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Cities in motion 2

Started by jamespetts, March 10, 2013, 11:02:52 PM

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asaphxiix

100 days of grace are soon over, and the game has failed to deliver a good simulation - I just don't see the point, when a ride through the center of the town can take 7 hours with no traffic jams.

Carl

So am I to understand that the game has not received significant patch support/bugfixes?

I almost bought it in the 66%-off sale on Steam the other week, but if that's the case, I'm glad I didn't.

asaphxiix

#37
it has been updated, and does work better now in technical matters (less annoying bugs), but this is a basic concept which I don't think can change very much.

It has virtues too which have been written here, but all in all the speed issue tips the scale against it, in my view.

edit: Indeed the method of associating lines with depots holds a very nice prospect of real time fleet management, but again it clashes with the distorted and unmanageable travel duration.

edit2: Also no autosave, and sometimes crashes.

Junna

Quote from: asaphxiix on July 02, 2013, 11:33:33 AM
it has been updated, and does work better now in technical matters (less annoying bugs), but this is a basic concept which I don't think can change very much.

It has virtues too which have been written here, but all in all the speed issue tips the scale against it, in my view.

edit: Indeed the method of associating lines with depots holds a very nice prospect of real time fleet management, but again it clashes with the distorted and unmanageable travel duration.

edit2: Also no autosave, and sometimes crashes.

The last point sure is a hassle. I noticed that last week...

But as for the simulation points: the  game added a option to customise some certain game simulation rules (including, most importantly, time!), which does make it a lot more enjoyable.

transporter

I actually do like it. A huge part is the budget, that directly shows the total costs and revenues from each transport type in the total budget. My main annoyance is the constant notifications of price changes

isidoro

I have kept playing for quite a while now and haven't observed a single bug or crash...  And I play in Linux with wine (no pun intended).

I like the freedom of the engine to build 3D structures/ways, crossings,...  I like the traffic jams.  I also like the graphics.  The build interface is also quite simple once you get used to it and its rules.

But the game seems a bit simple to me.  Campaign mode always consists in one of three objectives: more population, more coverage, more money...  But the cities are more or less the same, gamewise.  You also need a fairly powerful machine to play at ease.

I haven't tried network games.

And there are details very similar to ST: you can connect tram tracks to railway tracks, for instance.  It wouldn't be a surprise to me if the developers of CiM2 were also fans of ST.


transporter

Well, you can connect them, but I haven't been able to run trams on railways and vice versa. Is there a trick to that?

One other thing is the way the coverage area works. Instead of area covered by your stops, it looks like it takes the total population vs the population that uses your system. So you can have a really efficient system and run, say, 15% and have a huge bad system and run the same. And you can actually see the people leave your stations in droves if they wait too long. Which isn't much time either.

isidoro

To your first question, I must admit that I've read somewhere that it's possible to connect railway tracks with tram tracks and one of the vehicles can drive on the tracks of the others, but I haven't tried it myself.  I can remember that it said that only one of the two kinds of vehicles (metro or trams) can drive on the tracks of the other, while the opposite isn't possible.

To your second question, the way it is dealt with in CiM2 makes a lot of sense to me.  The game measures the percentage of people wishing to travel that use your network.  Maybe the name is confusing (coverage), but that way of doing things is quite logical: a busy line going through the city center is to be more important than another line visiting the suburbs, even if they cover the same physical area.

Also note that that coverage depends on time, even if you don't change your transportation system.  You may have a 50% coverage in the morning and a 80% coverage at night.


sdog

Cities in motion 2 has been added to the latest humble bundle. At the low price it might be worth a look.

Unfortunately there are only two US 'charities' available this time, unlike also the Red Cross in previous bundles.

Lmallet

Quote from: sdog on December 10, 2013, 09:52:00 PM
Cities in motion 2 has been added to the latest humble bundle. At the low price it might be worth a look.
...and there goes my money.

Carl

The link is here, for the curious:

https://www.humblebundle.com/

It's an impressive bundle even aside from CIM2. Depending on what you like, all the other games offer something interesting.

ӔO

I am playing it...

It's not too difficult to play, but it does seem to take time to build up finances for a proper backbone, the metro.

I am somewhat surprised that 40 seat trams get overcrowded so quickly, even with minimal bus feeder lines.
trams probably require something like a Prague layout or trunk and branch layout for optimal line use.

My Sketchup open project sources
various projects rolled up: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/17111233/Roll_up.rar

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asaphxiix

AEO how do you find the real-time mechanism?

ӔO

real-time mechanism?
It's more like time-dilation mechanism, isn't it?


Aspects I find are not working well:
- The scheduling is at odds with how fast the day goes by. It's a bit annoying to see trams that left on saturday night picking up passengers on monday morning.
- Stop coverage area. I can understand each stop being its own entity, but can't they share their coverage area if they are very close by and linked?
- Stop sharing. Why can't trams and buses use the same stops? Trolleys and Buses can.
- Line creation is okay, but editing lines to add stops is a hassle, as I haven't found a way to insert stops.
- Turning the vehicle around. Having to go into a depot or using a loop to turn around I can understand for trams. But why can't buses just make a U-turn on avenues?
- Another thing with avenues. Why are trams the only ones allowed to use the center?
- Depot capacity. There is a Small and Medium, but no Large or Extra Large.
- No station buildings, just stops and platforms.
- No macro level structures, like airports, railways, ports or even highways that connect off map.

Things that are nice:
- Route preview
- ETA to next stop
- Various road types
- Zones and ticket prices
My Sketchup open project sources
various projects rolled up: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/17111233/Roll_up.rar

Colour safe chart:

transporter

You're comparing it too much to simutrans. It's not meant to mimic or otherwise. And for perspective for your first point:  In simutrans it takes 'months' for a modern train to get across the US scaled map. And each stop is treated as it's own entity and that's all. The only way they're linked is if they're in each others influence area. Otherwise I agree with you, the mechanics could be a bit tweaked and there's little things that could be changed, but overall it does what it does well.

ӔO

It's just that the game has a full week of dynamic demands and a detailed scheduling system, yet it is at odds with how fast one day goes by.
In simutrans, there is no rush-hour or off-peak, so it doesn't really matter how long a month takes or how long it takes for convoys to make a full trip.

Other than that, once you have enough money for a metro line, the game becomes super easy.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17111233/CiM2save.rar
My Sketchup open project sources
various projects rolled up: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/17111233/Roll_up.rar

Colour safe chart:

jamespetts

It is always worthwhile comparing different games of the same genre. For what it is worth, Simutrans-Experimental has two explicit time scales with a precise relationship to one another (and even Standard has something similar, but more implicit, and it also lacks anything resembling timetables that make this of significance in any event), and the time on one of the scales is always precisely calibrated with everything else. Experimental also has a system for passengers taking into account the walking distance from their ultimate origin to any stop within range and the same at their destination to calculate the quickest journey. These are valid comparisons, albeit it is also noteworthy that Cities in Motion has a different emphasis from Simutrans.
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Lmallet

Quote from: ӔO on December 16, 2013, 04:32:02 AM
It's just that the game has a full week of dynamic demands and a detailed scheduling system, yet it is at odds with how fast one day goes by.
I am having problems with this too.  I've had to run some lines at night, Í regularly have people get on the tram during evening rush hour to transfer to a bus route at 2AM (next bus is at 7AM).

Otherwise I rather enjoy the game, I suspect I just need to get used to the dynamics.  I was having problems making money with bus lines, but once I started building tram lines I would be profitable pretty quickly.

transporter

Yeah, trams and metros are the cash cows. I only use buses strictly for feeder lines or spots I missed. I don't even touch the trolleys.

asaphxiix

gotta say this - been playing SC5 for a while - it's kinda great! execpt for a few annoying bugs. I really like the industry system.

sdog

cities in motion is announced to become available on linux.

http://www.paradoxplaza.com/press/2014/1/cities-in-motion-2-announces-new-monorail-expansion-and-linux-support

Quote"We believe in Linux as a platform for the future of gaming," said Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive. "Gamers who currently use Linux are a smart and demanding bunch, and they expect versatility and an experience that fits their personal preferences, which makes our games a great fit. We're bringing Cities in Motion to Linux because we believe it's just the type of game that Linux users will enjoy."

jamespetts

I saw that mentioned - interesting indeed!
Download Simutrans-Extended.

Want to help with development? See here for things to do for coding, and here for information on how to make graphics/objects.

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isidoro

I wish the best of successes in Linux!  I only hope there is enough market so that it is worth the effort...  I will surely buy the game to support the initiative.

Carl

This is a general trend, with Steam games supporting Linux to an increasing degree and the new SteamOS being built from Linux in itself.

sdog

I've just read cities in motion was available for linux now, on steam.

Those who played it: rather go for cities in motion 1 or 2?

ӔO

Not sure if this deserves its own thread, but Sid Meier's Railroads is on humble bundle right now.
My Sketchup open project sources
various projects rolled up: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/17111233/Roll_up.rar

Colour safe chart:

isidoro

Now that I see the thread back, @sdog: I liked both, but I prefer Cities in Motion 2.  Not as deep a simulation as ST, but worth the try.

BTW, it was a nice surprise that with my purchase of CiM2 in Windows I was able to play CiM2 in Linux at no additional charge.  Good point!  This way, I could try the game first with wineHQ and then, native...


ojii

Got CiM2 as it's out for linux now and looked like a pretty transport sim. Was disappointed when it turned out to be just that, a pretty sim. After playing simutrans for ages CiM2 is just plain boring. It's so easy that I started to completely ignore all economics and just build "cool" networks (mostly metro networks that build kinda neat systems). As mentioned above, the "rush hour" etc features are neat, but in my opinion completely useless. I just always use a "flat" timetable for all my lines, as in every day of the week the same rhythm for the whole day. 


Also the shockingly small amount of maps (no random generator?!) was a huge letdown.

jamespetts

There is a random generator, I think, isn't there? I do agree with you about the simple economics, however.
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sdog

I've decided for CiM 1, as they have lovely hand crafted scenarios, with rather beautiful european cities over a long timeline. It's rather pleasant to see those. There's no reason to play any scenario more than once though. They're too easy and simple. Fun and very relaxing game for a few weeks though. At many points it shows the developers were quite motivated to make not just a game that's enough to market it, but to make something rather lovely.