Downtown — map and notes about customer selection
ASCII Map
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| | | | / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / 27 13 \ / \ / ____ \ / / \ \ / P/ \ \ / M/ \ \ / R/ \ \ / / \ \ / \ boarders / \ / \ paradise / \ / /\ \________/ /\ \ / 30 / \ 35 / \ 16 \ / 26 / \31 17/ \ 12 \ / / \ / \ \ / / | | \ \ / / | 40 | \ \ / 25 29 / | | \ 11 \ \ \ | |__ / / \ \ | | | / 15 / \ 28 \ | 39 |36| / / \ \_______| |__|___/ 14 / sky | | bank | 33 41 42 43 44 34 | hospital | _______ ______ | / / | | | \ \ / 23 / | 38 | | \ 9 \ / / | | | \ \ / / | | | \ \ \ 20 22 \ | | | / 8 6 / \ \ | 37 | | / / \ \ | |__| / / \ \ / \ / / \ \ /24 10\ / / \ 19 21 \ / ___32___ \ / 7 5 / \ \/ / \ \/ / \ / clock \ / \ / towers \ / \ \ theater / / \ \ / / \ 18 \ / 4 / \ \ / / \ \____/ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / | | | \_ | \_ | 3 \ | | | | police | | station | 2 | | 1 | | .____| | | | |
Customer Notes
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Except for the few closest to the center, any dark-green customer in this area will send you backwards across the highway to the Baseball Stadium or the R.B. Station. Avoid this at all costs. Try to pick up orange, yellow, and light-green customers instead; they will always send you forward.
As you can tell from the map, this is very complicated area. However, the following guidelines will help you make well-educated customer decisions.
- Nearly any red customer you pick up will want to go to a drop-off zone within this Downtown area.
- Red Customers 1, 2, and 3 at the Police Station are always available for pick-up. Customers 4 and 18 are also red, but are not always present.
- The red customers that appear within the Clock Towers Theater (32), Sky Bank (33), C.T. Hospital (34), and Boarders Paradise (35) drop-off zone areas always want to be driven to whatever destination is on the opposite side of the Downtown area. For instance, the red customer directly in front of Sky Bank will always want to go to C.T. Hospital, and vice-versa. (Be sure your cab is aimed towards the center of the Downtown area when you pick these up!)
- Any orange or yellow customer in Downtown area will send you to either the Commercial District area or (less likely) the Mall – West Gate location. Customers 5, 6, 11, 19, 20, and 25 are always yellow while 12 and 26 will always be orange, but sometimes these customers are not present. Only grab Customers 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 17, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, and 31 when they are orange or yellow (sometimes they may be red or dark-green).
- Take Customers 7, 16, 21, and 30 when they are light-green for trips to the Bus Terminal. Also pick up Customers 13 and 27 when light-green to go to the Lookout Tower.
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All of the streetbound customers not listed yet are located on median strips in front of the four central Downtown destinations.
The rule of thumb for the pairs of customers on the median strips in front of the Clock Towers Theater, Sky Bank, and Boarders Paradise is to take the one closest to the center of the Downtown area when both are dark-green for a chance to go forward to the Lookout Tower.
So, when both Customers 37 and 38 on the median strip in front of Clock Towers Theater are both dark-green, choose 38.
Similarly, when both 39 and 40 are dark-green you should choose 39.
When 41 and 42 are dark-green, choose 42.
It's important to know that when you take these customers, there's a chance you may be sent backwards to the Baseball Stadium or the R.B. Station.
For a guaranteed forward trip, you want only one of the three median strip pairs listed above to contain two dark-green customers; customers in the other two sets should either not match or both be red. So, don't drive into the center of the Downtown area after a Clock Towers Theater, Sky Bank, C.T. Hospital, or Boarders Paradise drop-off to pick up your first "inner" customer if you see both customers on the median strip closest to you are dark-green, as that will increase the chances another set will be too. If there are two or more pairs of dark-green customers on the median strips, both inner customers may send you forward, or perhaps only one will. Just realize you're taking a big chance if you choose one of them under these circumstances, as the penalty for a poor choice is a trip backwards across the highway just like any other dark-green customer on the streets here. (I think when two or more sets of green customers appear, your best bet is to take the inner customer closest to Boarders Paradise, but it's always safer to find someone else and check the median strips again later.) Also, after you've taken one of these inner median strip customers, feel free to take its "outer" partner (either 37, 40, or 41) any time it is red to a Downtown area destination. - The median strip customers in front of C.T. Hospital do not follow the same pattern as the others. Exception to the rule for the red customers, Customer 43 will take you forward to the Mall – West Gate location whenever it's red. Also unlike the others, it doesn't matter what color its partner (Customer 44) is to guarantee a trip forward. This means you can also take 44 any time it is red to a Downtown location.
- Customer 38 of the Clock Towers Theater median strip also deviates from the norm. Any time it's orange, it will take you to the Mall – North Gate location (again, I recommend trying to get a Lookout Tower trip instead).
- If you're thinking we missed a customer, you're right. It's Customer 36, always dark-green and headed for the Fire Station. Getting to him's a bit tricky. To the left of Customer 10 near the Clock Towers Theater you'll see a ramp. If you drive up this ramp at normal floored speed (steering slightly to the right), you should level out at the top, then strike a balcony guard rail making your cab "hop" into the air. If you did it correctly, you'll land in a little nook on the top of the next building that holds Customer 36.
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Mall – West Gate customers
Having the Mall – West Gate location chosen as a destination won't happen very often unless you know what customer patterns to look for (which is okay, since there are only two customers there). However, since one of the two customers is an important light-green one, you don't want to miss out on opportunities to take it. So, here are the Downtown area customers that can get you there:- Customer 43 when red (already mentioned above).
- Customer 8 when orange.
- Customer 24 when orange.
- Customer 29 when red. The bad news is that there's a chance you'll go to Clock Towers Theater instead. If you do decide to risk it, your best chances for a forward trip from this red customer are when both 23 and 28 are dark-green. However, I recommend taking this one when yellow for a definite trip forward.
- Customer 39 when both Boarders Paradise median strip customers 39 and 40 are red.
- Customer 42 when both Sky Bank median strip customers 41 and 42 are red.
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backwards customers
As detailed above, dark-green customers 38, 39, and 42 should send you forward when chosen correctly, but any other dark-green customer on the streets of the Downtown area will definitely send you backwards across the highway.
Additional Notes...
- Concentrate on the light-green customers first, as they can be difficult to get sometimes. If they aren't available, you'll still have several other good options available. For instance, when you head to the "outer loop" of the Downtown area after a Boarders Paradise drop-off, 13 and 27 are most likely to be light-green. If they aren't, turn away sharply and look to see if 16 or 30 is light-green. If that's not the case, continue driving in that direction and take the next orange or yellow customer you come across. Things are much simpler for 7 and 21. Drop off a customer at the Police Station, drive towards one of these two, and pick them up if light-green. If not, continue driving and take a yellow or orange customer.
- Whenever you have a choice between taking a customer that is always either yellow or orange and a customer that is sometimes red (but is yellow or orange right now), always take the customer that might turn red later on.
- When you're near Sky Bank, keep an eye out for Customer 29 to be yellow for a guaranteed forward trip. When you do pick this one up (regardless of color), if you haven't collected Customer 30 yet, you can turn the wheel to the right as you slowly drive over 29's pick-up circle until 30 is in view. This gives you the option of hitting the Gas Pedal if 30 is light-green or the Brake if it's not.
- At the Clock Towers Theater location, there are four tiny signs arranged in a rectangle beneath the marquee signs that say "No Parking." If this is your passenger's destination and you stop close to the wall near this rectangle, the drop-off animation will not start. You'll have to move your vehicle closer to the edges of the drop-off zone to trigger it.
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(advanced and expert players only)
When you find yourself making lots of passengerless trips to the Downtown area, you may want to reserve Customers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 18 for just those occasions. You put a lot of pressure on yourself to find a customer quickly when you've lost all that time traveling the highway without a customer. This is when you tend to panic and choose customers that aren't optimal colors. Leaving red "safety" customers at the Police Station buys you a little mental "reset" time and (hopefully) will send you to a destination with a good selection of customers to choose from. Of course, try to pick up 4 and 18 before the rest while you still have options available in the event they don't appear.