Starting over.. How should I do it properly

[ahmede19 0]

hello

i am restarting my efforts. how can i make a good city? what i tried was to make a low income farming community and then i waited for commercial demand. then i zoned that and then i started zoning the low density to medium and added schools and hospitals and fire etc.. then i made high density residential to everything, i made a neighbor with mostly high density industrial and another neighbor with mostly high density commercial. its working pretty well and my main city has 100k people in it but i'm not really seeing any new changes. its just me constantly adding hospitals and schools as the population grows. what should i do next time?

also do you first build a roadsystem or build zones?

[mattamillion 2]

What you're describing seems to be the natural evolution of a city... In many ways, that's really "all" there is to the game. However, what happens as the city significantly increases in size/population and how you respond to it (especially the challenges that come with traffic, etc.) are what's fun about the game. That, and creating cities with different character -- a small farming community, a huge metropolis, etc... what's fun is planning different types of cities (one industrial, farming, etc.) and having them interact is what makes it fun to play.

As for the roads before the city or vice versa... again, it depends. I usually build roads ahead of time, but if you want your city (and region) to grow organically, then it probably makes more sense to go back after the fact and make the changes as needed.

[Tysons4 68]

the game is what you want it to be and regions can be as large as your sysem can handle, so why does each city have to be one thing... make it a mosaic and see how many different styles of cities you can make...

there is no winning so the point to have a large population and squeeze as many people you can on to a single tile can be fun, but there are unlimited other ways you can enjoy simcity 4. my definition of "good city" is one that has a pinch of everything and a high mayor rating; yours could be different

i build zones, when the streets get over used i will rework my streets to minimize their numbers. I then upgrade streets to roads and repeat minimizing the number of roads. next i upgrade busy roads to avenues and one ways and rework my networks to maximize their efficency. when the get to capacity i then pick a form of mass transit that will fit the city (rail, highway, subway, el rail, bus ect) all the while dezoning and zoning to create lots that work on these areas (busy areas get commerce, low traffic areas get residence, and industry goes near the borders) i make it a point to save between each step... i pretty much follow all these steps for everything in the game (power: start with wind, and keep adding wind until another form would be cheaper. schools: usually a library first and as better jobs become available ill give them a college, and then university then elm and hs Health clinics covering all sims then hospitals as they reach capcity)

sometimes i do things for aesthetic purposes but i have a method that works for me... im creating a huge no plugin region using my play style that is fully developed and has plenty of room to expand (something i think maxis left out of the game) that can show you what i mean, check out my cj in my sig or pm me for details

[CptStrategy 0]

i build zones, when the streets get over used i will rework my streets to minimize their numbers. I then upgrade streets to roads and repeat minimizing the number of roads. next i upgrade busy roads to avenues and one ways and rework my networks to maximize their efficency. when the get to capacity i then pick a form of mass transit that will fit the city (rail, highway, subway, el rail, bus ect) all the while dezoning and zoning to create lots that work on these areas (busy areas get commerce, low traffic areas get residence, and industry goes near the borders) i make it a point to save between each step... i pretty much follow all these steps for everything in the game (power: start with wind, and keep adding wind until another form would be cheaper. schools: usually a library first and as better jobs become available ill give them a college, and then university then elm and hs Health clinics covering all sims then hospitals as they reach capcity)

quote>

Okay, so during your development, do you have to "move" structures to different areas to accomodate the upgrade in roads?  For example, do you have to demolish what was already built to make a path for the roads or do you compensate for upgrades as you zone?  My trouble is I tend to upgrade roads too often because they are red, and then I don't have enough room to put an avenue.  I have to demolish some buildings already and that is a pet peeve of mine - I wouldn't want to destroy anyone's home just to put an avenue in place of it.  We see that in the news all the time, and although this is a game, I like to keep it real.

So, what's your strategy for upgrading roads?

I like your idea about using wind.  I used natual gas first, then I will put in a few more as needed.  Oil is way over priced and Coal is too much pollution.  Plus doesn't creating more power structures offer more jobs?  One problem this does present is having too many power plants versus only a few coal or oil plants.  Which is better?

[kolnikov inc 1]

tysons4 is right though, the game is what ever you can imagine it to be. i always get lost in creating road plans and interchanges first then i zone later. its not the most organic approach but in the end i think it looks more realistic because you can engineer a city that's off the grid while avoiding basic traffic problems that occur because of poor (or no) planning. most (or maybe all?) urban areas have some degree of planning/engineering. download google earth and see.

[Tysons4 68]

im always demolishing and dezoning moving and reworking... as long as the map has a good tax base anything goes (or stays; make some buildings historical) ... and i rezone to make areas work and large lots a common occurance

on the power problem i usually try and educate the sims in a city that has established it's self as a power city (city that feeds neighbors power) by the time they are fully educated and the neighbors are asking for lots of power i upgrade to many solar panels and then nuclear or fusion as the power demand increases. by the end it is a super efficient city with high tech industries with highly educated sims...