Simulation?

[Awesomus 0]

Here is the WIki definition of Simulation-

Simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time.^[1] The act of simulating something first requires that a model be developed; this model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected physical or abstract system or process. The model represents the system itself, whereas the simulation represents the operation of the system over time.

That's nice to know, so WHY is it that when I play Simcity 4 (or any Simcity game), I have to DISPATCH the POLICE and FIREFIGHTERS? Doesn't that kill the simulation part of the game? Shouldn't I just be able to plop down some police and fire stations and have the game do the work for me, instead of pausing every 5 damn minutes and interrupting my attempt to zone new RDI areas? I'm starting to get tempted to just let my city burn to the ground. At least the simulation won't have anything to complain about after that. That IS until my city rebuilds itself. Yay Simulation!!!

As a side note, I DO enjoy this game. I just wanted to vent about this annoyance.

Anybody else feel the same way?

[rweather5 22]

Not really, but it seems in the new simcity, you will not do that.

[Awesomus 0]

Not really, but it seems in the new simcity, you will not do that.

Cool. I look forward to it.

[Blurque 9]

I never dispatch any police vehicles, only fire trucks, too lazy to dispatch the police..

[CaptCity 4,893]

...so WHY is it that when I play Simcity 4 (or any Simcity game), I have to DISPATCH the POLICE and FIREFIGHTERS? Doesn't that kill the simulation part of the game? Shouldn't I just be able to plop down some police and fire stations and have the game do the work for me..

Well, someone has to tell those people where to go - that's Dispatch. Granted, things may be automated a little more than they used to be, and the Mayor isn't the dispatcher (unless it's a really small town), but simply having a police or fire station doesn't make them just show up where needed. Someone needs to tell them. Just another one of the "hands-on" aspects of the game some may like and some may not.

[Cob92 360]

I actually like this aspect of the game. Dispatching police to crimes gives me something to do while I'm waiting for my city's treasury to grow or what have you (if the cops get there when a crime animation is playing, you can actually see them making an arrest), and I like that you interact with some disasters to mitigate their effects rather than just sitting back and watching the carnage.

Also, while SimCity is meant to be a simulation, it's also meant to be entertaining. Maxis has always taken liberties with regards to realism in order to keep the game balanced and fun, while keeping the mechanics of the core simulation accurate enough that SimCity can be taken seriously as an educational tool.

  Edited June 3, 2012 by Cobhris96  

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

It is really too bad that they didn't include an auto-dispatch switch on these facilities, but I hardly ever use anything but fire dispatch.