Discussion about City Tile Size

[marksimon112 0]

I also confused about what things going on this thread as what is the original topic?, will the amount of land for construction be a lot smaller than SimCity 4?

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

I'm not sure why larger maps are going to be too taxing on high-spec computers and CPUs. I have an Intel i7 which is about 3 years old now and it plays Simcity perfectly. The frame rate barely drops when I have a massive city and I have maxed out the graphical settings. So I think my rig could easily handle a 4 by 4 kilometre map, as for the frame rate... At worst the frame rate performance will be like that of a massive 4*4 city in SC4.

 

8 by 8 though... That's pushing it!

[SoftcoreGamer 352]

I recall a concise post from eons ago...

 

Here it is

 

The simple solution to this mentioned so many times is OPTIONS.

1x1 option for the CityVille aunts

2x2 option for the Mainstream.

4x4 option for the Muscles.

8x8 option for the Level Editors.

Why is that so hard to grasp?

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

 

I recall a concise post from eons ago...

 

Here it is

 

The simple solution to this mentioned so many times is OPTIONS.

1x1 option for the CityVille aunts

2x2 option for the Mainstream.

4x4 option for the Muscles.

8x8 option for the Level Editors.

Why is that so hard to grasp?

 

 

Amen brother!

[X-Static 0]

I think a lot of people don't realize that the lack of grid placement in this game affects the amount of room that you have in your city.  Unless you have perfectly straight roads, you have to watch how far apart or close together you place your roads and buildings.  If you place your roads to close together, buildings don't have room to expand.  If you place them too far apart, the buildings expand to maximum capacity and now you have no room in between for anything else.  You have to be pretty precise because all of the unused space in between adds up quickly.

[Themaroonday 40]

I think this game was built on a great concept and idea of trying to create a more in-depth Simcity, however, I feel as if the way Maxis carried this out was a bitter failure. While the makers of this game claim it is about as large as a medium sized city, you can clearly see that the cities seem to be even smaller than the small city in Simcity 4. Also, there is a great amount of space between cities. It looks highly unrealistic to have a few tall skyscrapers in each small, compact area of land, and have absolutely nothing between these compact cities. 

 

--Themaroonday

[Cobraroll 138]

Perhaps we shouldn't complain that the cities are too small, but that the objects are too big?

 

I'd happily settle for 2x2 km if roads were half a meter wide and the sims a decimetre or two tall. Buildings could be adjusted accordingly. And trees, terrain, and all that. Actually, the size of the maps is an arbitrary factor. What matters is the size of the stuff you put on it, in relation to what space you have. And that ratio is, at the moment, absolutely terrible.

[gc6164 36]

Perhaps we shouldn't complain that the cities are too small, but that the objects are too big?

 

I'd happily settle for 2x2 km if roads were half a meter wide and the sims a decimetre or two tall. Buildings could be adjusted accordingly. And trees, terrain, and all that. Actually, the size of the maps is an arbitrary factor. What matters is the size of the stuff you put on it, in relation to what space you have. And that ratio is, at the moment, absolutely terrible.

I agree ^ If they can't make bigger maps then they need to fix the ratio. It would be a tough and long job though.

[BravoGreenONE 120]

So with the new expansion coming out am I misunderstanding things or will there be many more agents in the game? Hasn't it been often been suggested that glassbox cannot handle more agents, hence the lack of bigger maps? Guess its not an issue of agents.

[GeometryMath Algebra 614]

So, I think the only way to get larger city tiles is to buy SimCity 4. Don't forget the NAM and other mods too!

 

[NCGAIO 562]

After much complaint about the lack of space the Maxis finally heard his fans.

 

Now you only need few buildings to simulate a population and the rest of the land will be available for new DLCs.

 

And still get the advantage of not more having jams since it you will rely on the incredible means of transport of the future built with alloys antigravity

 

All this for only $ 29.99 ....is not a bargain?  

 

SimCity Cities of Tomorrow: MegaTowers

 

 

 

"  MegaTowers are giant structures where the Sims of the future live, work, and play. MegaTowers are a great addition to any city, or you can build a city based around them. 

Because MegaTowers build up, not out, they can act as a self-contained ecosystem. The residential levels on MegaTowers can also house more Sims then the high-density buildings of the same wealth levels, so you can have more Sims in your city than ever before."

 

Read more at: http://www.simcity.com/en_US/blog/article/simcity-cities-of-tomorrow-megatowers

[Cobraroll 138]

In short:"We've seen your complaints and taken the issue to heart. Now, we're trying out best to respond to them without actually fixing anything that was wrong"

 

Flying traffic and skybridges to overcome the buggy pathfinding - straight lines are a lot easier.

 

Sims live, work and shop in the same building  - less commuting to simulate, since it all happens on the same tile.

 

Population unrealistically high - make big towers to justify the inflated numbers.

 

Too small tiles - fit more stuff on the same lot to free up space for other things.

 

They apparently didn't make enough on the base game and DLC - let's price the expansion pack the same as a regular, full-fledged game.

 

Maybe they will address the desire for an offline mode as well. I guess they'll do this by actually running some calculations serverside, finally putting some thruth in their blabbering about "it won't work without a connection".

[Ohadi195 30]

 

After much complaint about the lack of space the Maxis finally heard his fans.

 

Now you only need few buildings to simulate a population and the rest of the land will be available for new DLCs.

 

And still get the advantage of not more having jams since it you will rely on the incredible means of transport of the future built with alloys antigravity

 

All this for only $ 29.99 ....is not a bargain?

 

SimCity Cities of Tomorrow: MegaTowers

 

 

 

"  MegaTowers are giant structures where the Sims of the future live, work, and play. MegaTowers are a great addition to any city, or you can build a city based around them. 

Because MegaTowers build up, not out, they can act as a self-contained ecosystem. The residential levels on MegaTowers can also house more Sims then the high-density buildings of the same wealth levels, so you can have more Sims in your city than ever before."

 

Read more at: http://www.simcity.com/en_US/blog/article/simcity-cities-of-tomorrow-megatowers

 

 

It's actually quite cool

[SAGGG 47]

In short:"We've seen your complaints and taken the issue to heart. Now, we're trying out best to respond to them without actually fixing anything that was wrong"

 

Flying traffic and skybridges to overcome the buggy pathfinding - straight lines are a lot easier.

 

Sims live, work and shop in the same building  - less commuting to simulate, since it all happens on the same tile.

 

Population unrealistically high - make big towers to justify the inflated numbers.

 

Too small tiles - fit more stuff on the same lot to free up space for other things.

 

They apparently didn't make enough on the base game and DLC - let's price the expansion pack the same as a regular, full-fledged game.

 

Maybe they will address the desire for an offline mode as well. I guess they'll do this by actually running some calculations serverside, finally putting some thruth in their blabbering about "it won't work without a connection".

THANK you. Couldn't have written it better. Out, NOT up!

[DazzaDazza 29]

and this is why I still haven't spent $1 on this game, and probably never will, ill  stick to CXL, also that pic looks like it from futurama,    

[Snugies 91]

I seriously want to live in a tower like that. Do all my commuting via elevator, just like in 5th element or judge dredd. Work, shop, play, sleep all in the same tower....then have tower wars!

[laforcem 6]

If Maxis/EA cannot increase the city size, then they should think about having continuous regions with the abilty to look inside the adjacent cities.

 

This would please almost everyone and would be great to specialized cities.

 

I hope we will soon be able to edit/create our own regions as well.

 

I want build realistic cities and not always play a game that can be boring over time.

 

 

[kwetzel345 101]

Hey guys, real bummer of a read about city size in state of simcity post. Thy said it will not happen.

BUT, maybe this is where having the modding community in simcity 2013 will fix this, or at the very least come up with some other solutions(ex:cities side by side to give illusion of a large city). Only time will tell

[NCGAIO 562]

Certainly ! ... just make prayers that EA give up the business online and then consider the possibility of allowing the studio to release a truly single player mode without interference in multi even if it has to maintain some type of authentication of use.

 

For anyone who is accustomed to pray on my knees I will advise the use of some cushions soft and comfortable.. this It may take!

[AkemiAzula 280]

Dissapointing. For a minute I was holding my breath reading that blog... But no. They confirm my scepticism. I really can not believe it is impossible to make larger cities using agents. GlassBox may be broken, so let's use timber.

[ebalosus 19]

Dissapointing. For a minute I was holding my breath reading that blog... But no. They confirm my scepticism. I really can not believe it is impossible to make larger cities using agents. GlassBox may be broken, so let's use timber.

 

Remember when they said that they couldn't add an offline mode due to, and I'm quoting here "it would take a significant amount of engineering work for this to happen"?

 

Like with offline more only really requiring an edit to a single line, I'm pretty sure that larger city sizes isn't (in theory) too hard to implement.

[Noobi-Wan 22]

Dissapointing. For a minute I was holding my breath reading that blog... But no. They confirm my scepticism. I really can not believe it is impossible to make larger cities using agents. GlassBox may be broken, so let's use timber.

Remember when they said that they couldn't add an offline mode due to, and I'm quoting here "it would take a significant amount of engineering work for this to happen"?

Like with offline more only really requiring an edit to a single line, I'm pretty sure that larger city sizes isn't (in theory) too hard to implement.

I suspect it would be a very easy thing to do, they just draw a bigger square.

What I think has happened is that they have a goal to hit with the hardware required to run the game (ie what is on the back of the box). It was interesting to see the difference in required hardware between the standard game and the upcoming expansion. It would appear that even relatively minor changes cause increases in required performance.

I would love to see the results of the testing they did on the game to see if my rig would fit the bill for increased city size. I would bet that they were set the task of increasing city size whilst maintaining performance on the same hardware.

[Hellken 1,658]

Dissapointing. For a minute I was holding my breath reading that blog... But no. They confirm my scepticism. I really can not believe it is impossible to make larger cities using agents. GlassBox may be broken, so let's use timber.

Remember when they said that they couldn't add an offline mode due to, and I'm quoting here "it would take a significant amount of engineering work for this to happen"?

Like with offline more only really requiring an edit to a single line, I'm pretty sure that larger city sizes isn't (in theory) too hard to implement.

I suspect it would be a very easy thing to do, they just draw a bigger square.

What I think has happened is that they have a goal to hit with the hardware required to run the game (ie what is on the back of the box). It was interesting to see the difference in required hardware between the standard game and the upcoming expansion. It would appear that even relatively minor changes cause increases in required performance.

I would love to see the results of the testing they did on the game to see if my rig would fit the bill for increased city size. I would bet that they were set the task of increasing city size whilst maintaining performance on the same hardware.

They can always:

1) Put the city tiles beside each other!

2) Put options. If my PC can run a city with bigger tiles, why can't I decide?

[Noobi-Wan 22]

Dissapointing. For a minute I was holding my breath reading that blog... But no. They confirm my scepticism. I really can not believe it is impossible to make larger cities using agents. GlassBox may be broken, so let's use timber.

Remember when they said that they couldn't add an offline mode due to, and I'm quoting here "it would take a significant amount of engineering work for this to happen"?

Like with offline more only really requiring an edit to a single line, I'm pretty sure that larger city sizes isn't (in theory) too hard to implement. I suspect it would be a very easy thing to do, they just draw a bigger square.

What I think has happened is that they have a goal to hit with the hardware required to run the game (ie what is on the back of the box). It was interesting to see the difference in required hardware between the standard game and the upcoming expansion. It would appear that even relatively minor changes cause increases in required performance.

I would love to see the results of the testing they did on the game to see if my rig would fit the bill for increased city size. I would bet that they were set the task of increasing city size whilst maintaining performance on the same hardware. They can always:

1) Put the city tiles beside each other!

2) Put options. If my PC can run a city with bigger tiles, why can't I decide?

I agree wholeheartedly, the choice should be with us but it has been taken away by the focus on multiplayer and getting as many people as possible playing. This means tailoring a game for the average PC which leads to compromise with aspects of the game.

In my humble opinion multiplayer ruined simcity. Everything wrong with it can be traced back to being online and multiplay.

[AkemiAzula 280]

This is a picture of my game Virtucity. Note the curvy roads. 

 

A few observations. One, the area visible is about the same width as a SC2013 city. Two these roads are 3D objects and thus made up of triangles. Three I have tested how many roads I can fit in an area like this and it is pretty much infinite with no lag.

 

Thus one deduces 'glass box' and their graphical system must be the reason they can't expand cities. If their graphics were simple and lighting was turned off or down and the fancy effects turned off (think 'tilt shift') I daresay you could have very large maps. It is thus my theory that tilt shift, lighting, etc and the animations of people are what is responsible. If agents were just numbers we could have endless terrains stretching for miles methinks.

[ChrilleT 2]

Bought the game, tried it but stopped playing because of all the bugs and small maps, was waiting for them to fix these problems. Atleast I don´t have to spend any money on any dlc now since there are just not enough room to even place all stuff that´s in the original box.

[JaceTwice 115]

This is a picture of my game Virtucity. Note the curvy roads. 

 

A few observations. One, the area visible is about the same width as a SC2013 city. Two these roads are 3D objects and thus made up of triangles. Three I have tested how many roads I can fit in an area like this and it is pretty much infinite with no lag.

 

Thus one deduces 'glass box' and their graphical system must be the reason they can't expand cities. If their graphics were simple and lighting was turned off or down and the fancy effects turned off (think 'tilt shift') I daresay you could have very large maps. It is thus my theory that tilt shift, lighting, etc and the animations of people are what is responsible. If agents were just numbers we could have endless terrains stretching for miles methinks.

 

It's one thing to have a bunch of polygons on screen, It's entirely another to have an active simulation running at the same time. the comparison you're making just doesn't hold up since (as far as I can see) there's no simulation happening here. Just drawing polygons to the screen is very cheap so of course you're not getting dips in your framerate.

[SoftcoreGamer 352]

 Everything wrong with it can be traced back to being online and multiplay.

 

Yep. And everything projected to go wrong with online+glassbox+cityville-wannabe has gone wrong 3X.

 

I trusted my instinct. Didn't buy. Still won't, until offline, continuous map and modding come along.

[Cob92 360]

 

This is a picture of my game Virtucity. Note the curvy roads. 

 

A few observations. One, the area visible is about the same width as a SC2013 city. Two these roads are 3D objects and thus made up of triangles. Three I have tested how many roads I can fit in an area like this and it is pretty much infinite with no lag.

 

Thus one deduces 'glass box' and their graphical system must be the reason they can't expand cities. If their graphics were simple and lighting was turned off or down and the fancy effects turned off (think 'tilt shift') I daresay you could have very large maps. It is thus my theory that tilt shift, lighting, etc and the animations of people are what is responsible. If agents were just numbers we could have endless terrains stretching for miles methinks.

 

It's one thing to have a bunch of polygons on screen, It's entirely another to have an active simulation running at the same time. the comparison you're making just doesn't hold up since (as far as I can see) there's no simulation happening here. Just drawing polygons to the screen is very cheap so of course you're not getting dips in your framerate.

 

The simulation is the main system hog in SC2013 and the real reason that we can't have larger maps. The map itself contains simulation elements (wind, resource layers, water table, pollution mapping, etc.), and every new street you zone adds dozens of new objects for the CPU to handle. The graphics are a mere fraction of what the game expects your computer to do.

[Danny50205 71]

The problem is that people need to know how Games are made. it take like 5 years. and then you want tilt shift camera. Yes maybe ask for it in a few years. i mean GTA 5 is huge but it is a fixed World with a few Simulations. i personally Love the Game. yes the engine is Dumb, if you know how they program game Engines. A Game engine is one of the most difficult things to make. besides middleware