Can you make large cities without plopping?

[fmfm20j 0]

I couldn't find the answer to this question elsewhere. If there is a thread please feel free to point me toward it.

Having recently moved to a new PC with windows 7 64 bit I have rediscovered the delights of Simcity 4 deluxe and NAM.

Under vista the game crashed rather too often. Now it is faster and smoother and my less prone to crashing. So, my

wife doesn't see me for extend periods again!

I've built some cities within a region and am generally familiar with the principles of neighbouring, etc. Aside from the

obvious plopping of power stations, schools, etc, I've deliberately avoided plopping skyscrapers and have relied upon

organic growth through normal game play. I can relatively easily hit 150,000 and most people are employed and happy.

My question is this "is it really feasible to get cities of 250,000+ without plopping skyscrapers and, in effect, artificially

growing demand for RC?" In effect, letting the game grow the city population over an extended period. I imagine that it

is possible to do but will it take forever? 

thanks

Ian

 

[SC4BOY 20]

It is indeed simple to "grow without plopping" in the sense you state.. ie not counting parks, civics, landmarks, etc.. The landmarks function as a special kind of plop as they are intended for large cities with large budgets (they normally are quite expensive, and they have proportionately larger effects... a kind of "cheat" if you wish to look at it that way, but clearly a part of the game's design intent). There is no reason other than aesthetics to plop ever an R,C or I building. Over time folk have "doctored up" various kinds of plops and you might want to at least understand what their intent is.. The "expensive" landmarks can be useful in putting desirability focus in major areas such as your central business district. I am not a big believer in huge city populations, but I certainly have exceeded 2 million population without plops and see no reason why it could not have grown much bigger.

[Deathcat001 8]

Its possible to get get cities over 250,00+ but Planning is needed and connecting cities.  (Without money mods)

[Strategist01 0]

I have achieved cities of 600k on a medium tile without plopping, because in those day I had nothing to plop with! I did use the CAM however, so I don't know if you would say that is a demand creator, which it isn't really. I am currently working on a large city tile and have gotten the pop up to 500K, however I am planing to get to 1mil at least. Oh, and it's also easy to make so much money. 2 mil simoleans and counting XD

[fmfm20j 0]

Thanks for the reply everyone. I hadn't heard of or considered the CAM until now. I've done some reading this morning and am seriously considering installing it and trying out another region. It has also made me realise that there is so much additional downloadable material out there to improve textures, etc. (not necessarily just for use with CAM)

Firstly, I thought that CAM was more a cheat than anything else. Reading has shown me that it probably isn't and that it demonstrates a different approach to game play : I would like better countryside and suburban as well as metropolitan cities. Perhaps CAM will give me what I need.

[Strategist01 0]

Yes, the CAM will basically "expand" your city and give it some boosting, so that your game works realistically. However, I do suggest you wait out until the next release comes out, as the CAM 1.0 has a major bug which has been fixed in the beta phase of 2.0, however some of its effects remain even with the 2.0 installed.

The thing I am talking about is that the doubled regional residential capacity doesn't go away, and you can only fix it by superseding it with your actual population, in 2.0. the doubled workforce also goes away, as there is a new method for installing, and we are concocting up something very nice for the community *wink, wink*

[Aktof 2]

Hey,

Yes you can! (ho-ho) I did it back in the days of vanilla simcity 4 it just takes a bit longer than if you were to plop but I think its more rewarding that way, just keep at it!

[fmfm20j 0]

Well, I took the plunge and installed CAM. I couldn't wait for V2... too impatient!

I've moved everything pre cam out of the plugins directory and set up a the latest NAM and CAM. I've also loaded the suggested textures together with the rural farm selections and cleanitol'd as I've gone. I've also added in the PRE CAM stuff which I really want.

I've played with a rural setting and am amazed at the textures which are available. Farms suddenly have depth and variety! Obviously, none of this has anything to do with CAM. Even so, it has opened up a new dimension to game play.

It's just a shame that I am away for the rest of the week on a business trip. My revitalised interest in simcity will have to stay on hold until the weekend.