Question Your Favorite Building / Management Games

[HankTheTank]

I might have to say the original Zoo Tycoon but that might be the nostalgia goggles talking. Cities: Skylines is definitely up there, but I might have to say Banished is my favorite. I have been playing Rise of Industry lately though and it's been pretty fun.

 

[BIGPAPAKAN]

I was really liking Conan exiles for a while but I have to go with Minecraft hate me if you want I've watched it grow and grow into something I barely recognise but it's still fun to play

 

[BIGPAPAKAN]

What are your favorite city building / supply chain management games? Here's a quick list of games I come back to often:

• Cities: Skylines
• Surviving Mars
• Anno 1800

I also really enjoyed Rimworld for a while but haven't tried the Royalty DLC. Frostpunk is great but in terms of difficulty I usually prefer something a little more laid back to pass the time. I know this is kind of a stretch for the category but Planet Coaster definitely held my attention for a while since I was a Roller Coaster Tycoon player growing up. Also Offworld Trading Company even though being more of an RTS game had me addicted for a while.

What do you all like? Has anyone tried Surviving the Apocalypse yet? How about Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic? Any big Tropico series players? (I have to admit I've never tried it)

Also feel free to post screenshots of your beautiful creations here!

I feel like a noob I've only played Tropico 5 out of all the games you listed

 

[Frindis]

@BIGPAPAKAN you have to start somewhere though. *looks in my own limited sports games library general direction*

 

[spvtnik1]

Space Haven released early-access last week, and I find it really, really enjoyable. It's somewhere right at the intersection of FTL and Rimworld, and poised to surpass those titles. This might be my new favorite builder/management title.

I put a lot of hours in to Cities: Skylines. It is the essential city-building game, especially once you open up the doors to the Steam Workshop. I really like Frostpunk, but it didn't quite dig it's claws in to me enough to keep going. Saving it for a rainy weekend, I guess. I would quite like to have a try at Banished in the near future. I still haven't gotten my hands on Factorio but I'd like to try that one, too. I tried an alpha version of Rimworld long ago, and I put a bunch of hours in to it, but in the end, it failed to impress me. Omerta: City of Gangsters (2013) was also plenty of fun, with much more narrative and action than most building/management games.

My all-time favorite is Railroad Tycoon II. There is just something about it (and other games from that generation) that can let your imagination run free. Connecting Chicago to California through the Colorados and Rockies is, from what I can tell, unmatched by other titles. There is detail precisely where it needs to be, and abstraction that helps move things along.

 

[Krud]

I've always been a sucker for the rollercoaster/themepark building games, like the Rollercoaster Tycoon series (before its most recent entry), and even Planet Coaster, though the management side of that game is sorely lacking. You pretty much have to be into that one strictly for the eye candy and creativity side of it.

 

[Inspireless Llama]

@Krud then I'd recommend looking at Parkitect instead. It's still a game where you can create great rollercoasters, but as far as I'm aware it focusses alot more on (micro)management.

 

[Krud]

@Krud then I'd recommend looking at Parkitect instead. It's still a game where you can create great rollercoasters, but as far as I'm aware it focusses alot more on (micro)management.

Is Parkitect good at it, then? As in it's believable? Because that's my issue with Planet Coaster, not they don't have a management side of things, but that it's lazily bad to where it takes me out of the premise. For instance, people running around with twenty cents, shocked when they can't afford to ride the latest megacoaster, so they run to another, almost as expensive one that also costs way more than twenty cents, and there's an ATM RIGHT THERE! C'mon, peeps!

 

[Kabouter]

Well recently bought Factorio after playing it ages ago at a friends place. A lot of these builder/management games are incredibly addictive. Factorio is definitely no exception. Cities: Skylines I can put aside more easily, but perhaps that's also a good thing, depending on how you look at it. Also love Oxygen Not Included. Love to just try and figure things out on my own and come with your own solutions on these games, and only look for help if it really isn't working, or if you are in need of some optimization. If you do that too much, it just starts to feel dull, almost like a chore.

 

[McStabStab]

Tropico 6 is free to try this weekend on Steam. I may give it a look finally.

EDIT: Played through the tutorial and the first mission. They do a good job of easing you into all the fine details because there's a LOT to keep track of. I can tell this first mission was kind of an easy win to get you hooked but it's definitely working.

The story and humor in these scenarios is much more interesting than the Anno 1800 main scenario (only comparing them cause they're both supply chain / island management games) but Anno is for sure the more beautiful and visually detailed title. This doesn't have as much screenshot appeal that Anno does.

Overall Anno feels like the more laid back supply chain / island management game whereas Tropico is constantly throwing you tasks and new objectives. They're definitely unique in their own way and I'm going to see where Tropico 6 takes me. Would love to hear another first-timer's experience if they're trying it this weekend!

 

[Zloth]

There always seems to be two Tropicos to me. There's the campaigns which have a lot more humor and interesting situations and then there's the open one where you just build away. In my experience, it's best to start with the campaign so you can get yourself educated in how this thing works. IF you start to get bored with them, though, pick out a good, open world and start building without the restrictions!

 

[McStabStab]

Ended up buying the game, the second scenario seems to ramp up the difficulty and I've failed it once already! Still learning the ropes for sure. Any tips for a beginner you wish you knew beforehand?

 

[Zloth]

Not with 6 - I'm as much a beginner as you are!

 

[OsaX Nymloth]

Not with 6 - I'm as much a beginner as you are!

You mean 6 is different than previous ones in some meaningful way? I am still waiting for even better sale of Tropico 6, but I thought having some experience in previous games of this series was always an advantage. I surely felt right at home when switching from 3 to 4 and to 5.

 

[McStabStab]

Things I've learned so far: you can build non-supply chain structures away from roads without penalty, teamster offices are apparently super necessary so I shouldn't wait for a quest giver to make me build one (or many), and I have no idea how to optimize my supply chains yet.

 

[Zloth]

You mean 6 is different than previous ones in some meaningful way? I am still waiting for even better sale of Tropico 6, but I thought having some experience in previous games of this series was always an advantage. I surely felt right at home when switching from 3 to 4 and to 5.

Somewhat. There's various pirate missions to go on and whatnot. Building upgrades seemed a little more complex. There was something about making sure you don't keep doing the same crops on the same patch of ground, too. I only did the tutorial and one scenario before I got distracted by another game and haven't been back yet.

 

[McStabStab]

There was something about making sure you don't keep doing the same crops on the same patch of ground, too.

So far what I’ve experienced is ranches and farms degrade the fertility but you can switch the work modes on them so that they lose efficiency overall but you don’t have to keep relocating them to chase the right spots.

 

[McStabStab]

An update on Tropico 6. Got through the first three scenarios ok. Had to restart Speakeasy a few times before getting the hang of it. Now I'm on Chocolate Factory and man this scenario is brutal. I either expand too quickly and start hemorrhaging money or I develop too slowly and my Tropicans vote me out eventually. I think I've lost four or five times now and still haven't found the right formula. Not giving up yet though!

*Edit* - I beat the scenario. Got two cigar factories running ASAP and pumped up those export numbers to start. Multiple ports also helped big time.

 

[Synack]

Well recently bought Factorio after playing it ages ago at a friends place. A lot of these builder/management games are incredibly addictive. Factorio is definitely no exception. Cities: Skylines I can put aside more easily, but perhaps that's also a good thing, depending on how you look at it. Also love Oxygen Not Included. Love to just try and figure things out on my own and come with your own solutions on these games, and only look for help if it really isn't working, or if you are in need of some optimization. If you do that too much, it just starts to feel dull, almost like a chore.

I tried the demo of factorio and hadn't realized the full scope until I watched the video on the steam store page. I didn't even know about the trains and rockets. I need to go back an optimize my entire setup...

The game kills time like no tomorrow.

Update 2: Finished the demo it let's you do a ton and it only scratches like 1/10th of what's in the game. I found the 1st 'secret' looking/hoping for the 2nd. I may reorg everything. Build it all in an open area and expand. The cost of the game is well worth it considering the amount of work the developers put into it. I highly recommend it if you're unable to play satisfactorily.

 

[McStabStab]

I tried the demo of factorio and hadn't realized the full scope until I watched the video on the steam store page. I didn't even know about the trains and rockets. I need to go back an optimize my entire setup...

The game kills time like no tomorrow.

Update 2: Finished the demo it let's you do a ton and it only scratches like 1/10th of what's in the game. I found the 1st 'secret' looking/hoping for the 2nd. I may reorg everything. Build it all in an open area and expand. The cost of the game is well worth it considering the amount of work the developers put into it. I highly recommend it if you're unable to play satisfactorily.

Let's see some screenshots, would love to see your progress!

 

[McStabStab]

After years in Early Access the full release is out and PCG just posted their review. Now I feel like I will inevitably buy it.

Factorio review

The goods must flow in Wube Software's astounding factory management game.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[kickmeplizz]

Anno 1800, but idk. i have almost 40 hour on it, still cant properly manage Investor Tier, i feel stupid.

 

[McStabStab]

Anno 1800, but idk. i have almost 40 hour on it, still cant properly manage Investor Tier, i feel stupid.

Don't feel stupid, I've got almost 40 hours in the game and I have never even had the Investor Tier unlocked.

 

[McStabStab]

Holy crap, this mission was tough. Love the end result though!

https://imgur.com/a/f4AGtv9

View: https://imgur.com/gallery/f4AGtv9

 

[Pifanjr]

I realized today that programming is a lot like a complex building/management game. Just not a very good one.