I was just just wondering what factors affect the quality. Is it the pollution or maybe the people living in it? Maybe the beauty of the area?

Sometimes its higher


and sometimes lower

Looks like you got air conditioning & probably a fire station nearby.

Yes on both of them. So they are equally air conditioned and protected from fire.

(12-09-2011 01:39 AM)weltall Wrote:  Yes on both of them. So they are equally air conditioned and protected from fire.

One of the fire house settings boosts housing quality for some reason.

I don't think that Environmental factors such as Beauty or Pollution noticeably affect Housing Quality. The only way I know to maximize housing quality is Normal Maintenance, Building Inspection and Air Conditioning (if applicable).

(12-09-2011 02:34 AM)ZalmanK Wrote:  I don't think that Environmental factors such as Beauty or Pollution noticeably affect Housing Quality. The only way I know to maximize housing quality is Normal Maintenance, Building Inspection and Air Conditioning (if applicable).

-Pollution has no effect on Housing Quality
-Beauty has no effect on Housing Quality

Pollution decreases Beauty, which has is a "Happiness" attribute in its own right. Environment Happiness and Housing Satisfaction are independent of one another.

Well as soon as I demolish the casino on the other side all the houses get the 85% quality back. I am guessing though your were almost right about the nearby fire station. Although I had 2 fire station one like next to the houses and one 3 blocks away. When I turned off the close by from the cat in a tree the houses remained normal. When I turned off the far away the houses went -10% down (to their normal). I am guessing the casino was just taking up the influence of the fire station and as soon as i brought it down they went back to normal? Or maybe tropicans believe casinos are bad to have around your houses. Aw well anyway this is solved and its nice to know how fire station can be useful more than just a bit (for me, since I rarely had fires and I usually just paid 5000 to put them off)

I had no fire stations near my housing complex and after several years, one of my apartments caught on fire due to "neglect". Seems the fire station may play a more important role in the game than I originally thought, especially since I didn't realize it improved housing quality until reading this thread. Are there other factors people have discovered?

(12-09-2011 05:32 AM)jtracy Wrote:  I had no fire stations near my housing complex and after several years, one of my apartments caught on fire due to "neglect". Seems the fire station may play a more important role in the game than I originally thought, especially since I didn't realize it improved housing quality until reading this thread. Are there other factors people have discovered?

I think that neglect may be random. I've had other buildings (at least one Market) randomly catch on fire during the campaign due to neglect. I've only noticed fires being caused by four things: random neglect, drought, volcano eruption or campaign triggers. Volcanos and droughts have caused the most fires for me.

Droughts for me. Still the fire station is helpful only in the beggining. Later in game paying a couple of times 5000 to put off each fire, even if the building costs less doesn't really matter to me. But then again since fire station ups the quality by 10 I can see myself building it a lot now.

poplution lowers evoirnmental, which if your in a poluted area it will decrease happiness.. ratings really arnt the only thing, as many are unseen ratings.


that said. a little tip on that block set up you have..

I would put 2 garages facing out, (basiclaly in line with that catheral.. and put a grade school in the middle, the catherdal would go better next to where the garage is now.. that would greatly increase the speed at which your people get around. id also move that restraunt/theater, and get a market in there. When you can, you really dont want tropicans walking more than a few blocks.. basically anything more than a few months of walking is too much.

You should see my other maps then. This one I did only because it was the last mission so I thought of being more organised then usually. For me the towns I built were random roads pulled and closing randomly with buildings around. Being on the last mission slightly organised made it so much easier that I felt I should have been random again XD. I really enjoy my islands to look unorganized rather than perfect. Although I am feeling like making a tourist island and making it all tidy and nice

Responding to the Casino lowering housing quality, I believe crime lowers it, so the casino might have brought in enough crime to lower it by one point.

Thanks. From now on I will look more into crime then. Thumbs up for the tip