Help a Newbie Learn to Make Money!

[BaronVonFancy 0]

Hello all!

On a whim, I picked up SC4 vanilla on sale at Best Buy. Being an old timer and a veteran of the series (albeit after about a 10 year hiatus) I shouldn't be having such a hard time. But for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to make a city operate in the black without running all taxes up to 20%. Please I am begging for help, as I am ready to give up on this game. I've read For the Eager, Yet Overwhelmed Newcomer but it didn't seem to help in terms of laying out a plan on how to make money. What am I to do? How do I make money? Where is a good strategy guide? Thanks in advance!

[Zeth 23]

Make sure you use the sliders, especially for your power plant. Don't pay for more of any service than you're using.

Don't provide services until your population is well into the tens of thousands. Then introduce water only, and then introduce services (this includes parks and such too) only one building at a time and only in strategically chosen areas. And again, use the sliders. If 120 students are attending your elementary school right now, the slider should be set to a capacity of no more than 130-140.

The usual mistake beginners make, especially beginners who are familiar with previous SimCity games, is to plonk down services willy-nilly, not realizing how much they cost.

When you say vanilla, do you mean *not* Deluxe? I haven't seen a non-Deluxe SC4 for sale anywhere in years. You can get Deluxe for $20 or less most places.

If you haven't already, download and install the NAM, by the way. It's mandatory. SC4 is broken without it.

  Edited July 10, 2011 by Zeth  

[CaptCity 4,666]

Welcome to Simtropolis...

First, I must let you know that most of what you find or read here deals with SimCity 4 Deluxe or Rush Hour, so not everything will appyly to regular SimCity 4. That said, you might be able to find some useful information from some of the articales in the Omnibus. Take a quick look and let us know if you have any specific questions.

If you haven't already, download and install the NAM, by the way. It's mandatory. SC4 is broken without it.

While NAM is highly desirable and a very popular item, it is not "mandatory" to run the game. And the game is not "broken" without it. Just didn't want to have any misconceptions...

[BaronVonFancy 0]

Yes indeed "not deluxe!" It was only 10 bucks so I figured I'd give it a whirl. I'll tell you this though--I'll not plunk down any more money on rush hour until I can get some revenue to my cities here!

Zeth--thanks for the advice. I have been toying with the sliders, but will start playing closer attention. Isn't it counter intuitive to build a city without a police station and a clinic at least? I'll give it a shot. If all else fails I'll try reverting to my SC2 strategy--max out taxes, wait until you start turning a profit, and then leave the game running while you go run some errands!

CapCity--NAM works with vanilla sc4?

Thanks for the quick replies.

[jacksunny 741]

NAM works with vanilla sc4?

No it doesn't. Most mods don't.

[Zeth 23]

Heh. Well, SC4 is a different and far less enjoyable game without the NAM, imo. Couldn't imagine trying to play it again without it.

To answer your question, Baron: it may seem counter-intuitive, but police and medical services aren't mandatory. It's better by far, at least until you know what you're doing when you start a city, to just build vast (but profitable!) slums and then introduce services little by little, paying careful attention to your bottom line.

Pretty sure it doesn't work without Rush Hour, though... many of the good downloads don't.

If you need more cash feel free to use weaknesspays But it doesn't balance your budget for you, unfortunately.

Also, Deluxe offers an easy mode in which making money is extremely easy. Not sure if that's your cup of tea or if you enjoy the challenge, as many players do.

By the way: here's just one place where you can easily get Deluxe for under $15.

  Edited July 10, 2011 by Zeth  

[CaptCity 4,666]

Isn't it counter intuitive to build a city without a police station and a clinic at least?

Most services aren't actually needed early in a city's life. When they're needed, Sims will start hollerin' for them.

...max out taxes, wait until you start turning a profit...

Probably not the best way to go with this game. Some of the strategies that worked with earlier SimCitys might not work as expected with SC4.

NAM works with vanilla sc4?

Unfortunately, no. NAM referances many of the addtional items incorporated into Deluxe.

As a further note, you do want to get the update that is available for SimCity 4. It does offer some fixes for the game. It is available at the EA site. (Link)

[BaronVonFancy 0]

By the way: here's just one place where you can easily get Deluxe for under $15.

Thanks! Looks like I'll start slumming it. BTW--99$ for mac!?!?! LOL

*Edit* Just want to report that so far, slumlording has worked like a charm. Cheers!

  Edited July 10, 2011 by BaronVonFancy  

[Cob92 360]

Be a cheapskate. The only service you should provide in a small city is an elementary school (it's cheap and jump starts the education process) and a power plant. Do not build water, healthcare, higher education, police, or anything else yet. Just zone. Build your first fire station in your industrial area when a fire breaks out. Don't build anything you can't afford; and if for some reason your city should face financial hard times, cut as much funding as you have to balance the budget (taxes should only be raised as a last resort). Just keep an eye on your budget tab and do whatever fiddling you have to do to keep your income greater than your expenses. The only thing that you absolutely should not defund once it is set up is the fire department, and that's because underfunded firefighters will not be able to keep your city from burning down if a fire breaks out.

Your city will start off with a quality of life on par with the slums of Mexico City. That's perfectly ok, and it's nothing that will get in the way of its development into a skyscraper metropolis.

  Edited July 10, 2011 by Cobhris96  

[Joe 90 358]

Isn't it counter intuitive to build a city without a police station and a clinic at least?

Probably worth remembering that when you start out, you don't start with a city - you start out with an empty piece of nothing. Once you start developing it, it becomes a small village, and villages often don't have police, fire, or medical services. Like has been said, its only when you're up to medium town size that you need to think about services.

Also, if you're lacking for cash, zone farms. Lots of farms. Fill the whole countryside with them. They are easy and cheap to develop, will keep your funds ticking over without needing anything but power and road access, and you can build over the top of them later.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

With the original SimCity 4, you have to think about where cities come from, and proceed slowly. There is only one operating mode - Hard. This version is not for the faint of heart. It has a lot of limitations even after you get the bug fix.

If you carefully read the manual, you will find that all single occupancy lots require only power. This means you can build farms, single occupancy residential and single occupancy commercial without building a water utility, nor laying out piping. This version really wants you to start small.

I had this version before the Rush Hour expansion pack (same as Deluxe) came out. I struggled with it for a while, then reread the manual carefully. I had not found Simtropolis, so it was a lonely time. So I went back to thinking about where cities come from, and started a new city with a wind generator, and six farms. I put a few 1 x 2 residential lots directly on the farm fields to provide workers, and a couple of 1 x 2 commercial at a cross street to represent the local emporium. The whole business went in the black in less than one Sim-year. So I sat back, and let it run for a while, enjoying the animation, and when I had enough funds, I added a fire station.

The fire station caused a flurry of development of the residential and commercial lots (upgrades), so I added a few more residentials next to the commercial. Et voilà -- a village. So I added a few more commercial, waited for my treasury to grow, and added a school (carefully controlled, no busing). The Sims got smarter and started to look for something besides farm and hardware store jobs.

Knowing that I had to provide water if I wanted higher level jobs, I placed a water tower in town, which was promptly shut down because the water table had been polluted by the farms. So I demolished it, and rebuilt it outside the pollution area, then had to run power to it. After it was operating, I piped water into the town, but not to the farms. The buildings had another development convulsion, so I waited for the treasury to build, then I ran a road out of town, and zoned a small patch of intermediate industrial. This promptly built some dirty industry, and ran me out of water and power, so I added another wind generator and increased the water supply. And so on.

Eventually this grew into a city of 2,000,000.

So play for a while. I, with the others, strongly recommend you get Deluxe, which will open up so much more for you. With Deluxe, you will find two patches on the EA site. One bug fix, and on the B.A.T. page an update for the game to enable night lights in buildings created using the BAT of which there are many on our exchange and others.

Speaking of exchanges, the one on the EA site is corrupt full of plagiarized lots and viruses. I suggest you avoid it.

  Edited July 10, 2011 by A Nonny Moose  

[whiteywhite 15]

With the original SimCity 4, you have to think about where cities come from, and proceed slowly. There is only one operating mode - Hard. This version is not for the faint of heart. It has a lot of limitations even after you get the bug fix.

If you carefully read the manual, you will find that all single occupancy lots require only power. This means you can build farms, single occupancy residential and single occupancy commercial without building a water utility, nor laying out piping. This version really wants you to start small.

I had this version before the Rush Hour expansion pack (same as Deluxe) came out. I struggled with it for a while, then reread the manual carefully. I had not found Simtropolis, so it was a lonely time. So I went back to thinking about where cities come from, and started a new city with a wind generator, and six farms. I put a few 1 x 2 residential lots directly on the farm fields to provide workers, and a couple of 1 x 2 commercial at a cross street to represent the local emporium. The whole business went in the black in less than one Sim-year. So I sat back, and let it run for a while, enjoying the animation, and when I had enough funds, I added a fire station.

The fire station caused a flurry of development of the residential and commercial lots (upgrades), so I added a few more residentials next to the commercial. Et voilà -- a village. So I added a few more commercial, waited for my treasury to grow, and added a school (carefully controlled, no busing). The Sims got smarter and started to look for something besides farm and hardware store jobs.

Knowing that I had to provide water if I wanted higher level jobs, I placed a water tower in town, which was promptly shut down because the water table had been polluted by the farms. So I demolished it, and rebuilt it outside the pollution area, then had to run power to it. After it was operating, I piped water into the town, but not to the farms. The buildings had another development convulsion, so I waited for the treasury to build, then I ran a road out of town, and zoned a small patch of intermediate industrial. This promptly built some dirty industry, and ran me out of water and power, so I added another wind generator and increased the water supply. And so on.

Eventually this grew into a city of 2,000,000.

So play for a while. I, with the others, strongly recommend you get Deluxe, which will open up so much more for you. With Deluxe, you will find two patches on the EA site. One bug fix, and on the B.A.T. page an update for the game to enable night lights in buildings created using the BAT of which there are many on our exchange and others.

Speaking of exchanges, the one on the EA site is corrupt full of plagiarized lots and viruses. I suggest you avoid it.

hwo long did it take to get 2 million people form that humble beginnings...

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

You shuld try the other reply button, it saves space.

About a year. This game is built for patience. At the time, I was also teaching part-time as a professor of computer science.

Then Rush Hour came out.

[Flyby :D 6]

So... you have to ignore all the Sim's messages and your Mayor Rating going down?

[whiteywhite 15]

[quote name='Flyby ' timestamp='1310319356' post='1171903']

So... you have to ignore all the Sim's messages and your Mayor Rating going down?

[Zeth 23]

You have to think of it less as "Mayor" and more as "Supreme Dictator For Life". The only way you get kicked out of office is if you run §100,000 in the red. Otherwise you can abuse your cattle citizens all you like. It's for their children's better good; after they've lived out their miserable, exhausted, sick, but mercifully brief existence, you'll be able to afford to provide some of that, whatyacallit, water to their kids. Some of them, anyway. And who knows, maybe even a school or something.

  Edited July 10, 2011 by Zeth  

[Cob92 360]

[quote name='Flyby ' timestamp='1310319356' post='1171903']

So... you have to ignore all the Sim's messages and your Mayor Rating going down?

  Edited July 10, 2011 by Cobhris96  

[Flyby :D 6]

You are sooo right! I just started a new city like you did, and in 18 years my city of 5 has turned into a city of 1,589 and earned 5,000 Simoleans.

My city makes about 500 a month, so I set it on fast forward for a year, build something and build some more houses, yeah.

I haven't added water yet but my Sims are dying for water........

I also have a middle class well grown commercial district and a small compact industrial district where almost everyone works. Oh, and the fire station thing doesn't increase your RCI at all. I actually had to remove it for a while because it was too expensive.

Thanks alot. I hope my city can atleast grow to be 200,000 people. I've passed the hard part and I'm going easy. (It can be hard to create a very profitable city, but I've passed that with your help, and can go easy for a long time and grow grow grow).

[Silur 3,297]

"How do I make money?"

SC4 - not a game about money - this is a game about people and about good living conditions ...

- but "I haven't added water yet but my Sims are dying for water........"

  Edited July 10, 2011 by Silur  

[Cob92 360]

Water is unnecessary in the early game. People will complain for it, but you don't have to add it if you're happy with only poor people living in your city. Add services only when you have money in the budget to pay for them.

[Zeth 23]

If the cattle citizens get to moaning about not having water and you just can't ignore it anymore, just set strike a few of their houses with lightning and remind them who's boss. They get what they get from you when they get it, and they'll be happy with it or else.

[Flyby :D 6]

I'm going to add a high-end first class neighbourhood that is taxed hard and has water, a small park, and high-end taxes.

[whiteywhite 15]

[quote name='Flyby ' timestamp='1310338273' post='1171976']

I'm going to add a high-end first class neighbourhood that is taxed hard and has water, a small park, and high-end taxes.

[Flyby :D 6]

I can't! I used the photo feature in SC4 but how can I get it after I take the picture? It's nowhere in the Maxis folder!

[EyeofMobius 27]

@ Flyby : The pics go into your Simcity 4 folder under your my documents directory that is assuming you are running a windows version.

[Flyby :D 6]

Well. I have to use ImageShack because the stupid image is too big and I don't wanna make it smaller.

Here... the moneymaking city sitting in the sunset.

http://imageshack.us/f/225/guyanadec18201310344089.png/

This is the farm where it all started....

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/339/guyanajan3211310344166.png/

This is the nice little growing commercial district, much too big for the city but the demand was high...

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/225/guyanajan7211310344194.png/

The resedential area, the attempted high class area is in the bottom corner.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/534/guyanajan13211310344234.png/

A dirty little Industrial Area.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/23/guyanajan17211310344279.png/

Well, this is weird. My font is in black and I can't change it. Someone explain it.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

What a bunch of maroons. You don't need to be mean to your Sims. You guys remind me of Ba'al in the old testament who used to demand sacrifices of new borns, who were thrown alive into the fire in the idol. I suspect you are all in too much of a rush to have results that suit your egos.

If you start with a farming village, you can soon expand it with profit. Water is not initially necessary, power being the only requirement as long as you stick to zoning farms and single occupancy lots. Nothing to it. You can insert a fire station when you can afford it.

Water will get you better buildings but you have to be careful where you place your tower, or it will be killed by all the water pollution from the farms. It needs power, and will probably be best placed out of town.

Even dirty industry needs power and water to flourish. Taxing the bejesus out of things is not the way to fly. Just go slowly and stay in the black after the village gets going. Don't rush it, and stay within your budget. Stay on Turtle or Rhino, reserving Cheetah for quick specific bursts, only in dire need.

You don't have to have only one village. After you get the first one going, move off a bit, and start another one. They can grow towards each other, perhaps with an industrial complex in between. You might even consider some heavy rail for freight.

You should all review the words of the song 'Feelin' Groovy'.

[Cob92 360]

I'd recommend that you connect your village to the edge of the city tile with a road. That helps your industry grow.

[whiteywhite 15]

Exactly how many houses do I need for 6 farms? and what is most realistic form of grid within residential?

[Zeth 23]

I don't need to be mean to my Sims, but it's effective! Besides, it's only in the beginning until the money gets to pouring in. Then I'm exceptionally nice to their descendants.

Also, I'm less like Baal and more like Ashtaroth.

  Edited July 11, 2011 by Zeth