Cities XL 2011 vs Simcity Deluxe

[Daff27 0]

I want to buy city management game rated PEGI-7 or ESRB "Everyone". My search narrwed down to Monte Cristos Cities XL 2011 and EA's Simcity Deluxe. I have read a lot of reviews but I dont know anything about gameplay experiance. Can anyone help me out deciding.

Most of the reviews say Simcity Deluxe is great game. But game's old and outdated. And it's overpriced. As same as Medal of Honor(2010) and FIFA Football 2011.  Is it really worth it ? We have different pricing methods here in India 300, 500, 700, 800, 1000 (minus 1 to make it look less). 1000 is mostly top berth and Simcity Deluxe priced 1000 in eastore online and Retail.

Cities XL 2011 looks amazing it's trailers kind of impressed me. But it's unavailble in stores. I might need to make arrangement with regular retailer to get imported copies if available.

Just in case there is a better game than both these games; Dose not matter if not from this kind but somewhat related any sub genre please suggeset one. I'm looking something creative I dont want my family playing those shooters and racing games all the times.

[soltangris 42]

Well, I think you'll find both of these games are a great alternative to shooters Now, which one to choose is a really difficult question.....

- Sim City Deluxe is indeed old and outdated (although many will vehemently deny the second statement). It's 2D, and it looks kinda ugly compared to recent games. Also, it has quite some performance issues, but that's common for all games of this genre. It's big plus, however, is its gameplay depth - there are so many things to learn about that game that you can play for hours and always find something to do in your city. The second plus is actually not in the game itself, but in the mods created for it, which add tons of new buildings, and some really cool content like the NAM and the BAT..... You can find much more info in this side.

- Cities XL is a modern game, fully 3D and really beautiful. It has overcome many of Sim City's limitations (like the grid-based maps), it has many cool features as well, which are already integrated in the game. For example, it has a sophisticated bus and metro system which are way better than Sim City. On the other hand, it lacks other features like trains, although developers are supposed to be adding them in the near future. Its gameplay is simply different than Sim City - you won't be swamped in micromanagement, but in MACROmanagement, dealing with your city's production and its trades with other cities. Again, look for more info in this site.

Overall, I think it's a matter of taste to choose between both games. But keep in mind that Sim City 4 has run its course (meaning that it has reached the limits of its development), while Cities XL is just starting.

[MayorMarty 1]

I recently bought Cities XL 2011 and have been a SimCity 4 player for years. Here's my input:

SimCity 4 Deluxe: This is the most powerful and in depth city building game ever made. The possibilities for creating your dream city in this game are much greater than in any other city game. However, there is a downside. You need to make use of the mods available for download at this site and others like it to get the most out of SimCity 4. If you don't, you will find yourself playing an outdated game without much variety. The possibility when you add in the mods is almost limitless. So why is this a downside? Well, there are so many mods out there, and many of them require many other downloads of textures and various other features to work. You can spend more time downloading these things than actually playing the game.

Cities XL 2011: This game is nice and easy to get into. Its the best City building game I have seen since SimCity 4. The graphics are beautiful, it has a fully 3D environment where you can zoom right down to street level too. You can place winding roads easily as you are not stuck with a grid system like in SimCity 4, where building winding roads is quite a challenge. The downsides to Cities XL are that it is demanding on your computer, and there is not as much variety as SimCity4 (if you take into account SC4 mods). Transport options are particularly limited and at the moment new buildings can not be added to this game by modders. Unless the company who make the game enable us to do that, it will never grow to replace Sim City 4 as the best city building game.

So to round up:

Simcity 4 Deluxe is the game to choose if you want to spend lots of time and effort making a beautiful city, and are willing to spend lots of time finding and downloading modifications. If you are essentially looking for a city building art package rather than a game, its the way to go. Its great, but believe me, its not easy and it is very time consuming.

Cities XL 2011 is the game to get if you want a great city builder that works on its own without having to spend hours upon hours searching for and downloading mods. Its easy to get into and learn, but not so simple its boring, its a good game. Maybe in the future if it gets the support it deserves from its developer and the modding community it will grow.

For your situation, reading that you want it for your family, I would suggest Cities XL 2011. SC4 would only be more suitable in the hands of a dedicated player with lots of time to spend.

[_MostlyHarmless 17]

I'm a SimCity player since the first one and SC4 Deluxe is the Half-Life of city building games. It's classic, it's timeless, it's customizable. I feel people will still be playing this for many years to come. However, in order to fully enjoy it you need to download endless mods and BATs (custom content) for it to even be worth it. My biggest problem with SC4 is the crashing. Endless crashes. If you forget to save often...

CLX 2011 is the future of city building games. It's a bit harder than SC I must say, and the trading is confusing at first. But it's 3D which means you don't have to build grids all the time. I'm loving the transit in CXL, as you can make individual bus lines, subway lines, much MUCH more road options... However, there' aren't really rail options outside of subways. There isn't much custom content, though is is some. I think this game will only improve with time. It is demanding on your computer, but it's still playable. I have a modest computer rig and it runs well at a city of over 200K.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

SimCity Deluxe is an upcoming iPad Game. SimCity 4 Deluxe is SimCity 4 plus Rush Hour.

[Cob92 360]

Anyone charging the same amount of money for SimCity 4 Deluxe as they are charging for Medal of Honor 2010 is robbing you, plain and simply. Medal of Honor is a $60 game, while SC4 Deluxe generally goes for $20 or less.

Cities XL 2011 can be obtained through two means: digital download or mail order. Unless you live in Europe, the game will not be found on store shelves.

[Daff27 0]

Thank you very much for your input I have been strolling around the forums latley and found that SC Deluxe as amazing as CXL. You guys are really creative. But I still have no idea how gameplay works I'm digging info on it. And yes I need the game for family. I need familyfriendly game that can be played by anyone and can have a littile fun. And do something creative. We mostly receive PEGI rated games so I don't know how ESRB rating goes but It should be Everyone to Teen and PEGI Ratings I need game PEGI-7+

 

The system is kind of weird Cobhirs96. Most of the EA publications are weirdly priced. NFS Hot Pursuit 2010 and Fifa Manager 2011 all priced INR 1000 as same as The Sims 3 and SimCity 4 Deluxe. Other publishers tend to be price their games little cheaper such as rockstar's GTA IV and Episodes INR 500 Each and Mafia II also INR 500. I recenly bought Company of Heroes as bday gift  just for 300 since its older now. If you want to find more of EA's weird pricing go to online EA Store India.

I might be able to get SC4 Deluxe cheaper around xmas when they drop prices by 30 % for digital copies of the games. But who knows they might be annoucing new version of game at next E3. That might drop SC4 price untill then it might stay in top slot. 

When actually City Life 2011 release for Asia. My retailer says game is not avaible and there is no news of such game release.

[MayorMarty 1]

Can't you buy Cities XL 2011 from the link on the left hand side of this forum? Not sure, but I think you can pay by pay-pal, which I'm sure will accept Indian currency. However, its a download, so I guess it depends what internet connection you have as to wjether its a viable option.

[GMT 389]

I'd go for SC4.

Because the customization offered by the community makes it, for now, the way better choice in terms of gameplay and visual expirience, despite CXL's "better" (well, at least 3D) graphics.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

SimCity 4 Deluxe sells for $10 in most stores in the US. At 26 rupees per dollar, that should be 260 rupees for the game. Except for Cities XL 2011, I bought physical copies of all the games I bought. I used to think that downloads were only for free games, like abandonware on Abandonia.com. Except for open source games and trying out SimCity 3000, I bought physical copies of all the games I ever downloaded eventually. For instance, I was gifted SimMania and when I lost the CD (many years later) and could not just copy the files, I downloaded it from free DOS games (which I believe is legal, because they said they pay the copyright holders and they use the money they earn from the surveys to pay the copyright holders).

[Daff27 0]

Can't you buy Cities XL 2011 from the link on the left hand side of this forum? Not sure, but I think you can pay by pay-pal, which I'm sure will accept Indian currency. However, its a download, so I guess it depends what internet connection you have as to wjether its a viable option.

 

I dont see any link as such when I click it shows page does not exist in four languages. And I tend to prefer DVD copy since we dont have Mbps connections my connection is 512kbits. I rarely go for digital copy when there is something extra with it or it comes with great discounts or so. I presume Sim City 4 wont be larger than 2-3 GB. And CXL might be atleast a 4-5 GB

SimCity 4 Deluxe sells for $10 in most stores in the US. At 26 rupees per dollar, that should be 260 rupees for the game. Except for Cities XL 2011, I bought physical copies of all the games I bought. I used to think that downloads were only for free games, like abandonware on Abandonia.com. Except for open source games and trying out SimCity 3000, I bought physical copies of all the games I ever downloaded eventually. For instance, I was gifted SimMania and when I lost the CD (many years later) and could not just copy the files, I downloaded it from free DOS games (which I believe is legal, because they said they pay the copyright holders and they use the money they earn from the surveys to pay the copyright holders).

I dont understand what you mean there but Rs. Dollar exchange rate is INR 40-45 so with duties and taxes it should not exceed INR 500 But it's EA to decide the marketing strategies. Weirder than ever.

are you suggesting I buy from any american website ? but wont that create registration problems. Becasue games you buy here can be activated only from India and same might be applicable for games you buy from american websites which are for american market.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

I am saying that SimCity 4 Deluxe is cheaper to buy, available in more gaming stores, runs on more computers, and has been translated into more languages than Cities XL. Cities XL 2011 comes in English, French, German, Spanish, and Itallian with an unofficial language pack for Portuguese. If you dislike gaming in those languages, SimCity 4 Deluxe most likely comes in your language.

[Daff27 0]

Originally posted by: Ilikeseattle
I am saying that SimCity 4 Deluxe is cheaper to buy, available in more gaming stores, runs on more computers, and has been translated into more languages than Cities XL. Cities XL 2011 comes in English, French, German, Spanish, and Itallian with an unofficial language pack for Portuguese. If you dislike gaming in those languages, SimCity 4 Deluxe most likely comes in your language.quote>

I doubt that This should explain why I can't just walkin the store and buy Simcity Deluxe .



I will buy both SC4 and CXL 2011(upon DVD release in my country) I want to buy SC4 Deluxe right now but It's price is refraining me from doing so. I dont want to pay 1000 for unsupported and relatively old title.My regular retailer informs "No one's stocks that game anymore. Game's hardly sellin'with price so high people tend choose different titles" As you can see I have choose most recent core titles to compare the prices with SC4 Deluxe. These are the snapshots from EA Store for my region.

Here are few more prices for comparison (all Retail DVD).
GTA IV 500
Episodes from Liberty City 500
Mafia II 499
Assasins Creed 499
Crysis Warhead 799
CoD 4 MW 699

Remember it's not to prove SC4 Deluxe is bad/inferior game but to state that EA seriously need to think about it's pricing system.

sorry for a mess I dont seem to figure out how to properly post images can mods mange to post it properly plz
 

[krbe 193]

What kind of shop did you visit? Maybe if you tried a bigger one . INR 1000 for a 2003 game is maybe the clearest case of highway robbery I've seen this week, and of course people would choose other games.

However, it was stocked a year ago at my local games shop (in Norway), at 99,- (USD 16,50) for SimCity Deluxe – and we're traditionally an expensive country!

[Jesse Swiss 6]

Is it available for cheaper in other countries?

[LivingInThePast 364]

Originally posted by: Jesse Swiss

Is it available for cheaper in other countries?quote>

The opposite, likely more expensive. An extremely cheap copy of SimCity 4 would most likely be a pirated copy.

Anyway:

SimCity 4 Deluxe is an old game (2003), but, like Falcon 4.0, has sustained itself through mods. It runs great on modern computers. However, it does have its limitations, such as increasingly complex mods for the simplest tasks (like curved roads!)

Cities XL 2011 is much more expensive and runs slower. It is new, however, and that's way it's slower and more expensive. It's different from SimCity 4, and fully 3D. The graphics are rather cartoonish, though, and the lots are not much smaller than SC4. It even leaves out some SimCity no-brainers (like power lines, something that was in SimCity since Day One). The future is shaky for CXL2011...the original creator has gone bankrupt, and there are no concrete plans for moddability, custom buildings, or future GEMs.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

In this case, I would turn a blind eye to legal morality and only follow fair pricing morality. If you are going to buy multiple games from EA, pay approximately how much you would pay in the US. That means getting a portion of the games in overpriced stores and a portion elsewhere (friends, bazaars, the Internet?). If you can get a $5 dollar used copy of SimCity 4 on ebay then pay less than $15 dollars shipping, you will spend less than 900 rupees (according to the currency calculator). GTA IV seems to be under-priced.

[Daff27 0]

To be precise "krbe" I tried four shops My regular shop. Two other small stores. Mall DVD and Games Section. Only Mall DVD and Games section has SC4 Deluxe. @ INR 999 I doubt I'll get any discount even if I get it from small shops. PC Games is luxury item so their prices are already buffed with taxes stores hardly offer any discounts.

I know GTA IV is worth more but that is Rockstars marketing strategy they probably understood the nerv of our market and slighly lowerd the price that's the reason game sold better than other games here in India. Same goes with the Mafia2's publisher They also have lowered price for Mafia2.

Many other older games are available INR 299 each by Major publishers excluding EA. Box package No jewel case. But we are ok with it. CD-DVD's and the Game that we want to pay for not the flashy packaging. As long as it's Original I dont care if it comes in goldplated case or cardboard box. And good thing it comes it Cardboard Box packaging it's bio-degradable.

Resonable Price = Better Sale = Less Piracy = Equation for conquering the Indian Market.

[7891122562059523 70]

SC4 by far. SC4 with mods and downloads and evrything is 5 stars! Really, but SC4 is much more difficult then CITIES XL 2011, if you want to be an excentric city builder, I suggest SC4.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

I think the cheapest game, if available in your country, would be SimCity Deluxe on the AppStore (for iPad). Since the title and first post mention that game, then maybe you should try it. Of course, it is difficult to purchase American items if you are middle class in a 3rd world country (developing country neutral to USA or communist block).

[horg 0]

ok

well i dont wana hate , so i gone choose my word carfully...

SIMCITY4 = a classic , , eaven if the grafic are more cartoonish, its really flexible

a complete. im thinking about in the interface evrything is there.

CITIES XL2011 = im not a lod player , only a week of hard playing...

the grafic are , no doubt , premium . but regradless there is point that really bug me out:

- the single tyle lot ( in SC4 there are room for all kinds of lot, wich is way more realistic)

- the social class zoning ( the magic of SC4 is if you do a nice environement , rich people will choose this area , in reality the mayor dont have to deal with this,,, it should be generated by the matrix)

-time scale ( in evry sim city , there a time scale, wich could be use as a reference, in a way it define the age of the city,,,)

-the trading thing ( ok , maybe im too new at this, but its anoying to not be able to creat a big city without have to trade ,,, i try few times, and after selcting 2 city able to trade each other, i cant move the marker on the scale , it stuk there)

finally , i love all the transport aspect , also the wonderfull grafic and the street view option, but for the rest , im still thinkin that CITIES XL its not enough flexible...

i cheked in the ST exchange zone, but there is not that much new mod and stuff, lets hope that with addition i will enjoy more.

but for for MY point of view its a big flop...

still wait for a REAl simcity 5 ( or 6 im confused ) in full 3D

anyone know other city buildin game exept : simcity4, simsociety, citiesxl, tropico?

[Ocram's Razr 964]

I am posting from an iPad right now and I must say that app games are fun. I also find it funny that one foreigner would try to communicate with another in the second most difficult language known to humans. Therefore, I will ask which of India's official languages he reads the best and translate from English or Spanish.

[flowmarta 0]

Yes... Likely... The easier, the better... All ingenious is simple.

[Simoleon.Ocha.Simtropolis 0]

I Highly Recommend Cities XL. I got it from Ebay for just about $23. I live in Indonesia. It's not pirated, and it's original.

[soltangris 42]

Cities XL modding is in its spring right now, some amazing mods have appeared already that open up the possibilities of the game. Also, the NEXL (which is CXL's NAM) is comming up and will redefine the transport aspect of the game.....

Modders are only now digging into the simulation aspects and discovering how to change/enrich them.

I highly recommend you check out XLNation (http://xlnation.net/), and up-and-coming community that currently gathers the best modders for CXL. There are some amazing projects there.....

In contradiction to all others here I think that CXL has a much, much, much better future than Sim City 4. Let's put it that way: the latter has reached the end of its days (after thousands of mods), while the former is just starting.

[Mark Waybill 242]

I first played Simcity 2000 back in 03 when we first got a pc. I spent hours playing it and stayed up all night. I used to draw cities on paper and read street directories when young so naturally it was a godsend. When I bought 4 in 2004 it cost all of my years savings of 80 dollars from birthday and christmas money, and I was naturally impressed with it and did not regret spending the money and later getting rush hour. But years on I have recently dl'ed XL 2012 and my opinion, considering EA's public stance on simcity is that XL is the future of city simulation for the forseeable future. Simcity is dead for all we know. I would invest my time in XL.

[clarelvsroxy 0]

Originally posted by: Ilikeseattle

I am saying that SimCity 4 Deluxe is cheaper to buy, available in more gaming stores, runs on more computers, and has been translated into more languages than Cities XL. Cities XL 2011 comes in English, French, German, Spanish, and Itallian with an unofficial language pack for Portuguese. If you dislike gaming in those languages, SimCity 4 Deluxe most likely comes in your language.

I doubt that This should explain why I can't just walkin the store and buy Simcity Deluxe .

I will buy both SC4 and CXL 2011(upon DVD release in my country) I want to buy SC4 Deluxe right now but It's price is refraining me from doing so. I dont want to pay 1000 for unsupported and relatively old title.My regular retailer informs "No one's stocks that game anymore. Game's hardly sellin'with price so high people tend choose different titles" As you can see I have choose most recent core titles to compare the prices with SC4 Deluxe. These are the snapshots from EA Store for my region.

Here are few more prices for comparison (all Retail DVD).

GTA IV 500

Episodes from Liberty City 500

Mafia II 499

Assasins Creed 499

Crysis Warhead 799

CoD 4 MW 699

Remember it's not to prove SC4 Deluxe is bad/inferior game but to state that EA seriously need to think about it's pricing system.

sorry for a mess I dont seem to figure out how to properly post images can mods mange to post it properly plz

Try second hand shops or charity shops. I got my copy of SC4 out the charity shop for £2 GBP. It's an old game now people have it cluttering up a cupboard and just want to get rid of it

Edit: Oh yeah and you could also try ebay. Don't be an idiot and buy SC4 brand new from EA

  Edited January 20, 2012 by clarelvsroxy  

[whyshouldidothis 0]

I've only been playing Cities XL a day, compared to playing Sim City 4 since 2003, but I wouldn't say I prefer one over the other. Cities XL has a lot more 'Please build this now. Why aren't you building this now? If you don't build this now, everyone's going to move out and no-one will have jobs', which is both useful and annoying, but the graphics are beautiful (you can watch a car drive from its house, park at a nearby store, see the people get out of the car, go into the store, come back out, get back in the car, then drive off again), the roads are much more customizable, you can have weirdly shaped farms, there are both ploppable and zonable building (I really like the European 'medieval' style building), you have an entire planet to play on, and the buildings aren't as repetitive. You still get several of the same type of building, but, especially in commercial zones, they're not all together in a row. You won't get 600 Wren Insurance in the same block in this game. At least, I hope not. I'm nowhere near skyscrapers yet. I also like that there's a built-in cheat mode. You just click the Cities XL menu, go to the wrench, and then select 'cheat', and you can put your money back up to 500,000, unlock buildings, that sort of thing. Other things I don't like: it's not as customizable. There's less of a 'sandbox' feel to it, in that you only have certain buildings available until your population grows enough. You can't just go in, place a road, place some residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial, police, school, fire department, etc; then watch it grow. But maybe it's more realistic that you can't build your first school until the population is over 5000. I mean, in SC4 the education advisor would always pop up and whine if you had a school with too few pupils. While there is an entire planet, and many cities available to work with, you can't pick where they are (they are pre-determined by the game), you can't load other 'planets', and, as far as I can tell so far, you don't seem to be able to connect different cities via a complex transport system, like you can with the regions in SC4.

So which one to go for, I don't know. Both have good and bad sides. Sim City 4 is more customizable, and, not being full 3D, runs faster on modern computers, but the graphics aren't as good, obviously, and there's the whole commuting problem (especially before NAM).

I think SC4 has the advantage overall, to be honest, but Cities XL is an excellent game.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

Decide for yourself:

Cities XL 2012:

SimCity Deluxe:

[catty-cb 4,412]

...SimCity Deluxe:

that doesn't look anything like the SimCity Deluxe that I have, not even close

JUN110012 by SC4D_CATTY, on Flickr

JUN110006 by SC4D_CATTY, on Flickr

I think I prefer my version