Fences

Once you have finished your house, you have to decide on a fence. According to what resources you have, and whether you have upgraded them, there are nine fences to choose from. They differ in price, resistance to takeover, and the impact they have on the happiness of the tenants. They can make a difference of up to 5%.

Besides, some tenants are a bit picky about the kind of fence they will accept. Some want a special one, others just dislike certain types, and high-scale tenants want high-scale fences.

Country Hedgerow

This hedge is the cheapest fencing available, it needs no resources, it looks well with about any building, and it's best for the happiness of your tenants. Students won't live behind anything else. Its main drawback is that it offers the least resistance against an enemy takeover. Otherwise use it whenever you can. Nerds don't want it, since they insist on a white picket fence, and for Yuppies and level 5 tenants it's not classy enough.

White Picket Fence

Nerds want this. Only slightly more expensive, and offering slightly more resistance than the hedge, this somewhat icky fence looks fairly good with level 3 houses.

Dry Stone Wall

Available as soon as you have a cement yard, this fence offers decent resistance early in the game but otherwise has little to commend it. With its distinct country feel it looks good with the first three commission houses. If you put a major into a house with this fence, he will demand railings.

Brick Hedge

Available with the brick yard, this fence is equal to the dry stone wall in price and resistance, but is considered more classy. Only Stockbrokers see it as beneath their station.

Brick & Steel Fence

This fence has a very high damage resistance but is detrimental to the happiness of your tenants. I like its look with the two larger level 2 houses, especially the Northern Mews.

Panel Fence

This ugly but sturdy construct is available as soon as you have upgraded your lumber yard to a wood factory. It costs the same as the dry stone wall and the brick hedge, but its resistance is 50% higher.

Immovable Monolith

Only Yuppies actually want to live behind this monstrosity, which they call an Art Deco wall. It's what they demand when you give them something they don't like. This fence offers the highest resistance against takeovers, and it is accepted by all level 5 tenants. It is, however, not indestructible, even though its defensive ability is given as 100%. It is by far the most expensive fence in the game. You need a cement factory to build it.

Solid Brick Wall

Its defense is the same as that of the brick & steel fence, but it costs more and looks better. It is acceptable to everyone except level 5 tenants and the Major (who will complain it is badly built and demand a dry stone wall), but it will not do wonders to their happiness. You need a brick factory to build it.

Iron Railings

This is the default fence for level 5 houses; both Sloanes and Stockbrokers will demand it if they find a fence not of their liking. If you put a Major into a house with railings, he will demand a hedge. It costs the same as a solid brick wall, but its defense is halfway between brick hedge and panel fence. It requires a steel factory.

There are some fence graphics that are available only to the computer players, I found at least four:

• A very good looking trimmed hedge;
• A simple wooden fence, similar to the one used for the hippie commune, but in better shape;
• A more sturdy wooden fence, used in Street Wars for the unupgraded businesses;
• A stone wall, as used for the police station.

It is possible that originally there were supposed to be twelve types of fences, not nine; the fence selection screen is designed to accomodate this number.