Hi everybody,

I had experienced with the construction in Tropico 1,2,3:

T1: The builders have to walk on foot anywhere in the island, so it takes so much time if you want to build smt far away from the construction office.

T2: You can create some temporary construction tents (near the building site), then remove them after the works finish.

T3: Relying on lorries, the builders can move to the site so fast. But, after work shift if near the site no garage, they went back to their residence area ON FOOT(you could see the builders will stop working once evening happens and will resume the work in the morning). The way home back takes so much time. My strategy at the 1st stage is to build a garage first, near the site of a money-earning building (mines) but sometimes the mines are so far away from the construction office, so it takes some months when the builders must walk on foot to be back to their houses (near the office). You could see the builders just resumes working when they enter their office first.

My proposal as follows (for the next version or exp of T3):

1.Keep the same as of now, but the lorries will come to the site after work shift and take the builders home.
2.A mobile construction lorry will collect every builder, one by one, then transport them to the site and wait until the work shift finish and take them home/office.
3.The builders will gather to a packed mobile construction office, then we can move the lorry to the site then unpack it and start building (same as Command&Conquers series: The headquarter or smt like that could be packed and unpacked)
4.Every builder has a transportation mean in his inventory (same as characters of TPS games). When he is at the site, his car could park besides him (near the site, along the road). Once he finished his shift, so comfortable for him to move back to his house or any area for his daily needs. The thing I'm worrying abt is so many cars parking around the island (along the road system) and if it makes a heavily graphical problem.

Note my no.4 (I think it's the best idea):
This proposal could be applied for any working citizen in Tropico (except for the unemployed). The garages at that time will be less busy or we don't need garages even (Individual cars could be parked inside the residential buildings, same as armory, mine, jewelry factory, port,...)

Further, a bus system around the island is also a good idea. Imagine, some buses will move around the island with some circles/routes (we must set up from this point to that point around the island for resident's convenient movement). The resident will gather at the nearest bus stop and wait until the bus comes (of course, they have to wait, same as in the real life). Is it not better than the way the garages now is working? If this proposal comes true, new feature_Bus company will appear in the next version or expansion.

O.K, I'm waiting for the developer's counter reply. Hoping my proposals are not useless.

The bus idea makes sense. Or even a taxi service, that you could set the fee's for. No one gets the bus home after getting wasted at the pub, they a get a taxi.

Seems logical, and keeps to the 1 person per car system. It would be no different from when the cars return to the garage themselves, expect driving to the person.

Yeah i like the bus/taxi idea best, it will also add two extra buildings into the gameas well as prevent long walks home.

You could also have two options on the buildings. Tourist/Tropico.

For Tropico, it could be free/real cheap. For Tourist it would be, naturally, 300% overpriced.

I was thinking maby a Train service or even a bus as you mentioned earlier and you can place the track and stations. A train station would take your tropicans around the island much faster but it will cost more to construct. But bridges will be a good idea to go over roads ect and make level crossing. but maby that will be to complicated .
I was also thinking maby have road upgrades like bridges, traffic lights, round abouts, one way roads, motor ways. I dont' know why but I find building routes ect for my tropicans fun and adding road changes would speed up your people when getting from place to place.
Maby have a new tab for travel. Liked your idea about waiting I think the same should happen to el presedente.Hope this would come out if there is an expansion .

Completely off topic but I think in decorations they should have a bench for people to sit down on (a bench by itself)
Many Thanks
Oli

Olithe1st wrote:

"Completely off topic but I think in decorations they should have a bench for people to sit down on (a bench by itself)"


Actually there are already benches in the game. The small and larger parks, the luxury hotels, the cathedral, the police station, clinics and hospitals all have benches in them and I've watched my Tropicans sit down and use them. Zoom in on some of these buildings and you will see them also.

but i mean to put on a beach or something and watch your tropicans sit down to decorate the place.

(26-02-2010 07:25 PM)Olithe1st Wrote:  but i mean to put on a beach or something and watch your tropicans sit down to decorate the place.

Then place a small park from the decorations menu. It can be placed on the beach and will look nice next to say a scenic outlook. When a tired Tropican or Tourist walks by and needs to rest, he will use the bench in the park. But he has to have idle time and also be tired to sit down. You cannot force him to sit down.

yer lol I surpose so but sometimes there is no space

Buses and taxis would both align with real world. I was recently in Cartagena and very few own cars, taxis are everywhere. Only those who live out in the country own cars, out of necessity. I was also in Guatemala and train tracks ran along the main highway, but the tour guides said the gov run train company was closed down about a decade ago.

Actually, the transportation means must follow what happened in Caribbean Countries mid of 20th century, so we don't insist what was on in New York (high way, bridges, traffic lights, round abouts, one way roads, motor ways,...) to Tropico.

1/Watching some films on 1950's Caribbean life, I saw that they got colorful and classical buses. Utilizing this idea, the developer can create a bus route system around the island. I make an example:

From the city center to a farm far way, we can set up a bus route, on this route there are some bus stops (simple poles with signal board) along 2 sides of the the road (2-way road), 2-4 buses travel from the 1st to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th bus stop,,,, and to the end stop then return. This cycle is non-stop (the garages as of now is also doing as non-stop) . The qtty of buses will be based on how far the route is. On the way to the farm, there are some areas (residence or production) along 2 sides of the road, people can move and gather to the nearest bus stop and wait to catch the bus. But, the complicated thing I think will be AI. AI will choose the bus stop of the way to or way back, but AI as of now is doing well with the garages in choosing the way to or way back. Furthermore, the garages occupy so much space and often get overloaded when they have to serve so many people.

2/Actually, the cars from the garages as of now act as individual cars or taxis (one car for each) and the garages are actually taxi stands. This is unreal compared with the life in Caribbean countries in 1950s. Taxis were just for rich Yankee tourists only.

3/Work shift:
Related to movement to work on time, workers must concentrate as a team (team of a farm, team of construction office, team of factory,...), in case individual cars or bus stops are so complicated, car/van/lorry/truck of the production unit will collect its workers (one by one) to guarantee the work shift on time and carry the workers back home when the work shift finishes.

Do you think there is a complicated problem on AI in 1/(idea on bus stops) and the developer can't deal with it ? I prefer this idea to others as it's near to the real life. 3/ is the same. 2/(one car for each) (maybe easy for AI) but unreal.

@Olithe1st:

I think the car of El Presidente can depart and park from and inside the palace (same as amory), not relying on the garages as of now. Is it not better for El Presidente's movement?

Its funny that my El Presidente had to takes months to walk on foot back to his palace at the initial stage, lol (when less money can't afford building couples of buildings.

up-----------------------------

still no counterback?