official SimCity (2013)

[PGHammer]

This game desperately needs to pull a "Windows Vista" and just get the newer, better, liked version out NOW.

 

At this point they are desperately trying to fix the glitch.  Bigger city sizes?  We can't do that, but how about TALLER cities!  Uhh... no.   Offline mode?  Sure, but has constraints... sorry, I'm just not buying it.  It's stupid, myopic, selfish coding to fit a framework that only benefits the developer.  End users won't complain about massive cities that bog down their systems.  You know what they'll say?? "Wow, this city is so huge it's bogging down my system!  WOW!"

 

At this rate I expect the next SimCity to have system specs so small it doesn't cause lag on iPads, just "to make the customer experience good".  Screw that.  It's like having a flight simulator on rails -- sometimes you want to crash on purpose.

Taller cities?  Obviously you have NOT seen the Cities of Tomorrow ULC.  It adds MegaTowers - of several different sorts, and two general types (standard and Elite).  You can specialize each floor (residential, shopping, office, public safety, parks, power, etc.)  I've used at least three in every Sandbox city I've built since I got the ULC - because it lets me have maximum population in minimum space.  I haven't even BEGUN to push the limits on what can be done with them yet. (Even more telling, at no WORSE than $19.99USD, it's far from pricey.)

 

Offline mode has come with Update 10 - and it ALSO works with any version of Simcity with Update 9 installed (with or without CoT unlocked).  Since both are, in fact, needed updates, what's the real beef other than size issues with individual cities?

[PGHammer]

Not going to say it is impossible, but I doubt it'll happen this version. Maybe SimCity (2015). Or they may do a DLC for it, but they're going to want $$$ for it if it is even possible.

 

I tend to believe that it might be a major strain on resources. I have a 2.7GHz i7 with 16GB of RAM, but a fairly crappy Radeon HD 6630M video card and zooming in kills my system with ~100K Sims living in my city. I know this statement would be true for my system, "The system performance challenges we encountered would mean that the vast majority of our players wouldn?t be able to load, much less play with bigger cities."

It's the GPU.  I have far less (apparently) CPU by today's standards - Ye Olde 2.4 GHz Q6600 - bone-stock Kentsfield - along with just 4 GB of DDR2 (maxed out the motherboard in the process, as it has no more DIMM slots), but have an nVidia GTX550Ti (refurbished), which itself replaced an AMD HD5450 single-slot passively-cooled CPU (the direct ancestor of your HD630M - the HD5450 is a Mobility part in desktop clothes).

 

My next planned upgrades WILL likely result in my firewalling the game graphics-wise:

 

Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate

CPU: Intel i5-4670K

RAM: 8 GB DDR3-1333

GPU: nVidia GTX750 Ti 2 GB

 

The hold-up with my current hardware is the GPU, and I COULD upgrade it first; however, I've had the upgrade of the rest of the hardware in abeyance since the economy turned south.

[Hurmoth]

I've always suspected they would lock larger cities behind DLC, but I think if they announced that now it would just be asking for trouble, even by EA's standards.

I agree, that's why I don't think it'll happen until a new version arrives, whenever that happens. They've backtracked and screwed up so many times with this release, I don't think, even if it were possible, that they'd release larger cities at this point.

[+mram Subscriber²]

Taller cities?  Obviously you have NOT seen the Cities of Tomorrow ULC.  It adds MegaTowers - of several different sorts, and two general types (standard and Elite).  You can specialize each ... [snip]

 

Did Cities of Tomorrow increase the basic size of a city in any form except customization upwards?  That's my point.

 

People want cities as large as regions.  People want cities that can keep growing as big as they want.  Megatowers is expanding in the wrong direction.  I don't care about density... density isn't the same thing at all.  People want to re-create the city they actually live in, and there's no way they can do that with the model Sim provides, it's way too small.  Extremely.

[Draconian Guppy]

 

My only real complaint about Simcity 2013 (from a mayoral/city management standpoint) is the unrealistically LOW cost of wind power - and I'm not even talking about pollution of any sort, let alone radiation.

 

An even bigger sin (in Sim City 4 - even fully patched), is the non-support of 1920x1080 - let alone anything taller.

yeah cities XL is pretty bad in terms of graphics.

 

Also, some cities/ states get heavily subsidized for using "green" energy, so cheap is justifiable :P to some extent.

[PGHammer]

Did Cities of Tomorrow increase the basic size of a city in any form except customization upwards?  That's my point.

 

People want cities as large as regions.  People want cities that can keep growing as big as they want.  Megatowers is expanding in the wrong direction.  I don't care about density... density isn't the same thing at all.  People want to re-create the city they actually live in, and there's no way they can do that with the model Sim provides, it's way too small.  Extremely.

In short, they want Sim City 4 - improved, but without regional play.

 

And do you REALLY think that such cities where they exist in ANY city simulation game (for example - Sim City 3000 included several real-world cities - the favorite was New York City) are realistic?  That has been an issue with ALL city simulation games - while Sim City has been the best of them, even it was incapable of doing a true metropolis  - let alone a megalopolis, such as NYC or Tokyo - justice.   Even Sim City 4 (the last pre-Glass Box Engine version) still can't do it - even with mods and hacks galore.  CitiesXL can't even get to where Sim City 3000 can - let alone Sim City 4.  Is what you are asking for even realistic?

 

MegaTowers are mega-skyscrapers on the scale of the future of skyscraper buildings; One World Trade (AKA Freedom Tower) is merely the first in the United States.  You cannot build such a structure in any other city simulation game - not even as a custom building; it is unique to Simcity.

 

Hence my understanding what the real peeve is with this version of Simcity - it's too realistic.  It's no longer an escapist game for the would-be Mayor - you're facing the sort of issues that a real mayor would (even though your city is actually more of a city-state - on the order of pre-Empire Rome); the buck still stops with you.  However, unlike any previous version of Sim City (yes, I am including SC4), a lot more stops at your desk - and you must deal with it.

 

The hunger is still for "improved old" - not really new anything.

[PGHammer]

yeah cities XL is pretty bad in terms of graphics.

 

Also, some cities/ states get heavily subsidized for using "green" energy, so cheap is justifiable :p to some extent.

The subsidy comes from the notional national government - basically, it's a bribe/carrot for doing what the level above you wants.  (This is, in fact, something I pointed to back during the second beta.)

 

However, once the growth kicks in, you run into the practical limits of wind as a power source - you can't stay with wind alone and grow. When I hit the wind wall, I start adding nuclear reactors (fission) - however, I park them in the industrial zone OR in regular MegaTowers.  Why not fusion?  Regardless of where you put them, a fusion reactor STILL requires a hefty power SURPLUS to even light the bottle - and when you're in the position where you're trying to choose, fission is easier to build when you are either barely even or running a power deficit - it makes no sense to build a fusion reactor with an existing power shortfall.

 

Coal?  Oil?  While I'll drill for oil and mine coal, neither is used for power generation - oil is refined into gasoline and other petroproducts and both used locally AND exported; coal is used in metal manufacture (and also is exported itself).

 

To offset notional radiation issues (and to ensure an operating power surplus, which is also sold), I take advantage of both power-generating/pollution-abatement capabilities of certain MegaTower Crowns (Solar Collector Crowns are my favorites).

The more of a certain type of Crown there is in a region, the greater the cumulative effect.

[HawkMan]

See in real cities and in SC, you can light the bottle by getting power from neighbouring cities. no city in the world makes it's own power. 

[PGHammer]

See in real cities and in SC, you can light the bottle by getting power from neighbouring cities. no city in the world makes it's own power. 

In short, you import power (thereby forcing you to either increase taxes, resort to a cheat, or run an operating deficit) or you do what Greater Tokyo does if wind is not an option (they went whole-hog on nuclear fission; the result was Fukishima).  However, despite Fukishima, Greater Tokyo actually DOES export power (to the exurbs and neighboring prefectures) - just not as much as pre-Fukishima (which was part of GT's power-exportation infrastructure).

Fukishima itself is a semi-independent suburb built for the sole purpose of power generation (the Japanese equivalent of a "company town") - there are many such all over Japan (in fact, such are commonplace in Asia).  Yes - that is very much likely the inspiration for the Simcity "regional model" - such specialized cities were also common in the United States pre-Great Depression.

 

Thing is, I don't even NEED fusion if I plan my growth correctly - hence my using MegaTowers (of both regular AND Elite sorts).  MegaTowers both bring max population in minimum space, and they also have power-generation/pollution-amelioration capabilities (due to both specialized floors, such as Pollution-Abatement, and Power Generation, Air Scrubbing, and other sorts of Crowns).

 

However, most of the angst comes from European and US-based players, where the "company town" is looked on with derision, if not outright scorn - same applies to specialization in terms of cities.  (Such specialization was common in Europe pre-World War II, and especially in Germany - however, both the Battle of Britain and the massive counterassault against Germany - from the air AND on the ground - led to more generalization of German cities, and on purpose, even in the old Ruhr Industrial Zone.

[Sir Topham Hatt]

So I had my first couple of hours with this yesterday.

 

After being forced to watch some sort of video (man I hate that!), and going through some never-ending tutorial, I finally got to building my own "city".

 

However I am not sure I should get into it.  I love the updated graphics, water and electric follow roads but there are so many things that aren't quite right :/

 

Zoning for instance is good as you only have the one type.  But then I never know how far apart to space my roads.  I want to maximise the amount of houses being built but ended up with huge gaps everywhere.  When building roads, it turned out that I had build a number of them wonky, which also led to a large gap.

My town was crying out for commercial, yet the commercial area was moaning they had no customers.  I only built a trading hub near the end of my game, which seemed to help the industrial sector, but I don't know now if I should build another area for water, power, garbage collection, then build my town and buy stuff from the one next door.

 

I can see how EA are desperate to "share" and "play neighbours" but the one single factor that will drive me away from this game is the "city" limit... as nearly everyone has mentioned.

 

However it won't be long until Train Fever is out, which looks to be a modern version of Traffic Giant, which is a fun game.... (I never really got on with Cities in Motion).

[Elliot B.]

It's still ?10 to buy. I'll wait for it to be around ?5.

[PGHammer]

So I had my first couple of hours with this yesterday.

 

After being forced to watch some sort of video (man I hate that!), and going through some never-ending tutorial, I finally got to building my own "city".

 

However I am not sure I should get into it.  I love the updated graphics, water and electric follow roads but there are so many things that aren't quite right :/

 

Zoning for instance is good as you only have the one type.  But then I never know how far apart to space my roads.  I want to maximise the amount of houses being built but ended up with huge gaps everywhere.  When building roads, it turned out that I had build a number of them wonky, which also led to a large gap.

My town was crying out for commercial, yet the commercial area was moaning they had no customers.  I only built a trading hub near the end of my game, which seemed to help the industrial sector, but I don't know now if I should build another area for water, power, garbage collection, then build my town and buy stuff from the one next door.

 

I can see how EA are desperate to "share" and "play neighbours" but the one single factor that will drive me away from this game is the "city" limit... as nearly everyone has mentioned.

 

However it won't be long until Train Fever is out, which looks to be a modern version of Traffic Giant, which is a fun game.... (I never really got on with Cities in Motion).

I use commercial as either a buffer between residential and industrial, or I checkerboard it alongside residential and have an unzoned area between it and industrial.  Putting residential alongside industrial is ALWAYS a Bad Idea  - which all versions of Simcity would punish you for.  Some municipal services (like the city dump and sewage) SHOULD go in the industrial area (which should be, naturally, upwind of the residential area).  Industry IS needed - like it or not; how MUCH industry is the real question.

 

Mountains/valleys are a major barrier to early rapid population growth - however, they also tend to be resource-rich (useful if you are going to roll heavy with manufacturing OR Omega); just don't plan on such an area having a big population.

[PGHammer]

So I had my first couple of hours with this yesterday.

 

After being forced to watch some sort of video (man I hate that!), and going through some never-ending tutorial, I finally got to building my own "city".

 

However I am not sure I should get into it.  I love the updated graphics, water and electric follow roads but there are so many things that aren't quite right :/

 

Zoning for instance is good as you only have the one type.  But then I never know how far apart to space my roads.  I want to maximise the amount of houses being built but ended up with huge gaps everywhere.  When building roads, it turned out that I had build a number of them wonky, which also led to a large gap.

My town was crying out for commercial, yet the commercial area was moaning they had no customers.  I only built a trading hub near the end of my game, which seemed to help the industrial sector, but I don't know now if I should build another area for water, power, garbage collection, then build my town and buy stuff from the one next door.

 

I can see how EA are desperate to "share" and "play neighbours" but the one single factor that will drive me away from this game is the "city" limit... as nearly everyone has mentioned.

 

However it won't be long until Train Fever is out, which looks to be a modern version of Traffic Giant, which is a fun game.... (I never really got on with Cities in Motion).

Sir Topham - there is a diagram that you can follow when doing road layout (it is, in fact, the default) - did you turn it off?

 

I use high-end water towers (they cost minimally more than the basic sort AND they help "futurize" the city) - sewage and all power generation - including wind, though it doesn't pollute except for being an eyesore - go in the industrial area; the same applies to the city dump.

 

As you "futurize", some city facilities and services gain upgrades/augmentations - such as the garbage atomizer for the city dump; naturally, if you have the Academy, such upgrades are researchable.

 

MegaTowers and the Academy - this tag-team relies on ControlNet for maximized leverage; site one ControlNet facility per MegaTower at a minimum.  If you have a MegaCluster (two or more Towers grouped together/connected), put ControlNet facilities in the Cluster as well.  Also, ALWAYS put Education Services floors in every Tower.

 

Public Regions  - Do you have both an Academy AND OmegaCO in your region? Park Drone Hangars and ControlNet Facilities in your city until you can grow your own Academy.  Then you can re-use the ControlNet facilities, and retire the Drones