Recommended Posts

http://www.rockpaper...-not-necessary/

When folks like Notch have come out and said they can play the game offline, you know something is up. I hope the gaming press keep the heat on EA/Maxis.

why would I care more about what notch says than anyone else ?

Why have the dirty industries to begin with?

I just build windmills until I've saved up enough for a nuclear plant for my energy needs.

And once I have enough cashflow to build a recycling plant, I can have a supply of metals, plastics and whatnot that I can sell and profit from without harming the environment (and decreasing the land value).

because he got very lucky with ONE game, which wasnt even an original concept, So hes a uber game genius, so his opinion matters. :rolleyes:

I was able to save my first city from going debt. By putting in some oil, ore, and coal factories.

Now im trying to clean up land pollution. Parks don't seem to do anything to it but put me in debt.

plop trees/forest, and keep doing it as they die.

why would I care more about what notch says than anyone else ?

Because he is neither press nor a "Maxis insider". If it was someone else mentioned in the article, I would have referred to them just as well.

because he got very lucky with ONE game, which wasnt even an original concept, So hes a uber game genius, so his opinion matters. :rolleyes:

Oh, I see. So, to you, anyone who doesn't come up with something completely original shouldn't be taken seriously?

Oh, I see, so. to you, anyone who has success with ONE product is some how a genius and we should care about their thoughts and opinions on unrelated/and more successful game franchises?

No, we're saying who cares about what he has to say about simcity, dont get all hurt about it.

"well notch said!!" :rofl:

I've seen you on this board for years, I respect your opinion, so nobody is getting hurt I would just appreciate it if you would not put words in my mouth and to also not misquote me. I've never played his game, couldn't care less, but I don't think its going too far saying he might have an idea about how the game (SimCity) is functioning in the background. You might not give a damn but there are some folks to whom it does matter.

I've seen you on this board for years, I respect your opinion, so nobody is getting hurt I would just appreciate it if you would not put words in my mouth and to also not misquote me. I've never played his game, couldn't care less, but I don't think its going too far saying he might have an idea about how the game (SimCity) is functioning in the background. You might not give a damn but there are some folks to whom it does matter.

Notch and his repeated ignorant ramblings about other games, people and companies show that he really doesn't know what he's talking about.

How the game actually works in the background and what it does where is completely irrelevant anyway, MAXIS has said it's an online game, they made it online, the game is online. would it be nice if it also had an offline mode, sure for a very few people and the pirates I'm sure it would, but you would have to juggle between at least 3 cities to play offline, it's kind of annoying to play solo in a region.

Also the point is that in the modern world there is no such thing as a fully self providing and multi purpose city. When was the last time you saw a city that had mines for ore, coal, drilled oil, was a top import/export capital, and had multiple processor foundries and electronics factories, with a bustling Manhattan like shopping area and surrounded by skyscrapers.

Notch and his repeated ignorant ramblings about other games, people and companies show that he really doesn't know what he's talking about.

That's funny, that's what my friend keeps saying about Boyd. I'm sure there's something to be said there.

I'll at least give Notch some credit for doing something unique, but he still has a lot to prove before I give a ****.

This makes a lot of sense In regards to stupid traffic

http://answers.ea.co...ken/td-p/737060

A++ AI

Wow, I knew traffic algorithms were already bad, but didn't know they were THIS bad. Why even look for the closest house in the first place? It's like the programmer just discovered Dijkstra's and really wanted to show it off.

Don't take it personally, You're not the first person to bring up what Notch thinks about something, my quotation was of people who post his unsolicited comments as if they matter. Like he's some uber game dev that knows all.

All we are saying is that they don't and he's not, thats it. No reason to have 5 replies about it.

Anyways, I guess the way to be successful at simcity 5/13 is to treat a region as you would treat a city before, since each city has to do something specialized to help the other cities out. i don't really like the idea, and it's taking me some time to adjust to it.

Hopefully they do release an addon/expansion that lets us have full multipurpose cities.

Exactly.

The smaller city-and-region concept is how larger cities and regions work in the real world - look at London, Paris, or even Istanbul or Ankara. Would ANY of these non-insignificant cities be squat on its own?

What you really mean by full multipurpose cities are the old-style large cities from previous versions of Simcity.

Nostalgic, but NOT realistic.

There's a reason WHY such cities are not commonplace in the real world - in the real world they are a GPB to manage.

Even New York City (a common *model large city* - it's been in the three previous versions as an example) in reality acts more like a super-region than a single city - Gracie Mansion (official residence of the Mayor and home to the City Council's offices) handles ONLY region-wide services and regulation. Certain other regionwide services (such as public safety) have their own bureaucracies and offices (NYPD, for example). A lot of the major stuff that impacts the city resident doesn't get decided at Gracie Mansion - instead, it's handled at the Borough Halls (the equivalent of the Town and City Halls in a Simcity region); these are actually city halls acting as regional headquarters (in the case of New York City, and in any OTHER large city with a semi-decentralized governance structure, these were, at one point, real city halls due to these regions actually being cities in their own right - it's rather obvious in the case of Brooklyn). You can't micromanage a large city - in fact, you can't really micromanage ANY city above a certain size; there will be overlooked details somewhere that WILL come back and bite you in the bum. One major change as SImcity progressed (and that was before the reboot) is that you have more and more information coming at you and your City Advisory Council (in the City Hall of each city you are managing). In previous versions you were managing strictly a single city at a time in real-time.

Now comes the rather significant reboot. You have even more information coming at you just at the City Hall/CAC level (and that's despite the smaller tile size). The Sims themselves are more vocal and vociferious than even those of SImCity 4. And you can manage an entire three-city region - at once, and entirely in real-time. (Basically a tougher job than Michael Bloomberg OR Rudy Guliani.) Leaving the controversy about the necessity of online completely out of the picture, do you really WANT to tackle a headache that size? Bloomberg (and Guliani before him) didn't keep the rolls of Tums and munchie bowls on the desk for show. Yes; you have more help - the CAC has also been improved since SC4. Still, the Simoleon stops at YOUR desk, Mayor. Be glad of the small tile size - it may well keep you from figuratively (or literally) blowing your brains out at your desk.

The population of Manhattan is 1,601,948, according to Google, you'd think you'd at least be able to model that in game. Not to mention, the people in New York city usually go from their house to their job and back to the same house that they came from. In fact, I think that's a pretty fundamental model of all cities, large or small.

I am so damn annoyed right now. Started a new city based on coal mining. I slowly migrated mining off my main income, and made some very successful casinos, and had a high mayor ranking.

Then all of a sudden some asteroids started hitting, and now i have a radiation leak some how (no nuclear power plants), water is contaminated, and everything seems to think germs are all over the place.

I had something similar happen to me. I built a very successful city and then I had three random disasters hit within a few minutes of each other. First was an earthquake which ruined a lot of my industrial area, then I had zombies kill a third of my city and to top it all off I had aliens attack.

The realistic disasters I don't have a huge problem with, but I hate the sci-fi ones. But I don't think they should be on by default. I wouldn't mind it so much if I could revert using a previous save, but since I can't, I don't want disasters, there's enough issues running these cities, getting the right balance, with such a small area, to begin with.

Speaking of witch, Mashable has a cartoon up making fun of the disaster issues: http://mashable.com/...y-diaster-comic

The population of Manhattan is 1,601,948, according to Google, you'd think you'd at least be able to model that in game. Not to mention, the people in New York city usually go from their house to their job and back to the same house that they came from. In fact, I think that's a pretty fundamental model of all cities, large or small.

You CAN have a Manhattan (or a Brooklyn, Bronx, or even Queens) - there's nothing in Simcity that prevents that, not even the current tile size. What is the AREA of the borough of Manhattan?

Further, Manhattan is a semi-specialized borough - it's the economic hub of the region; while there IS some residency there, there's very little of it compared to Brooklyn or Queens (or especially the Bronx, which is the physically-closest borough to Manhattan). How much manufacturing takes place in Manhattan, for example? (I'm talking compared to even the Bronx or Queens.) So Manhattan is doable, even though you can't have larger regions enough to do NYC entire.

While you can't model the subway system (or the adjunct elevated rail system), you CAN model the interborough ROAD system (even to the point of including the interborough major highways envisioned by Robert Moses, but blocked by community opposition) - such a model is, in fact, far EASIER to do in this Simcity than any of the previous versions. (That is, in fact, why I commented earlier on wasted space in designing a road grid.) The tools are, in fact, there; however, it's up to you to get the layout right.

Further, Manhattan is a semi-specialized borough - it's the economic hub of the region; while there IS some residency there, there's very little of it compared to Brooklyn or Queens (or especially the Bronx, which is the physically-closest borough to Manhattan). How much manufacturing takes place in Manhattan, for example? (I'm talking compared to even the Bronx or Queens.) So Manhattan is doable, even though you can't have larger regions enough to do NYC entire.

1.6 million people live in Manhattan. More than the Bronx. Can you make a city with 1.6 million people?

I'm not sure why anyone would be interested in a city simulator that can't do Manhattan (or even better, New York as a whole).

1.6 million people live in Manhattan. More than the Bronx. Can you make a city with 1.6 million people?

I'm not sure why anyone would be interested in a city simulator that can't do Manhattan (or even better, New York as a whole).

As much as I'd like to get a city beyond 200k people, considering how crappy the traffic management system is, my city would never get unclogged. I don't care what traffic patterns I do or what mass transit I use, by the time I get to 100k, the streets are clogged.

1.6 million people live in Manhattan. More than the Bronx. Can you make a city with 1.6 million people?

I'm not sure why anyone would be interested in a city simulator that can't do Manhattan (or even better, New York as a whole).

Indeed you can - that is why I asked about Manhattan's physical AREA. Tile-size is irrelevant - it's mapping scale that matters. (Where tile size is important is *graphically* - whether or not the buildings, Sims themselves, etc. are scaled correctly. Mapping scale is entirely different - where it correllates WITH tile size is how fine-grained the building size - and even building design - can be.) The issue with previous versions of SC compared to the reboot is while they had larger tile sizes, they also pretty much HAD to due to graphical limits present either in the underlying game engine, or even in the graphical architecture of the core OS itself it was running on (Windows, DOS, or MacOS). The reboot gives far greater control over city-block size than any previous version - and you need it, as some buildings require custom city blocks for ploppage reasons. So, the issue in reality is scale (mapping scale) - not tile-size.

Another reason this is important is that city block size can even differ WITHIN a city - are all city blocks, even within Manhattan, the same size? (Yes - it's a DELIBERATELY facetious question, as anyone that has seen Manhattan screenshots knows that block sizes - and even block SHAPES - in Manhattan can differ quite wildly - which is why you have such interesting building architectures as the Flatiron Building.) That is why I'm really interested in the scale used at different resolutions by the reboot.

I am so damn annoyed right now. Started a new city based on coal mining. I slowly migrated mining off my main income, and made some very successful casinos, and had a high mayor ranking.

Then all of a sudden some asteroids started hitting, and now i have a radiation leak some how (no nuclear power plants), water is contaminated, and everything seems to think germs are all over the place.

So basically my city is ruined.Wasted all that time. AHH!

Oh well, i suppose i learned alot. For one, i learned to not play with disasters on.

But i learned alot about how to get my city going well, and not rely on drilling/mining, or taxes. SO my next city should be great.

But what if i stay on this city? Is it possible to clean it up? Someone suggested some how using high schools, collages, and universities would clean it up.

I'm not sure how.

I know i could install some filters on my water pumps, but what about the dab of radiation?

So annoying how crap like that can randomly happen. I'm okay with a fire, or tornado, but stuff that completely ruins your city is bull****.

Should have a super hard setting for people who enjoy that.

if you had fun building the city, the time wasn't wasted.

and ground pollution and radiation can be removed planting trees/forest from the nature park. and replant them as they die.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • A few weeks ago, I had this same exact issue. Unfortunately, I didn't think of disabling the Secure Boot option in BIOS. I updated my BIOS to the latest version for my MB and it resolved the issue.
    • I have a partial answer, when I used a multi-port usb hub I had degraded speed performance with 3 large external hard drives connected. I managed to snag a nice (yet older) USB3 wavelink hub that had about x6 usb 3 ports and almost doubled the speed of the external hard drives transfer rate. This looks to be a slightly upgraded model -https://ebay.io/m/LZtjTy
    • Microsoft faces shareholder lawsuit over masking AI costs and slowing Azure growth by Karthik Mudaliar Microsoft is facing a class action lawsuit from shareholders who allege that the company intentionally overhyped its artificial intelligence initiatives to distract from slowing cloud revenue and an exploding infrastructure bill. The complaint was filed in a Seattle federal court by the Michigan-based City of St. Clair Shores Police and Fire Retirement System. The plaintiffs argue that Microsoft’s leadership painted an overly optimistic picture of its Copilot rollout and complex OpenAI partnership. They say that the company did this while downplaying the harsh reality that building the data centers required to power these next-generation tools requires a huge amount of capital. Back at the company's Q2 2026 earnings report from late January, Microsoft revealed that its flagship Azure cloud growth had slipped to 39% (down from 40% the prior quarter) and guided investors to expect a further deceleration to 37% or 38% for the first three months of 2026. Now, under normal circumstances, a slight percentage point drop in cloud growth is a minor operational hiccup. But the Redmond giant paired that guidance with $37.5 billion in quarterly capital expenditures. This figure, which is a 66% year-over-year surge, blew past any analyst estimates at that time. Much of this amount went into buying high-priced GPUs and custom silicon that were required to train and run large language models. This is why the market reacted violently and just a day after its earnings call on January 29, the company's stock plummeted 10%, and wiped out $357 billion of capital in just a trading session. Microsoft is doing better now, though. Its Q3 2026 results showed its run rate from its AI business was hitting $37 billion, proving that enterprise demand for its infrastructure is very real and continuing to scale. Microsoft isn't the only company pouring billions into infrastructure for the AI boom. We've seen most Big Tech companies, including Amazon and Google, also get the results of these **** with stronger-than-ever growth and increased income. via Reuters
    • Firefox 152.0 by Razvan Serea Firefox is a fast, full-featured Web browser. It offers great security, privacy, and protection against viruses, spyware, malware, and it can also easily block pop-up windows. The key features that have made Firefox so popular are the simple and effective UI, browser speed and strong security capabilities. Firefox has complete features for browsing the Internet. It is very reliable and flexible due to its implemented security features, along with customization options. Firefox includes pop-up blocking, tab-browsing, integrated Google search, simplified privacy controls, a streamlined browser window that shows you more of the page than any other browser and a number of additional features that work with you to help you get the most out of your time online. Firefox key features Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) – Blocks trackers, cookies, cryptominers, and fingerprinters by default. Private Browsing Mode – Deletes history, cookies, and temporary files when closed. Lightweight & Fast Performance – Optimized memory usage with efficient page loading. Cross-Platform Sync – Sync bookmarks, passwords, history, and open tabs across devices. Customizable Interface – Toolbars, themes, and extensions can be tailored to user needs. Strong Privacy Controls – Options to manage cookies, permissions, and site data easily. Reader Mode – Strips away clutter for distraction-free reading. Pocket Integration – Save and read articles offline with Pocket built into Firefox. Picture-in-Picture (PiP) – Watch videos in a floating window while multitasking. Extensions & Add-ons – Vast library for productivity, security, and personalization. Built-in PDF Viewer – No need for external software to view PDFs. Firefox Monitor – Alerts users if their email is part of a known data breach. Multi-Account Containers – Isolate browsing sessions (e.g., work, personal, shopping). Performance & Resource Efficiency – Uses fewer system resources than some competitors. Open Source & Community-Driven – Transparent development with global contributions. Download: Firefox 64-bit | Firefox 32-bit | ARM64 | ~70.0 MB (Freeware) Download: Firefox for MacOS | 145.0 MB View: Firefox Home Page | Release Notes Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Microsoft Visio 2024 Professional for Windows is still at 90% off by Steven Parker Created by ChatGPT Today's highlighted Neowin Deal comes from our Apps & Software section of the Neowin Deals store, where you can save 90% on Microsoft Visio 2024 Professional for Windows [Digital License]. Microsoft Visio: Turn Complex Ideas into Clear Visuals Microsoft Visio 2024 is a robust diagramming software designed to empower individuals and businesses to visually represent complex data, processes, and workflows. With a host of advanced features, it caters to professionals from various industries, including IT, engineering, business, and architecture. Visio 2024 makes it easy for individuals and teams to create and share clear, professional diagrams that simplify complex information. It offers updated shapes, templates, and styles, along with a new search bar to improve your experience. Visio 2024 also has a fresh design that matches other Office apps you use. Create stunning diagrams Extensive Diagramming Capabilities: Visio 2024 offers a wide array of diagram types, including flowcharts, process maps, floor plans, network diagrams, and organizational charts. The software comes with a comprehensive set of pre-built templates and shapes, making it easier to get started on projects quickly. Professional Templates and Shapes: The software includes over 250,000 shapes across multiple diagram types, ensuring that users from any field-whether creating a simple flowchart or a complex engineering design-have the tools they need to represent their ideas visually. Data-Linked Diagrams: One of the most powerful features of Visio 2024 is its ability to link data to diagrams, allowing users to visualize real-time data directly within their diagrams. Whether you're pulling data from Excel, SQL Server, or other databases, the software ensures that your diagrams are automatically updated as data changes, giving users better insights and control. Advanced Formatting Options: Visio 2024 comes equipped with a range of formatting tools to create highly customized diagrams. These include shape formatting, text adjustments, and the ability to apply various themes, ensuring diagrams not only serve their functional purpose but also look professional. Enhanced Visual Styles: This version of Visio includes new visual styles and layouts that make complex diagrams easier to interpret. Whether you're designing an IT network, a business process flow, or a floor plan, the enhanced visual options improve clarity and presentation quality. Easy, secure collaboration Real-Time Collaboration: With Visio 2024's improved collaboration tools, multiple users can work on the same diagram simultaneously from anywhere, with changes being tracked in real-time. This makes it a highly efficient tool for teams working remotely or across different locations. Mobile and Cloud Access: Users can view and edit diagrams on the go with the Visio web app. This ensures that even when you're away from your desktop, you can access and make critical changes to diagrams via mobile devices. Integration with Microsoft 365: Visio 2024 integrates seamlessly with the Microsoft 365 suite, allowing users to easily embed diagrams into PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, or Teams chats. You can also store diagrams in OneDrive or SharePoint for easy sharing and access from any device. Security and Compliance: Built with enterprise-grade security, Visio 2024 ensures that your diagrams are protected. Microsoft's trusted cloud infrastructure means that your data is encrypted and safeguarded, with compliance with international standards. Good to know Length of access: lifetime Redemption deadline: redeem your code within 7 days of purchase Access options: desktop Bound to account - Limited to one device activation at a time Only available to existing and new users Version: 2024 Updates included Click here to verify Microsoft partnership Microsoft Visio 2024 Professional for Windows normally costs $579.99, but it can be yours for just $39.97 for a limited time, that's a saving of $520 (90%). For terms, specifications, and license info please click the link below. Microsoft Visio 2024 Professional for Windows for $54.97 (was $579.99) Although priced in U.S. dollars, this deal is available for digital purchase worldwide. Support queries If you have queries or need support for any of the Neowin Deals, please use the contact form here. Neowin Deals are managed and sold by StackCommerce who represent Neowin on an affiliate basis. Why we post these deals We post these because we earn commission on each sale so as not to rely solely on advertising, which many of our readers block. It all helps toward paying staff reporters, servers and hosting costs. So for those that keep moaning and complaining, be thankful we're still online for you to even do that. Other ways to support Neowin Whitelist Neowin by not blocking our ads Create a free member account to see fewer ads Make a donation to support our day to day running costs Subscribe to Neowin - for $14 a year, or $28 a year for an ad-free experience Disclosure: Neowin benefits from revenue of each sale made through our branded deals site powered by StackCommerce.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Jeroen Wilms earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      rolfus earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Leroy Jethro Gibbs earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Conversation Starter
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • One Month Later
      AndreaB earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      501
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      201
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      127
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      81
    5. 5
      ATLien_0
      76
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!