Jan Verschueren wrote:
Check out what's being done/considered in this post.
http://www.promods.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2056
As for what goes into the mod: it depends on many factors and is influenced by limitations imposed by the game/already finished sections. User feedback and pleading generally don't weigh heavily on the decision, although there have been instances where developers have been swayed by good arguments in the concept stage.
I know it's a long way from actual development because it would be the last part of Italy to get built, but here I'm transferring what I wrote about Sicily in an older topic to the new Italy topic. It is a solid argument that would be downright foolish to ignore. As per the post I referenced, I agree with the rest of the plan, but honestly the plan at this stage for Sicily is rubbish.
They had Messina, Trapani and Pozzallo, but completely missed Palermo and Catania. And I'm sorry, but Palermo and Catania are the two largest and most important cities on the island of Sicily... there is no reasonable justification whatsoever for omitting them.
So here we are, in detail:
Developers working on Italy, please take note for when you get to the south! This is the best serious advice you will ever get on this topic.
Messina: should be there as planned
Trapani: necessary as a ferry terminal at least, to connect with Cagliari on Sardinia,
apart from that not particularly useful. Palermo is the much bigger and more important nearby city, which will have more jobs.
Pozzallo: only useful as a ferry terminal, if you intend to build a ferry connection to Valletta, Malta.
Otherwise no reason for it to be there. If Catania is too close to Messina, take an artistic liberty and move it further south, like Malmö was placed further away from Copenhagen than it really is.
Palermo: the largest and most important city on Sicily, and in fact the capital of the region.
Cannot be skipped.
Catania: the largest and most important city in eastern Sicily, a major hub which will generate a lot of jobs.
Cannot be skipped.
I know that at the moment development on Italy is not even close to Sicily, and plans constantly change... but please, take this advice about Sicily into consideration because the current plan for Sicily is, honestly, poorly thought through.
The plan for the rest of Italy looks much better though... although instead of building Rimini I would skip it and build the small country of San Marino instead (but that's mostly because I'm a big fan of the small countries).
Thank you.