So here’s a look at a generated scenario with an absurd amount of cash. The only point here was to try to build a factory that supported five lines of fully researched technology at once (at full capacity, that’s ~148 cars/hour).
Unfortunately, this doesn’t. It hardly even supports two lines. The biggest hangup is in the time it takes for resources to reach production facilities from the edge conveyors. Also I learned a bit late that the resource conveyors can’t go over/through office areas. So my next steps are going to be adding pockets of wall in the middle of the factory to get more just-in-time importers, and also cutting holes through the office areas every 6-8 tiles to permit conveyors to go through them.
(yes I’m playing on three monitors that are a total of ~6,000px wide)
After some modification, here’s a 5-line factory that works pretty well.
This factory produces slightly less than 150 cars/hour (5*(60/2.1167)), which could potentially capture up to 37% of the total market share in this particular game (all customers = 387). The approach is to basically isolate a type of work in one of the galleries, then feed it from both sides with isolated resource importers. I’m telling myself there are tunnels under the galleries for trucks to drive up. Obviously this is not something available in the base game, this is a map that is created specifically for this purpose.
Don’t know how I could do this without a spreadsheet to figure out production quotas and line balance. @_@ That looks a lot like this:
The biggest issue I get with a massive map is simply not being able to get resources to the slots fast enough. Thats basically the bottle neck that I have now and it can’t be resolved.
It’s nice to see you get creative and leave the slots in the middle to get the resources in but it’s obviously not that realistic…
That’s probably the subject of my next experiment. I’m going to try to make fewer galleries and lay out production like:
Import > Stockpile > Parts Manufacture > Stockpile > Car Assembly Slot | Stockpile | Car Assembly Slot | Stockpile | Car Assembly Slot < Stockpile < Parts Manufacture < Stockpile < Import
I think I’ll run into an issue with Budget vs high-end cars where the high-end cars are using more advanced parts that I can’t manufacture [fast enough?]. Alternately, it will just be too many raw materials to import too fast / too many manufacture slots to deliver to in order to keep up. I’ll let you know!
I have a solution for you. Custom Map. Create your Zones separate from each other, if a Zone is “too big” break-it-down in to smaller zones. use a “zone spacer” zone to connect 2 zones and that will leave walls where you can assign import spots to. I like the big zones but by being able to create a few walls where importers can then then be added is definitely useful.
Next Suggestion, Subsidiary Production Chain with direct routes. Using your Resource Conveyors: Importer (well connected together) > Supply Stockpile > Production Facilities > Supply Stockpile > Assemblers. Do not Cross-link materials between Department Areas, I do cross-link only when I have multiple assemblers directly next to each other just for the distribution from Stockpiles.
this is incredibly awesome. I am aware of the fact that local production currently makes less sense than it should. a balance-pass on this stuff will be coming soon. In the meantime, if you have a steam copy and are running 1.43a (I haven’t updated the non-steam version yet), you may well find that the game runs MUCH faster for big layouts now
I’ve generally always avoided cross linking them as best I can anyway to try and keep specific resourcers for specific areas. It get more difficult later on in the game though. I’m not playing custom maps though. Just the stock game maps.
@Robeleahy - I’ve seen that typically that causes major hurk-ups in the lines unless you pre-stock supply stockpiles right next to the slots. Otherwise the slots (if set to “prefer local”) all just tend to import from outside because the “local” supplies are too far away, which is…annoying.
@cliffski - Glad you like it! I’m sure you have more accurate spreadsheets than mine, so…share?
I wonder how it would compare to some “real life” car assembly plants.
If any of you are in the Southeast Michigan area, in the United States - you might actually really like having a tour of the Ford River Rouge facility which is open, in part, to the public.
Obviously this is not something available in the base game, this is a map that is created specifically for this purpose.
