[OVERCROWD] 5 STAR Rating Station - Network Sandbox Walkthrough - Commute of the Day Walkthrough

A complete guide on how to complete the Network Sandbox mode, and reach a 5 STAR Rating on all your stations.

I wrote this guide when I found out I wouldn’t be able to unlock all the achievements on my small network sandbox. When I started to play the game, I couldn't find much infos about it, except one Steam guide with good tips for beginners, and several hints about the gameplay mechanics scattered on Steam forums.

Along my first playthrough, I gathered a lot of data about commuters’ behaviour, and I tested many design patterns. So, during the next ones, I could avoid building aberrations, optimize my progression and set priorities for the Tech Tree (Procurement).
Those priorities were actually useful to complete the Commute of the Day challenge too.

The first part of the guide is a collection of informations about the Station management. Managing the staff and making them do the right job at the right time. Managing their needs so they don't die. Understanding those wild commuters and managing the Station Reputation. Managing the money (spoiler alert : you need more Ads). And managing the Power and its Heat generation.

The second part is the Walkthrough from ZONE 5 to ZONE 1. For each zone, I indicated the Objectives to finish the map, and the Objectives toward a 5 STAR Rating. I added spreadsheets with Procurements priorities. And several screenshots to illustrate the walkthrough.

I hope this guide will also help you to efficiently Commute ‘Em all !

ABOUT THE GAME : OVERCROWD

Overcrowd is a management game in which you will design and build a network of metro stations. But be aware ! Once opened, your beautiful station will swarm with needy, angry and starving commuters.

As the station manager, you’ll not only guarantee the punctuality of your trains, but also keep your station tidy, keep your commuters healthy and offer a good quality and diversity of services in your station. Otherwise, a furious crowd will draw their smartphones in order to ruin your Reputation on social networks.

And just as in real life, a bad Reputation will cause your station to shut down, or in other words, a GAME OVER.

STAFF MANAGEMENT

HIRING STAFF

When you start your first ZONE 5 map, and open the station, you’ll be able to hire your first staff member from the Applicants tab.

Once the Objectives of the station are done, you will go back to the map and start another station. Note that you don’t need to hire a new staff member from the Applicants tab. In new stations, you can actually call back your previous Staff member from the Off shift tab :

STAFF FILE

By right clicking your Staff portrait, you can access its File. There are two tabs, File and Job priorities. When your Staff levels up, new Attributes points are available in this window.

STAFF ATTRIBUTES

Staff members have 4 Attributes : Strength, Speed, Stamina and Perception.
Those Attributes go from 1 to 8 points. By doing any job around your station, the Staff member will gain XP. Once the XP bar is filled, you’ll be able to level up one Attribute.

• The number of Strength points will define the number of Tools you Staff can carry.
  1 Strength = can carry 1 Tool.
  3 Strength = can carry 2 Tools.
  5 Strength = can carry 3 Tools.
  8 Strength = can carry 4 Tools.
  
  
• The Speed value defines the Speed at which the Staff member will complete its tasks.
  
  
• The Stamina value defines the number of tasks the Staff member will be able to accomplish before getting too tired.
  
  
• And the Perception value defines the area seen by your Staff member. The Staff member will be able to accomplish tasks within this area. It’s the least important Attribute because you can easily move your Staff flag around.
  
  Therefore, by day you can place the flag close to platform 1, and the Staff will work around your commuters. And by night you can place the flag close to your main Utility room, so the Staff can take care of the generators refill job.

JOB PRIORITIES

In this window, you can define what job which Staff will do. Priorities go from the right column to the left one. I don’t bother specialising my Staff. So, all of them have a level 1 priority for the most important jobs (litter, mop, first aid and rats). Other jobs are triggered by Scenarios, so I simply defined 2 Staff Medic oriented, and 3 Staff who will focus on Security and Repairs jobs.

This is a more advanced station, where I needed 5 Staff members to cover the whole area. But on smaller stations, you have only 1 or 2 Staff members, and all the Priorities are set to 1 (except for the assist-tablet maybe, because the maps should suffice to cover this job).

STAFF SKILLS

On the same window you can see the Skills of your Staff members. Those Skills level up with the type of jobs your Staff accomplishes. For example : the more megaphone job your Staff does, the more People Skill he develops.

As you can see in the Staff File, each Skill has a coloured icon. Those icons are the same as the ones in the Job priorities and the Tool rooms. Therefore, each Skill is linked to a job with a specific Tool.

• People : megaphone, assist-tablet.
  
• Refuse : litter picker, mop, rat pod, watering can.
  
• Medical : first aid, drip, defib.
  
• Security : crime desk, taser.
  
• Repair : jerrycan, tookit.

You can also equip your Staff members with Uniforms to enhance one specific Skill. To unlock the Uniforms, you’ll first need to build specific Lockers in your Staff room.

• People : Customer services locker.
  
• Refuse : Refuse locker.
  
• Medical : Medic locker.
  
• Security : Security locker.
  
• Repair : Technician locker.

Note : the lockers don’t need to be accessed by your Staff. You’ll manually dress each of them from the Uniforms tab. So, it’s not a problem if the locker is stuck behind the Sofa for example. Besides, your Staff won’t lose its Uniform while coming On Shift from another station. So, it’s not even mandatory to rebuild those Lockers in each of your stations.

SCHEDULES

In this window, you can define the Schedule of your Staff members. Each couple of hours, you can define if they will work or if they will rest. But, the easiest way to avoid their death is to leave the Autorest option ON.

STAFF STATUS

On the same window, you can monitor your Staff Status. Staff will get tired, hungry and thirsty by doing jobs around the station. Despair comes with the lack of entertainment. And your Staff might lose health after dealing with Vandals for example. Each Status can be dealt with thanks to the items in the Staff room.

• Health : medicine cabinet.
  
• Despair : staff TV set, arcade machine.
  
• Tiredness : uncomfy chair, Staff sofa.
  
• Hunger : staff vending machine, Food trolley.
  
• Thirst : water cooler, Tea station.

Check this window often. Sometimes, a Staff member will get stuck in the environment, or in a door, and might eventually die. If one of these Status reaches a high percentage, it’s time to take a closer look at this Staff member and help him out.

THRESHOLDS

One of the most important window to manage your Staff. In the Thresholds tab, you can define when the Staff crew decide to do some specific jobs, and when they decide to Autorest. You can configure different values for day-time and night-time.

Be sure to reconfigure the Activity thresholds and the Autorest thresholds before opening each of your stations, because the setting resets on every new map.



In the Activity thresholds, I define the Empty bin job at 30% by day, and 10% by night. Bin shortage is a quite frequent scenario, and nothing is worse than a dirty station. Besides, full Bins will generate toxic fumes, which will rapidly decrease your Station Reputation.

Then, I set Refuel generators with fuel level below 30% by day, and 80% by night, just to be sure this job is done by night only.

I set watering plants at the same level as Bins. But honestly, Plants are not worth it. They are very high maintenance Prestige items. And if you fail to water only one plant, it will die, rot, and decrease your station Reputation very fast. Plus, you cannot move or sell a dying Plant.

I advise you to invest into zero maintenance Prestige items, such as Buskers and Fish tanks. They are prettier and more efficient. Therefore, your Staff will be able to concentrate on more important jobs.

Finally, I set the Repair machinery with condition below 60% at day, and 80% at night, to keep the station’s Facilities en route ! at all times.



In the Autorest thresholds (scroll down in the same window), set 30% by day and 20% by night for all Status. So the Staff can take frequent and shorter breaks. Besides, it will give them more opportunities to grab the Speed and Stamina buff thanks to the Tea Station and the Food trolley available in the Staff room.

STATION MANAGEMENT : REPORTS

REPUTATION

At start, the Reputation system might be confusing and hard to counterbalance. In the Walkthrough, I get more into the details of which items are needed to keep the Reputation up, for each ZONE of the map. In this section, I focus on showing where the Reports are, and how to interpret them.

From the Station reports window, or at the end of each day, you’ll see the Rep today tab. In this window, you can see a summary in bars of the good and the bad Reputation you cumulated in the day.



Good Reputation points are shown in green, and bad Reputation points are in red. This window is very useful because it shows you precisely what’s wrong in your station. So when you struggle to keep your Reputation high, take a look in this window and deal with the first red item you can.

For example : on my first stations, I used to struggle with Litter problems, and commuters were really mad about it. So I knew I needed more Bins all around my station, and I also needed to recalibrate the Staff Activity thresholds. Once done, the Litter bad Reputation was almost gone from this window, and I could deal with other problems.

I made the spreadsheet below, which shows all the different bad Reputation points I had in my stations, the Actions I made to deal with them, and the positive Reputation I had in return.

Reputation 👎	Action	Reputation 👍
high prices	Commuters will always be angry about the high prices. Ignore them. Don’t go under £10 per ticket. I usually put it at £15 at the opening of the station.	N/A
facility not powered	Add Tools - Technician skill : jerrycan Add Utilities - Power : fuel barrel Manage staff thresholds so they fully refuel generators during the night.	N/A
moving objects	Move objects only during the night (from 11PM to 6AM)	N/A
late	Configure turnstiles, platforms and routes. Add Facilities - Transit : indicator board	journey complete
no bin nearby	Add Facilities - Environment : bin	bin access
gloomy	Add Facilities - Environment : lighting	well lit
lost	Add Facilities - Transit : map	map assistance
lost	Add Tools - People skill : assist-tablet	staff action : People
overcrowded	Add Tools - People skill : megaphone	staff action : People
bad shopping range	Add any Commerce	retail bargain
no toilet	Add Facilities - Environment : Toilets	Toilet available
need more prestige	Add Facilities - Prestige : Busker Add Facilities - Prestige : Fish tank Add Facilities - Prestige : Statue Add Facilities - Prestige : Ornate clock	Prestige : Busker Prestige : Fish tank Prestige : Statue Prestige : Ornate clock
tired	Add Facilities - Environment : bench	rest : bench
facility broken	Add Tools - Technician skill : toolkit	staff action : Mechanic
K.O sneezed on	Add Tools - Medic skill : first aid	staff action : Medic
body nearby	Add Tools - Medic skill : drip	staff action : Medic
cardiac arrest	Add Tools - Medic skill : defib	staff action : Medic
brute vandalism theft	Add Tools - Security skill : crime desk Add Tools - Security skill : taser	staff action : Security
litter fumes	Add Tools - Refuse skill : litter picker	staff action : Refuse
vomit blood	Add Tools - Refuse skill : mop	staff action : Refuse
Rats !	Add Tools - Refuse skill : rat pod	staff action : Refuse

COMMUTERS NEEDS AND INCIDENTS REPORTS

From the Commuter reports window, you can access your Commuters Needs in real time. With this information, you know what Facilities and Services are missing into your station, and how to make your Commuters more eager to give you a better Reputation.



In the Incidents tab, you’ll gather more information about the jobs your Staff fail to fulfill correctly. In the example below, I see my Commuters are Sickened. It means, either I don’t have enough Staff dealing with Medic jobs, or I should put more hand sanitizers all around my station.

STATION MANAGEMENT : RESOURCES

INCOMES AND OUTGOINGS

Money you earn and spend can be managed from the Station reports window, in the Summary tab.

Incomes are generated by Sales earnings and Advert payouts.

Outgoings are generated by your Staff (wages), your Commerce (Stocks refill), your Fuel barrels (they get refilled every morning) and your Wheelies (they get emptied every morning).

This tab shows you one of the most important trick when it comes to earning money : you need to put Ads all around your station in order to generate Incomes.

SALES REPORTS

Sales and Stocks can be managed from the Commerce tab.
Sales earnings are generated by ticket machines and by all your Shops. You can change the price of each item sold by your Shops, but I advise you to leave the default price.

POWER

Power is your most valuable resource. You can’t open your station if you don’t have enough Power. In case of a Power shortage, your Reputation will fall down at the speed of light. Just be sure to build new generators and capacitors before starting any kind of construction. This way, you’re assured to be in the capacity of powering all those new Facilities, without jeopardizing your whole station.

• The first line indicates the total of Power generated in KWh.
  
• The second line indicates the total of Power needed in your station.
  
• The third line compares the minimum power need (or power drain) and the maximum capacitance (or power reserve).
  → The power drain is of the same value as on the second line.
  → The power reserve is an addition between the power generated (generators) and all the capacitors you built.

HEAT MANAGEMENT

With Power comes Heat. Most items that use power will generate an aura of heat around its position. Heat is quite hard to manage on your first stations, until you unlock at least the lvl 1 air con. All the low level Facilities generate a large amount of Heat. Commuters will suffer from Heatstrokes and you’ll need your Staff to focus on the Medic drip job.

One useful tool for Heat management is Thermal imaging. You can access it via the Lense, near the TODO list on the top right corner. Click on the flame to activate the Thermal imaging.

STATION DESIGN : PLANNING AND BUILDING

PLANNING THE DESIGN

• At the beginning, sell the existing floor for extra money. (Left click to place a floor, right click to sell it.)
  
  
• Keep in mind that, in order to get the 5 star rating, no matter the ZONE you’re in, you’ll eventually need to build and hit the footfall target for all the Entrances available on the map. Be sure to leave enough free space in front of each Entrance.
  
  
• Before building anything, take a look at your TODO list. Then, take the time to plan which tracks you’re going to build. The maximum is 5 platforms in one station. In the best case scenario, you’ll be able to build 5 pretty parallel tracks. But most of the time, you’ll need to jungle between 2 or 3 different levels. So, keep enough space around your platforms. You’ll need it for your shops. But you’ll also need it for your lifts (2x2 tiles) and escalators (1x3 tiles).

BUILDING THE STATION

• The main Utility Room

Once planned, you can start building your station. One easy way to start, is to choose one track, one door nearby and on the same level, both preferably close to a corner. Reserve the further spot, or the corner spot, for your big Utility room.

This room will be your power room, filled with generators and capacitors. On your first maps, I advise you to keep this room as far away as possible from your main platform. Power sources will generate a large amount of Heat. So, until you unlock air con 1 and air con 2, it’s easier to keep commuters away from power rooms with either fences or staff only zones.

• Entrances

You need to keep your Entrances big enough to avoid the Overcrowded bad Reputation ; But small enough to avoid the Bad shopping range bad Reputation. Besides, a good Entrance will keep Vandals confined and help your staff to take care of them.

You’ll need at least 2x turnstiles and 1x ticket machine to open your station. But commuters will be happier if you add at least 1x bin (to avoid Litter) and a lvl1 map (to avoid the Lost bad Reputation). The lvl1 CCTV will help your staff with their Security jobs.





Note on the entrances :
→ to hit the footfall target with a door, it needs to be at least an entrance, or a two-way door. Only exit doors won’t update the transit target value.

• Tool rooms

I usually build one standard Tool room per platform and per staff member. It’s a 3x6 room filled with one of each available Tools. I never put Plants in my stations so I don’t need the watering can in the extra spot. Build the lvl1 jerrycan in the nearest Tool room from the main Utility room. And assign only one staff member to the generator refill job.

• Staff room

You’ll need at least one Staff room per station ; otherwise your staff will die from exhaustion / starvation / thirst / despair.
You can start with a very small room. But a 5x4 room will be able to host all the Amenities for your staff.

DESIGN TRICKS

• The smaller room you can build is 2x3 tiles.
  
  
• The door is placed on one wall of length 3. A door cannot be placed in a corner. It needs to be surrounded by walls.
  
  
• I used this design to build several SAWF complex (Signal Automator, Wheelies and Flush) all around my station :

I usually try to build one SAWF complex for each platform I have. Toilets will greatly help to keep the station Reputation high. And having Wheelies all around the station will increase the speed of your staff, while decreasing Litter complaints.

• You can build a room with several doors. First step is to build two separate rooms. Then, you can merge them into one room and keep both doors :

This way, you can also build corner rooms with several doors.

ZONE 5 WALKTHROUGH

Note on this walkthrough :
→ This walkthrough is meant to be done in two main steps. First, complete every station of your network to unlock all available bonds. Then, come back to every station, from ZONE 5 to ZONE 1, in order to complete the optional objectives and get 5 STAR Rating.

ZONE 5

Starting with 2 bonds and £12,000 | Bonds available in this zone : 46

Objectives : Shift ~150 commuters to unlock all available bonds.
Build at least 1 platform and 1 entrance (hit the footfall target) to complete the map.

For 5 star rating : Build 2 platforms (hit the transit target for all of them), open 2 entrances (hit the footfall target for all of them), and get 100% reputation.

ZONE 5 walkthrough :
Nothing special will happen in the starting zones. Commuters won’t complain much, as long as the train comes and goes regularly. So, we will unlock only the minimum Procurement and spare some bonds for the following zones.

Before opening the station, you need to place 2 turnstiles, a ticket machine, a fuel barrel, at least 6 generators, a wheelie bin, a litter picker, lights, and at least 4 bins. Always place one bin at the entrance of the Station. You can put the rest of the bins along the train track. Open the Station.

You probably won't have the space or even the money to build the Staff room. But build one asap, even an empty 2x3 room, to avoid your staff death. Buy the new tools as soon as you unlock them (toolkit, jerrycan, megaphone). And assign your staff to these new jobs. Place your staff flag near the main platform during the day, and inside the Utility room during the night.

Whenever you have enough money, place all the Amenities for your staff (a chair, a water cooler and a vending machine). Then scatter benches all around the Station and paint your empty walls with newspaper ads. Place the signal automator and wait for the objectives to complete.

Starting with these Procurements :

PROCUREMENT	ITEM	COST IN BONDS
Infrastructure	1x carriage	0
Infrastructure	1x platform	0
Infrastructure	stock 1	0
Infrastructure	entrance	0
Infrastructure	fence	0
Facility	lvl 1 turnstile	0
Facility	lvl 1 ticket machine	0
Facility	lvl 1 bin	0
Utilities	lvl 1 fuel barrel	0
Utilities	lvl 1 generator	0

List of the Procurements to be unlocked :

ORDER	PROCUREMENT	ITEM	COST IN BONDS
#1	Utilities	lvl1 wheelie bin	1
#2	Tools	lvl 1 litter picker	1
#3	Facilities	lvl 1 lighting	1
#4	Facilities	lvl 1 bench	2
#5	Infrastructure	Staff only zone	1
#6	Tools	lvl 1 toolkit	1
#7	Tools	lvl 1 jerrycan	1
#8	Tools	lvl 1 megaphone	1
#9	Amenities	uncomfy chair	1
#10	Amenities	water cooler	1
#11	Amenities	staff vending machine	1
#12	Commerce	newspaper stand	1
#13	Commerce	newspaper ad	1
#14	Utilities	signal relay	2
#15	Utilities	signal automator	8
#16	Infrastructure	2 carriage train	3
#17	Utilities	lvl 1 capacitor	2
		FINISHING THE ZONE WITH	19

You won’t unlock any more bonds in the next ZONE 5 station.
Let’s progress toward a ZONE 4 station.

ZONE 5 station designs

(Zone 5, map 1, opening of the station)


(Zone 5, map 1, objectives done)


(Zone 5, map 2, objectives done)

ZONE 4 WALKTHROUGH

Starting with 19 bonds and £12,500 | Bonds available in this zone : 66

Objectives : Shift ~1100 commuters to unlock all available bonds.
Build at least 2 platforms and 1 entrance (hit the footfall target) to complete the map.

For 5 star rating : Build 3 platforms (hit the transit target for all of them), open 3 entrances (hit the footfall target for all of them) and get 100% reputation.

ZONE 4 walkthrough :
From ZONE 4, you need to take a close care to your commuters. On rainy days, commuters bring water and dirt into the Station. They're gonna sneeze on each other, quickly spreading diseases among them. On sunny days, beware of the heatstroke ! Plus, you unlocked unwanted pets. Sadly, commuters are scared of rats...

To counterbalance those events / scenarios, you need your staff to be armed and prepared :
Start by unlocking the new tools (first aid, mop, rat pod, drip) and assign your staff to those new jobs. Also, you'll need to unlock the lvl1 air vent asap, in order to cool down the temperature of your station. Commuters will faint, a lot. That's why the drip is essential.

Build and open the one track station we designed in Zone 5. When your Ads have generated a decent amount of money, and your reputation is above 75% and stable, you can start pre-building the second platform. But, do not configure or open access to platform 2 to the commuters.

List of the Procurements to be unlocked :

ORDER	PROCUREMENT	ITEM	COST IN BONDS
#18	Tools	lvl 1 first aid	2
#19	Tools	lvl 1 mop	2
#20	Tools	lvl 1 rat pod	2
#21	Tools	lvl 1 drip	2
#22	Utilities	lvl 1 air vent	1
#23	Facilities	lvl 1 map	2
#24	Facilities	lvl 2 bench	3
#25	Facilities	Toilets	5
#26	Facilities	lvl 2 bin	3
#27	Amenities	staff TV set	2
#28	Amenities	medicine cabinet	4
#29	Facilities	lvl 1 plant	2
#30	Facilities	lvl 2 plant	3
#31	Facilities	Busker	3
#32	Tools	lvl 1 assist-tablet	3
#33	Infrastructure	Platform 2	4
#34	Infrastructure	Stock 2	8
#35	Facilities	lvl 2 turnstile	3
		FINISHING THE ZONE WITH	32

You won’t unlock any more bonds in the next ZONE 4 station.
Let’s progress toward a ZONE 3 station.

ZONE 4 station designs

(Zone 4, map 1, planning the station)


(Zone 4, map 1, objectives done)


(Zone 4, map 2, objectives done)

ZONE 3 WALKTHROUGH

Starting with 32 bonds and £13,000 | Bonds available in this zone : 92

Objectives : Shift ~3500 commuters to unlock all available bonds.
Build at least 3 platforms and 2 entrances (hit the footfall target) to complete the map.

For 5 star rating : Build 4 platforms (hit the transit target for all of them), open 4 entrances (hit the footfall target for all of them) and get 100% reputation.

ZONE 3 walkthrough :
From ZONE 3, commuters uncover their true self. They're gonna drink. Steal each other. Break stuff. Attack our beloved employees... Wreak havoc !

Unlock lvl1 air con as soon as you have unlocked the new tools (crime desk, defib).
Unlock lvl1 hand sanitizer and lvl1 CCTV to help your staff with medical and security jobs.
Unlock new Commerces to decrease “bad shopping range” negative reputation.
Invest in the new and shiny lvl2 utilities (generator, capacitor, fuel barrel).

Build the one track station model and run it. Money can be difficult to handle in ZONE 3 because the minimum equipment needed before opening the Station is quiet expensive. And you also need to expand quicker, because the commuters get more and more needy.

Before opening your second entrance, build a second tool room, then hire a second staff member. Put some lvl1 P.A. near entrances and around the footbridges to avoid overcrowding.
If your Wheelie bins are surrounded by fumes, invest in the lvl1 air purifier. And start painting your walls with maps of the Station.

It's easier if you do not configure or open access to platforms 2 and 3 to the commuters. But it's
important to keep those areas reachable for staff members (it's always because of Rats !).

If you need to manage several floors, prefer escalators to staircases. And keep in mind, when you'll come back to complete the optional objectives toward a 5 star rating, you'll need to add Lifts. So keep a 2x2 square of free space nearby.

List of the Procurements to be unlocked :

ORDER	PROCUREMENT	ITEM	COST IN BONDS
#36	Infrastructure	Footbridge	3
#37	Tools	lvl 1 crime desk	2
#38	Tools	lvl 1 defib	3
#39	Utilities	lvl 1 air con	5
#40	Commerce	crisps machine	1
#41	Facilities	lvl 2 map	2
#42	Utilities	lvl 2 generator	4
#43	Utilities	lvl 2 capacitor	3
#44	Utilities	lvl 2 fuel barrel	3
#45	Utilities	lvl 2 wheelie bin	4
#46	Utilities	lvl 1 CCTV	2
#47	Utilities	lvl 1 hand sanitizer	2
#48	Facilities	lvl 1 indicator board	2
#49	Facilities	lvl 2 ticket machine	3
#50	Commerce	Coffee cart	2
#51	Commerce	hot dog stand	2
#52	Infrastructure	staircase	1
#53	Infrastructure	escalators	6
#54	Infrastructure	3 carriage train	4
#55	Commerce	Cash machine	2
#56	Commerce	Drinks machine	1
#57	Infrastructure	Platform 3	8
#58	Utilities	lvl1 P.A.	2
#59	Infrastructure	4 carriage train	5
#60	Utilities	lvl1 fan	3
#61	Utilities	lvl 1 air purifier	3
		FINISHING THE ZONE WITH	46

You won’t unlock any more bonds in the next ZONE 3 station.
Let’s progress toward a ZONE 2 station.

ZONE 3 station designs

(Zone 3, map 1, starting of the station)


(Zone 3, map 1, objectives done)

ZONE 2 WALKTHROUGH

Starting with 46 bonds and £13,500 | Bonds available in this zone : 104

Objectives : Shift ~8000 commuters to unlock all available bonds.
Build at least 4 platforms and 3 entrances (hit the footfall target) to complete the map.

For 5 star rating : Build 5 platforms (hit the transit target for all of them), open 5 entrances (hit the footfall target for all of them) and get 100% reputation.

ZONE 2 walkthrough :
From ZONE 2, some commuters will be in a wheelchair and they will need accessibility. When you design your station and define the escalator’s area ; Remember to always reserve a 2x2 spot for your lifts nearby.

Unlock lvl2 air con asap to cool down all the rooms (utility, tool, control and staff) in the middle of your station. In fact, it's time to level up all your gear as described in the Procurements spreadsheet below.

As usual, start by grinding money on a small one track station. £50,000 is a minimum I try to have before I start expanding my station. It's easier if the second platform you open is parallel to the first one, and on the same floor. Because you just have to add footbridges, some lvl2 P.A. and jobs done. But otherwise, you'll need to put at least 2 escalators and one Lift. Keep some space all around them, especially around Lifts, they can quickly create an overcrowded effect.

If a one track station is a small one, let's call this 3 track station a medium one. For a medium station, one Staff room is enough for 3 Staff members. But you'll need to build at least 2 more tool rooms (one tool room per Staff member) and equip them with one of each tool. Build at least one more SAWF complet (Signal Automators, Wheelie bins, Flush the Toilets).

The few minutes after opening your station extension are critical ! So, be ready to pause your game and solve any problem that might occur. Keep an eye on your Reputation chart, and wait for the night to move objects around.

Then, when this medium station is running smoothly, you can start building a forth platform. It will usually be on the other end of the map, so you don't necessary need to open it. If you have enough money, you can enjoy some planning and building time. Otherwise, the objectives are completed once the forth platform is built.

List of the Procurements to be unlocked :

ORDER	PROCUREMENT	ITEM	COST IN BONDS
#62	Facilities	lvl2 lighting	2
#63	Utilities	lvl3 Generator	4
#64	Utilities	lvl2 air con	7
#65	Utilities	lvl2 hand sanitizer	4
#66	Utilities	Rat poison	2
#67	Utilities	Rat trap	2
#68	Facilities	lvl3 bench	5
#69	Commerce	fruit and veg stall	2
#70	Commerce	flower stall	2
#71	Commerce	Phone box	2
#72	Commerce	Kiosk	4
#73	Amenities	Staff sofa	2
#74	Amenities	Tea station	4
#75	Facilities	lvl2 indicator board	4
#76	Utilities	lvl2 P.A.	3
#77	Facilities	Statue	3
#78	Infrastructure	Lift	8
#79	Infrastructure	Platform 4	12
#80	Tools	lvl1 taser	4
		FINISHING THE ZONE WITH	74

You won’t unlock any more bonds in the next ZONE 2 station.
Let’s progress toward a ZONE 1 station.

ZONE 2 station designs

(Zone 2, map 1, opening of the station)


(Zone 2, map 1, managing a one track station, and grinding money)


(Zone 2, map 1, building a second and a third floor)


(Zone 2, map 1, opening and running a bigger station)


(Zone 2, map 1, objectives done)

ZONE 1 WALKTHROUGH

Starting with 74 bonds and £14,000 | Bonds available in this zone : 100

Objectives : Shift ~15000 commuters to unlock all available bonds.
Build at least 5 platforms and 4 entrances (hit the footfall target) to complete the map.

For 5 star rating : Build 5 platforms (hit the transit target for all of them), open 6 entrances (hit the footfall target for all of them) and get 100% reputation.

ZONE 1 walkthrough :
From ZONE 1, you’ll unlock all the bonds. You can finally play a station until the end and work through the objectives for a 5 STAR Rating, congratulations ! 🥳
Finally we unlock the lvl4 Substation. Bye bye fuel barrels and boring jerrycan job !

Start as in a ZONE 3 station, build a first platform with all the necessary equipment around. Then quickly expand toward 2 platforms and 2 entrances. Hire staff members, at least 3. Build a commercial center in between or around your platforms. And add lots of benches all around your station. Seriously, commuters get tired as soon as they put a feet in the station. Quickly install Prestige items. Buskers are a good start, I usually put them near benches and platforms.

Then expand your station as we did in ZONE 2, and keep a eye on your Reputation tab. Again, wait for your ads to generate the money you need to build all the necessary equipment BEFORE opening new entrances and new platforms. Hire at least 6 Staff members before opening new entrances and new platforms. And be sure that their flags allow them to cover the whole station. As long as you do not configure access to your new platforms, you are safe. So, double check everything. Especially your Staff Thresholds settings.

Maps and indicator boards are Staff life saver on ZONE 1 stations. It's like benches, or bins, you do never have enough of them. In general, all the new and shiny lvl 3 items will generate way less Heat. But you still need to cover your station with lvl 1 air cons, and add a lvl 2 air con in all your rooms.

Note on the entrances :
→ to hit the footfall target with a door, it needs to be at least an entrance, or a two-way door. Only exit doors won’t update the transit target value.

List of the Procurements to be unlocked :

ORDER	PROCUREMENT	ITEM	COST IN BONDS
#81	Amenities	Food trolley	5
#82	Utilities	lvl 4 Substation	4
#83	Utilities	lvl 3 capacitor	5
#84	Infrastructure	Stock 3	9
#85	Facilities	lvl 3 lighting	4
#86	Facilities	lvl 3 bin	5
#87	Utilities	lvl 3 Wheelie Bin	4
#88	Utilities	lvl 3 P.A.	4
#89	Facilities	lvl 3 map	4
#90	Amenities	arcade machine	5
#91	Facilities	Ornate clock	5
#92	Commerce	Pub	5
#93	Commerce	Pharmacy	5
#94	Commerce	Book shop	4
#95	Commerce	Burger stall	4
#96	Commerce	Chicken shop	5
#97	Infrastructure	Platform 5	16
#98	Infrastructure	5 carriage train	6
#99	Infrastructure	6 carriage train	8

Then you can unlock all the other Procurements, in whatever order.
Here is their cost in bonds :

PROCUREMENT	ITEM	COST IN BONDS
Facilities	lvl 3 plant	3
Facilities	Fish tank	4
Facilities	Pond	4
Utilities	garbage compactor	4
Utilities	lvl 2 fan	4
Utilities	lvl 1 alarm	2
Tools	lvl 1 watering can	2
Commerce	Fruit and veg ad	1
Commerce	Flowers ad	1
Commerce	Kiosk ad	1
Commerce	ATM ad	1
Commerce	Drinks ad	1
Commerce	Phonebox ad	1
Commerce	Bookshop ad	1
Commerce	Crisps ad	1
Commerce	Hotdog ad	1
Commerce	Burger stall ad	1
Commerce	Chicken shop ad	1
Commerce	Coffee cart ad	1
Commerce	Pub ad	1
Commerce	Pharmacy ad	1
Amenities	Customer services locker	5
Amenities	Refuse locker	5
Amenities	Medic locker	5
Amenities	Security locker	5
Amenities	Technician locker	5
	FINISHING THE ZONE WITH	5

ZONE 1 station designs

(Zone 1, map 1, objectives done - left part of the station)


(Zone 1, map 1, objectives done - middle part of the station)


(Zone 1, map 1, objectives done - right part of the station, upside down)


(Zone 1, map 2, objectives done - left part of the station)


(Zone 1, map 2, objectives done - right part of the station)


(Zone 1, map 2, objectives done - upside down)

COMMUTE OF THE DAY WALKTHROUGH

[2021/06/07] Update : Since Build 1.1.0, Commute of the Day objectives have been fixed. I updated this part of the guide accordingly. And added new screenshots.

Objectives : Shift commuters to unlock all available bonds.
Build at least 5 platforms and 4 entrances (hit the footfall target) to complete the map.

Commute of the Day walkthrough :
Commute of the day game mode is pretty hard to start with, because commuters needs are going to increase quite fast from ZONE 5 needs to ZONE 1 needs.
I reached ZONE 4 needs (sick commuters and rats) at DAY 3.
From DAY 8, I had to deal with vandals and heart attacks.
From DAY 10, commuters needed high-end shops to be satisfied by their journey.

At the beginning, build the minimum required (Platform 1, entrance, turnstile, ticket machine), build all types of rooms (for tools, utilities, control machines, and staff), add some generators and open your station. With the Bonds you’ll earn, place lightings, bins and benches. Then add as many newspaper ads as you can.

About Procurements, you can follow the order I gave in this guide. But keep in mind you’ll have to focus on unlocking and installing one of each available Tools asap. Hire a Staff member, and don’t forget to assign him to all those new jobs.
Keep a high energy production. And build enhanced generators and capacitors.

About your station, try to keep it small. But keep in mind you’ll need at least 3x2 squares to place your new type of shops. When your ads will generate a fair amount of money, build at least one of each level of shops to avoid the "bad shopping range" negative reputation. So, unlock the first line until the Kiosk, and then go grab the pharmacy at the end of the first column.

Be ahead of your commuters' Needs. Unlock and buy at least one of each Tools. As soon as you can, build a second tool room and hire a second Staff member. Be sure you have enough bins, benches, hand sanitizers, maps, indicator boards, CCTVs and Prestige items.

Once your Incomes and your Reputation are stable, you can start expanding your station, without opening those new areas to the commuters. After some more money grind, and only once the whole station is built and fully equipped, you can configure your turnstiles, escalators and lifts. Then, open the new Entrances. Hit the footfall target with all of them to complete the objectives of the map.

Commute of the Day station design

(COTD, day 1, preplanning the station, part 1)

(COTD, day 1, preplanning the station, part 2)

(COTD, day 7, managing a one track station, and grinding money)

(COTD, day 24, expanding the station, part 1)

(COTD, day 24, expanding the station, part 2)

(COTD, day 37, expanding the station, part 3)

(COTD, day 48, objectives done, part 1)

(COTD, day 48, objectives done, part 2)

MAKING OF

I'm still traumatized by this image... 🤦

(no rats were harmed during the course of this exercise)

As you can see, I did not keep an eye on my Station while expanding it. I was happily building platforms 4 and 5 and designing the future multi-level entrances, when Rats! started to invade my Station. But at that time, I had only 2 Staff members, and a small station that needed to be managed. So, I ignored them. Ha ! I believed I could quickly finish what I was building, complete the objectives, and flee the zone...
But nope 🤷

EVACUATION PROCEDURE

The reputation was falling down at the speed of light. My Save was useless, because I continued playing for a while after the start of the invasion. So, I tried to do something :

1. Setting all the doors on Exit Only.
   
2. Setting turnstiles, escalators and lifts on Exit Only.
   
3. Disabling all the Signal Automators.
   
4. All the commuters present in my station simply left.
   
5. The station Reputation stopped from dropping down. Commuters were no longer in contact with rats. And with the doors on Exit Only, you don't get the "closed" bad Reputation.
   
6. Half my Staff was using a rat pod, while the other half was busy litter picking.
   
7. Trains kept coming eventually, and the Reputation started to decrease again.
   
8. It's not possible to remove a platform once opened, so I sold it.
   
9. Trains stopped coming.
   
10. The Station Reputation was safe.

But this problem was impossible to solve. Indeed, rats were even mating in the empty space around the map... 👀 Afer that, I had only one option left : forfeit the map and start over (as you may have noticed the small differences between this station, and the station in the screenshots from ZONE 2, map 1).

Last words : Overcrowded by Rats.

[LiedHart]

I'm glad it helped you!

[[W+M1] DirtyHarry07]

Thanks for this guide, learnt some new tricks to 100% <3