub. It must sit a certain distance away from the others, serving as the center. * Crucial Rule:** There must be absolutely no other stops besides these three. This prevents interference in the system's transit logic and stops buses from making unnecessary detours. # Distance and Layout Dimensions (Test Bench Standards) * Ideal Distance:** 3 blocks away from the center (Point C), both to the east and to the west. * Block Dimensions:** Each square block must have the exact footprint required to fit a Megatower. * Road Placement:** The bus stop must be placed right in the middle of the avenue, centered between the intersections. # Agent Behavior in the Network The logic of Point C works as follows: if you have two Megatowers to the west and two to the east, every shopper in that specific area will use that stop. Sims who fail to catch the bus in time will grow tired of waiting and begin walking toward the next closest stop. Because agents have a strict limit on how far they can walk before giving up, the 3-block spacing (based on Megatower dimensions) marks the exact boundary of this walking zone. # Additional Placement Rules and Flow Logic # Road Side Alignment Bus stops must always be placed **on the exact same side of the street**. This specific setup ensures a highly efficient flow when **exporting** unsatisfied shoppers. # Import-Driven Logic (Bringing Shoppers In) If your city's goal is **importing** agents (bringing in shoppers from neighboring cities via regional buses), the logic reverses: Buses coming from the region must drop agents off directly at the highest concentration of local commercial zones that have unsold goods. Place a **single bus stop** in this commercial district before any other stops in the city. To optimize this dynamic, cities of this type benefit greatly from zoning commercial areas right next to the regional highway entrance. *Note:* If there are no other bus stops on the way from the entrance, regional buses will also drop passengers off directly at the Bus Terminal. # Tourist Cities and Wealth Classes * Tourist Cities:** In these scenarios, the bus system's role is strictly limited to moving tourists around locally once they are already inside your borders. * Class Restrictions:** Keep in mind that **only low-wealth and medium-wealth Sims** use bus stops and the bus system. High-wealth Sims will not use this form of transit.Sim City 4: "Hardware drive error, could not initialize DirectDraw" ?
Hello! Have just bough this Sim City 4 CD and installed it on to my machine. I try to open it and get the error message as in the title. Then I click ok, then it loads a black blank page and then quits the program. Also did the same with Sim City 3000, no error message this time when loading the program but it just hangs. Anyone know what it is please and how to fix it? ThanksGarbage Demolish Trick?
If you have a garbage dump and you demolish a dump zone dose the trash go somewhere else in your city or does the garbage in it disapear. Beacuse the dump zone is free, if the garbage in it dose disaperar when you demolish it (and it seems to) then you don't need incererators at all. Every once and a while you simply demolish the old dump zone and build a new one. This is a problem if it works, and breaks the game. Can you people at EA fix it. I don't know if this works or not, but it seems to.Account
When I redownloaded SimCity and then wanted to play my old account, I had a lot of accounts and the account I wanted to play was at the bottom part The problem is I can't move to that account because it's not in the first place of all the accounts I have Maybe there are tips?, to be able to switch to that account without having to delete all the previous accounts in the sequence. I also hope that SimCity can make it easier to change accounts Note: account is only associated with google play Sorry if my English is bad
The upgrade that stinks!
I’ve been playing Simcity Buildit on my tablet(s) for more than 7 years. I have enjoyed building a variety of cities….until about two months ago when a major “upgrade”….(actually a down grade) was made. I’m super disappointed as it, IMHO, taken away my motivation to continue playing, unless there is some way I can go back to the game as it existed in January 2026. I put a very large amount of money into because it was my entertainment, and I didn’t mind. Now however the enjoyment factor for me has been erased to the point I doubt I will continue unless I can get the older version back in place.error 17 - cannot connect to server
after the most recent upgrade for the mass transit building, i have been unable to connect to server. running simcity buildit, running on an android 9" pad error 17 - cannot connect to server comes up and it only allows me to play offline which we all know when playing offline you cannot do any train dispatches or weekly assignments or compete in war games with other teams i have uninstalled and reinstalled the game twice and i've also cleared the cache please advise is there is anything left to do, before i leave the game for good thanks.
SimCity 2013 unable to launch
Hi, I own SimCity 2013 (Complete Edition) on my EA account and it has been unable to launch. When I click Play, I get "This game requires administrative privileges" followed by "Failed to launch game - An error on our end caused the launch to fail." I have tried every known fix: reinstalling the game, reinstalling EA App, clearing cache, running as administrator, compatibility modes, disabling antivirus/firewall, patching the exe manifest, and installing Origin. Nothing works.
My EA Account is a bit messy
Hi folks, I just realized that my EA account lost all the order history (I only have a "quest_item" listed there without any value), and I am not being able to play some games. I have the licenses since I bought them and played before, but now I can't download anymore because it says that I can't download since I have to buy it (the actual message is in the attached print screen). I don't have the order history to proof I bought it anymore either. Just my screen that displays I own the game as you can see in the attached image. Do you guys know how to proceed? I am having issues with: SimCity Limited Edition Battlefield 3 The Sims 3 The other games at least are installing and working, but still is kind of bizarre.simcity apparently already playing
just downloaded simcity and it wont play. i checked that my laptop met all the requirements and it does. i click to run the game and it says im not connected to the internet, which i am, and asks me if i want to continue single-player or quit. clicking single player does nothing, it returns to my desktop and if i click to run the game again, it says the games already running. ive tried rebooting my laptop but still the same issue. whats going on? why wont it run? can anyone help please? 🙏Gritty Mine in Cactus Canyon
Good day! I love SimCity, and one of my favorite regions is Cactus Canyon. Would it be possible to create at least one area in the Mountain Area (for example, the one I circled) so that I can place The Gritty Mine there? The mine looks amazing, and the only region where it really fits design-wise is Cactus Canyon. It’s not necessary to add the train line there. I would just like to be able to place that mine, as it would look great in that spot. Please try to make it possible somehow. I love this game, and I congratulate the creators for the excellent work they’ve done so far.Simcity gets crashing
From March 16, Simcity gets crashing, I have done everything suggested like restarting mobile, clearing cache, reinstalling, keeping 10gb free space, but after I close app next time I can't open app. It needs reinstalling everytime. Even worse I can' t see Mayors cotest etc from today it gives message error 17. Please solve these problems soon.Suggestion: 10-Minute Advanced Filter for Global Trade
Subject: Feature Proposal: Advanced Market Search & Auto-Refresh System Dear SimCity BuildIt Development Team, I am writing to you as a dedicated Mayor with a specific two-part proposal to enhance the Global Trade HQ experience. The Proposal: Part 1: Advanced Search Filter (To the Left of the "General" tab) Adding a filter button that allows players to: - Select up to 5 specific items to search for simultaneously. - Set a quantity range (from 1 to 5 units). - Set a custom price range (e.g., from 5 Simoleons up to a custom limit like 3000). Part 2: Intelligent Refresh Timer (To the Right of the "General" tab) Implementing a 10-minute active session timer. Once activated: - The market listings will automatically refresh every 30 seconds for the duration of the 10 minutes. - This allows Mayors to see a constant stream of new sellers without having to manually close and reopen the market. Why this is needed: These features would make the Global Market much more dynamic and efficient, helping Mayors find exactly what they need within their budget and time frame. I hope to see these improvements in a future update. Thank you for your amazing work on this game! Best regards, City Name: Willow Forest Current Level: 31 Player ID: 2839022085 Email: [[edit: email address removed]]mass transit
I really don't like the mass transit because it takes up so much space, but barely covers any area and it feels like half my city is just going to be train stations. Even the ones that have the most coverage don't seem to be enough. Is there anything that's going to change with this? Is covering my city for mass transit even worth itA Sincere Request for the Future of the SimCity Franchise
Dear EA Strategy and Maxis Development Teams I am writing this message as a loyal fan and a long time player of the SimCity series. I want to share my thoughts on why now is the perfect time for a new SimCity title. Since 2013 the city building genre has changed but there is still a big gap in the market for the unique feel that only SimCity can provide. We miss the sophisticated simulation the distinct art style and the amazing music that made the series so special. With todays powerful hardware and AI the technical limits of the past are gone. As a player I am looking for a new SimCity experience that includes larger maps that allow for real city growth and deeper social simulations. I also hope for a strong single player mode that works offline and modern graphics that make the world feel alive. SimCity is a legendary brand. Bringing it back to its former glory is not just my dream as a player but also a great opportunity for EA. We are ready to be Mayors again. When will Maxis be ready to give us the keys to the city again. I look forward to seeing SimCity return. Best regards
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