Sundale

Population

840,000

Runs the streets

Southside Saints

Land prices

40% off

Special service

Sundale Speedway

History

Sundale was a fuel stop that refused to die. Route 9 brought the truckers, the truckers brought the motels, the motels brought the card games, and by the time anyone at the capital noticed, a city of eight hundred thousand had sprawled across the desert with no plan, no zoning and no intention of getting either.

During the gold war, the Speedway on the south side was where the armored cars parked. After the Concord it went back to racing, and the Southside Saints took the betting windows, the garages and the motels along the highway as their share. They have run Sundale ever since with a code that outsiders find confusing: steal from anyone, but never from a Sundale family; sell anything, but never to a child; and always, always pay your respects to the Padre.

The Clearance hit Sundale hardest. Half the city was built on Ace Holdings leases, and when the leases died, the bulldozers took entire blocks down to sand. That's why land here is the cheapest in the Nation. It's also why every hustler with a dream and a few thousand dollars is on the next bus south.

North of town, past the red rock, Mount Cinder smokes on the horizon. Locals say a cartel lab hides in the caldera. The Saints insist it isn't theirs, which worries people more than if it were.

Neighborhoods and landmarks

Sundale Speedway

Stock cars, dust and a busy betting window. Six cars run every race: Desert Fox, Lucky Strike, Sidewinder, Mirage, Dust Devil and Cactus Jack. Pick the winner and the track pays nearly six to one. Pick wrong and you watch your money disappear in a cloud of sand. How betting works.

Route 9

The main drag: gas stations, motels with rooms by the hour and cantinas with cold beer and quiet corners. This is where Sundale makes its money, and where the highway bonus pays best.

Mission Flats

Low stucco houses and orange sand lots around the old mission church, where the Padre still says Mass on Sundays and hears other kinds of confession on weeknights.

Downtown

The Golden Ace, Sundale PD Headquarters, Sundale City Hall, St. Mercy Hospital, the Sundale Savings & Trust, the gym, Pawn & Arms, Fuel-Up, FreshWay and Liberty Park, baking under the same sun as everything else.

The Dry Wash

Out past the last streetlight the city gives way to desert, cacti and red rock. As people build, the wash fills in, block by block, at the cheapest prices in the Nation.

Who runs it

Padre Rafael Ortega was a priest until the church found out about his garage. Now he runs the Southside Saints from a booth in the back of a cantina, fixes engines on weekends and settles disputes with a few quiet words. Sundale's people love him. Sundale's police have never managed to charge him with anything.

The Saints don't care much about the Chairman's throne. They care about the highway, and about whoever is making that money under Mount Cinder.

Faces of Sundale

• Padre Rafael OrtegaHead of the Southside SaintsConfess to me or confess to the highway. I'm kinder.
• Commissioner Harlan CroftHead of the Nation PoliceSon, I never took an envelope I didn't earn.

Life on each side

Criminals

Cheap land helps offset the laundering markup criminals pay on property. Gas stations are also the classic easy mark: the register at Fuel-Up is right there, and the getaway drive activity hands out cash bags and energy. Build a motel or two to clean up the take.

Police

Sundale's sprawl means a lot of players building fast and fighting over the same blocks. Where there's a land rush, there's crime, and where there's crime, there's heat to chase. The Speedway also draws big winners carrying cash.

Civilians

This is civilian heaven. Civilians already get a discount on property; stack that with Sundale's land discount and your lots cost a fraction of what they would in Neon Bay. Fill a block with gas stations, parking and a motel, and let the highway do the rest.

Specialty buildings and perks

• Opens at level 3: the first city you unlock beyond the two starting cities.
• Cheapest land in the Nation: 40% off every lot.
• Highway town: gas stations +30%, motels +25%, and cantinas, auto garages and parking +20%.
• Only in Sundale: the Motel and the Cantina. Auto garages and the sprawling Resort can also go up here.
• Sundale Speedway: bet on one of six cars; winners are paid nearly six to one.

Tips for Sundale

• Sundale opens at level 3. Make it your second city: the money you've made in Port Marlow or Havenbrook goes further here than anywhere else.
• Parking lots are small and cheap, and they get a highway bonus here. They're a great way to fill an awkward corner of a block.
• Treat the Speedway as entertainment, not income. Over time it returns a little less than you bet.
• Land is cheap, but so are the robbery targets. Upgrade your best buildings, since a property's level counts toward its defense, and collect your registers often so there's less to steal.
• Sundale sits in the south. Havenbrook ($48 by bus) and Neon Bay ($61) are the closest hops.

Getting here

Fares from Sundale, nearest first. The bus also costs 15 energy; a flight costs none. A Sports Car halves flights and a Private Jet makes them free. Sundale opens at level 3; once you have been, it stays open to you.