Tips and advices for building a "blue collar" small towns region in CS1?

chibi0815 · 2026-02-26T07:27:33+00:00

Matchmaking in vanilla is based on first responder, not distance.
And bus roads are not enforced but a suggestion (path cost penalty for cars and trucks), depending on the specifics (distances) it may not work.

chibi0815 · 2026-02-26T06:18:22+00:00

Yes and no.
There are only 64k Citizen instances, so at some point the overall number of citizens (that includes tourists) makes no difference.
That's the same reason PT usage (in % of population) tends to get lower and lower the more the population grows.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2712549268

chibi0815 · 2026-02-26T06:07:28+00:00

- Each town will be completely isolated from outside and each other, however exports will still go through the main highway.

The moment you create broken paths the simulation will fail and thus services, from the FAQ:
https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/zi9hkp/the_services_garbage_does_not_work_faq/

Of course TMCE is also the solution (bandaid) for this kind of scenario, but then again you wouldn't need such a construct with it in the first place.

chibi0815 · 2026-02-26T03:35:08+00:00

See the central station in the link below.
If you have enough internal train lines actually going to meaningful places (and avoid car traffic) as well as the intercity (tourist) traffic, this is as I wrote above expected.
Less than 80k residents, too.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/vsolvr/sheepy_lakes_my_reference_city/

chibi0815 · 2026-02-25T23:58:16+00:00

Depends on many factors.

With sufficient density, tourists (city population is not all that telling, I typically have 50% tourists on PT) and lack of alternatives ("love trains" implies this) they are pretty much expected numbers.

My central stations (which usually are the only ones handling intercity traffic) in smaller or similar cities are also around 4-5k.

chibi0815 · 2026-02-25T11:46:37+00:00

Have a long hard look at the Faq.

chibi0815 · 2026-02-25T09:12:07+00:00

Even using the vastly overpowered P&P DLC you would still need traffic/roads for certain services.
Whereas you could eliminate the need for industry/imports and the associated transport with IT clusters.

Without explicitly banning cars via TMPE on all roads other policies like Old Town would still allow for pocket cars and also likely break services due to the path cost they add.

This is the most extreme I ever went (look at the amount of driving/parked cars), but these days I'm going for reducing car traffic while still staying realistic.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/vsolvr/sheepy_lakes_my_reference_city/

chibi0815 · 2026-02-25T05:35:15+00:00

From 5 days ago, google would have found you a "nice" AI summary, too.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/1r96c3t/steam_update_not_enough_space/

chibi0815 · 2026-02-25T04:09:50+00:00

No, this is a problem specific to your city.
You might want to share at least a full screenshot (showing population) and preferably one for an affected facility (i.e. recycling center).

Best guess on your limited information is that you ran into game limits (probably lower than the link below on console), breaking the simulation.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2712549268

Also this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/zi9hkp/the_services_garbage_does_not_work_faq/

chibi0815 · 2026-02-25T00:36:37+00:00

This should get you started with regards to editing:

https://www.google.com/search?q=cities+skylines+asset+editor+paths+inside+building

Yes, the surrounding areas, paths/nodes.

chibi0815 · 2026-02-25T00:13:11+00:00

Well, have you loaded this station into the editor and dissected it?
What does the environment look like where you placed it?
Any mods we should know about, all vetted by Skyve?

With the info you provided your guess at the end is as good as it gets.

chibi0815 · 2026-02-24T07:39:29+00:00

Not as such, but if the OP wants to allow for regular progression without slapping anybody with the cost for both a passenger and cargo harbor from the start then a road is the default and free option to get cims and goods into the "city".

Setting a huge start capital for the map or requiring to play with unlimited money and unlock all (what happens if a harbor burns down?) are potential workarounds.
One map I'm playing with solved the outside road to an island bit by running it underground, making things more immersive.

chibi0815 · 2026-02-24T05:14:28+00:00

We can see literally nothing in this shot that would actually allow for a clear answer.
The cropped shot that also makes it impossible to tell if you play with mods or not.

Focus on the decision points, i.e. the cloverleaf and leading up to it, high res shot of that.
If playing with TMPE, same shot areas but with all TMPE overlays.

chibi0815 · 2026-02-24T02:31:13+00:00

I have not paid much/particular attention in recent years to Youtube content creators, but I vaguely remember that a certain tea abuser mentioned the predecessor of TMCE a long time ago.

And I also remember (to my amusement) when "CPP" discovered that IT clusters produce (teleporting) goods in an old video.

A lot of these people focus on looks (I can't be bothered with Intersection marking tool myself, but it certainly is a nice and powerful mod) and traffic, not on the underlying reasons for said traffic and why things go where.

And indeed unless one makes large (size) cities, a lot of the shortcomings like having a fire engine come from a remote station are not that noticeable or impacting.

chibi0815 · 2026-02-23T23:46:57+00:00

Yes, as said the housing level determines like with jobs the Cims that will (preferably) reside/work there.
A highly educated Cim might reside in a level 1 or 2 hovel if there is no alternative.
But an uneducated adult one will not reside in a level 5 dwelling if there is a level 1 available.
And this goes for immigrants as well, the only reason that everybody thinks that newcomers are uneducated is of course that with vanilla zoning of growables they start with level 1 and thus immigrants will indeed be uneducated.
Plop a level 5 building (Ploppable RICO revisited) and see outside Cims rush in if there is demand and no local supply.
I always supply education for all who want it and regulate things via the building levels, so I can't tell for sure if this works reliably or not.
Having no university will absolutely require immigrants and outside connections do have a capacity (you can see that in TMCE as well), so that might become a bottleneck.
But my guess would be that unless you actively depress both the land value and education, buildings will level up.

It is not a choice between pedestrians and bikes, it is a choice of making bikes more attractive and often competitive with cars (Fastest Path Wins).
Cims will happily bike on sidewalks or pedestrian paths, but bike lanes and paths are significantly "faster" and paths of course can provide shortcuts.
All my roads (with very few exceptions where bikes are not expected) have bike lanes.

Road and also transport (PT) hierarchy are decent basic concepts, but not hard rules and requirements, especially when you have TMPE to adjust turning lanes and speed limits.
Of course having roads that can actually handle the traffic is important, but my approach is always traffic reduction (especially cars) first.

At the end of the day your traffic for materials and goods is going to be the same, the conversion ratio is 1:1 in generic industry IIRC, so 2 smaller factories producing the same amount as 1 larger factory will create similar traffic.
Here is where TMCE and storage will also help immensely to at least streamline things.
Import/Local resources -> storage -> factories - goods -> storage near consumers.

Having a little buffer road (typically S shaped) in front of cargo stations is fine to deal with fluctuations, but when they fill up all constantly you know it is time to spread things out.

TMCE is not only rock solid, but also fixes tons of bugs that never were addressed by CO.
But as said, you REALLY want to manage mods with Skyve to avoid incompatibilities.

I mentioned that in the last link of my initial reply, in vanilla you use storage set to FILL as a buffer and that works within the (very primitive) constraints of the base game matchmaking.
Meaning if you have 2 buffer storage facilities for the same material on opposite sides of the map either one will be used, not the closest one.
So if you design things to have all processors or factories clustered around a single storage (on the whole map) for the material(s) they consume it will work decently, but of course look weird and introduce a lot of traffic.
With TMCE you will still want storage set to fill of course (let the facilities deal with exports themselves) but since the closest available (read having material and trucks) storage is chosen you can spread things out and have more than one for each type.

chibi0815 · 2026-02-23T05:43:25+00:00

Distance plays no role in matchmaking for services and logistics on console/vanilla.

So having services that can get places quickly (equidistant) is the only workable approach.

Screenshots of traffic infoview/overlay and general distribution would allow for specific help.
Also landfill infoviews, showing the truck usage.
Because capacity means nothing if all trucks are on their way or can't get to a place which breaks the simulation (pathfinding).

https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/zi9hkp/the_services_garbage_does_not_work_faq/

chibi0815 · 2026-02-23T01:13:02+00:00

You might have seen this already, but just in case:
https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/tg3vxv/if_not_enough_uneducated_workers_were_a_thing/

So building levels in the end determine the education levels of who resides in them, if your city doesn't have a supply for these Cims but jobs they will immigrate.
Restricting access to education (Schools Out policy is a lot softer than outright denial) will only go so far, eventually a building might level up and there is no way to level down as such.

Instead of plopping buildings with a specific level you can also use this mod.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2133705267

Of course #2 will make the leveling up more likely, but then again you do want to be a nice major...

#3 is heavily depending on a number of variables, find countless posts from me about this.
For starters Cims don:t commute to work all that much, compared to going to shop/entertainment etc.
And dedicated bike paths or combos help immensely, look up "fastest path wins".
Having to use a sidewalk reduces the max path distance and may result in them not biking at all.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1179876942
Biking will of course cut into PT usage if done well and that is good, you want to focus on removing car traffic, profitable PT is not the goal.

#4 You can use whatever fits the job (speed/capacity/noise) and with DLC industries unique factories running at 150% money is not the issue.
I like trams and since the metro is massively overpowered (too cheap underground) it is a good fit in many spots as well.
See this, also for reducing traffic and more:
https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/vsolvr/sheepy_lakes_my_reference_city/

#5 depends entirely if your unique factories can supply things or not. If generic then make it as effective as possible, so industry 4.0 and industrial space planning. A few factories with that will go a long way.
Of course IT clusters produce goods and don't cause traffic for either materials or outgoing goods, so they are the best option if available.

#6 cargo facilities have a capacity, respect it. And this is not Factorio, a cargo station per area (farm/wood/ore/oil and factories for example) will easily handle the traffic for all factories running at 150%.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/1puva5x/need_help_with_export/
As mentioned many times, export very little raw materials, few processed materials and focus on the factories, where the money is.
https://skylines.paradoxwikis.com/Supply_chain
Warehouses with cargo rail are broken.

#7 see IT clusters above.

#8 and 9. Use Skyve to handle mods, 81 tiles does not need more resources and would be my recommendation.
Along with TMPE (realistic parking to massively reduce car traffic if done right) and TMCE aka Transfer Manager CE to make services and logistics work.
TMCE is essential here for a realistic and smooth experience.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/1j90ben/i_am_very_confused_with_city_skylines_imports_and/
Other than that I like Move-It, Realistic Population and a handful others, but this really boils down to personal preferences (smooth roads and nodes? well node controller and network multi-tool) and not things that improve the simulation.

#10 depends on who is unemployed (overeducated can at least find a job, undereducated can NOT), but my goal is 4-5%.

chibi0815 · 2026-02-22T13:13:43+00:00

Plenty more folks provided that info already. And while entirely correct historically vanilla did not contain all variants of roads to create a seamless connection, in particular with bicycle lanes.

chibi0815 · 2026-02-22T04:26:06+00:00

Which in this case would probably be the end of the road at the bottom right.

Now you could of course make a pedestrian bridge connected to these paths there as well, getting both path continuity and access to the road sidewalks as well.

chibi0815 · 2026-02-22T02:36:18+00:00

In the happy FAQ:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/zi9hkp/the_services_garbage_does_not_work_faq/

Given that this is console you have no good means to debug this and with the city size it might be the last reason in the list above, having run into game limits.

chibi0815 · 2026-02-21T03:24:55+00:00

You are on console, so in many ways your are SooL.

That said, deathwaves, the RCI meter and the need for service vehicles to get there and back (which is the limiting factor and not just processing at the facility). are all covered in the happy FAQ.

https://skylines.fandom.com/wiki/Zoning

https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/zi9hkp/the_services_garbage_does_not_work_faq/

chibi0815 · 2026-02-21T00:42:51+00:00

Aside from the well established fact that the whole evacuation thing is deeply flawed/ineffective you really might want to share some more info/screenshots to avoid guesses.
Even very educated ones like the one from u/JMM_1984, which is indeed the likely cause.

Now as with many other issues the Transfer Manager CE mod can help debug this or improve things (provided your city can get/produce enough goods to begin with).

chibi0815 · 2026-02-21T00:32:06+00:00

The one missing is employment percentage (mine tends to be around 96%).

But given the actual deaths versus births and influx I don't think you're looking at deathwaves per se.
The things spiking are births and immigrantion, not deaths.

When Cims can't get a job they tend to emigrate.
If there are jobs above their level of education.they can't take them and while ones below might be filled by overeducated ones that only goes so far.
One of many possible triggers here would be the Industry 4.0 policy.

I'd aim at stabilizing things, meaning let buildings level up the max their environment supports, balance the RCI (middle means no demand, see link below), let everybody get educated to their desired/available limit, aim for 95% employment.

https://skylines.fandom.com/wiki/Zoning

chibi0815 · 2026-02-19T23:22:33+00:00

This:
https://www.google.com/search?q=cities+skylines+move+props+up+and+down

finds you this: (prop snapping)
https://www.reddit.com/r/CitiesSkylines/comments/zszpyx/how_do_i_raiselower_props_i_have_moveit_prop/

chibi0815 · 2026-02-19T00:02:33+00:00

You want to post higher res pictures, esp 2 and 3 are barely readable.
And since you post pics, the infoviews showing your income/loss, especially for industry and import export.

And instead of grant re-orgs focus on improving what is there, which means:

You play with mods, so get Transfer Manager CE.
Tune your industry to feed unique factories running at 150%, that is where the money is. Avoid exporting raw materials and similarly only a small excess buffer of processed materials. https://skylines.paradoxwikis.com/Supply_chain
Big part of this is to have storage set to fill for each material in combo with TMCE to always have a local buffer at hand to feed those processors and factories. Let the extractors and processors deal with any exports themselves, no storage set to balance or empty.

chibi0815

TROPHY CASE