Do the commercial buildings need goods from industrial area?

[Euruzilys]

If so, would setting a cargo train line be helpful at all?

[Erei]

They need goods. Either from industrial area, or from outside the map (imports). Otherwise, the building will be abandoned.
A cargo train is a good idea. Saves a lot of road traffic if it's set properly (trucks for commercial areas are not considered as "heavy traffic", and don't care about the heavy traffic ban policy).

[Pleb Destroyer]

Take a look at this picture. I think it explains all your questions regarding how the different zones compliment each other: http://i.imgur.com/F0CQHxY.png

[BlackAlpha]

Originally posted by anders.buer:

Take a look at this picture. I think it explains all your questions regarding how the different zones compliment each other: http://i.imgur.com/F0CQHxY.png

That's a really good picture. The only thing it's missing is residents going to the commercial buildings to buy the goods.

[Euruzilys]

Cool! I had been looking for such pictures. I really love to know everything when I plan my city haha.

Edit: From the picture, it seems like generic factory requires raw material either from specialised industry in town, or import. Does it make a different to how much I can tax them? Is there a point in getting specialised industry?

[grapplehoeker]

Originally posted by Euruzilys:

If so, would setting a cargo train line be helpful at all?

A cargo trainline at your industrial will allow imported and exported freight to and from your industrial to the world and from specialised industry districts to your generic industrial, but not to your commercial.
The goods produced at your generic industry will be transported to your commercial by the service vans.

[Kupferdrache]

specialized industry pays bonus taxes, and, but not sure about it producet more units tier 1 products than it needs to import or be carved out localy.

[grapplehoeker]

Originally posted by Euruzilys:

Edit: From the picture, it seems like generic factory requires raw material either from specialised industry in town, or import. Does it make a different to how much I can tax them? Is there a point in getting specialised industry?

Actually it's the specialised industries that produce the raw material, which it processes into goods that the generic industries use, in turn to produce the commercial goods.
Specialised industry also uses more educated workers.
You can do without specialised industry but then the amount of imports for your generic industries will be high.

[Euruzilys]

Originally posted by grapplehoeker:

Originally posted by Euruzilys:

Edit: From the picture, it seems like generic factory requires raw material either from specialised industry in town, or import. Does it make a different to how much I can tax them? Is there a point in getting specialised industry?

Actually it's the specialised industries that produce the raw material, which it processes into goods that the generic industries use, in turn to produce the commercial goods.
Specialised industry also uses more educated workers.
You can do without specialised industry but then the amount of imports for your generic industries will be high.

Whats the down side of importing? Im trying to see, but cant find 1 yet.

[BonPadre]

Originally posted by Euruzilys:

Whats the down side of importing? Im trying to see, but cant find 1 yet.

2 things :

- Importing all your goods will generate A LOT of traffic, so you need a good transportation grid, either from roads, trains or boats, and a neat acess in and out from your industrials.

- If you read carefully the industries descriptions, your specialized industries will generate more taxes than your generics ones...

But anyway, you will need at some point to import either some sort of raw goods to oil and ore industries and same goes for generic industries. On the other hand you will (assuming you use the correct areas) have less to none imports if you use only forestry and farming. What you may notice then, depending of the size of your industrial areas, you may generate TONS of exporting traffic (which if you have the correct connections should bother you way less than importing IMO)

Then as from cargo train stations to commercials, I'm sorry to diagree with grapplehoeker, but it does transfer from inustries -> train -> commercials.
I have currently a cargo train station near my commercials without any industries near it, and it does bring goods from industries to that station, and from that station you can clearely see your vans and commercial trucks delivering goods. So yes you can mitigate a lot of road traffic using a cargo station in a commercial area.

[simonmd]

Dont forget farms! I had loads of industry, alot of it only doing average yet still alot of commercial complaining that they had no goods. I build a farming area and problem solved! This makes sense in real life of course as the farms are going to supply alot of foods, etc. but i'm not sure if the game is that specific.

[Pleb Destroyer]

Good thread. Keep it going. :) I am sure more people would like to know this :)

[BonPadre]

Originally posted by simonmd:

Dont forget farms! I had loads of industry, alot of it only doing average yet still alot of commercial complaining that they had no goods. I build a farming area and problem solved! This makes sense in real life of course as the farms are going to supply alot of foods, etc. but i'm not sure if the game is that specific.

Actually if you start to follow your trucks, you can even see a farm truck delivering products to your general industry factories, same goes for your forestery. your general industry will use all the 4 other products.

So what I do is set 2 or 3 inustry zones in the same general industry area, having a bit of oil, a bit of ore and the general industry, that way you can have less big tucks traffic, as all will go to the nearest when needed, and I also tend to try to have farming and forestry near. That's actually how I was able to really follow those trucks for a little while, instead of having one set very far apart from the others and then beeing unable to follow those links visually.

[Euruzilys]

I saw a truck from forestry area delivering planks to the general industry (2 factories), droppping 33% content each, before leaving the city on export with 33% plank left. Seems like 1 truck can deliver to many places.

[Trent]

In my last push for maximum city size I discovered an important truth. Citizens can use mass transit. Goods and materials cannot.

Almost every vehicle I could see was industrial or commercial. It became very important for me to optimize my roads for movement between the two. Residential was a secondary concern.

[Euruzilys]

Originally posted by Trent:

In my last push for maximum city size I discovered an important truth. Citizens can use mass transit. Goods and materials cannot.

Almost every vehicle I could see was industrial or commercial. It became very important for me to optimize my roads for movement between the two. Residential was a secondary concern.

I know at least that export truck can use either cargo train or cargo ship to export/import. I dont know if the same can be said for industry to commercial truck.