How Do You Start Your Cities?

[jacksunny 741]

I cheat. I'm not afraid to admit it haha. I use the money tree and usually have it run for 2 months which will give me 8.5 billion or trillion (i never counted the numbers ) simoleons.

The money tree is useless. An easier thing to do is to just use the moolah cheat. You can get the exact amount of money you want and you don't have to wait.

I never use the monorail or elevated rail since it is so flipping picky and takes up unnecessary space.

I don't use monorail, but I find elevated rail useful to connect separate areas of the city, for example, to connect residential areas with industrial areas, etc.

[ccecill 52]

1: look at cities on google earth

2: lay out your interstates/a few highways and rail mt.

3: zone accordingly..

eventually there'll be a spot in your city that kind of establishes itself as your "downtown".. and just add water/higher density when the time comes.

Good luck!

[Jmixmaster 0]

I cheat. I'm not afraid to admit it haha. I use the money tree and usually have it run for 2 months which will give me 8.5 billion or trillion (i never counted the numbers ) simoleons.

The money tree is useless. An easier thing to do is to just use the moolah cheat. You can get the exact amount of money you want and you don't have to wait.

Is that a built in cheat, or is that one of the cheats in the Extra Cheats dll thing?

[jacksunny 741]

I cheat. I'm not afraid to admit it haha. I use the money tree and usually have it run for 2 months which will give me 8.5 billion or trillion (i never counted the numbers ) simoleons.

The money tree is useless. An easier thing to do is to just use the moolah cheat. You can get the exact amount of money you want and you don't have to wait.

Is that a built in cheat, or is that one of the cheats in the Extra Cheats dll thing?

Yes, it is in the extra cheats dll.

[Jmixmaster 0]

I cheat. I'm not afraid to admit it haha. I use the money tree and usually have it run for 2 months which will give me 8.5 billion or trillion (i never counted the numbers ) simoleons.

The money tree is useless. An easier thing to do is to just use the moolah cheat. You can get the exact amount of money you want and you don't have to wait.

Is that a built in cheat, or is that one of the cheats in the Extra Cheats dll thing?

Yes, it is in the extra cheats dll.

oh okay. Thanks!

[bwong 36]

LOL, i use the simeleon tree.

[Cob92 360]

I start with a road to the map edge, some farms, and some houses. I add a small industrial area to spur growth and basically make it up as I go.

[bwong 36]

I start with a road to the map edge, some farms, and some houses. I add a small industrial area to spur growth and basically make it up as I go.

I see you start quite conservatively. How long does it take on average for you to start getting your metropolises?

[Cob92 360]

I start with a road to the map edge, some farms, and some houses. I add a small industrial area to spur growth and basically make it up as I go.

I see you start quite conservatively. How long does it take on average for you to start getting your metropolises?

Just a couple hours. I build pretty quickly once the money starts flowing, but I do it this way because part of what I like about SC4 is the way that the cities can progress smoothly and naturally from small villages to huge metropolitan areas.

This city started off as a village with about 4 streets going each way, and within 2 weekends was the centerpiece of a metro area consisting of 5 cities:

You can even see the two original roads that ran through the village when it was founded, that have since been expanded to avenues.

  Edited July 23, 2011 by Cobhris96  

[bwong 36]

Oh wow, that's quite fast indeed!

[Alejandro24 575]

Just easy. I have two ways: planned and unplanned.

When I will build a planned city I first put the highways and railways, then the avenues and roads, then I build the bridges for all the networks and finally the streets. Later I put the infraestructure, electricity, trash services and water. More later the security services, police and fireman. Then I delimit the zones, where I want something speciall just simply to plop it. Then I put transport services, bus, TRAM, metro -I don't use oftenly elevated systems-. Then I build parks, and I put the schools and health services near. Finally I do a plan for the downtown, I put the clock in fast and I watch how the city grows. Finally I add ports, railyards and another superfluous things. Finally my city is finished.

An unplanned city is starting to build the downtown, and from there build the networks and services without special planning. I just let the urban sprawl grow.

[bwong 36]

I cheat. I'm not afraid to admit it haha. I use the money tree and usually have it run for 2 months which will give me 8.5 billion or trillion (i never counted the numbers ) simoleons. I usually do highways first, since they are the hardest to put in. I never use the monorail or elevated rail since it is so flipping picky and takes up unnecessary space. I then put in avenues and then streets. I usually do things in a grid pattern with a subway station in one or two corners of each grid unit. I also have a mod that increases demand for residential/commercial/industrial (but i usually only enable it for the first city in a new region). I don't find myself using industrial zoning very much and I always raise the taxes to 20% for dirty industry, I also use the cheat "you don't deserve it" and plop in the large water pumps (200k gal.) and the microwave power plant with a few assorted windmills here and there. I lay out all the pipes, also in a grid pattern. For trash I use the PEG Garbage Chute. I then put in mostly High density zones of commercial and residential.

However, I find that when you have a river separating the city, it is very difficult to get the two sides to develop the same.I have yet to figure out how to overcome this, but I'm sure there is a way. I rarely use tunnels, and actually forgot there were tunnels until today lol. I usually play on a flat city plain and have never attempted to play a mountainous region. I am BIG on city beautification. In the newest city I'm working on, I have 1500+ small parks. I usually put large "central" parks in areas because I find they up the property values and make bigger buildings come along.

An example of my city building style:

haha, the PEG garbage chute is the best.

Understanding that you like city beautification, I don't understand, then, why you use a complete grid system of roads, with bus stops every 3 or 4 tiles, and avenues and highways in such high proximity to each other. Nonetheless, it would be nice to see your development in the future.

[-JD- 41]

I cheat. I'm not afraid to admit it haha. I use the money tree and usually have it run for 2 months which will give me 8.5 billion or trillion (i never counted the numbers ) simoleons. I usually do highways first, since they are the hardest to put in. I never use the monorail or elevated rail since it is so flipping picky and takes up unnecessary space. I then put in avenues and then streets. I usually do things in a grid pattern with a subway station in one or two corners of each grid unit. I also have a mod that increases demand for residential/commercial/industrial (but i usually only enable it for the first city in a new region). I don't find myself using industrial zoning very much and I always raise the taxes to 20% for dirty industry, I also use the cheat "you don't deserve it" and plop in the large water pumps (200k gal.) and the microwave power plant with a few assorted windmills here and there. I lay out all the pipes, also in a grid pattern. For trash I use the PEG Garbage Chute. I then put in mostly High density zones of commercial and residential.

However, I find that when you have a river separating the city, it is very difficult to get the two sides to develop the same.I have yet to figure out how to overcome this, but I'm sure there is a way. I rarely use tunnels, and actually forgot there were tunnels until today lol. I usually play on a flat city plain and have never attempted to play a mountainous region. I am BIG on city beautification. In the newest city I'm working on, I have 1500+ small parks. I usually put large "central" parks in areas because I find they up the property values and make bigger buildings come along.

An example of my city building style:

haha, the PEG garbage chute is the best.

Understanding that you like city beautification, I don't understand, then, why you use a complete grid system of roads, with bus stops every 3 or 4 tiles, and avenues and highways in such high proximity to each other. Nonetheless, it would be nice to see your development in the future.

Well, I usually build big cities, and I just find that a grid system is more realistic to a big city. I would absolutely love to make some suburbs as beautiful as some on ST, but my computer can't handle the plugins and the game graphics :/

[Cob92 360]

I cheat. I'm not afraid to admit it haha. I use the money tree and usually have it run for 2 months which will give me 8.5 billion or trillion (i never counted the numbers ) simoleons. I usually do highways first, since they are the hardest to put in. I never use the monorail or elevated rail since it is so flipping picky and takes up unnecessary space. I then put in avenues and then streets. I usually do things in a grid pattern with a subway station in one or two corners of each grid unit. I also have a mod that increases demand for residential/commercial/industrial (but i usually only enable it for the first city in a new region). I don't find myself using industrial zoning very much and I always raise the taxes to 20% for dirty industry, I also use the cheat "you don't deserve it" and plop in the large water pumps (200k gal.) and the microwave power plant with a few assorted windmills here and there. I lay out all the pipes, also in a grid pattern. For trash I use the PEG Garbage Chute. I then put in mostly High density zones of commercial and residential.

However, I find that when you have a river separating the city, it is very difficult to get the two sides to develop the same.I have yet to figure out how to overcome this, but I'm sure there is a way. I rarely use tunnels, and actually forgot there were tunnels until today lol. I usually play on a flat city plain and have never attempted to play a mountainous region. I am BIG on city beautification. In the newest city I'm working on, I have 1500+ small parks. I usually put large "central" parks in areas because I find they up the property values and make bigger buildings come along.

An example of my city building style:

haha, the PEG garbage chute is the best.

Understanding that you like city beautification, I don't understand, then, why you use a complete grid system of roads, with bus stops every 3 or 4 tiles, and avenues and highways in such high proximity to each other. Nonetheless, it would be nice to see your development in the future.

Well, I usually build big cities, and I just find that a grid system is more realistic to a big city. I would absolutely love to make some suburbs as beautiful as some on ST, but my computer can't handle the plugins and the game graphics :/

If you're going for realism, then that's the wrong kind of grid to have. The grids that major cities have are the same as the ones that villages have (the NYC street grid dates back to the early 1800s when most of Manhattan was farmland), except that the major city has upgraded some of the roads and of course extended the grid so it has hundreds of blocks rather than the 10 or so that you would find in a small countryside town.

  Edited July 25, 2011 by Cobhris96  

[Ltw 401]

I start with pausing the game when the demand is high. Than I start with building avenue's and commercial and residential area's with a high density. Because the monthly costs of the town will increase more than with low density it's important to keep enough money so that you can live through the first months. If you want high buildings it's important not to build too much, in the beginning the residential and commercial area's contain at most 10 blocks and are close to each other. When I am happy with the development of these area's I build more area's. It could take a very long time till that happens. When the money allows you to build schools, parks, hospitals et cetera you could do that. If you're planning to develop al these things it's important to put a lot of money in it.

I am very happy with this way to start a city. I've build big cities this way and those cities have a lot of money (without cheating ).

[simbuilder 1]

I start off with low density zoning, no water or any other commodities. I then expand out. Overtime, I will begin to lay down water pipes, and then eventually I will offer education, hospitals, etc. Once the map is practically filled, I then begin building up. It's a hassle, and takes some time, but I usually notice good results with this, and at the same time I receive a healthy sum of cash to fund my city when it is growing larger.

[Ion_Cannon 677]

I start off a region generally by building a large city to create demand (1-2million sims) no cheats, then after that I plan out how I want the region to look and build my cities around that. My current region has 3 large population hubs, which are then surrounded by a general ring road from which the development is stemmed. As you go further from the population hubs the density lessens, I have also gone through and improved my starting cities as they were built on vanilla simcity and I've gained 4GB of plugins since.

I'm currently building huge swathes of suburbs, so the first thing I do is a general road layout, usually based on avenues or roads, from this a series of suburban communities will spring up, using streets almost exclusively, as I build the city the amount of suburbs will increase, though each is designed to be non-grid, I'll also add in shops, hi-tech industrial estates and out of town shopping centres. Highways are usually not built in this kind of city, unless a pre-existing highway already passes through it. I've had to upgrade avenues to highways once or twice though.

This illustrates my suburb building quite well.

From this

To this

[Ltw 401]

I start off with low density zoning, no water or any other commodities. I then expand out. Overtime, I will begin to lay down water pipes, and then eventually I will offer education, hospitals, etc. Once the map is practically filled, I then begin building up. It's a hassle, and takes some time, but I usually notice good results with this, and at the same time I receive a healthy sum of cash to fund my city when it is growing larger.

Nice way to build up your cities! I have a question about your infrastructure though. Do you build a big grid in the beginning or are you slowly starting with roads, then avenue's and when needed highways?

When I build up big area's with low density I experience the problem that infrastructure and other facilities cost too much so that I get financial problems. I think I want too much when I build this way.

[bwong 36]

I start off with low density zoning, no water or any other commodities. I then expand out. Overtime, I will begin to lay down water pipes, and then eventually I will offer education, hospitals, etc. Once the map is practically filled, I then begin building up. It's a hassle, and takes some time, but I usually notice good results with this, and at the same time I receive a healthy sum of cash to fund my city when it is growing larger.

Nice way to build up your cities! I have a question about your infrastructure though. Do you build a big grid in the beginning or are you slowly starting with roads, then avenue's and when needed highways?

When I build up big area's with low density I experience the problem that infrastructure and other facilities cost too much so that I get financial problems. I think I want too much when I build this way.

To answer your concern about high infrastructure costs, this is why urban sprawl is not financially plausible. It is also one of the reasons that urban sprawl is opposed by so many people

[Ltw 401]

I start off with low density zoning, no water or any other commodities. I then expand out. Overtime, I will begin to lay down water pipes, and then eventually I will offer education, hospitals, etc. Once the map is practically filled, I then begin building up. It's a hassle, and takes some time, but I usually notice good results with this, and at the same time I receive a healthy sum of cash to fund my city when it is growing larger.

Nice way to build up your cities! I have a question about your infrastructure though. Do you build a big grid in the beginning or are you slowly starting with roads, then avenue's and when needed highways?

When I build up big area's with low density I experience the problem that infrastructure and other facilities cost too much so that I get financial problems. I think I want too much when I build this way.

To answer your concern about high infrastructure costs, this is why urban sprawl is not financially plausible. It is also one of the reasons that urban sprawl is opposed by so many people

Good to know. I experience that if I've got the money to apply urban sprawl, I've got no space left. So even if you've got a city which can take urban sprawl financially, it's probably not possible.

  Edited July 30, 2011 by Ltw  

[Cob92 360]

I start off with low density zoning, no water or any other commodities. I then expand out. Overtime, I will begin to lay down water pipes, and then eventually I will offer education, hospitals, etc. Once the map is practically filled, I then begin building up. It's a hassle, and takes some time, but I usually notice good results with this, and at the same time I receive a healthy sum of cash to fund my city when it is growing larger.

Nice way to build up your cities! I have a question about your infrastructure though. Do you build a big grid in the beginning or are you slowly starting with roads, then avenue's and when needed highways?

When I build up big area's with low density I experience the problem that infrastructure and other facilities cost too much so that I get financial problems. I think I want too much when I build this way.

You have to hold some things back. You can't provide top notch education, healthcare, fire, police, and park services to every neighborhood unless you want your city to go bankrupt.

[Ltw 401]

I start off with low density zoning, no water or any other commodities. I then expand out. Overtime, I will begin to lay down water pipes, and then eventually I will offer education, hospitals, etc. Once the map is practically filled, I then begin building up. It's a hassle, and takes some time, but I usually notice good results with this, and at the same time I receive a healthy sum of cash to fund my city when it is growing larger.

Nice way to build up your cities! I have a question about your infrastructure though. Do you build a big grid in the beginning or are you slowly starting with roads, then avenue's and when needed highways?

When I build up big area's with low density I experience the problem that infrastructure and other facilities cost too much so that I get financial problems. I think I want too much when I build this way.

You have to hold some things back. You can't provide top notch education, healthcare, fire, police, and park services to every neighborhood unless you want your city to go bankrupt.

I agree. I build in small area's with a high density from the beginning, so my city grows real fast. But certainly when the growth doesn't go that fast it's important to cut back on those things people need. But I never build with a low density at the beginning, I think I wouldn't be good at building that way either.

[Cob92 360]

I start off with low density zoning, no water or any other commodities. I then expand out. Overtime, I will begin to lay down water pipes, and then eventually I will offer education, hospitals, etc. Once the map is practically filled, I then begin building up. It's a hassle, and takes some time, but I usually notice good results with this, and at the same time I receive a healthy sum of cash to fund my city when it is growing larger.

Nice way to build up your cities! I have a question about your infrastructure though. Do you build a big grid in the beginning or are you slowly starting with roads, then avenue's and when needed highways?

When I build up big area's with low density I experience the problem that infrastructure and other facilities cost too much so that I get financial problems. I think I want too much when I build this way.

You have to hold some things back. You can't provide top notch education, healthcare, fire, police, and park services to every neighborhood unless you want your city to go bankrupt.

I agree. I build in small area's with a high density from the beginning, so my city grows real fast. But certainly when the growth doesn't go that fast it's important to cut back on those things people need. But I never build with a low density at the beginning, I think I wouldn't be good at building that way either.

I build pretty much only low density until my city is about 100,000 Sims. It's a modern American style city layout, with hundreds upon hundreds of square miles of suburban sprawl surrounding a small urban core. You can do it as long as you build adequate roads and don't try to provide every service to every area.

[Andersen 7]

When starting out, I take a look at the whole layout of the region then decide which cities will be what. I have it to where I can control which types of RCI goes in which city. I will almost always put my dense dirty industry in a separate small region then build my main cities around/beside it. I prefer having 1 large downtown every couple of regions apart to give a sense of visual realism. I love to put my downtown on hills or crazy elevations to give it some variation. I don't know if any of you have been to my hometown Kansas City, but that downtown is built on a hill, and I try to mold my downtown accordingly. I try to think of my regions as not just a city but a country or a state. If I could rename sc4 I would rename it Sim nation because of its large scale. I also like to have farms in between my major city centers. This helps alleviate the popping up of R$ when I expand my major city centers. I've learned that you can actually limit certain types of growth through education and taxes. Sometimes I will purposeful not get a college and painfully raise R$$$ taxes so that I will only get R$$ and CO$$. I can be a dictator on this game, if I get ticked off at one of my cities I just lay down the wrath of God with all the disasters.

[Ion_Cannon 677]

I start off with low density zoning, no water or any other commodities. I then expand out. Overtime, I will begin to lay down water pipes, and then eventually I will offer education, hospitals, etc. Once the map is practically filled, I then begin building up. It's a hassle, and takes some time, but I usually notice good results with this, and at the same time I receive a healthy sum of cash to fund my city when it is growing larger.

Nice way to build up your cities! I have a question about your infrastructure though. Do you build a big grid in the beginning or are you slowly starting with roads, then avenue's and when needed highways?

When I build up big area's with low density I experience the problem that infrastructure and other facilities cost too much so that I get financial problems. I think I want too much when I build this way.

You have to hold some things back. You can't provide top notch education, healthcare, fire, police, and park services to every neighborhood unless you want your city to go bankrupt.

I found with careful tweaking of the services (Capacity/radius) so that it fits my needs, I generally could provide the best services to 95% of my city. Though it may take longer before your turning a healthy profit.