Novice needs help!

[cshmech 30]

Hi all. I am playing SimCity 4 Deluxe and I'm a novice. I know he game is kinda crappy but I feel no other city building game is so close to reality like this one. Ok, here is my problem: I can bring my cities to population of close to 30K just after adding water, clinics and police stations. But If I want to go for expansion beyond that I find it difficult.

Last time I found my health and Education advisor pissing me off. Even after I had full medical coverage (some overlapping) over my city and the funding kept to full, she kept complaing that the doctors were on strike and increase funding, build more...... i mean how much does a city need? I had about 2 small clinic and 2 bigger ones(w/ choppers)! All I wanted to was build a High school before going for further expansion. From there till 56K population I went running on loss. I dint know how to come out of it.

I had some problem with Police stations too. The guy kept saying that some jobless undercover agent has cracked a gang in some location and he wants me to build a police station there to crack the gang! I built one near by and after sometime, same location same problem. They were pointing out a beach. So I demolished the beach and built a police station there. After sometime again the same complain. I think the undercover agent is the criminal here, trying to rob the city's savings!

Can some good people here give me some advice on this? Before this I had problem right after I give water connection. there will be a series of burst-pipes thru out the city. I discovered it was because of low funding and I got that fixed somehow.

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It just happened again with my education sysytem.. I'm maxing the fund and it shows only 0.5 stars out of 5.. Is this a glitch?

  Edited January 30, 2012 by CaptCity  
Post Moved to General Discussion

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Welcome to Simtropolis.

You could have added your second post to the first using the edit button. For separation use the 'hr' command enclosed in square brackets. Example:

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Well, there is a lot of stuff to know about this legacy game. You are right, there is no city simulation game that compares to it.

First, what is your program build version? You can get this by using windows explorer to find the file SimCity 4.exe in the Program Files structure of your machine. Hover your mouse over it. It will report your update level. If it is less than 1,1,638 you need some published fixes, so please let us know.

The biggest clue is to avoid running all the time flat out. Cheetah mode is really for situations where you want a quick burst of development. A lot of us play in Turtle to get the absolute most out of the animation. I normally play in Rhino, but then I've been playing since 2003.

Next, there is the matter of plugins that add things to your game. If you don't have an up to date game with a version at 1,1,640 or higher, you can't get the most out of this site because you will not be able to use the full capabilities of things on the STEX (Exchange). If you wander through the pinned threads in this list you will find out a lot. I suggest you take a couple of hours and have a skim.

The Omnibus (see the page header) contains the accumulated knowledge we have built up since the game was released. It makes the manual look like amateur night at the opera. And speaking of opera, there is a bug in the Opera House lot supplied with the game. You will need the lot named Opera House Fix. it causes your education sliders to go nuts.

Before you start playing with plugins, read about how to test them. There are so many that only the final user can test a set of them together. The number of combinations between lots on the STEX, LEX, PLEX and other repositories is in the category of nP complete problems, This is a shorthand way of saying a problem has no general solution. With plugin suites, uniquely selected by each player, there is no way to know in advance if they will all dance together.

Post again after you've read this and the recommended stuff when you have some specific questions. We'll be happy to help you out.

[cshmech 30]

Thanks for the reply Nonny Mouse. Mine is not an updated version, so I should get that fixed first. I know there re a lot of things in Simtropolis a novice should go through, but you know I might be having specific concerns and might get drifted away seeing all the stuff!... I always run in cheetah mode and maybe that screws up. Anyway I found the problem to the 'funding' problem. Its actually the # of patients/students were more than the capacity of the facility.. Thats when it goes nuts! And my population was 56K!. I had to have one small clinic and a big hospital for a city of 35K Sims.. The thing is when we open the big hospital, all the people flock there with minimum # in small clinic. So I have to reduce the funding there again while keeping the big one w/ enough money. Its the new things that I discover that keeps me addicted to this game! Thanks again! I'll be sure to check out Omnibus and STEX. I dont feel like going with mods at this stage. I have a premonition that it will be like a cheat and make my game easier.. or 'non-realistic'

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Will all my cities be saved if I just backup my 'regions' folder?
  Edited January 30, 2012 by cshmech  

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Yes, your cities will be saved if you backup your regions folder. In fact, thanks for reminding me!

I used to feel the same way about the downloads, but I've been playing for so long that I noticed some of the problems with the game can only be solved with the variety of downloads available. The NAM in particular is absolutely indispensable in my opinion, and I do not think I have run into anyone who plays this game without it. It actually gets the sims to use the rail systems you build, and tries to address the transportation system a bit better within the confines of the game.

A lot of the downloadable buildings and BATs are simply buildings that add to what your game would normally build anyways, and a lot of the parks function like Maxis parks, only prettier. It took me a long time to get into adding custom content, so my advice on that is only do it if you feel comfortable with it. Except the NAM. That download is a no-brainer.

[NCGAIO 562]

There are dozens of things that influence the game ... can start by taking a look at the link below to get an idea what to do.

All you can Modify in SimCity 4 (Poll inside)

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Well, the update to 1,1,638 is here. There are several versions, so be sure you get the right one. If you don't know your Stock Keeping Unit number, look in your install disks for it. There is either a file or folder for it on the disks. It is also in your Program Files system residency.

To get the 1,1,640 update for BAT nightlights, go here. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the EA Support Button. Accept the agreement then go to the BAT page. Take only the update from there. You don't need the BAT. This is a good site to be a member of. Registration is free. To get to their exchange (the LEX), you need to register for it, also free. A lot of the serious work is done there these days.

After these updates, I recommend you get the Network Addon Mod. Think of this as a huge, free expansion pack. You don't need to understand all the stuff in it right away, but pay attention to the traffic controller, and other stuff that might interest you. It is well documented. You should be grateful that it has an installer for windows.

To get themed stuff, you might want to also register, free again, at SimPeg. Much of their stuff is on the STEX, but it is more organized over there, and I prefer to deal with the front-end of the horse when possible. They specialize in theme packages such as the Sim Peg Agricultural Mod (SPAM), the Mountain Terrain Pack (MTP) and the Coastal system for ports and tourist traps (CDK). One of their regular contributers is Paeng, who makes some fabulous water lots.

There now, that gives you access to several thousand plugins. Be very, very choosy, and take your time. None of this is going away soon.

  Edited January 30, 2012 by A Nonny Moose  

[cshmech 30]

Thanks to all the people who helped.. I should admit its a lot to do with the limited time I have... but for now SC4 is my only time-pass!

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Thanks to all the people who helped.. I should admit its a lot to do with the limited time I have... but for now SC4 is my only time-pass!

Happy learning curve. You've ten years of external development to catch up on.

Enjoy the game.