Hello everyone, the editor of Qitan is online again. Today I want to talk to you about a business simulation game that I can't stop playing recently – Subway Simulator.
To be honest, when I first saw this small game with a simple style and seemingly simple gameplay, I didn't have high expectations. As soon as I started playing, my dear, I stayed up until three in the morning😅. The simpler the rules, the more depth of strategies are hidden in the game.
The core of this game is actually one sentence: use limited resources to draw efficient subway lines for the expanding city. Sounds easy, right? But if you really get started, you will find that cities are developing very fast, new sites are springing up like mushrooms after a spring rain, funds are never enough, and tunnels and bridges can make your budget explode at every turn.
After playing for so long, I have slowly figured out some tricks. Today I will share some practical tips with you, hoping to help friends who have just entered the game or are stuck in the bottleneck period.
The first piece of advice is also the most important one in my opinion: in the early stage, you must resist pulling the string randomly. Many novice friends, including myself, hurriedly connected when they first saw the stations popping up, going to where there were more people. As a result, the lines were as winding as a large intestine, the trains were all blocked on the road, and the passengers were so anxious that they jumped. The correct approach is to first observe the density and color distribution of the stations, and give priority to using a main line to connect the core stations with the largest flow of people. Keeping the lines straight and smooth will be more effective than spreading them everywhere.
The second point is to learn to distinguish between passing stations and terminal stations. Stations of different shapes, such as red square stations and green triangle stations, determine the destinations of different passengers. If you just extend a line blindly, resulting in frequent U-turns at non-terminal stations, the efficiency will be greatly reduced. I am used to planning the line into one long line with several short-term connections, so that the main line can focus on long-distance running, and the short-term connection lines are responsible for transporting surrounding residents to the transfer point, so that the operation of the entire network will be much smoother.
The third piece of advice is about flexible dispatch of vehicles. Money is tight in the game, and every car is precious. When a certain line is suddenly crowded with people, don't rush to buy a new car with a stroke of a pen. First check if there are idle cars on other lines that can be temporarily deployed. Wait until the number of passengers waiting on the platform has obviously piled up into a small mountain, and then consider upgrading the carriages to increase transport capacity. Budget carefully and spend every penny wisely. This is the essence of simulation management.
One final tip is to make good use of tunnels and bridges. Rivers and highways on many maps will interrupt your planning. At this time, many friends like to take a direct detour. But detours often mean longer lines and higher costs. Sometimes you bite the bullet and build a bridge or dig a tunnel. Although the initial investment is large, it can greatly shorten the line distance and improve the overall efficiency. In the long run, it is very cost-effective.
To sum up, Subway Simulator is a game that really hones people's planning thinking. It won't put too much pressure on you, but you can always experience new fun from every re-planning. Every time I watch the subway network I designed run smoothly, I feel a sense of accomplishment that no other game can give me.
Okay, let's stop talking about today's cautions. What layout ideas do you usually use when playing simulated subway? Do you like a spider web with loops within loops, or do you like a checkerboard with horizontal and vertical lines? Welcome to chat together in the comment area. Maybe your unique secrets will be the best medicine to cure my confusion💊 I am the editor of Qitan, see you next time~