What "Day One" features do you require?

[LivingInThePast 364]

Suppose it's some day in 2013, and SimCity is released. You want to be one of the first people to get it, but you have limits as to what's in it. You don't want to buy a half-finished piece of crap, you want to know what it has before you buy.

Obviously modding is out of the question, but what else do you have in terms of GROUND REQUIREMENTS for the new SimCity? This isn't a wish list, this is a "Must be in or I'm out" thing.

To me, it really depends on mechanics, but I want...

- the ability to tax various economic groups, from taxing the poor (bad idea) to taxing the rich (also a bad idea, but for completely different reasons)

- the ability to start up in SP without Origin (legally, of course)

- a degree of stability, not perfect, but nothing major (graphical abominations, memory leaks, random crashes after 45 minutes, you get the idea)

- basic SimCity items (power lines, railroads)

[Mark Waybill 242]

- a degree of stability, not perfect, but nothing major (graphical abominations, memory leaks, random crashes after 45 minutes, you get the idea)

- basic SimCity items (power lines, railroads)

^ that

A good stable base for expansion and improvement, with all the features we've come to expect. I would be dissapointed if we didn't have running water, waterfalls, subways, monorails etc. Basically everything we have had in the former versions, at least, as a minimum.

[The_City_Builder 299]

-A game that works.

[Mootilda 76]

The ability to play in single player mode without Origin or the internet or some other draconian DRM like SecuROM.

Without the above, I'm willing to take a chance on the game.

[Toddaloden 1]

-Eyedropper Tool , to copy any object similar to Sims

-Undo button , have completely re-zoned my thriving metropolis into farmland

Just off the top of my head

[LivingInThePast 364]

^^^ Like I said, this isn't a wishlist. At this rate, you won't be buying SimCity 2013 for a long time, if not ever.

[MandelSoft 2,769]

To me, it really depends on mechanics, but I want...

- the ability to tax various economic groups, from taxing the poor (bad idea) to taxing the rich (also a bad idea, but for completely different reasons)

- the ability to start up in SP without Origin (legally, of course)

- a degree of stability, not perfect, but nothing major (graphical abominations, memory leaks, random crashes after 45 minutes, you get the idea)

- basic SimCity items (power lines, railroads)

I'd like to add to this list:

- A decent infrastructure system (especially freeways can be a lot better, without static interchanges), with realistic traffic patterns (not like cars from the left lane turning right and vice versa).

- Statistics. CitiesXL lacked them; half of the time I had no idea what I was producing or what each utility building produces. SimCity 4 had statistics in abundance, and I like good statistics. If something is wrong with your city, you can check your statistics to know what's wrong and what needs to be done.

Best,

Maarten

[jdenm8 362]

- The ability to drag transit networks at different heights.

- At least partly modular intersections. I don't want prefabs as the sole option.

- Like mrtnrln said, Statistics and good representations of said Statistics. I want to be able to easily refer to a clear graph and know exactly how much of something I am producing, have the capacity for or have now. Like the Region Census tools. But a graph.

[Wiimeiser 444]

If they're going for prefabs, at least make them moldable, and include a huge variety - everything currently in the NAM, preferrably all the stuff that was never finished as well. I actually want Maxis to try and top what the NAM team has done in regards to highways. And the ability to change the height and # of lanes on a network (this could be done with the same interface as the pool corners in The Sims 3)

[LivingInThePast 364]

Yeah, statistics are a needed feature. Though I don't want them to try to "top the NAM", many components of the NAM I never used anyway (underground heavy rail, for instance). That would come later, but remember, the NAM started as a traffic fix.

[FixedBike 7]

I need diagonal zoning, bridges, and tunnels.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I'd quite frankly settle for what came out in SimCity4 originally with a 3D camera and no bugs.

• Perhaps a few advances in the ability to build roads/streets/highways.
  
• I would quite happily do without landmarks, for example, to trade off for something else.
  
• No UDI.
  
• No online requirement beyond a single interaction to register the game.
  
• I'd also like a simulation that was fast enough to support larger cities than have been bandied about so far, and
  
• a finer granulation of the working grid.
  

[Ocram's Razr 963]

I want and expect the following at release:

1. Utilities
   * Electricity
   * Water
   * Garbage
   * Fuel
   * Sewage and/or recycling having special plants that cannot handle all garbage but are more effective than landfills for their category
   
2. Pollution
   * Air pollution
   * Water pollution
   * Open Garbage
   * Acid Soil
   * Noise Pollution
   
3. Zoning
   * Low, middle, high, ultra/exceptional density zoning
   * Residential
   * Offices
   * Shops, leisure, and/or hotels
   * Industrial/factories
   * Agriculture
   
4. Resources
   * Trees
   * Ground fertility
   * Water
   * Petroleum
   * Coal
   * Metals
   
5. Economy
   * Tax rates separate for 4 wealth levels of residential, at least 2 wealth levels of offices, at least 3 wealth levels of shops and/or leisure, on heavy/dirty/processing industry, manufacturing industry, high tech industry, and agriculture
   * Supply and demand for jobs, employees, resources, industrial products, food, and finished goods
   
6. Single player
   * No paid subscription
   * No need to "play with friends" in your region/city
   

I fully expect all of these to be in the new SimCity because these have already been done by Anno 2070 and Cities XL to a certain extent. I do not demand these though I will be less likely to buy if these are missing and I will certainly buy if all of these are present properly.

  Edited April 16, 2012 by OcramSeattle  

[Azurespecter 506]

Transportation network is the big one for me. Everything else seems fixable (although I personally think that Maxis will do a fine job of basics)

Maarten summed it pretty well. But each network needs to be draggable and the only ploppables should be decor items like signs and road markings. Networks need to be draggable in vertical dimensions too. I need to have multi-level networks. If Maxis includes this, which it seems like they will, I'm sold.

[Ocram's Razr 963]

This is Maxis's SimCity! It is already a given that we will have streets, roads, avenues, freeways, rail, subway, and buses. Hopefully they will be better than SimCity 4 Rush Hour and Cities XL combined. As a matter of fact, I do require the day one features to have transportation as good as Cities XL or SimCity 4 or better.

[Azurespecter 506]

as good as Cities XL or SimCity 4 or better.

I hated Cities XL road transportation. In fact, i hated all of that game's transportation. So let's not hope that is the best Maxis can come up with. And if its not better than SC4, I honestly won't buy right away. It's my #1 must have criteria.

[Ocram's Razr 963]

I said requirement. I don't have strong requirements but I hope that the new SimCity is better than SC4D+NAM and CXL2012+NEXL combined.

[Razyeon 58]

All I require is Sandbox Mode; and maybe a parametric terrain generator in God Mode, like it was back in SC3K.

[croxis 150]

A living, evolving city that always needs a little nudge to keep stable. My issue with CXL, and even SC4 to some extent, is that it is easy to get a stable system and expanding the city feels artifical.

[frdrcklim 139]

basically SimCity 4 + 3D Engine + curved roads.

  Edited April 21, 2012 by frdrcklim  

[Supertask 29]

- Statistics. CitiesXL lacked them; half of the time I had no idea what I was producing or what each utility building produces. SimCity 4 had statistics in abundance, and I like good statistics. If something is wrong with your city, you can check your statistics to know what's wrong and what needs to be done.

^

This

Also,

- A really decent terrain generator, with the ability to place the natural resources as well - I'm also really hoping it will come with a whole region terrain generator, so you don't have to mess around reconciling edges just to get a nice looking giant island!

- All the core features generally expected, most of these have already been mentioned, decent transit options, garbage, water etc, though I don't mind changes, even big ones, in how these core features are handled so long as they're there in some form

- Reward buildings!

  Edited May 29, 2012 by Supertask  

[Linoa06 1,374]

Just no online and decent transportation. Subways are out? No purchase either.

[logintime 93]

- A really decent terrain generator, with the ability to place the natural resources as well - I'm also really hoping it will come with a whole region terrain generator, so you don't have to mess around reconciling edges just to get a nice looking giant island!

To expand on this, I would love to see multiple climates in the game. Having variation between warmer/cooler climates, and by altitude, makes a world of difference in how your city looks and feels.

[The Bluejay 40]

Proper region play is a must for me, or I'm out. I've yet to decide whether or not the lack of ability to save has already torpedo'd my chances of buying.

[Dannibee 138]

- the ability to start up in SP without Origin (legally, of course)

Badically just this for me, anything else I'm willing to take a chance on...

[Wiimeiser 444]

Highways, we can't be like City Life. And a tool or something to actually make regions with.

[Han Solo 34]

The ability to create large, highly detailed maps that replicate real world locations.

[Urban Cartographer 601]

The features that I want include every advanced feature found in the previous 4 versions of the game (such as the ability to tax certain income groups, waterfalls, subways, interactive (but offline) regions, and smooth terraforming). I also want reward buildings and such. Most of all, I want an offline no-DRM single-player sandbox mode, so I can build the city of my dreams without fixing someone else's problem or other external factors that are beyond my control, such as the economy engine.

  Edited June 7, 2012 by Urban Cartographer  

[_MostlyHarmless 17]

Transportation. Complex junctions. Elevated and subway lines. Bus routes. Trams. Road customization. Really, there's no reason out of the box this game can't at least deliver what Cities XL does in terms of vanilla transportation features.

[Resender 18]

*Working game

*Decent manual or strategy guide available (and preferably not by Prima, no complaints but here in Belgium those guides are a no show)

*Public transport that works and is used

*Private regions

*Some way to edit the regions, would be stupid if we get regions with the rodas for inbetween the cities already there