The game world is populated by residents who live in various towns which are spread across the map. Residents have a home where they live, a job where they work and a place where they go shopping.

Towns grow by means of new or larger buildings, if the utilization is high and the land value as well as accessibility is good. Providing public transportation and supplying commercial and industrial buildings with cargo will also further an expansion.

To get an overview over the current situation in the town, click on the town name on the map or in any listselect the town name in the world with the inspector or in any list and press to open the town details window. In the top area of the OVERVIEWfirst tab, the current number of residents, shopping facilities and workplaces as well as an overall tendency of growth is shown. Below is a list of all the influencing factors:

• Destinations shows the current reachable destinations by public transportation and private traffic. The more destinations can be reached by any of those, the bigger the town can grow. Conversely, isolated towns will not grow as much.
• Supply shows the current supply of cargo for the commercial and industrial districts as well as the demand. The more supply is provided, the more the town can grow. See below for more details about cargo demands and supplies.
• Quality lists the three factors that negatively affect town growth:
  • Overcrowded passenger stations should be avoided. Increase station capacity, vehicle frequency or length.
  • Traffic should run smoothly. Try to minimize private traffic by providing good public transportation.
  • Emissions affect residential areas. Use modern vehicles and optimize the infrastructure in order to spare these areas.

All these factors have a percentage influence, which is added to the base population of the town. It is displayed at the bottom of the tab.

By default, a town has a demand for two different cargo types, one for the commercial and one for the industrial district. If activated in the basic settings, larger towns will have up to three demands per district. It depends on the level of the building, which cargo type is demanded:

• Level 1 and 2 buildings will always demand the primary type.
• Level 3 buildings will demand the secondary type if the setting is configured for up to 4 demands per town.
• Level 4 buildings will demand the secondary type if the setting is configured for up to 4 demands per town, or the third type if the setting is configured for up to 6 demands per town.

The growth factor for fulfilled demands sums up to +100% per district, so completely fulfilling the demand for only one of three cargo types in a district won't result in +100% town growth.

You can check the current suppliers on the SUPPLIERS tab. All factories that currently send supplies to this town are listed there, along with two numbers for shipping and transport. Shipping indicates how many units per year are shipped to this town. Transport is the percentage of units that actually arrive at their destination and are successfully delivered. A value lower than 100% means some items decay somewhere on the way, e.g due to an overloaded station.

For each of the three needs of residents, there is a specialized district in every town. To highlight buildings with corresponding zone color, use the land use data layer.

The residential district is the place where the inhabitants live. In the land use data layer, its buildings are colored green. This district does not have a cargo need, but the residents tend to not use public transport when there is no passenger stop or station nearby. This district is sensitive to emissions, thus they should be minimized in areas around residential districts.

The blue commercial district provides locations where inhabitants can go shopping and spend their free time. Buildings in this district all require cargo. Either goods, tools or food. This district is robust against the influence of emissions.

Jobs for residents are located in the industrial district of each town. The buildings are colored yellow while using the land use data layer. Like the commercial district, this district is not influenced by emissions in a negative way either. Cargo is also required by the buildings in this district. For each building it is either construction material, fuel or machines.

By clicking on any town buildingBy selecting any town building in the world with the inspector, a window with some information appears. Depending on the type of building, it shows different information.

Residential buildings provide living space for the people in the game world. The number of maximum residents in one building depends on the building size. The detail window shows the total number of residents in this building as well as the number of residents that currently have no job and are unemployed. These do not travel to the industrial sector.

Commercial buildings provide shopping facilities for the people in the game world. The number of maximum shopping facilities in one building depends on the building size. They also have cargo needs, specifically tools, food or goods. The detail window shows the number of facilities that are available in total as well as the number of facilities currently not occupied by a resident. Furthermore there is some information about the cargo type that is demanded and the current supply of this need.

Industrial buildings provide jobs for the people in the game world. The number of maximum jobs in one building depends on the building size. They also have cargo needs, specifically construction materials, machines or fuel. The detail window shows the number of workplaces provided by this building and the number of vacant jobs as well as the supply rate for the cargo.

The supply rating indicates for a commercial or industrial building the percentage of the cargo needs currently fulfilled. A high supply rate increases the chance a building will level up.

Vacant shows for a commercial or industrial building how many shopping facilities or jobs are unused. A low vacant rate increases the chance a building will level up.