Game Play Scale

[theBrad 25]

I was just curious at what scale other people play.  I myself play almost exclusively at a smaller scale, that is I play at a macro-level where I never view the minute details of the game.  So, I never notice the types of cars, types of people and graphic details of the game.  Admittedly, it would be nice to be able to play at a larger scale in order to appreciate the details of the graphics, but I find it impossible to actually 'play' (build or manage anything).

So, am I alone here?  Anyone else regret not being able to view actual cars rather than the simulated grey dashes on the roads?  Or not able to, at a micro-level, view what kind of city you have built.

My opinion - the game play & limited modeling ability do not create a gaming atmosphere where I even care what the buildings or streets look like at close range.  It all looks like carbon copies of any other part of the city.  As much as I would like to play at a large scale 'neighborhood' city model & design, Cities XL essentially wastes all the graphics used because it performs as a macro-modeler.

[Jaybyrd05 3]

I actually play equal amounts of both micro and macro. The main times I tend to zoom way out is to get a good overview of how my current building is coming along and how it blends in with its surroundings. Otherwise I play close to street level so I can line up certain buildings and see how the height and lines along the road would look if I was driving down them. As I play for realism, this is very important for me.

[cm39 0]

I pass more time "walking" in the streets of my city than building it...and the details is very impressive!

[mentarman 14]

Originally posted by: Jaybyrd05

I actually play equal amounts of both micro and macro. The main times I tend to zoom way out is to get a good overview of how my current building is coming along and how it blends in with its surroundings. Otherwise I play close to street level so I can line up certain buildings and see how the height and lines along the road would look if I was driving down them. As I play for realism, this is very important for me.quote>

This is about where I land. I think I tend to play for awhile like the original poster, at a more macro level, but then occasionally take some time to zoom closer, look around, and maybe make "fixes" or "edits" to what I've done to make things look more realistic.

I do see what the original poster is saying. I think maybe when there are more custom content buildings available at some point in the future, we can do more to make distinct districts. So right now big parts of the city can look very similar to others, but you can also do things to change that, and I hope it will get better. Overall I am still amazed with the level of detail.

[morriswalters 16]

The lack of content can be can be dealt with to a degree by careful use of your assets.  Some models stand out like sore thumbs.  The small Qualified home with the yellow driveway, and the Unqualified high rise that is round are two standouts.  I replace them whenever I build and then shuffle things depending on what I'm trying to accomplish.  I can generally make a neighborhood pretty random if I'm careful. I like to use medium density buildings in the corners of my low density neighborhoods because I like the retail in them