Newbie to SC4 and questions about how to properly start the game!

[Sgt_Strider 0]

I recently got SC4 and I'm interested in learning how to play the game. I know that the NAM-addon is essential, but what else do I need to be able to create the same kind of cities that people on this forum are creating?

Can the NAM-addon be installed after I have created a city?

What is a good residential, commercial, and industrial layout to help me get started and understand the concept of the game?

Also, is the NAM-addon usable with any of the trainers available? I've traditionally been a FPS player and these kind of simulation games are a bit of a challenge to get into. I need something to help me learn and get into it.

Thx!

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Welcome to Simtropolis.

Yes, you can add plugins anytime. However, you have to be careful if you want to remove one. If you decide to remove some of the major mods (Tree mods come to mind), you have to bulldoze everything created with it first. Just run the tutorials in Timbuktu. You can reset them from the control panel if you mess up, so it is never a disaster.

Forget trainers. SimCity 4 is an art form and not really a game. There is no way to win, but you can lose. Once you are addicted to it, you'll find you cannot get out of the game.

You must develop your own style. In order to create some of the cities you've seen on the Journals requires some considerable experience. You should take a look at the join date of some of the CJ creators.

Other than the opera house fix and the transportation fix which you should have to make your game safer, it is up to you. Just make a point of testing each and every new plugin with all the others you have. The best place to do this is in a sandbox region (just create a region named sandbox) in one of the default cities. With the NAM this may take you a day or two because of the size of his humongous mod. Take lots of time to read all of the documentation and you will get a good picture of how mods work.

The Omnibus (link at the top of the page) has a large number of tutorials and is full of discussions of various aspects of the game. Getting started is easy:

Think about how cities start historically. They aways begin with some kind of small settlement for some reason usually associated with the landscape: A river mouth, a friendly shore, a cross roads, a railway crossing over a trail. Start small. You can actually lay down about six farms and a windmill, with a few 1 x 2 housing lots at two crossed streets and it will go profitable soon at Turtle speed.

I like to run at Rhino, because it is a little quicker, but I save Cheetah for short bursts when I need something soon. Running flat out all the time is too exhausting for me, and you miss a lot of nice detail that the programmers put in for our entertainment, and for which you have paid.

SC4 is unlike any game you've ever played. Why do you think it has been around for nearly 10 years in the face of all the competition for people's attention? It is nothing like an FPS. It has only the goals you set for yourself, and you are not particularly driven towards any goal. The only requirement is don't go broke or you will get elected to the U.S. Senate, which is a fate worse than death.

To get a pretty city takes experience. Start playing, and keep on going until you get the hang of things. Then add, one at a time, a few plugins testing as you go, to improve your environment, and so on. There are thousands of plugins from three main sites (STEX, LEX, PLEX) and there are several others as well, including one in Japan which has some neat stuff. If you read Japanese, good luck.

Look around this site. You may find a group that fascinates you, and you can either follow it, or join in.

Again, welcome to Simtropolis, and our conversation. The only dumb question is one that doesn't find a voice.

[x493x 446]

Yes the NAM is an essential but if you want to create really detailed landscapes then stuff from PEG is a must too. You can get PEG stuff on Simtropolis and on the PLEX. And as A Nonny Moose said the Japanese BATs are some of the most amazing BATs that you will find, the detail on them is amazing. Good luck and welcome to Simtropolis.

[Sgt_Strider 0]

Thanks for the information guys. I decided for my first city, I'd go with a grid style, 6x6 for residential, commercial, and industrial. For some odd reason, when I create the 6x6 for residential, none of the zones would develop. Is there a reason why this is the case? Initially I didn't know that by holding down the "ctrl" key, the zoning would be done as one, but nothing is developing no matter what I do. What's wrong?

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

There are no 6 x 6 residential lots. There are not many 6 x 6 lots in the growables except for a couple of commercial lots and maybe some industrials. I think the biggest lot I ever got in residential are some of the mansions that seem to be either 3 x 3 or 3 x 4.

When I set up residential lots, I generally like a block that is 4 x 4 laid out in a grid of 2 x 2 high density lots. I also use 4 x 6 in the same pattern. The most frequently used lot is the default of 1 x 2, and if you consider that one grid square is 16 meters on a side, this is very generous in today's real estate market.

Most class 8 skyscrapers fit on 4 x 4 lots, but a lot of tall residentials fit on 4 x 2 or 4 x 3. The program will adjust granularity given time, but you need to leave it some choice.

You can see all the buildings, one at a time, in the lot editor (use the new one from the BAT download page). Be aware, however, that the Lot Editor has limited buffer space and can't swallow a big plugin suite. You have to manipulate your plugins so only the ones of interest remain in the folder while you run the Lot Editor.

[Sgt_Strider 0]

There are no 6 x 6 residential lots. There are not many 6 x 6 lots in the growables except for a couple of commercial lots and maybe some industrials. I think the biggest lot I ever got in residential are some of the mansions that seem to be either 3 x 3 or 3 x 4.

When I set up residential lots, I generally like a block that is 4 x 4 laid out in a grid of 2 x 2 high density lots. I also use 4 x 6 in the same pattern. The most frequently used lot is the default of 1 x 2, and if you consider that one grid square is 16 meters on a side, this is very generous in today's real estate market.

Most class 8 skyscrapers fit on 4 x 4 lots, but a lot of tall residentials fit on 4 x 2 or 4 x 3. The program will adjust granularity given time, but you need to leave it some choice.

You can see all the buildings, one at a time, in the lot editor (use the new one from the BAT download page). Be aware, however, that the Lot Editor has limited buffer space and can't swallow a big plugin suite. You have to manipulate your plugins so only the ones of interest remain in the folder while you run the Lot Editor.

What do you mean by setting up a block that is 4 x 4 laid out in a grid of 2 x 2 high density lots? Can you show me an example of what you mean? Also, how should I approach the question of adding subways/rail? I know that if I use avenues, I'll eventually run into congestion issues. How should I plan a city that accommodate growing traffic with public transit?

[zahrul3 472]

You can make 6x6 lots by modding them yourself, with Maxis or plugins, chances are it won't grow. When I play simcity 4, I make grids around 10x4 to 15x4 and zig zag streets in the suburbs when my city has advanced enough. I also plan ahead in my city so it becomes really flexible, so you can choose which mode of alternative transit you can take.

Essential plugins:

NAM(+stations for its custom transit pieces)

Any DarkNight type of night mod

PEG Ports pack(CDK3)

BSC MEGA Props SG Vol 01(most BATters use this)

Situational plugins:

Suburbia/American/Euro Seasonal:

BATs using seasonal trees

Any BAT that have an English/US Suburban look, relot them with seasonal trees.

You don't really need seasonal trees to make a BAT look good, if seasonal trees aren't for you

Japanese/HK:

Any Asian style BAT, make it quite variative since your gonna block all Maxis buildings.

Maxis Blocker

Oceanside/rural:

PEG SPAM Pack/BSC Farm Fields

PEG MTN Pack

Cycledogg textures

Any seasonal tree pack

You need to make alot of custom lots for this and great expertise at false water and god mode modding to create those wonderful coastlines, riversides and mountains.

Euro/Russian:

xannepan/Porkie Paris Set

Any large apartment buildings(that are not Japanese/HK)

Seasonal trees optional.

Usually mixed with American/English style BATs to add more variation.

Arabian:

Anything you think look good in a desert

Desert ground texture mods

Some nature/oasis mods

==================================================

The arabian and the Japanese/HK tilesets can't mix, however the other 3 styles could mix and complement one another.

[Sgt_Strider 0]

You can make 6x6 lots by modding them yourself, with Maxis or plugins, chances are it won't grow. When I play simcity 4, I make grids around 10x4 to 15x4 and zig zag streets in the suburbs when my city has advanced enough. I also plan ahead in my city so it becomes really flexible, so you can choose which mode of alternative transit you can take.

Essential plugins:

NAM(+stations for its custom transit pieces)

Any DarkNight type of night mod

PEG Ports pack(CDK3)

BSC MEGA Props SG Vol 01(most BATters use this)

Situational plugins:

Suburbia/American/Euro Seasonal:

BATs using seasonal trees

Any BAT that have an English/US Suburban look, relot them with seasonal trees.

You don't really need seasonal trees to make a BAT look good, if seasonal trees aren't for you

Japanese/HK:

Any Asian style BAT, make it quite variative since your gonna block all Maxis buildings.

Maxis Blocker

Oceanside/rural:

PEG SPAM Pack/BSC Farm Fields

PEG MTN Pack

Cycledogg textures

Any seasonal tree pack

You need to make alot of custom lots for this and great expertise at false water and god mode modding to create those wonderful coastlines, riversides and mountains.

Euro/Russian:

xannepan/Porkie Paris Set

Any large apartment buildings(that are not Japanese/HK)

Seasonal trees optional.

Usually mixed with American/English style BATs to add more variation.

Arabian:

Anything you think look good in a desert

Desert ground texture mods

Some nature/oasis mods

==================================================

The arabian and the Japanese/HK tilesets can't mix, however the other 3 styles could mix and complement one another.

That sounds really complicated. How do I configure the NAM that I installed? I don't see any configuration menu.

What's the best way to foster high density development?

[Mithrik 562]

That sounds really complicated. How do I configure the NAM that I installed? I don't see any configuration menu.

What's the best way to foster high density development?

1. That can be done with a little tool called Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool, that conems with the new versions of the NAM.

2. Growth, only that, high density buildings (the mid & high-rises) start to appear at the high density zoning when the population of a specific type of either residential or commercial reaches more than 27,000, if I recall. But you will need, like I said, growth, a lot of it, at least 200,000 regional population to get a few of them to pop at your CBDs. But the recommended is 500,000 population.

Hope to have helped you with this.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

When I set up residential lots, I generally like a block that is 4 x 4 laid out in a grid of 2 x 2 high density lots. I also use 4 x 6 in the same pattern. The most frequently used lot is the default of 1 x 2, and if you consider that one grid square is 16 meters on a side, this is very generous in today's real estate market.

What do you mean by setting up a block that is 4 x 4 laid out in a grid of 2 x 2 high density lots? Can you show me an example of what you mean? Also, how should I approach the question of adding subways/rail? I know that if I use avenues, I'll eventually run into congestion issues. How should I plan a city that accommodate growing traffic with public transit?

Ok, If you press the G key, you will see the grid. This is a toggle, so you can also use this to redraw your screen.

I always give lot sizes in width x depth. Here is an example in my Sandbox.

You can add regular ground rail at any time. If you have the NAM, there is a technique for dragging a GLR up the center of an avenue, replacing the median. For this to work, you will need to download some stations and at least one tram image from the STEX. You can only have one tram type at a time. GLR can also be connected to both subway or elevated rail, since all are the same light rail.

[Sgt_Strider 0]

That sounds really complicated. How do I configure the NAM that I installed? I don't see any configuration menu.

What's the best way to foster high density development?

1. That can be done with a little tool called Traffic Simulator Configuration Tool, that conems with the new versions of the NAM.

2. Growth, only that, high density buildings (the mid & high-rises) start to appear at the high density zoning when the population of a specific type of either residential or commercial reaches more than 27,000, if I recall. But you will need, like I said, growth, a lot of it, at least 200,000 regional population to get a few of them to pop at your CBDs. But the recommended is 500,000 population.

Hope to have helped you with this.

Would it be easier to attain a high density environment if I used a combination of streets and subways? I feel that avenues use up too much space and that it only has so much capacity anyways. Avenues take up more tiles than streets. What do you think?

[Sgt_Strider 0]

When I set up residential lots, I generally like a block that is 4 x 4 laid out in a grid of 2 x 2 high density lots. I also use 4 x 6 in the same pattern. The most frequently used lot is the default of 1 x 2, and if you consider that one grid square is 16 meters on a side, this is very generous in today's real estate market.

What do you mean by setting up a block that is 4 x 4 laid out in a grid of 2 x 2 high density lots? Can you show me an example of what you mean? Also, how should I approach the question of adding subways/rail? I know that if I use avenues, I'll eventually run into congestion issues. How should I plan a city that accommodate growing traffic with public transit?

Ok, If you press the G key, you will see the grid. This is a toggle, so you can also use this to redraw your screen.

I always give lot sizes in width x depth. Here is an example in my Sandbox.

You can add regular ground rail at any time. If you have the NAM, there is a technique for dragging a GLR up the center of an avenue, replacing the median. For this to work, you will need to download some stations and at least one tram image from the STEX. You can only have one tram type at a time. GLR can also be connected to both subway or elevated rail, since all are the same light rail.

Thanks for clarifying what you meant for me! I now understand. How do I force the zoning to be a 2x2 in a 4x4 grid? Do you have any tips and or secrets on how to build and sustain a high density environment?

How should I distribute my commercial and industrial zones? Do you place the residential zones in a perimeter around the commercial and industrial zones in the center? Do you also go with a 2x2 in a 4x4 grid for commercial and industrial zones?

  Edited May 11, 2011 by Sgt_Strider  

[ZorusX 1]

Thanks for clarifying what you meant for me! I now understand. How do I force the zoning to be a 2x2 in a 4x4 grid? Do you have any tips and or secrets on how to build and sustain a high density environment?

I always thought this game was all about the CBD (central business district). You CAN zone everything high density and produce a functional city, but it ends up looking weird in the end. You get this sprawling grid of a midrises and highrises mixed up, scattered about. The best thing you can do is zone a lot of low density commercial and residential. This should be the bulk up your region. As your population increases, you can start zoning up to medium in your core, then to dense. I'd recommend keeping your amount of dense areas to a minimum and this is why: Sims work on demand. They build what they need. If you've got sims desperately at your city's doorstep clamoring for office space, they'll build the best. If you have only ONE (for example) dense commercial zone of say 4x4, and a high enough office demand, then this zone is likely the only place they can satisfy the demand, so they will build a nice tower there. You can use this to control where you get your towers to develop.

Your town is built on industry. Don't neglect it. It gives jobs to the poor and satisfies demand so you can develop your core. High Tech industry is great! They work well in your premier city tiles since they are desirable and non-pollutant and attract the rich. They require low pollution, an educated workforce and water supply.

Last, no maybe most important - transportation. NAM will immediately help with this since it will permit sims to not commute foolishly. Your sims will not commute far or live far away without public transit. You can use buses to get sims anywhere they want to go, since they are most flexible (i find these work best in industrial zones) For your downtown, a combination of buses and rail lines, and perhaps a subway network in the most dense areas is ideal. Your main transit links should connect a residential zone to where the sims work. Trying to funnel sims to your high capacity transit lines is a good way to build an efficient network.

  Edited May 11, 2011 by ZorusX  

[Sgt_Strider 0]

Thx for the tips guys, but how should I distribute my residential, commercial, and industrial zones to minimize commute time and provide the jobs necessary for population growth?

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Thx for the tips guys, but how should I distribute my residential, commercial, and industrial zones to minimize commute time and provide the jobs necessary for population growth?

Use the basic model given in the Getting Started Timbuktu tutorial and extrapolate from there.

If the residential pod is on one side of the commercial pod and there is a single avenue leading through the commercial zone to the industrial zone, and not too far away, several things happen.

Industrial presence causes residential development, which also causes commercial development. If the Sims can only get to work via the network that passes through the commercial pod, the commercial buildings get busy, which avoids abandonment.

After things get going, you upgrade the commercial zoning from single to multiple occupancy, and expand the pod using larger lots, even if you have to bulldoze some on the main drag. You make larger lots by holding the control key and dragging.

You are better off with high-density residential when there is heavy demand for R$, and give them bus lines. Poor R$ can't afford houses, only apartments, and many do not have cars.

In the initial stages, subways are not viable because of cost. You should only lay down a subway when your roads go to a color temperature lower than green (red/yellow) on the traffic flow display (required the NAM). Since I lay down a lot of bus stations using RTMT, it is easy to replace them with bus/subway stations at no space cost.

The basic model can be expanded in many different ways. For example, here is the south western quadrant of my largest city (Better Harbour) which has been developed now for about three months. It has a general population of about 540,000. The region pop is around 1.5 million. I like sparse cities with lots of room for development later.

What you do, it what you do.

[Sgt_Strider 0]

Thx for the tips guys, but how should I distribute my residential, commercial, and industrial zones to minimize commute time and provide the jobs necessary for population growth?

Use the basic model given in the Getting Started Timbuktu tutorial and extrapolate from there.

If the residential pod is on one side of the commercial pod and there is a single avenue leading through the commercial zone to the industrial zone, and not too far away, several things happen.

Industrial presence causes residential development, which also causes commercial development. If the Sims can only get to work via the network that passes through the commercial pod, the commercial buildings get busy, which avoids abandonment.

After things get going, you upgrade the commercial zoning from single to multiple occupancy, and expand the pod using larger lots, even if you have to bulldoze some on the main drag. You make larger lots by holding the control key and dragging.

You are better off with high-density residential when there is heavy demand for R$, and give them bus lines. Poor R$ can't afford houses, only apartments, and many do not have cars.

In the initial stages, subways are not viable because of cost. You should only lay down a subway when your roads go to a color temperature lower than green (red/yellow) on the traffic flow display (required the NAM). Since I lay down a lot of bus stations using RTMT, it is easy to replace them with bus/subway stations at no space cost.

The basic model can be expanded in many different ways. For example, here is the south western quadrant of my largest city (Better Harbour) which has been developed now for about three months. It has a general population of about 540,000. The region pop is around 1.5 million. I like sparse cities with lots of room for development later.

What you do, it what you do.

Do you focus solely on your residential and commercial zones? I thought high tech industries have low pollution, but the graphs show it producing a lot of pollution. I have taxes on agriculture and manufacturing at 20% right now because I thought it might be best to have high tech industries, but now the RCI thing shows that industry is in negative demand with commercial in extremely high demand.

The population of my city is at about 204,000 right now and most of the city tiles have been used. Right now I'm redeveloping parts of the city at a time to ease traffic congestion. How do I know if I'm using the biggest possible map? I just used the default and just flatten the land to build my city. I'm not sure if it's a small, medium, or even a large city.

When you refer to a region, do you mean the entire regional map showing various cities?

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Remember who the programmers are and where they were working in Silicon Valley. Their model is Los Angeles, and that is really too bad.

The program is written to switch to admiration of commercial downtowns after the population gets big enough. As for polluting I-HD, do they produce air or water pollution? Water pollution I would believe, but unless it is something like an aircraft plant, I wouldn't expect air pollution. If you are having air pollution problems with I-HD, there are some air cleaners on the STEX, or you can plant some more trees and parks in the I-HD zone.

When I speak of a Region, I mean the whole map. My region is fairly well populated with sparse cities. I believe I posted a look at my region in an earlier post, but if you want to see it, just click on this link.

Better Harbour

[Sgt_Strider 0]

Remember who the programmers are and where they were working in Silicon Valley. Their model is Los Angeles, and that is really too bad.

The program is written to switch to admiration of commercial downtowns after the population gets big enough. As for polluting I-HD, do they produce air or water pollution? Water pollution I would believe, but unless it is something like an aircraft plant, I wouldn't expect air pollution. If you are having air pollution problems with I-HD, there are some air cleaners on the STEX, or you can plant some more trees and parks in the I-HD zone.

When I speak of a Region, I mean the whole map. My region is fairly well populated with sparse cities. I believe I posted a look at my region in an earlier post, but if you want to see it, just click on this link.

Better Harbour

Thanks for the information. Are you telling me that I can't adjust the city size? Now that my population is over 270k, should I just bulldoze my industrial zones and go all out for commercial since the demand for it is really high? I think commercial zones also provides more jobs and helps my population growth.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Be Greek about it: "Nothing in Excess".

If you have used up all your space and are zoned solid, try upgrading some of the zones in the same types. Upgrading from commercial-low to commercial-high costs money, but growth will be natural and not immediate.

You don't need to bulldoze industry, you can just rezone it, if necessary, to commercial. This has an automatic bulldoze (when you change zone type). You only need to this if you feel you have too much industrial.

Take it slow, be moderate, and watch what happens. Polluted industrial land may not develop as commercial.