Archived from groups: alt.games.simcity (
More info?)
Freight time is how long it takes a truck to get from the specific company
to either the city border or a seaport. It will choose whichever is closest
geographically, even if its not the fastest route. I say company instead of
lot, because the game will often "lump" connected lots together and treat
them like one. Freight is not used by commercial zones. Its shipped to the
edge of the city and then "vanishes." That edge can have a neighbor city or
not. All that matters is the connection.
Freight will use rail to ship their goods if the rail connection is the
closest neighborhood connection and its adjacent to one lot in a company.
Otherwise the trip will originate as a truck. Trucks can be converted into
trains if they pass a freight station on their way and the rail trip is
faster.
If you are running Rush Hour, you can use the Route Query tool to see how
specific companies are shipping their freight. This can help identify
potential bottlenecks.
With this in mind, there are a few methods in city design to help lower
freight times. First, keep your industry located near an edge of the city.
This is good advice overall, as it makes handling pollution a much easier
proposition. Second, provide as many road neighbor connections as fits your
road network near your industrial zones. This prevents one connection from
being overloaded and slowing down the whole system. Third, unless you
specifically design your transportation network around it, rail lines are
less effective at shipping freight than simple road connections. You don't
earn enough in transit fares to offset costs without a good amount of usage.
Finally, only use seaports when a road connection isn't possible, like on an
island or peninsula. Even then, cut back its funding to match its usage.
JB
"Dave "IT"" <canttell@dueto.spam> wrote in message
news:xwl4d.19028$pA.1280501@news20.bellglobal.com...
> No matter what I do with my indusry, I always seem to get freight time
> being
> 'long'. I have rail touching the zones, roads, electricity, water, etc.
> I've tried using the Freight Station, but it doesn't seem to make a
> difference. I must not be using it correctly.
>
> Can someone explain to me how to use the freight station, and any other
> methods of reducing the freight trip times (other than building closer to
> commercial) that there are.
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Dave
>
>
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram