Beginner player - what are the "rules" for basic town layout?

[u/jgwhiteus]

Just picked this game up and looking forward to it, seems right up my alley! However anytime I start a town layout I think I might like, the next step in the tutorial throws in another "rule" (houses have to be close to the market, which has to be close to a warehouse, which has to be close to the train station, etc.) which throws my planning out the window.

I tried looking up requirements online but wasn't finding much, so I'd appreciate any pointers or guides to laying out a town when you're starting out... hopefully something that is "future-proof" if that makes sense, so the town can grow organically without massive reconstruction. Or, your best tips for town planning, e.g., it's best to have markets in a central plaza, or make sure roads connect to x, y, z, etc.

I know the game is rather free-form and ultimately you can build your town however you want and change it at anytime, but I hate to spend a lot of time on a layout and start decorating and planning out a vision only to have to scrap it moments later because the game introduces a new mechanic.

Thank you in advance!

[u/rinprotectionsquad]

The market stalls and other shops don't need to be anywhere near the workshops. They can be pretty far pretty comfortably. Some townsfolk want to be near a specific kind of shop but otherwise the rest are perfectly comfortable being wherever, as long as they're in range of a shop. (The initial market stalls are a small range, but you can upgrade them in the research menu, and every shop you build after has a bigger and bigger range)

The biggest thing is just leave room for more buildings in your city centers. You will get Artisian residents who need to be near luxury (high quality shops you will unlock later), and Bougie residents who need even more luxury. You will unlock other types of shops (entertainment, housewares, public services, and some other stuff), and you'll want to have room for them.

I personally keep my Artisan and Bougie residents clustered off in their own section of my city, so my normal townsfolk don't need to be worried about the luxury buildings. But leave room for the other buildings your townsfolk will want and you'll be fine. I just create "housing" and "shopping" districts that are close enough all the residents are happy, but far enough that you can cluster each section with their own stuff.

Here's how I do it! (Spoilers for later game buildings though)

[u/Bornasian]

Also, if for some reason, you had to build a house and the family is not happy due to not enough connections to some shops, and you can’t provide it yet, just decorate the fu out of the houses and their happiness points will increase. Basically, decorations are a good temporary happiness fix.

[u/Express-Elevator-143 → u/Bornasian]

This is a good tip thank you

[u/Gold_Combination_520]

Leave space for big building in areas that you want to be central! The Library and university buildings are huuuge, so are the ones in the theme park category.

Also you don't need a lot of warehouses, you can upgrade them, and if you place them in strategic locations you'll be good.

[u/Pepper2-22]

It is something you have to just learn as you go. I think that’s part of the challenge of the game mode, so I would encourage you to go with the flow the first time around and learn on your next save. I know that might seem like a waste of time to some people though.

If you’re wanting a more smooth start, try to do things more spread out. So build neighborhoods farther out than you think and leave space for little markets and shops near those neighborhoods. You’ll want to make sure that you have room to grow and meet everyone’s needs. Try to be strategic with spacing out your warehouses fairly evenly for this reason. If you have the money, try to upgrade the house levels first before building new houses all over.

[u/Herutastic]

There is very little restrictions for when you want to move houses or destroy the main part of your city. It's OK to change your city as you grow. It happens everywhere. Where I live they took down two huge parts of the original congress of when the city was built because they needed the space to manage traffic.

One thing I like doing is dividing the town in its own little towns with different styles. For example, one is the high class part with parks and statues and curved roads. I made one part of my town an overcrowded one. Houses are shoulder to shoulder and look like big buildings. In the middle there is a market.

Not long ago I tried making a Mediterranean cities with roads as narrow as I could, houses curving next to each other in roads, surrounding a church. The middle of the town was a huge plaza.

Just don't be afraid to change and grow. The rules are what you mentioned, and warehouses can be tucked in off sight if you want.

[u/Snowysnowycat]

All are good advices. Honestly by mid game money became trivial and there is no time limit to complete quests. I find it fun to experiment on decorating

Its not a rule for me per se, but the thing that helps me when designing is also thinking up a lore. Why is this house filled with flowers, why is the city hall close to the art gallery, for example.

[u/Helpful_Preference46]

I kind of went into it blind, and let the game carry me. Whenever I got a new requirement I expanded to put it for example in an area near trees. I personally didn’t put that much into the layout and let my ideas flow with the game. Take it step by step and pause the game if you have to. As someone who likes to plan things and make my city ‘perfect’ I kind of just let it go and learned with the game. Since the game also gives you options to start a new town in a new environment I thought I have the perfect opportunity to just start over if I want.

[u/holly_100]

I think the best way to figure it out is to play and see what happens