Building Town advanced tips: exact numbers and tricks

This page is for builders who know the basics and want to work faster and neater. Most numbers here are not shown in the game: they come from the game's own rules, and we mark them as hidden. If you are new, start with Tips for new builders.

Machine sizes and limits

These limits are hidden in the game.

• Machines can't drive closer than about 4 metres to each other. If one is parked in your way, choose it with Q and move it.
• Slow controls (Shift, LB or the button) move the tools at 30% of the normal speed. In street projects, holding Shift or LB also makes the machine drive slowly.

Soil, scooping and tipping

• The dark soil is made of patches one metre wide. Each patch starts with 800 kg of soil. (Hidden.)
• The bucket only scoops when its edge is within about 15 cm of the soil surface. (Hidden.)
• A tipped bucket empties at about 450 kg a second. A dumper with its bed raised about halfway or more empties at about 650 kg a second. (Hidden.)
• Only soil that lands on the light pad counts. Scooping from the light pad takes soil off your count, so never dig there.

Faster jobs

• Garden soil and Open the delivery route: one full bucket is enough. For the delivery route, the wheel loader carries 900 kg in one bucket, more than the 600 kg you need.
• Load extra soil in Load the gravel truck. The job counts 600 kg, but the dumper holds 2,400 kg. Extra soil stays in the dumper for Deliver the fill. Anything left over after that can be tipped on the light pad for Open the delivery route, because the dumper counts there too.
• Load the gravel truck: the soil only goes into the bed when the loader's bucket is higher than about 2.2 m and within about 2.8 m of the middle of the dumper, with the dumper's bed down. (Hidden.)
• Deliver the fill: the soil comes out about 3 m behind the middle of the dumper. (Hidden.)

Crane and roof numbers

These numbers are hidden in the game:

• The crane reaches 5 to 19 m, and its boom height goes from 12 to 22 m.
• The hook can attach when it is within about 1.1 m of the roof's lifting point.
• The roof must go on the frame at 6.6 m. It can be released when it is within about 1 m of the right spot, within about 0.4 m of the right height, and almost still. The hint line tells you when to hoist, swing, reach and lower.
• A low roof can't pass through the workshop walls. Hoist above the beams first, then swing.
• If you lower the roof to the ground away from the workshop and release it, it waits there. Just hook it again.

Roller and bulldozer

• Both machines must stay within about 1.5 m of the middle of their lane, and drive straight along it. (Hidden.) If a band doesn't count, the hint says Line up for another pass.
• The roller counts a band when its drum rolls over the band with vibration on. Each band needs one pass forwards and one in reverse. The hint does all the forward passes first, then the reverse ones.
• The bulldozer's blade must be nearly on the ground. Ridges only move when you drive forward.

Mixer and telehandler

• Mix: holding Mix for about 3 seconds takes the batch from 0 to Mixed 100%. (Hidden.)
• Pour: concrete flows at about 100 litres a second, so 400 litres takes about 4 seconds. The chute must be within about 1.5 m of the form's middle. (Hidden.)
• Pick up: the forks must be within about 0.7 m of the pallet and close to its height. (Hidden.)
• Release on the shelf: within about 0.7 m of the shelf spot and within about 0.3 m of 2.4 m high. If you let go of the pallet low down anywhere else, it lands on the ground and you can pick it up again. (Hidden.)
• While you carry the pallet, the forks can't push into the shelf from below. Lift above 2.4 m first.

Street projects: speed and order

• A street machine drives fastest with the tool up and slower with the tool down. Slow driving is slowest. (Hidden: about 9, 5 and 2 metres a second.)
• The bulldozer and dumper only build on from the end of the finished strip. Never lift the tool in the middle; if you do, back up to the end of the strip.
• The roller needs a forward pass and then a reverse pass on each section. The easy way: roll forward over all eight, then reverse back over all eight.
• The concrete mixer needs about one second standing still in each section, with the chute open.
• Start Herrhagen early. You can open Town projects before you finish the ten jobs. Vasagatan pays 700 coins.

Read the stages on the Herrhagen street projects and Build your own street.

Camera tricks

• Keys 1 to 4 jump to four fixed views: The neighbourhood, The garden, The workshop and The crossing. C (B) goes back to your machine.
• ← and → turn the view, = and − zoom. With the mouse, drag to look around and use the wheel to zoom. On touch, drag and pinch.
• For the roof, The workshop view (key 3) shows the frame well.

See also

• All ten jobs: what each job asks.
• All nine machines: how each one works.
• Glossary: the words on this page.
• Play Building Town and try a faster run.

• About Building Town
• All game guides