Realistic Cities For Dummies

[Terring7]

Interesting idea. I'm going to use a variation of your suggest to my Martian colonies in my M.D.

[FrankU]

I think your advice on how to grow the factories is really good. The filling of the tiles inbetween, on the other hand, is not my cup of tea.
For a high tech estate it looks quite appropriate, but for IM and certainly ID industry the parks and ped malls are too flashy i.m.o. For a realistic look I'd advise to use some industrial filler lots with props and also a lot without props. Other fillings could be rubble, weeds, empty waste land. Take a look at real industrial areas. You'll be surpirsed how much ground is unused and how much space is hardly occupied.

[smileymk]

Hello again, and thanks for your patience. I'll try to get the next one done quicker, but, like with the NAM, you'll just have to wait for it, and it will be worth the wait when you do.

Battlecat: High-tech industry is indeed what we're aiming for - this is the most realistic. Perhaps I should have mentioned it earlier. And I'm happy you found it 'visually striking' - this is exactly what we're after.

j-dub: The NAM retexture is out now, and it certainly looks good from what I've seen, but until a European version comes out, I'm afraid I have no personal use for it. Thanks for the heads-up, though.

Terring7: I'm glad you're inspired. Would like to hear more about this variation, though - it sounds interesting and could be helpful to many.

FrankU: Some good points. I'll say again that we're aiming for high-tech industry. And I know about the unused ground thing - that's why I recommended zoning as shown and placing grass parks and trees in the gaps.

And now, the lesson which you have been waiting for - facilities.

Lesson 10 - Facilities

In this lesson we're concentrating on the big, important facilities that any city needs - schools, hospitals, etc. Little things like parks are more suited to the lesson on suburbs (coming next).
And the first thing to learn is that there is more to building a facility than just plopping a lot. You have to place some infrastructure to go with it, as you will see.

As the police items are the first sub-menu on the Facilities menu, I thought it would be good to start with this. For a small town like this, you only need one police station. It should be fairly large and be situated in either the centre of town or the edge.

We'll build it on the edge, as space in the CBD is very limited indeed. And watch where you put it - on a main road is best.
You need to prepare the ground first:


It's a good idea with facilities like these to build turn lanes on the main road, as the entrance will be heavily used, at least at times:


Once that's done, a car park needs to be built. It's the same as before, and it should be fairly big, but not noticeably so - enough to cater for all of the town's cops:


And now it's time to place the building. As you only have one police station, the building you choose should offer citywide coverage. It should also be quite big - this is a police headquarters after all.
Once again, the lot you use is down to personal choice. I used the Police Administration Building, which I really think looks the part, and also provides the citywide coverage needed:


Our police station is now done, but we need a jail as well to deal with all of those crooks. This needs to be well away from your suburbs, and shouldn't really be near the police station (although it can be). On the edge of town is a good location.

You need to prepare the ground and add a street link as with the police station. Once done, add a car park (about the same size as the police station) and the jail buildings:


Now finish off by adding a high-security fence around the perimeter:


And that's the police facilities done.

Next up is the fire stations. Two buildings are fine for a town this size. Make sure you place them at opposite ends to provide maximum coverage, and on main roads to provide a fast response.
Building them is easy. Plop the fire station on the main road and drag an OWR-1 around the back to provide a way for the fire engines to get back in:


And that really is all you need to do. Now for the schools.

The schools you need, and how you build them, will vary depending on where you live. In England, it goes primary school (4-11), then high school (11-16), then higher education. Many counties also have middle schools (7-11), but for this entry-level project, we'll just stick with the two-school system.

A good place to start is with the primary school. Location wise, they should be on or near main through streets in your suburbs (we'll cover suburb street layout in detail next lesson). You need a small car park and a flat base first:


Now you can build the school. Place it so that the playground is at the back, away from the road. Then use grass parks to add a field behind it of the same size as the school. Then finish off with fencing:


They can be anywhere in your suburbs, as this image shows:


In terms of how many you should build, the rule is one per estate.

When it comes to high schools, however, you should build two for a town this size. And this is only to give parents some choice - one is really enough to serve this town but parents want to choose where their kids go to school, so we should reflect this.

To build a high school, select a site near a main road and flatten the ground. Then plop the building (building facing the road) and add a street link:


Then add car parks and turn lanes for easier access (and SAM for nice textures):


The next step is some serious ground preparation. You need to add paths for the school field, and flat areas for sports pitches. High school fields are usually fairly huge, so allow space for them:


Now you can add sports pitches, and fill in the rest of the field with grass parks. What sports you have depends on where you live - for England, football, rugby, and astroturf pitches are all on the menu. Then finish with a perimeter fence:


The second high school should be broadly similar, but vary the placement of certain items a little bit. You'll notice I used different paths for this one (which are, in my opinion, better than using ped mall here):


To complete the education establishments, place a big library in your CBD:


Now it's time to build the hospital. Again, the main road is the best location, and you only need one. Start with ground preparation - you need to make this site pretty big as we'll need a big car park:


Then build the car park and give the access street a nice asphalt texture with the SAM:


Make sure you add some bus stops on the main road - the hospital is an important destination for many bus routes. Connect it to the car park with ped mall:


Now put in the buildings. You need a walk-in centre, the main building, a helipad for the air ambulance service, and grass parks to fill in the gaps:


And that's it! You now know how to build top-quality facilities.

Next lesson is on the suburbs. I know a few of you have been looking forward to this one, so sit tight and enjoy it when it comes.

Until then,
Chris

[Terring7]

An another one interesting update
I'm going to follow your advise in my new cities. An another idea is to use underground parkings. All you need is to place an 1x1 exit-entrance and fill the rest of space with small plazas or trail parks. Very realistic and useful for large cities with no plenty of space... like Athens . Keep going

By the way, will be there any tutorial for the monorail-magnetic railroads and road trams? I make a use of a lot of them, so an advise will be very useful

[ldvger]

Overall, looking very good, but I notice a few potential problems with your medical facility.  1.) there is no stop light or crosswalk to allow folks who use the bus to cross the street at the bus stops, forcing them to jaywalk and put cars and themselves in danger.  2.) The medical buildings all have helipads on the roofs, so why the additional pad on the front lawn?  Also, the location of the ground level pad is quite a ways from the buildings, making it problematic to rush patients from the pad into the building AND exposing the patient to whatever weather may be occurring at the time of transport.  Perhaps a little subway station running from the pad to the building would help, or even some kind of covered walkway.

Lora/LD

[yochananmichael]

Thanks man this is really helping me cause I feel like a complete noob when it comes to this game. Well done so far I hope to get some pics of my city to post on here for you and the others to evaluate as soon as I can.

Edit: Here is my first attempt at terraforming please tell me what you think any help and constructive criticism is appreciated

[j-dub]

Well yochanmichael, in case your still here, I think you did a good job terraforming, the real challenge will be city building and working with the land, and some of those trees will be going down, I am sure.

[yochananmichael]

Re: J-Dub

Yeah I have played around with the terraforming and I think I am getting the hang of it. My current trouble is how to use the RHW and NAM pieces properly. When I try to make a diagonal or place a curve it doesn't seem to want to line up or connecting other things too it makes me all confused...sigh. I hope the author of the MD posts again soon its the kind of Tutorial-MD I have been looking for to really learn this game.

[smileymk]

I thought I'd better answer some of these questions - some of you have waited a while and some of you want my verdict on your work.

Terring7: Underground parking might be a good idea. I'll think about it. As for maglev systems and tram lines, they're not going to be in this first project, but there's a good chance I'll squeeze it into the second...

ldvger: 1) I agree, but I don't know of any suitable footbridge or subway lots. Any assistance would be appreciated. 2) They are the Maxis hospitals - I could tinker with them such that those helipads disappear, but that's something for a future project. And finally, my local hospital's helipad is positioned similarly to that shown in the last update, so that's where I got the idea from. A covered walkway is a good suggestion, though.

yochananmicheal: Because you have 2 questions, I'll answer in 2 parts:

1) (Your terraforming) - Generally excellent. I just think that some of your inland tree clusters are a bit too dense. Perhaps a little less trees on top of the hills will give you more overall. Also, a water mod (I use the Edmonton Water Mod) will help.

2) (Placing NAM pieces) - I would place the pieces first and work around them, using the filler pieces as and when necessary.

j-dub: Yes, some of those trees will end up coming down, but it will be for the best. In the city we're learning how to build, there have been a lot of tree-choppings.

I hope that answers all of your queries.

Unfortunately, Lesson 11 (the suburbs) isn't quite ready for posting just yet, mainly because my computers are being temperamental and/or painfully slow.
I will have it online as soon as possible, although it may have to be a truncated version, with just the basic things you need to do.

Later,
Chris

[yochananmichael]

...yochananmicheal: Because you have 2 questions, I'll answer in 2 parts:

1) (Your terraforming) - Generally excellent. I just think that some of your inland tree clusters are a bit too dense. Perhaps a little less trees on top of the hills will give you more overall. Also, a water mod (I use the Edmonton Water Mod) will help.

2) (Placing NAM pieces) - I would place the pieces first and work around them, using the filler pieces as and when necessary...

Unfortunately, Lesson 11 (the suburbs) isn't quite ready for posting just yet, mainly because my computers are being temperamental and/or painfully slow.
I will have it online as soon as possible, although it may have to be a truncated version, with just the basic things you need to do.

Later,
Chris

Chris,

Thanks for the help and advice. I know how it feels to have temperamental/slow computers...it sucks! I know you live "across the pond" from me and there is quite a bit of time difference but I am pretty good with computers as I have built, repaired, and troubleshooted a good number of my own as well as family and friends with good results. If you could PM me I may be able to help you get them back to a good running order so you can keep your fine MD up and going as well as the other things you use them for which if your anything like me is quite a lot. Well I do thank you again for the help and critique of my start and I look forward to Lesson 11 soon.

[blueeyesman]

Im giving this tutorial a try....just curious... is this good?

[smileymk]

Lesson 11 is finally here! But before I show it to you all, I need to say something.

As I'm sure you're aware, last week Japan was struck by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake (apparently the 6th largest ever recorded worldwide), and was then hit on its eastern coast by a tsunami which was over 10m high in places, which wiped out many towns on that coast and took over 4,500 people with it. And then the area was put on high alert after the Fukushima nuclear facility broke down, with 3 explosions.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say to those affected that we all support you here at SC4D and on this thread, during this very difficult time, and that we will continue to do so until you get back on your feet. I'm sure that the Japanese resilience and courage will get you guys through this in the end.

Japan - you are not alone.


And now, let's get back on topic.

blueeyesman: Looks like you've got an ambitious scheme planned. And it looks pretty good thus far - especially with the railways. However, there are a few ways you could improve:

- You have way too many trees. Try to keep the density of trees on land quite low, especially compared to the riverside density.
- On the east side, the south tunnel entrance with that avenue should probably be moved back a bit, because the huge cutting you've made is too tall to be realistic.
- The avenue bridge should be a plain bridge. The arch design doesn't really suit the avenue that well, and a plain bridge would look the part.
- Try to avoid using level crossings where possible. Use the NAM road viaducts to make the roads go over the rails instead.
- Turn lanes at the avenue junctions would enhance them greatly.

Your freightyard, use of retaining walls, and stations, however, are really good. I for one would like to know what station that central one is - I want it now!

And now it's time for the lesson.

Lesson 11 - Suburbs

The suburbs are, in my opinion, the second most important part of the city, behind the CBD, as these will be where the majority of people live. If done well, you can really make them look nice, so it's worth putting a lot of time and effort into them.

It's a good idea to design your suburbs as estates, like the industrial area. Main roads and railways make great boundaries for these estates, so make use of them.
To start a suburb, you need to build 3-5 main streets. These should run between the main roads that border the suburb. Make them quite curvy and windy, mix roundabouts and ordinary T-junctions where they meet, and don't forget to use the SAM asphalt textures on them to give them a good appearance:


Don't forget to include some turn lanes:


Now you need to build a few connecting streets between these main streets, to provide some more direct routes, and also to give more opportunities for side streets. I've highlighted the connecting streets here:


And once that's done, you need to build the side streets. These need to be dead-end roads that fill your suburb. Try to leave at least 2 tiles between each one though. The more random the layout is, the better, so vary the spacings between streets and vary the path and endings of the side streets:


There are a couple of ways you can vary the endings of your side streets to make your suburb a bit more interesting. You can end some of your streets with roundabouts, like so:


Or you could use a setup that I call the 'fan ending', as it looks like the blades of a fan:


You need some space for that fan setup, but it works quite well.

Before you can go about zoning, you need to build a few small facilities for the residents.

A big field is a good starting point, and will give the children a place to run around. You can also include a sports pitch of your choosing to cater for the local pub team:


It's also a good idea to connect some streets with paths. Don't have too many, but a few shortcuts here and there will work wonders. They also make great spots for little playgrounds, so it's a good idea to place playgrounds on some of these paths:


And finally, you need some bus stops. The buses that do run through suburbs often stick to a main route through the estate, so reflect this by picking a route along the main streets for your buses to run through and placing bus stops in 3 or so places along this route:


And now you're ready to start doing the houses.

Some of you might, at this point, be ready to dig out the ploppable RCI lots from your Plugins folders and start going on a ploppable-house-plopping frenzy.

Don't.

It's a laborious job, and it will take you a long time to pick the right lots and put them in the right place. You're better off getting out the zoning tool and letting the computer do the work.

You need to zone 1x1 plots of low density residential along all of your streets. The best method is just to click each tile individually.
You also need 1x1 or 1x2 plots of low density commercial along the main roads that border your suburb.

Keep going until you fill your suburb:


You're nearly done now. To fill the gaps, you can use grass parks, as well as trees. Along with making the ground look nicer, this can actually kickstart the development of your suburbs:


Once the houses start developing, you need to be aware of two things.

The first is lots that go beyond the 1x1 limit. These need to be demolished as they're too big for a suburb.

The second is outlined here:


You can see that these lots make use of retaining walls. Whilst in the CBD and commercial areas this is unavoidable, that's not the case for suburban development. They don't look good, so whip out the bulldozer and take any retaining walls you see out. Be strict about this and don't let any of your favourite lots off the hook.

And that is how you create a suburb.

Next lesson is on how to create a outskirts shopping precinct.

See you guys,
Chris

[sumwonyuno]

Did you happen to base the roadway layout on a real suburb?  I guess I'm too used to looking at blocky, dense suburbs here in Hawaii.  I really like the design of your streets because of the lack of repetition.   

[yochananmichael]

@sumwonyuno

I believe he did have a realistic suburban road layout but it wasn't based on any one layout in particular. I believe the reason you have such blocky suburban layouts there in Hawaii is because of the limited space where the density would necessitate the need for compactness and a strict adherence to a grid. If you take a look at suburbs on say the mainland US for instance you will see a similar road layout on the outskirts of any major city, minor towns, or rural areas but as you get closer to the urban core the residential areas start to take on more of a blocky squarish grid that you may be more used to there in Hawaii.

[SoujiroElric]

...I am so following this. Thanks for the effort! I always wanted to know what were the essential steps on building a realistic city.

A question. What if I wanted to build in one tile, for a whole region? Do you suggest me to work in a 1 tile region? Can I build in a bigger region, so I can expand this city later?

[sumwonyuno]

@yochananmichael: Thanks for your insight.

@SoujiroElric: You can expand a region to a larger size, but regions will only expand east and south.  You'll have to move tiles around if you want to expand north or west.

[ricardomiranda]

  Very cool you do this Diary can be sure that is helping many people

[smileymk]

Hey guys.

I do believe that this is the 97th reply - and you all know that hitting 100 replies will earn this MD promotion to the Best Sellers section.

And now that we are so close to this, it would be nice to make it there before Lesson 13. It doesn't really matter if we don't, but if we do, it will get many more members of this great community reading and following this tutorial, and will inspire them to have a go, which will be fantastic.

So, any assistance in hitting that milestone would be appreciated. I'm afraid I can't offer any prizes for the one who makes the 100th reply, except for my utmost respect and gratitude.

Thanks in advance. And now, let's answer those comments.

yoananchanmicheal:

1) (Response to my review) - Thanks for the offer, I'll think about it. My only concern is that, because of the distance involved (> 3500 miles!), it might take a long time for the relevant kit to cross the pond, which would delay progress of the MD.

2) (Response to sumwonyuno's comment) - You've hit the nail on the head. Indeed the layout is not based on anywhere in particular, but is instead meant to represent a typical British suburb found in nearly all British towns.

sumwonyuno: I don't know how it's done in Hawaii, but here, suburban road layouts are pretty random (besides the main through routes). Mind you, Milton Keynes is a bit more spacious and rural-like than Honolulu, so I guess we can get away with it here. But I'm glad you like how I've done it.

SoujiroElric: The effort is no problem. It's worth it if people like you are finding it useful. And you can play with a region as big as you want, in response to your question. You don't have to restrict yourself to any particular size. I'm just using a 1-tile region here to outline the basics of realistic city-building without making things too complicated. In future projects, we'll go regional, and you'll learn how to build realistically across multiple tiles.

Now it's time for Lesson 12.

Lesson 12 - Outskirts Shopping Precinct

The first thing to say is that this is a very simple, very easy thing to do. It only really involves plopping a few things.
The second is that, by an outskirts shopping precinct, I mean a collection of large shops on the edge of a town. Examples include Kingston in Milton Keynes, and Castlepoint in Bournemouth.

You need to first pick a suitable site - on the edge of town, along a main road. Beyond that it doesn't matter.
Once you've done this, flatten a 10x6 tile area (roughly) for the car park:


Then add a surrounding street, and access streets. Use the SAM-1 textures (parking lot textures) for the surrounding street, and SAM-7 (asphalt) for the access streets. To do this, arrange the puzzle pieces as shown:


(In other words, place the asphalt pieces at the start of those roads, and the parking lot pieces at the corner where it meets the access road, in both directions (clockwise and anti-clockwise).)

What you should end up with, after demolishing the puzzle pieces and re-dragging the streets (dragging straight from the puzzle pieces and away from the other SAM texture), is something like this:


We'll cover multiple SAM in more detail in future projects.

This will be a fairly busy place when in full operation, so add turn lanes where the access road meets the main road:


(Alright, the multiple SAM went away - the SAM-7 wasn't playing nice with the TLA-3. It doesn't really affect the realism - think of it as more parking spaces!)

(Also, notice how the curve to the west was modified. Be prepared to do things like this in the course of your city's development.)

Now you need to add the car parks. You should also place bus stops, but as you can see, we have these already here. Use the same set as before:


The retaining walls happened because the ground wasn't flat. Yours should be flat - take your time to make sure it is. I'm showing it so that you don't make the same error.

Finally, you need to zone. You'll need to use the parcelisation technique that you learnt in Lesson 9.
Using medium density commercial, zone 3x3 and 3x2 plots, touching each other, around the outer edge of the car park (but NOT on the main road edge):


And that's it. The buildings you want are about 2 storeys tall, and should fill each plot. It's one building per plot and one plot per building, like the suburbs.

Again, like the suburbs, be strict in removing and replacing lots that don't make the grade.

It really is that simple to make a good outskirts shopping precinct.

Next lesson will be on the outskirts proper - where you will learn about farmland, rural roads, etc.

See you then - hopefully in the Best Sellers board!
Chris

[yochananmichael]

Chris,

Another fantastic update I love the way you showed the shopping district. I am really looking forward to lesson 13. One question, though, I have been trying in vain to get the RHW 6C to curve and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get it to curve like you had it do in the lesson on Highways. I was wondering if you could tell me how you got it to curve and as always the Tutorial MD is a G-d send for newbs like me. See you in the Best Sellers forum!!!

[dedgren]

Nice tutorials and really decent effort overall here.  It's great to see an MDer eager to share what he or she has learned- it's my pleasure to get RCFD up to the line.

...99...


David