Boost city growth

[Smudge]

I know, it has been probably asked a billion times, but I can't find the topic I need, so here's a new one.

I need my cities to grow, in 30 years my largest city has only grown + 1000! Any suggestions on how to boost city growth, I already tried:
- connecting all major cities
- airports
- busses
- new streets
- "fund new buildings" at the local governement.


Ow, I used to boost them by changing my save game in the scenario editor, but it doesn't work anymore with the openTTD (0.3.6) patch.

[worldofklaus]

I always make them grow by delivering much cargo to a city plus providing a good passenger service. Also, the streets (even the original ones) should be remodeled to leave 2x2 squares between them.

[Sionide]

cities do tend to like goods... so get as many goods services running (it's also quite profitable!) this should really be changed to have more effect than it does at the moment.. hrm

[Bruno]

Use 5 stations and 2 or 3 buses!

[teeone]

I always make them grow by delivering much cargo to a city plus providing a good passenger service. Also, the streets (even the original ones) should be remodeled to leave 2x2 squares between them.

Do this first thing...remodel so the maximum amount of houses can be built (optimal is 2x2 squares of buildable land).

Then take and run buses. Build multiple bus stations covering every possible house in the city. Build LOTS of them. I've seen towns go INSANE over doing just intercity + city-to-city bus routes.

I'll show you an example of what this method can produce. This desert town, when i started with it, only had 160 people.

Now look at it:

[teeone]

Also, I just noticed that your town is producing around 400 people but you only transported around 200. I think this is important for town growth: You have to keep your stations ratings up and transport as many people as possible.

Edit: BTW your buses will probably lose money and not make a profit, but you have to do this to keep the town growing fast.

[Roo]

Do this first thing...remodel so the maximum amount of houses can be built (optimal is 2x2 squares of buildable land).

Heh, you call 2x2 squares the max amout of houses? It's only 44,4%

[haakon99]

For a house to develop properly, it should have access to a road on at least two sides. Thats why 2 x 2 is optimal.

[Prof. Frink]

[patch experience]
Not true - but the game will not build roads next to existing ones.
Therefore, 2x3 blocks tend to end up split into 2 2x1 blocks - taking up more space for less houses.
with townsbuildnoroads on, 2xN blocks work very nicely.

[Roo]

Yeah, 2xN blocks are great. Look at the picture. This is the best city grid shape I think. When you create this together with 2 bus stations, 4 buses (later more) and then TONS of goods, the city starts to expand rapidly. It§s no problem to expand it to 50 000 within 30 years. This example uses 2x6 blocks but it's possible to use any 2xN number. But high "N" slows the expansion slightly, so I think "N" about 8 is optimal. The hills prevent the citizens from road building, but allow station construction. This really works! Verified many times! Space efficiency (% of houses) for N=6 is 57,1% for N=8 is 59,3% and so on seff= 2N / 3(N+1)

[Smudge]

Well, I found out that busses are pretty much te key to grow a city.

I managed to grow a city to +10k citizens, with busses(16 busstops0, trains (9 rails), and an airport.

1960:


1996:

[Sionide]

try the bus strategy, linked with the building of roads 2 spaces apart - that ought to do the trick... seems like a fun idea for a competition if you ask me.

start with a town of pop 1,000 say and try and expand it as much as possible by delivering a good service of buses etc + delivering goods

[Buggi]

My problem with this type of strategy is the stations in the main part of the city, those stations without train access, build up to hundreds of passengers when the city gets so big and it seemingly cannot be slowed down.

How you do you avoid this problem?

[Roo]

Is that a problem? I love to have hundrets of passangers. Build faster, longer, more trains

[Apostate]

My problem with this type of strategy is the stations in the main part of the city, those stations without train access, build up to hundreds of passengers when the city gets so big and it seemingly cannot be slowed down.

How you do you avoid this problem?

You can use multistop and dozens of busses (if you use the nightly build with this insanely cool feature of course). You can also crawl a bus stop to a railway station outside the city and have a disconnected bus/train station. Of course it's best to do that as soon as possible, when it doesn't mean demolishing 20 skyscrapers.

[Bruno]

Use 5 stations and 2 or 3 buses!

Little years later...
I hate the grow city system :S

[Smudge]

I noticed that once you have one or more very large cities, it's easier to make other cities bigger by connecting them. But still, the bus stop-strategie works great, or a very fast and good connection between close cities, example:

1960:


2022:

[Buggi]

Smudge...

Not only did the city names change, the company name changed as well between your two screenshots...

o.O

Kinda confusing.

And Roo:
You didn't read my question, "those stations without train access."

I don't want to dimolish half a town because I need to lay down track, the locals get pissed.

And that pic of the city of 42k... biggest city I've yet seen on any TTD. I hope that was grown and not "expanded" via the editor. :_/ truly impressive.

[Bruno]

And that pic of the city of 42k... biggest city I've yet seen on any TTD. I hope that was grown and not "expanded" via the editor. :_/ truly impressive.

No editor...
And i have the number two with 39k!

[ThorRune]

Why are you still using common rails in 2024? I smell faking