i am a beginner and need some advise

[tmp07 0]

Hello,

Wow reading all of the stuff on this site is so over whelming!

I just started playing and absolutely love this game, however I suck at it.. haha

I dont know If i am building too much too fast or what, but my problem is I dont realy know where to start. My monthly expenses end up being wayyyyy more than my income.

If anyone can tell me just how to start I would be very grateful. thanks so much!

♥Tonya

[Rochefort 13]

Hi tmp07 & welcome to Simtropolis.

I recommend you visit the Omnibus, there are some great tutorials for start ups.

[Fred_Ginger 1]

Hi Tonya, welcome to ST!  No one can tell you how to play but there are some advice columns in the Omnibus.  You didn't indicant if you have Deluxe or SC4 + Rush Hour, if you just have plain SC4 I'd advise you to get Rush Hour (if you have deluxe it's the same as SC4 + Rush Hour), get the updates from the official site and enjoy all the custom content here and at other fan sites (SimPeg and SC4Devotion are my other favorites).  I'd also advise you look at some of the CJs (City Journals) and try to see if they send you in any particular direction.  I myself use a 'money cheat' because I'm lazy and don't like the advisers yelling at me!  Have fun!

Vicki

[Fred_Ginger 1]

Sorry Double post (stupid server is so darn slow!) Vicki

[BananaPhone1 2]

My best advice is too always plan ahead or you'll find yourself having to delete development later to put in mass transit. Good luck.

[tmp07 0]

Yes I have Rush Hour. Ok I will check out Omnibus and CJ's. I also built this https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=22&threadid=79659&enterthread=y And that is going well however I am at a stand still it seems like. I dont know if I should just keep building little farms with a couple houses on each farm or what. I tried adding a fire station but that ended up costing me more money than I was bringing in so I am not sure what to do about that.

[jay_allen1978 0]

delete the fire station, it is not really necessary if you have a real small community. as long as you keep everything watered,nothing will become flammable. for more info as well, try the tutorials in the game, they will show you how to earn income and keep your sims happy at the same time...good luck-Jason

[Aurabolt12 0]

When my expenses are high and my income is low, I always just zone more to get more res/com/ind until I'm in the green. Usually a neighborhood or small business district. That was my mistake: zoning too little. So try that. Also, once you DO get your income higher than your expenses, let the sim run on high speed to get yourself a bit of extra money.

[rodent1989 9]

the key thing to balancing the budget is adjusting the sliders on everything.  the powerplant is a big money waster.  make sure you "optimize" every few years to avoid strikes.  I don't even build police or fire until after i have 30,000+ sims.  Make sure you build a library right away, it is the best value in the education dept.  Don't waste money of high density zones until after you have 35,000+ sims regionwide.

Good luck and feel free to PM me anytime.

[ChrilleT 2]

I had the same problem in the beginning. The guide i learned a lot from was "making money the easy way" (https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=146&threadid=78505&enterthread=y). After playing with that guide once I learned a lot and has never had a city with big economical problems since.