SimCity: Gameplay

[Urban Cartographer 601]

Many cities have narrow streets by huge skyscrapers. Look at Manhattan. Look at Toronto. Look at the major European cities. Look at Hong Kong.

[marksman1416 12]

Cities like Manhattan are bordered with water so they have a restriction on their size. Therefore to maximize the number of buildings the streets have to be smaller.

[Cob92 360]

^I believe that's just one of the data layers you can choose. Building density is still automatically decided based on the road it is by.

Well thats a shame, density by roads is a clever idea but it dosnt give us as much creative freedom like having narrow streets with huge skyscrapers just for the fun of it.

Maxis has stated that the narrow road comes in separate versions for low, medium, and high density, and you can upgrade the road in place. So you have the same level of control, but it is done from the road instead of the zone.

[cyruskafaiwu 29]

^I believe that's just one of the data layers you can choose. Building density is still automatically decided based on the road it is by.

Well thats a shame, density by roads is a clever idea but it dosnt give us as much creative freedom like having narrow streets with huge skyscrapers just for the fun of it.

Maxis has stated that the narrow road comes in separate versions for low, medium, and high density, and you can upgrade the road in place. So you have the same level of control, but it is done from the road instead of the zone.

If you put it that way, I am enjoying this game. So, when I place a road at low density, I can right click and select to change it high density to hopefully change the development in it's area.

[Charizard 284]

One thing I loved about the Simcity 4 was the ability to create your own New York or your own Tokyo. You could download the maps from the exchange, get custom buildings that were from the city, and be able to create your version of a real city.

However, will this be possible in Simcity 5? One reason I'm afraid that this won't be possible is because of the lack of terraforming features. Sure the game might come stocked with a New York map or Tokyo map, but it may not be scaled correctly and/or not include all the areas you want. Plus, what about all the other maps of real life cities that don't come with the game?

Also another problem I forsee with creating real cities in Simcity 5 is the size of each city. From what I've read each city is drastically smaller than the cities in Simcity 4 so the creation of real cities might not be possible.

Yet another problem that might arise is the fact that you're in a multiplayer region. Therefore you won't have complete control of your real city if you want to recreate it as close to the real-life version as possible. Each player is in control of his own city in the region and thus you wouldn't be able to recreate your real-life region. I know there is a singleplayer option but from what I've read the global economy still affects your city/region.

Finally, the biggest obstacle I see here is the lack of modding features. They say that modding will be implemented but we're not sure to what extent. What if you wanted to create the World Trade Center for your New York but weren't allowed to do so because modding would be limited? There are lot of city-specific buildings you might want to make for your recreation but that may not be possible. I hope the developers address these problems because my favorite part of Simcity 4 was recreating cities as realistically as possible. If this won't be possible in Simcity 5 I think I'll just stick to Simcity 4 then.

[glazert 89]

It is not simply that the cities in the new Sim City are small, but also that there are gaps between them: you cannot simply extend the city into an immediate neighbour. Further, you have to work with the fixed connecting roads or railways you are presented with.

If it is recreating of cities you are after, I would stick with SimCity 4.

[packersfan 666]

Yeah, this game really seems like a step forward in some areas (Glassbox simulation) and a step back in others (realism, customization, complete control if you want it). It seems with the new roads not being stuck on grid that some cities would be easier to recreate, but then the other problems creep in...limited size, no real region play, etc. I'm probably sticking with SC4.

[Ocram's Razr 963]

The new gameplay video showed that you must invite people into your region in order to play. Also, without plugins, your cities would all end up looking like NYC or SF.

--Ocram

[Charizard 284]

It is not simply that the cities in the new Sim City are small, but also that there are gaps between them: you cannot simply extend the city into an immediate neighbour. Further, you have to work with the fixed connecting roads or railways you are presented with.

If it is recreating of cities you are after, I would stick with SimCity 4.

Wow... you're forced to have gaps between each city? That.. is not good.

Also, if you play singleplayer, do you get to control the whole region or just one city in the region?

I hope Maxis fixes these problems or else make them moddable. If not I'll gladly stick with SC4.

[Xenocity 343]

It is not simply that the cities in the new Sim City are small, but also that there are gaps between them: you cannot simply extend the city into an immediate neighbour. Further, you have to work with the fixed connecting roads or railways you are presented with.

If it is recreating of cities you are after, I would stick with SimCity 4.

Wow... you're forced to have gaps between each city? That.. is not good.

Also, if you play singleplayer, do you get to control the whole region or just one city in the region?

I hope Maxis fixes these problems or else make them moddable. If not I'll gladly stick with SC4.

You can have a whole region to yourself, though you still have to deal with the globably sim economy (for resources if you need them).

If you really want to recreate real life cities, Cities XL is the best option.

[Urban Cartographer 601]

You can create realistic cities in the upcoming SimCity game, as long as you do not mind creating cities that look like Swiss cheese or a checkerboard.

Well then, there is always SimCity 4 or CitiesXL.

[Xenocity 343]

You can create realistic cities in the upcoming SimCity game, as long as you do not mind creating cities that look like Swiss cheese or a checkerboard.

Well then, there is always SimCity 4 or CitiesXL.

Hey I like the creativity that comes with abstract.

[snick25 384]

Yes, CXL is the best game for recreations. SC4 is also good, but for European cities or old American cities like New York, you cannot realistically recreate the road layout.

As for SC2013?

That's an example.

[Tramwhet 53]

I am not trolling, just giving a serious advice.

If the game was named SimTown and without skycrapers the game would be much more coherent and realistic.

It would be a nice realistic game and nice beginning for present us their new Glassbox engine.

And as time past, the day that the engine will be enough strenght to support side by side cities, that day, they would make SimCity 5.

Well, i know that they will never do that, but i hope that in the future they will made a Simcity 2014 with side by side cities.

[Haljackey 17,302]

Why would they do such a thing?

SimCity is a well known and well respected title. You will get much more publicity using this name and marketing it with the franchise.

Plus you will be able to make cities, although only small ones.

(Remember, this is not SimCity 5... not a sequel or successor to SC4.)

[16minuteman 57]

i dont know what youre talking about

[flyer2359 92]

It probably wouldn't sell well if they named it to "SimTown". The new SimCity has enough of the base to be called 'SimCity' but they undoubtedly need larger cities. Whether we see them in an expansion pack or what, I don't know but we NEED them. It's one of the very few gripes I have about this new game.

[CaptCity 4,753]

Off topic posts removed.

[Hoipus 292]

I am not trolling, just giving a serious advice.

If the game was named SimTown and without skycrapers the game would be much more coherent and realistic.

It would be a nice realistic game and nice beginning for present us their new Glassbox engine.

And as time past, the day that the engine will be enough strenght to support side by side cities, that day, they would make SimCity 5.

Well, i know that they will never do that, but i hope that in the future they will made a Simcity 2014 with side by side cities.

This makes sense to me. It sounds similar to the difference between Battlefield and the Bad Company series.

[croxis 150]

SC2013 is more focused on the simulation aspect than being a glorified city-themed photoshop. Those who played SC4 as "painters" are obviously upset. Those of us who prefer Sim City as a game are salivating.

[macvirt 361]

One thing I loved about the Simcity 4 was the ability to create your own New York or your own Tokyo. You could download the maps from the exchange, get custom buildings that were from the city, and be able to create your version of a real city.

However, will this be possible in Simcity 5? One reason I'm afraid that this won't be possible is because of the lack of terraforming features. Sure the game might come stocked with a New York map or Tokyo map, but it may not be scaled correctly and/or not include all the areas you want. Plus, what about all the other maps of real life cities that don't come with the game?

Also another problem I forsee with creating real cities in Simcity 5 is the size of each city. From what I've read each city is drastically smaller than the cities in Simcity 4 so the creation of real cities might not be possible.

Yet another problem that might arise is the fact that you're in a multiplayer region. Therefore you won't have complete control of your real city if you want to recreate it as close to the real-life version as possible. Each player is in control of his own city in the region and thus you wouldn't be able to recreate your real-life region. I know there is a singleplayer option but from what I've read the global economy still affects your city/region.

Finally, the biggest obstacle I see here is the lack of modding features. They say that modding will be implemented but we're not sure to what extent. What if you wanted to create the World Trade Center for your New York but weren't allowed to do so because modding would be limited? There are lot of city-specific buildings you might want to make for your recreation but that may not be possible. I hope the developers address these problems because my favorite part of Simcity 4 was recreating cities as realistically as possible. If this won't be possible in Simcity 5 I think I'll just stick to Simcity 4 then.

No. Maxis is aiming for realisme in the perception. That is not the same as realisme in the experience. Just don't expect it.

[ArtemL 14]

SC2013 is more focused on the simulation aspect than being a glorified city-themed photoshop. Those who played SC4 as "painters" are obviously upset. Those of us who prefer Sim City as a game are salivating.

Excellent point. The game for me was always about playing the city, and not making the satellite-like images of real world ones. Why copy something existing when you are given the tool to build something from scratch for yourself? Never ever used landmarks in my cities.

[spa 968]

SC2013 is more focused on the simulation aspect than being a glorified city-themed photoshop. Those who played SC4 as "painters" are obviously upset. Those of us who prefer Sim City as a game are salivating.

You know, this is really it in a nutshell. It's just too bad because with some more thoughtful design decisions, they could have done a better job of capturing both camps! It doesn't have to and from a business perspective it really shouldn't be, an either or. There should have been room enough for both.

[snick25 384]

As long as the region tiles are all joined up like in SC4 then I won't have a problem! Having gaps between them all is silly and means that you can't make anything more than a mid size town. What is the point of rail and motorways in separate 2x2km 'cities'.

Get rid of the gaps and I will be happy.

Unfortunately it looks like they aren't going to do that - one of the devs in the reddit explained it was because neighboring cities would look "dead" up close, or some other hogwash. It doesn't matter to me, since I don't expect anything out of this game anyway.

[g3inbloom 13]

SC2013 is more focused on the simulation aspect than being a glorified city-themed photoshop. Those who played SC4 as "painters" are obviously upset. Those of us who prefer Sim City as a game are salivating.

Why can't it be both? Really no need to pigeonhole another person's perception of the game. I'd have to say I enjoyed both aspects of SC4 immensely.

[macvirt 361]

SC2013 is more focused on the simulation aspect than being a glorified city-themed photoshop. Those who played SC4 as "painters" are obviously upset. Those of us who prefer Sim City as a game are salivating.

Why can't it be both? Really no need to pigeonhole another person's perception of the game. I'd have to say I enjoyed both aspects of SC4 immensely.

I'm sad to say but I've come to expect that kind of callous disregard from SimVillage fanatics.

It's actually the other way around: the focus is on form rather than function, looks rather than what is inside. There is a lot of emphasis ofcourse on simulation aspects and data acces to the sim, but note the discrepancies within the marketing on these matters. As for what is called the SimVillage fanatics, they do constitute the largest portion of the target market these days

[Hoipus 292]

SC2013 is more focused on the simulation aspect than being a glorified city-themed photoshop. Those who played SC4 as "painters" are obviously upset. Those of us who prefer Sim City as a game are salivating.

Excellent point. The game for me was always about playing the city, and not making the satellite-like images of real world ones. Why copy something existing when you are given the tool to build something from scratch for yourself? Never ever used landmarks in my cities.

If I could recreate a city's layout accurately, I could see if the game's simulators would bring the city to a similar level of development as the real one. The systems within SimCity games are based upon decades of urban planning theory. The games are interpretations of these theories. What better way to see if their views/the developers interpretations coincide with reality than by comparing the simulation WITH reality?

I'm not appreciating this generalisation.

[ArtemL 14]

If I could recreate a city's layout accurately, I could see if the game's simulators would bring the city to a similar level of development as the real one. The systems within SimCity games are based upon decades of urban planning theory. The games are interpretations of these theories. What better way to see if their views/the developers interpretations coincide with reality than by comparing the simulation WITH reality?

I'm not appreciating this generalisation.

But you never could. Not in earlier SimCities, nor in the new one. Each game had its limitations, whether they are "no curvy roads" and "bus stops the size of a house" or they are "tiny not adjacent cities" and "no subway". It can't realistically model the real city and it never shall for the sake of fun. It's a game, not a professional urban/traffic simulation software. You can't play with the latter.

The real difference in the perception of the game limitations is that you're used to some of them after more than decade of playing, and to some you're not.

[Hoipus 292]

If I could recreate a city's layout accurately, I could see if the game's simulators would bring the city to a similar level of development as the real one. The systems within SimCity games are based upon decades of urban planning theory. The games are interpretations of these theories. What better way to see if their views/the developers interpretations coincide with reality than by comparing the simulation WITH reality?

I'm not appreciating this generalisation.

But you never could. Not in earlier SimCities, nor in the new one. Each game had its limitations, whether they are "no curvy roads" and "bus stops the size of a house" or they are "tiny not adjacent cities" and "no subway". It can't realistically model the real city and it never shall for the sake of fun. It's a game, not a professional urban/traffic simulation software. You can't play with the latter.

The real difference in the perception of the game limitations is that you're used to some of them after more than decade of playing, and to some you're not.

Notice how I said the word 'if'. This game has some features that bring the possibility of recreating a city much closer, and some others that severely inhibit it. ):

[g3inbloom 13]

If I could recreate a city's layout accurately, I could see if the game's simulators would bring the city to a similar level of development as the real one. The systems within SimCity games are based upon decades of urban planning theory. The games are interpretations of these theories. What better way to see if their views/the developers interpretations coincide with reality than by comparing the simulation WITH reality?

I'm not appreciating this generalisation.

But you never could. Not in earlier SimCities, nor in the new one. Each game had its limitations, whether they are "no curvy roads" and "bus stops the size of a house" or they are "tiny not adjacent cities" and "no subway". It can't realistically model the real city and it never shall for the sake of fun. It's a game, not a professional urban/traffic simulation software. You can't play with the latter.

The real difference in the perception of the game limitations is that you're used to some of them after more than decade of playing, and to some you're not.

Well, if that is the case, why the need for all this man-management in the new game? It's just a game as you state, yet the game is very detailed when dealing with the micro aspects of a city. That just shows that the team at Maxis spent a whole deal of time dealing with the game at a micro-level, but in order to do that, they've gone backwards in terms of what SimCity is all about, the macro-level of city building. I never got SimCity 4 to deal with individual citizens, if I wanted that, I would stick with Tropico, Societies, hell, even the The Sims for that matter.

You say it's not simulation software, but the word being thrown around most by Maxis and EA is simulation.