City Planning Rambling

[DeletedUser20951]

Your one-stop spot for musing about your current endeavors in the game! Okay, more of a miscellaneous spot for commentary regarding whatever you are getting up to with your city (or cities), that doesn't quite fit in with other threads, nor really demands a thread all of its own, if you have the hankering to.

I've finally, finally at long last, unlocked the dreaded Orc Age, although I don't truly dread it, because I am a mental snail in human flesh and a slow pace doesn't bother me. While I made a vague, soon forgotten note of the fact in my head at the start of Fairies, it still completely slipped from my mind until recently that the Fairy Armories become smaller than their predecessors, and I've a decent amount of ground to cover there to bring 'em up to snuff. I want to make room for the Fairy Wonders, too, since I'm leaning towards building both. Now having leave to scout and clear provinces should snag adequate space to do this, and, uh, maybe the Orc Stuff. Haven't decided on how many of what I'm going to construct, and may simply make gratuitous use of the slew of portal profits I've amassed to squeak by with as few farms/thingies as possible. Yeah. Yeah, I'll probably do that, but I need to actually take a look at the requirements, which I'll do... eventually.

And that disjointed account is basically as close as I ever get to planning anything in the game.

I WELCOME YOUR OWN RAMBLINGS.

 

[Deleted User - 312108]

I have been reorganizing my cities now that I am half-way through Dwarves on the live servers (at least in US1-4) I have updated US1 & US4 and will work on my 'sleeper' cities on 2 & 3. US 1 & 4 I am still partaking in events but in 2 & 3 I am setting them up to be able to upgrade vs. partake in events at least until I advance to chapter 7. I am proceeding somewhat slowly as I'd rather read and have pesky IRL items such as my home purchase and that evil thing called work to deal with.

 

[DeletedUser20951]

I have been reorganizing my cities now

Do you enjoy the reorganizing? I've found I have to be in the right mood for it, or it feels as though the sky is tearing asunder, existence no longer has any rationality, and I must pull myself, kicking and screaming and wailing, into the rearranging.

I am proceeding somewhat slowly as I'd rather read and have pesky IRL items such as my home purchase and that evil thing called work to deal with.

Same! CURSE YOU, WORK, and I like to not exclude my other hobbies. Variety is the sanity-reinforcing condiment of life!

 

[DeletedUser2959]

The ever-shifting footprint of residences and workshops require almost a full layout change every chapter. It's a challenge but it keeps your mind busy.

 

[DeletedUser23732]

City Planning? . To look at some, that concept seems lost. . While other cities look like the king/queen obviously took great care to plan the location every building or neighborhood. . There were many cities I viewed that showed the final size of the buildings long before I managed to open the Wiki. . My first thought was: "I don't like housing in the city, there's so many, it's just clutter."

That led me to make a double row of housing around the city. . That appears to be a failure, can't make the W edge of the city in time that way. . So here, on us2, I plan to try a single row along the N edge. . When I reach the W edge, it'll cost two tiles just like the E edge, but the residences need to be 5 squares E/W (?x5) [depth]; and that, will work best on a N/S road.

Who says running strips won't work? . I say, sure it will, until a building's dimensions are < 5 on a side.

Want to here more...just ask!

 

[DeletedUser23732]

The ever-shifting footprint of residences and workshops require almost a full layout change every chapter. It's a challenge but it keeps your mind busy.

Interesting view!

If you base your city on building size & shape, then moving everything sounds required; perhaps you could do what I did. . I've based my (lehayes) city (zz1) on the building's largest size and shape. . That way you will not need major shifts in your city organization. . An example, would be the Workshop (WS).

My "Main Street", splits the 2nd tile off the E-edge of the city. . For humans, that's the column (N/S) at the west edge of he MH when your city begins, for elves it is one column West of the Main Halls W-edge as Elven MH starts smaller. . Either way, the road leaves 7 squares to build in all along the E-edge. A width of 7 turns out to be magical.

I started off with a width of 6, because that was the final size of residences. . I had to slide my whole city W one square because the longest depth of a WS is 7. . But what strikes me as magical (planned by PTBs) is the way things fit in that space. . Not only do the Workshops jump from 3x5 to 6x3, a double column to a single column, a place I'm about to see (I'm working on Dwarves on beta), but the WS and the Res fit well together there (2x4 Res,2x4 Res, road) are the same 5x3 size that the WS are. . So now, instead of a Temp Road (footpath) for a double column of 3x? I have 6 footpaths supporting my 6 WS. . I can't wait for the Fairy Chapter.

Or, did I completely miss what you were saying?

 

[Deleted User - 312108]

Do you enjoy the reorganizing? I've found I have to be in the right mood for it, or it feels as though the sky is tearing asunder, existence no longer has any rationality, and I must pull myself, kicking and screaming and wailing, into the rearranging.

Same! CURSE YOU, WORK, and I like to not exclude my other hobbies. Variety is the sanity-reinforcing condiment of life!

Sometimes yes and sometimes no. I actually have a spreadsheet and tend to wait to do it until I have a certain number of expansions saved up. If I can get things to fit the way I want and have room to upgrade (and enough pop for it) it is enjoyable, when I don't have enough room or population to support upgrading of buildings.... then it is frustrating. Sometime it takes me a couple hours and sometimes it takes me a week or more (because I just don't want to do it). I do my planning on ElvenArchitect and that is enjoyable.

 

[DeletedUser20951]

"I don't like housing in the city, there's so many, it's just clutter."

Oh Gods, the house clusters! SO MANY HOUSE CLUSTERS. I have even more than most, given that I rarely take advantage of the pop/culture buildings, but I do try to be somewhat creative with their placement (efficiency is not my main concern). Right from the bat, I've disconnected the majority of residences from streets, which caused a coin deficiency early on because I didn't keep enough generating gold (Pro Tip for shooting yourself in the foot in a very dumb, preventable way), but, overall, I treat them like culture structures and stick 'em out in Limbo.

I've based my (lehayes) city (zz1) on the building's largest size and shape.

If I had the patience for it, this seems like a method I would enjoy (I'm grow fond of how my city is and rarely am happy with massive overhauls... until I adjust to it XD). Alas, I don't often save enough extra space for much of anything, preferring, in most instances, to simply decide on a few buildings I want to upgrade to a larger size and then figure out how to make 'em fit.

If I can get things to fit the way I want and have room to upgrade (and enough pop for it) it is enjoyable, when I don't have enough room or population to support upgrading of buildings.... then it is frustrating.

Usually, I run down my population and culture into the ground, making use of as much of it as I can in the room I have available, but I've been accumulating a decent chunk of both due to Wonder and crafting thingies leveling. I still tend to go pretty gradual (and random) on upgrading, without mass focus, since I don't like having many of the same type of buildings out of commission, nor to be scrambling for resources. I got a lot of stuff that needs to be brought into the current chapter, though, and probably should plan more.

 

[Deleted User - 312108]

Yeah; my residences are 16/17 (max is 17) but there are a lot of things I have not maxed out. But I am hoping to get everything at least up to 15. The building orientation shifts and size changes definitely require a bit of extra space and planning to deal with though.

 

[shimmerfly]

I have to be in the mood to sit and rearrange. Usually between chapters or if I get tech locked but sometimes I really enjoy it. A glass of the grape helps. Giving up some of those event buildings is a tough one!
Our beloved @SoggyShorts used to say to think of your city as a puzzle...This made sense to me. I tend to think of it as re-arranging the furniture too but it's part of the challenge I enjoy
https://us.forum.elvenar.com/index....ow-easier-redesign-of-city.17751/#post-119664

 

[DeletedUser20951]

Our beloved @SoggyShorts used to say to think of your city as a puzzle...This made sense to me. I tend to think of it as re-arranging the furniture too but it's part of the challenge I enjoy

YES! A puzzle like those little boards with squares in 'em and an empty square space that you slide the squares around in to shift into a picture (they probably have a name, but I don't know it) THAT I CAN ALMOST NEVER SOLVE! I look at it like that, and, now, also as arranging furniture. : D

 

[DeletedUser20951]

Went about the aforementioned rearranging to make way for the Fairy Wonders the other night, ended up tinkering for close to five hours when I should have been sleeping. I accomplished that and even managed to slightly increase street efficiency, a feat in and of itself. Now, what is noteworthy about any of this is that I almost immediately liked the new layout better than the previous. Never has that happened before! I was both pleased and disquieted by the odd break from my customary loathing of change.

Behold! MY MASTERPIECE.

​

 

[Fayeanne]

For me, the biggest troubles in rearranging the city come from:

1) When I want to swap two buildings that are the same size but can't because I don't have an empty space big enough for one of them to sit in temporarily so that I can move the other one in the first one's place; and

2) The fact that I want my city to actually look halfway decent and not just squeeze random buildings into any location where they fit.

I find myself trying to group related buildings together (all the ones with snow on them are over in the perpetual winter corner where for some reason it snows all year round) and making little "themes" within the city, which of course means that the buildings aren't arranged optiminally for maximum performance...

I guess the biggest reason why I dislike rearranging the city is because once I get an arrangement I am happy with, I don't like having to destroy it.

 

[DeletedUser2959]

Do you enjoy the reorganizing? I've found I have to be in the right mood for it, or it feels as though the sky is tearing asunder, existence no longer has any rationality, and I must pull myself, kicking and screaming and wailing, into the rearranging.

Same! CURSE YOU, WORK, and I like to not exclude my other hobbies. Variety is the sanity-reinforcing condiment of life!

One of the truly nice parts of this game is that pace doesn't matter.

 

[DeletedUser20951]

I find myself trying to group related buildings together (all the ones with snow on them are over in the perpetual winter corner where for some reason it snows all year round) and making little "themes" within the city, which of course means that the buildings aren't arranged optiminally for maximum performance...

That is awesome and I bet it looks tight, too! Probably doesn't seem like it, probably seems the opposite, but I put a fair amount of consideration into the location of every building, and then switch out those of the same size (when I can; I feel your space constraint pain!) until I find their home. The result is... something that hurts my own eyes, but pleasing to me, nonetheless.

I guess the biggest reason why I dislike rearranging the city is because once I get an arrangement I am happy with, I don't like having to destroy it.

SAME. Ah, to upgrade all the many things I need to max means I'll have to do a more radical, completely transformative remodeling next and I'm dreading the arrival of that sorrowful, cursing in frustration day. Still, I do have fun in the endeavor, in a manner of speaking, as I become increasingly amused with both my exasperation and inventive profanity to the point of giddiness. : D

 

[DeletedUser20951]

One of the truly nice parts of this game is that pace doesn't matter.

This is possibly my favorite part of the game. I'm not competitive by any definition of the word, and relaxing, meandering, and pondering with leisure while I putter about my cities brings me significant contentment.

 

[ajqtrz]

I'm constantly pondering the possible layouts of my city. I want room and to get it I reconfigure the arrangement almost daily. When I do I usually manage to squeeze in yet another building I was sure would never fit! All this for the guests. sigh.

But really, the one thing I can lose myself in is rearranging other people's cities. I love getting my fs mates cities and "rearranging" them for them. Elven Architect is a great help in this. Usually I get them 2-5 more expansions out of the space they waste because the don't follow good arrangement techniques. Once in a while they even take my advice and are pretty amazed. Of course they could do the same thing if they wished, but most don't wish to take the time and end up crawling slowly along until they get bored because things are taking soooooo long! (I think I hear a bit of a rant in that last sentence?!).

One of the things you can do to get enough room to move around is get rid of your roads temporarily. You can either actually sell them, or you can stuff them here and there in all the tiny places you have about your city. As you do this, buildings that need roads will become unproductive, but the thing is temporary since you are just trying to get a simple 4x4 space open so you can move two buildings around. Once you move them just put everything back and carry on.

AJ

 

[DeletedUser20951]

end up crawling slowly along until they get bored because things are taking soooooo long!

This always puzzles me a bit, given that the style of the game isn't meant to be an action-packed fireworks display. Just had a related side thought, something which has occurred to me off and on, and that's how many will keep creating new cities in an attempt to dispel the perception of slow pacing, often burning themselves out. Had five cities at one point (TOO MANY), an elf and human with all manufactories and my own fellowships, an elf and human with only boosted factories and no fellowships, and another elf with boosted in somebody else's fellowship to give me a better idea of how other leaders did stuff, so there was a purpose to these cities, but... TOO MANY CITIES. I'm much happier with just my two now.

 

[Socrates28]

Reorgnizing my city is one of the most enjoyable and pleasing things for me in this game, along with the fact the no one is going to come and burn it down while I am asleep.
As others have pointed out, I am always looking at my city to maximize space and fit in what did not fit in before. I always seek to have all the available space in one place for Guest Races and temporary event buildings. I seek to have no "empty" space anywhere else and will plug 1x1 or smaller culture buildings in those places to fill them up. I do my planning on ElvenArchitect in two ways. The first is what I want the final change to look like and the second is how to do it so I do not move myself into a corner and have no place to move anything else.
It is, as was said, a puzzel which is ever changing and is a source of pleasure for me.

 

[Black watch]

I too try and help my clan mates with their cities. Most don't seem to follow my suggestions or even follow the step by step changes (I use screenshots to help them see the changes). Occasionally someone jumps at it and I think, hallelujah!
We have a discord channel and I've loaded it with battle and city help with almost no feedback. It's a little depressing to put out a ton of effort and not have people acknowledge or even use what you've produced.
I still see low participation in the tourneys from some... Yeah... disheartening...
sigh... ...