Project Highrise guide - How to get started on ground floor

Posted by Campbell Bird on April 13th, 2018
iPad App - Designed for iPad

Project Highrise gives you a lot of tools and deep systems to grapple with while building the skyscraper of your dreams, but in doing so, it can be hard to know exactly where to start. As we dumped time into the game while reviewing it, we came up with this list of tips that should be good for getting you started with the game:

Builders can be finicky

The one constant in every Project Highrise building is the presence of a construction crew. These are the people that follow your directions when it comes to building new floors, installing apartments, outfitting offices, etc. They are the true key to your success in the game, but they aren’t always the easiest people to control.

Since you have no direct control over builders, they choose when to work and what to work on. The main things you need to know about their habits are that your builders generally work on projects in the order that you mark things for construction, and they won’t work tirelessly. Every once in a while they’ll want to take a break. Keeping these things in mind, make sure you build things in the order that you want them to go up and make sure you don’t wait to the last minute to build crucial additions to your building.

Start with a scenario

Between Project Highrise’s two modes, Sandbox and Scenario, it’s recommended that you start playing the game with a scenario. Although they are generally more difficult than having a fully open build mode, the Scenario Mode can really help teach you about core principles of the game and the challenges you should be on the lookout for when building a tower of your own in Sandbox Mode.

In particular, there are certain scenarios that have you building in areas that are zoned specifically for business or residential use, and these scenarios are most recommended as a starting point. You may feel hamstrung at first, but having a limited set of tools to build with will let you become a lot more familiar with them and how they work, which will only help you on future builds.

Don’t be afraid to start over

It’s not easy to build a great building on your first try, and it’s even harder to fix mistakes once you’ve made them. If you feel like you’ve built yourself into a corner, don’t be afraid to give up and try again.

While it may not sound ideal to throw out all of the work you’ve done already, it’s actually pretty quick and easy to build back up to where you were. All you have to do is make sure you know the problems you need to avoid and plan solutions for them as you rebuild. As an added bonus, rebuilding quickly with your new plan could also end up cutting out any drain on your budget you experienced when experimenting with your building on your first try.

Income determined on daily basis

When you’re first starting out in Project Highrise, it can be hard to tell how well you’re doing. A lot of this has to do with the fact that you only get feedback on how profitable your building is on a daily basis. This means that if you install a bunch of offices and apartments in your building to collect more rent, you won’t really see how impactful the returns on those builds are until people have moved in and lived their first day there.

This doesn’t mean that your returns only change on a daily basis, mind you. It’s just that Project Highrise doesn’t surface that information in the main game view until the next new day. If you want to dive deeper and take a look at your more detailed financials, you can dive in by tapping to the reports menu, which can give you a readout of your earnings so far in the current day and how they compare to the day before.

Share This: