SimCity 4!

[Jonny]

In the May 2002 issue of CGW there is a preview of SimCity 4. It talks about some of the features of the new game, and of course, has screenshots.

The following may be one of the most important things that will shape the game:

So much of what is being put into SimCity 4 is a direct result of lessons learned from the enormous success of The Sims.

And here's a quick rundown of some of the things in the game:

• Story Elements (like in The Sims)
• Unique Buildings can change the behavior of your people.
• Greater ability to create whatever kind of city you want - not just a giant metropolis.
• The look, activity, and "feel" of a particular neighborhood is determined largely by demographics.
• The amount of services available in a certain area (health care, education, etc.) will influence which economic class will live in that area.
• "Props": Wealthy neighborhoods will have giant estarts with large swimming pools and nice landscaping, less wealthy areas will have trailer parks and lawn flamingos.
• The above can applies to commercial areas also.
• The different cities you create will have a relation to your other cities - like The Sims there are a certain number of "lots" to build cities on and their citizens will interact. Ex: bedroom communities that house people that work in other large, high tech cities.
• You see work crews working when building buildings and roads. When you demolish buildings, they blow up!
• Some disasters can be controlled by player - you can tell tornadoes where to go!
• There are "agents" - people you actually control and use in the game, including the mayor, firemen, police, and ambulance.
• The traffic system has been redone.
• But there is still lots of city building: water system, roads, taxes, collecting garbage, crime and fire prevention...

I might put up some screens sometime later.

SimCity 4 is set to ship late this year.

Speaking of Sim games, the fourth The Sims expansion is out: The Sims Vacation.

[FrustratedPoet]

that's good news.

i really loved the second one, but i thought the third in the series was much worse.

... hang on a minute ... that sounds familiar ....

[Skanky Burns]

Nice one FP

[Jonny]

Originally posted by FrustratedPoet
that's good news.

i really loved the second one, but i thought the third in the series was much worse.

... hang on a minute ... that sounds familiar ....

Does that mean if SimCity 4 is good, Civ 4 will be good too?

[Urban Ranger]

The Sims? Rats, there goes the neighbourhood.

[Zkribbler]

I hope they replace the choo-choo train with a monorail.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Any sites?

[chronocrator]

The screenshots from the CGW preview can be found here:

http://www.webdrift.com/extra/sc4kscans.asp

[Zkribbler]

Hey in the screenshot on the left aren't those choo-choo train tracks!?!

[ColdWizard]

i don't see any tracks, i only see roads

[Grumbold]

Excellent news about Sc 4(000?) While I'm not a Sims fan, if they can really engineer some different ways to grow your city and some different look and feel features to similar neighbourhoods elsewhere on the map then it will be cool. The thing I think I disliked most about SC 3000 was the inability to even choose between metropolis or Arcopolis in the future era. The other concept of "stories" leaves me cold. It didn't really work in SimGolf because your attention was never focussed on following around a single pair of golfers but on building your course. Similarly a SimCity map that I can ignore for long enough to follow a couple through their weekly routine is probably one I'm done with - unless they are returning to SC2's grind of waiting years to afford a powerplant. The main good thing about SC3000 in my book was the better financial flow so you could always build slowly but steadily.

[Lemmy]

Originally posted by Grumbold
[lot's of rambling... ]
The maine good thing about SC3000 in my book was the better financial flow so you could always build slowly but steadily.

maybe you just got better in sc3000...

There are "agents" - people you actually control and use in the game, including the mayor, firemen, police, and ambulance.

let's hope you don't have to micro-manage too much...

but i do like this one

Greater ability to create whatever kind of city you want - not just a giant metropolis

i always wanted to create a little high-tech utopia

[Grumbold]

Originally posted by Lemmy
maybe you just got better in sc3000...

Nah, the difficulty was definitely dumbed down to make the early stages more fun to play. Like renting garbage space to your neighbours for cash, then after you get rich cancelling the contract and cleaning up your town by paying to have yours taken away. In SC2 you had to make your initial micro settlement viable right from the start and hit turbo to let the years roll by for your $80 dollar a year profit mount up into something worthwhile. I miss the "reticulating splines" tho

[General Ludd]

After paying full price for sim city 3000 only a week and a half before the unlimited version was released, I pledged to never buy a maxis game again.


Funny thing is, SC3000 was the first game which I bought after playing, and liking, a pirated version - 'course the whole unlimited thing spoiled the game for me. I absolutely hate it when a company repackages a game and forces you to buy it again if you want the new stuff, rather then make an expansion.

[Jonny]

Originally posted by Lemmy
let's hope you don't have to micro-manage too much...

Hopefully, it's not too much more complicated than the current dispatch system, and that it's not needed too much more than the current dispatch system. (That is, every once in a while, not every minute.)

[Mr. President]

Yeah, I hate micromanagement, but I love SimGames! I haven't tried The Sims yet, though, and they're already springing another one on us!

[The Rusty Gamer]

Hmmmm....sounds like they might be using code and ideas that was originally being put into the abandoned Simsville, don't you think?

It would be good if you could import families from The Sims into it. When you run SC4 it could detect whether you've got The Sims installed, and if so, use it like a plug-in to the game. Otherwise, it would just run as a game in its own right. Sound good?

[Bkeela]

Thanks for the link to the screenshots

[chronocrator]

Originally posted by Bkeela
Thanks for the link to the screenshots

You're welcome!

I'm also quite happy that different types of cities should now be achievable. In SC2000 I always used dense Indusrial/ Residential/ Commercial zones, it should be fun to design a small town or a couple of villages now.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by ColdWizard
i don't see any tracks, i only see roads

Hmmm, I think you maybe right. I thought those lines paralleling the river were a set of double tracks, but upon closer inspection they appear to be a divided highway.

[Juggler]

In SC2000 I always used dense Indusrial/ Residential/ Commercial zones, it should be fun to design a small town or a couple of villages now.

I used to divide my city into huge quarters (for industry, commerce etc.) not knowing that my city's residents will have to drive 3 hours to get to their job.
But the game isn't really about that. Making your town prosperous and wealthy can be hard in SimCity.

[Bkeela]

Thanks chronocrator, didn't see your link. My complaint was against the twit who started this thread.

Bkeela.

[Vlad Antlerkov]

As long as they give us the opportunity to play on a damn huge map, I'll be happy. (Even the 256x256 in SimCity 3000 was a little cramped for my tastes.)

That, and get rid of the damn Microwave plant. I laughed when I saw that the thing is available in 2020 and costs only 30,000 for 14,000 MW. And the "Microwave" disaster in SimCity 2000...

On the subject, bring back the "Monster" disaster and kill the UFOs. Somehow, I preferred the giant flying metal eye with legs to flying saucers.

[Juggler]

And the "Microwave" disaster in SimCity 2000...

Funny thing, that disaster never occoured in my SC2000 games although I knew some kind of a microwave disaster was possible.

But I hope SC4000 adopts a more futuristic look (with new disasters) .

As long as they give us the opportunity to play on a damn huge map, I'll be happy. (Even the 256x256 in SimCity 3000 was a little cramped for my tastes.)

The feeling is mutual.

[Jaguar]

Originally posted by Vlad Antlerkov
And the "Microwave" disaster in SimCity 2000...

You don't have any idea how hard I laughed after reading that.

[Vlad Antlerkov]

For the uninitiated:

A Microwave Power Plant is a big-ass satellite dish. Microwave beams are sent down to it from a very big-ass orbiting solar power satellite. These beams are converted into energy.

In the Microwave disaster, a beam misses the dish and sets fire to some buildings nearby.

[Jac de Molay]

hmmm....tried out sc3000 again after putting it away after buying, and it's not half-bad. One thing I can't tell is the exact breakdown of what industry is doing, as in specific sectors (high tech, textiles, etc). Sc 2000 had it, but I cant get a good idea of what my industries are exactly doing....

hopefully, sc4 will bring this back.

Dave

[Vlad Antlerkov]

Dave:

Yes, that too. Never figured out why that happened. There seems to be only "dirty" and "clean" industry in SimCity 3000. I'd like to be able to discourage certain industries through methods other than ordinances, such as tax rates for individual industries. (Probably the best way to win the Flint scenario in SimCity 2000.)

[Grumbold]

Just tried SC3000 again and it won't recognise the CD in my new DVD drive when the game fires up. Probably the stupid copy protection since the game installed without a qualm. Nuts.

[Jonny]

Originally posted by Vlad Antlerkov
As long as they give us the opportunity to play on a damn huge map, I'll be happy. (Even the 256x256 in SimCity 3000 was a little cramped for my tastes.)

YES!!! Larger maps would certainly be enjoyed.

Originally posted by DetroitDave
One thing I can't tell is the exact breakdown of what industry is doing, as in specific sectors (high tech, textiles, etc). Sc 2000 had it, but I cant get a good idea of what my industries are exactly doing....

hopefully, sc4 will bring this back.

Dave

From the CGW article: "You'll have big tools-like the return of the SimCity 2000 tax engine for nurturing or discouraging specific industries-in order to create your dream/nightmare city."