SimCity 4: Rush Hour: Prima's Official Strategy Guide

[jamezz_2005 5]

I'm thinking about buying the SimCity 4: Rush Hour: Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Is it worth getting? I am a good Simcity player but would like to know more about the game mechanics and stats of buildings, rewards etc - would this guide help me?

What is good about the guide what is bad? What does the guide's content mostly cover? Do you own it? What do you think of it?

Thanks

[NetPCDoc 1]

Hello jamezz_2005,

For the long version - there is an article in the omnibus here.

IMHO - The Prima Official Strategy Guide makes a good reference for a lot of details that aren't really that well covered elsewhere.

But it is all about playing the game - and isn't really intended for the serious modder or batter - both of which "are advanced subjects beyond the scope of this reference".

And as the omnibus review indicates - it wasn't that well proof-read.

I do own a copy - and I have been known to refer to it while playing SimCity.

-NetPCDoc

No detail is too small to be micromanaged.

[david1314 44]

The information in it I assume is restricted to the in-game content itself. Based on this fact alone, you'd only be getting about half the story you'd get here. People here now know so much about the game, it could be answered with certainty.

I'd say it's a bit obselete and superfluous just because of the strides that have been made in game modding in the past 6 months.

It's not that it's missing these modding techniques, it's just that they are covered elsewhere quite extenstively, and many lots will give you the same kinds of explanations a stratagy guide would have.

It's not like there's a bunch of hidden content or easter eggs in SC4 anyway. And since the interactions of all the variables are quite well documented, many people here can give a quite good explanation of exactly what's going on with SC4.

I'm sure it's got a few gems of wisdom, but I'm sure it lacks far more such 'gems' you could find here.

Edit: Actually, after a read through of the omnibus review, I think it may actually be worth while.  I think back through all the learning I've done that have gone into understanding the hard concepts (most of it the hard way *sigh*).  The relationship of Demand/YIMBY/NIMBY/etc. would be a very useful thing to understand.

It seems like it might teach you to exploit the game better, as I've been able to do through years of playing and lurking these forums...

Depends how deep into the game you wanted to go.

[DOXXP29 5]

Jamezz, though others may disagree, I'd say save your money. I would've given you mine, but I found it to be worthless and got rid of it. If you're looking for data and statistics, any of the charts or Omnibus articles here or at SCC (Simphony it's now called) are much more accurate and thorough. As far as tips for playing, prima is very basic and the strategies they do suggest are mediocre at best. You can find a lot more detailed information here on the forums. While I have seen a few people here in the forums that use or refer to the prima guide, I've seen more who have noted errors, found problems or just didn't like it. Of course, I can speak only from my own personal experience with using it and my experience and opinion of the guide is not good. Save your money! (Somewhere, I THINK it's on the Maxis site, has a link with some bits and pieces of the prima guide for prospective buyers. You may want to check it out and see what you think. It's limited, but you can get a little idea of what's in there)

[Sam 163]

I actually find it very useful, especially for modding. There are a lot of clues in there about how the game actually works, not just gameplay strategy.

I have the pre-Rush Hour version though, but I still find it very helpful.

[1973tr6 0]

At the risk of being flamed as a neanderthal . . . I HIGHLY  recommend the Prima guides.  If you have Rush Hour, get the version for it.  I have both and have actually READ both from cover to cover.  I tend to think that MOST people do not spend time 24/7 on this site asking questions or spend hours and hours and hours browsing trying to find answers.  If you are actually playing the game and need a quick answer to a question about the basic, stock Maxis game elements, the Prima guides are INDISENSABLE.  Sure there a some typos.  But if you look hard enough you can find typos in the Encyclopedia Britannica or the Bible.  That doesn't mean those books are trash.  There are those on this site who make a profession out of disseminating advice, and they will tell you that the Prima guides are only good for toilet paper.  They are wrong.  Get the Prima guide.  You can find them on eBay or at amazon dot com.  Or maybe some trixie winner has one he would be glad to get rid of.  I bet you could make good use of it.

[LivingInThePast 364]

The post-RH version is much better than the one in the Omnibus. I like it, but get it for less than $10.

It has useful information. After all, you can't browse Simtropolis and play SimCity 4 at the same time!

[Ramona Brie 121]

I have a guide for a non-SimCity game, and it is chock-full of mistakes, especially saying one type was weak to another when the reverse was true and using the wrong game maps (the ones they remade were NOT used except in that game's exclusive sections).

[Indisguise 0]

the quote is " it is as useful as used toilet paper" and the quote is correct one

[jamezz_2005 5]

Well it's going to cost me a massive $55 New Zealand - and my plugins folder is full of mods and custom content so I guess the guide would be rather obsolete. But if you've got one your interested in selling to me please let me know. Thanks for all your comments!

EDIT: Just downloaded the SC4Tool by Andreas Roth - it shows all the specs of buildings/rewards etc - that was one of the main reasons I wanted the Prima Guide.

[Duke87 1,070]

Due to extensive modding and the nature of the game to begin with, Simcity 4 is ill-suited to have a strategy guide written for it. And, as has been said, simtropolis here is a much better resource anyway.

I still have the SC3KU guide somewhere and read it cover to cover years ago.. and it was quite useful. I found the SC4 one less so, though (I only have the pre-RH version of it), and, well, SC4 has something SC3 never did: an unoficial site that's not only performed countless experiments and developed countless strategies for it, but has created tons of unofficial content, some of which I wouldn't play the game without *coughNAM*cough*. And naturally, such stuff isn't in the strategy guide, but you'll find plenty on it here.

So yeah, spend your money on something else. You've got all you need right here.

[hamsterTK 93]

I bought SC4 vanilla like the week it came out so no free book, and I got deluxe much later and it was in a little dvd style box and it didnt come with the free book either

Though like duke I did get the one for 3k as part of a bundle deal, and read it cover to cover

The only time I bought a strategy guide separate from the game was the prima guide for links awakening for game boy, and even that was a promotion for nintendo power were you subscribed and you got it for free

[KingTitan 6]

If you want details......go to the GUIDE for that. I DO......I learn little about transit and tax issues here. the guide is worth it.... got a question that u cannot find about playing the game....PM me....I'll tell ya quote-by-quote....got a question about Batting , CJ's etc.....check the forums. PRIMA's guide is always a good start....then simtrop is a good supliment to better your SimCity experience.

[dadyrghluv 8]

i have both version's of the book, if need be i'll send ya the pre-expansion version. in the expansion version, there is significant changes as to when u can see stage 8 buildings for residential and industrial(i think industry), and the demand caps for the airports have changed ALOT, instead of the intl. airport giving 90k demand cap relief, it now gives 900k cap relief, which is a HUGE difference, along with the other two airports, the differences are staggering in the 500k-900k demand cap relief's.

[RippleJet 36]

I've never had any of the Prima guides, and I've never missed them.

I get all the information I need by checking the internals of the file simcity_1.dat.

Since iLive's Reader is rather difficult to use for a beginner, I do not recommend it just for the purpose of checking in-game values. In that respect you probably might find some useful information within the guide. However, as has been noted several times in different forums over here, the information in the guide is far from 100% correct and often some times misleading.

All the information that's in the guides, and a lot more than that, has been replicated over and over around here. I have to admit though, that it's probably easier to read the guide than to find the information by searching here. Nevertheless, if you want accurate answers to specific questions, ST is the place!

EDIT: Glad you found the SC4Tool yourself, THAT one is worth it's money

Regarding those airport CAPS; they are not static, they depend on the CO (commercial office) population that has access to it (I have no idea whatsoever where Prima got those figures from, dadyrghluv):

   Residential CAP Relief:  0

   Commercial  CAP Relief:  1   per CO pop.

   Industrial  CAP Relief:  0.1 per CO pop.