Help a newbie? =D

[Dragonsong 0]

So, I started playing this game, about, 3 days ago! So I still suck =[

Anyhoo, I've been playing a lot but I'm still running into issues, if you guys don't mind helping me out =D

I think the biggest problem I'm having right now is distressed buildings - I'm getting a LOT of expensive high rises that get all dirty and mucky. Is this a normal thing regarding different demands for wealth specific housing? Or is there something wrong with how I've setup my city? It seems like the sims purposely go out of their way to find the worst commute times available, I'll have a rich high rise get abandoned because all of its residents have jobs in another city when there's a big high tech industry zone ACROSS the STREET. (whose workers, incidentally, live ACROSS the ENTIRE CITY)

I've also been having a lot of trouble getting commercial business to boom, I do have some nice areas that get LOADS of customers, but I've been having trouble trying to set up any sort of central district for large commercial office buildings. I have a transit system consisting of an elevated freeway that makes a 'X' across the city, along with an extensive bus system. Problem is that most of the walking/driving/busing goes along roads that aren't very central or accessible, so I have no idea how to stimulate business...even some roads with something like 375 car/287 ped/3139 bus traffic still get bad business, idk why.

I have residential demand that's at 6000/6000/3000 and 6000/3000 commercial demand for low wealth stores. Only whenever I put down any residential buildings they lose their jobs in a few months, I try to fix this by plopping down a high tech industrial zone but that only increases residential demand.....

Almost ALL of my highrises are residential (2700 rich sims to 9000 poor ones). I still haven't gotten any of the legit big commercial office skyscrapers =S

Also, my international airport has SO much crime... I stuck down 2 deluxe police stations and a large police station across the street and it seems like the undercover cops don't know when to quit. The casino I built nearby has absolutely no crime, in comparison

Right now I have a central city with a population of 300,000, 100,000 commercial jobs and 50,000 industrial, supported by around, 6 smaller cities? For a total regional population of about 330,000. Budget surplus of 3-4 grand per month

Thanks in advance for any replies ^^

  Edited June 8, 2012 by Dragonsong  

[Sandis_van_Great 346]

Yeah well houses gona get dirty and mucky if poor people moves in, i belive you rushed to fast, you have done to fast growth and your trying to push everything on the max whail your city is not ready for it. Dont forget you need some private houses and small stores also.

The aiport crime is normal and i belive thats a bug, dont bother with the police stations there.

[Dragonsong 0]

K, thanks for the reply.

Would it be a good idea to put a bunch of small residential areas in neighboring cities?

[RichManSCTV 14]

You can separate industry and workers by city, if you know what i mean.

  Edited June 8, 2012 by RichManSCTV  

[Dragonsong 0]

Yeah, I did, I have like 4 separate cities that have nothing but industrial zones, but I've been throwing in a few high tech zones into the main city because the commute times get so long (even with highway connections)

[Ro-Bo 183]

I'll have a rich high rise get abandoned because all of its residents have jobs in another city when there's a big high tech industry zone ACROSS the STREET

Might be the bug.

And try to balance population wealth ratio. Less jobs is provided to high wealth folks. Even high wealth commercial office (CO$$$) employed only 15% high wealth residents. A Nonny Moose recommends 65:20:15 residential wealth ratio.

Also, my international airport has SO much crime

Police can't seem to enter large lot like airport properly. Quick fix is modd. It reduces crimes significantly even on the big lots. Alternatively, education always the solution for crime. But it is slow. Several ordinance might helps. And yes,the casino+ gambling policy can get you $400 a months, but with 20% more crimes is not worth it for me. Make sure you have city jail/federal prison to contain those savages.

I still haven't gotten any of the legit big commercial office skyscrapers =S

Try planting trees or put some plazas near commercial zone with high traffic.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Learn to walk before you try to run. This game has a very steep learning curve, and will kick you hard if you try to rush. Play on the lowest speed, zone small and wisely.

Have a look at this tutorial. It uses a lot of custom content from the STEX (ST Exchange).

You will probably want to at the which is like a huge free expansion pack for the game. However, it has strict requirements so you will need to make sure your game is up to build level 1,1,638 at least.

Don't rush with plugins. There is no guarantee they will work together. You need to test each one as you add it, and keep your downloads very organized because they sometimes get updated.

  Edited June 9, 2012 by A Nonny Moose  

[husher 18]

One good way to help your police keep up with the crime rate is to to use the POLICE ACADEMY mod it's in the STEX, it enables the police to match arrests with crimes, only costs $375 per month but its worth it, add in the federal prison, get the improved version from the STEX,(gives $300 per month) and your laughing. Oh DON'T use the weapons testing range mod, it zero's the police budget -cue a very angry advisor.

So the crime rate in the international airport is a bug- well thats good to know it was annoying me to no end- we need an exterminater!

[Mithrik 562]

No, husher, it's not a bug by itself, the police in-game can only cover certain amount of squares from the road, causing the bigger lots to have a big amount of crime, because there is no way the policemen can get so much away from the roads.

And you don't only see it in the International Airport, also in the every ploppable lot of a big size, that is in the Country Club, the Army Base, other airports, sometimes the Maxis seaport, etc.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Well, the best you can do is add the mod to jack up the police effectiveness and drop in some police kiosks and an occasional small station. Remember that a police kiosk must be within range of an existing station even on the very edge.

[Dymondy2k 0]

Hey guys.. another newbie with a similar question so I thought I would post it here. I found quite a few abandoned businesses in my town, almost all commercial. The buildings were in great shape and there is a huge demand for commercial right now, so as soon as I tore them down, another business came in. My question is, is there an easy way to see abandoned buildings in your city? The ones I found weren't dilapidated at all, so it was very hard to find them. My city is only about 90K, so I can imagine this gets harder with even larger cities. I've searched through the STEX but couldn't find anything but maybe my google-fu wasn't strong enough.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Welcome to Simtropolis.

The best way to avoid commercial abandonment is to have heavy traffic past it. Also you need lots of well-educated Sims to work there. Hi commercial demand indicates two or more needs: workers and customers. Workers need to be trained and customers need to go past the building.

What version of the game do you have, and do you have the published patches?

[Yuu Caa Sim 55]

Abandoned buildings are supposed to look very dilapidated. However, it sometimes takes a while for the simulation to update their look.

It's also possible you downloaded a mod which makes dilapidated buildings look nice. I can't remember what it was called though (it's on the STEX)

If you're just looking for buildings to be occupied by any sort of wealth, you don't have to bulldoze them. Except for Industrial buildings, abandoned buildings can be re-inhabited by the same or lower wealth type after abandonment (if there is demand for that)

[Dymondy2k 0]

Welcome to Simtropolis.

The best way to avoid commercial abandonment is to have heavy traffic past it. Also you need lots of well-educated Sims to work there. Hi commercial demand indicates two or more needs: workers and customers. Workers need to be trained and customers need to go past the building.

What version of the game do you have, and do you have the published patches?

I have 1.1.638 The only thing I haven't applied yet is the SC4Update4BAT.zip

Abandoned buildings are supposed to look very dilapidated. However, it sometimes takes a while for the simulation to update their look.

It's also possible you downloaded a mod which makes dilapidated buildings look nice. I can't remember what it was called though (it's on the STEX)

If you're just looking for buildings to be occupied by any sort of wealth, you don't have to bulldoze them. Except for Industrial buildings, abandoned buildings can be re-inhabited by the same or lower wealth type after abandonment (if there is demand for that)

I noticed it was the commercial buildings I couldn't tell were abandoned... I had a few industrials that got their exit blocked and they turned almost completely black and were easy to spot.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Commercial buildings that are actually abandoned will degrade. In any case, if you query them you will see the reason for abandonment. If it is a resource problem, simply fix it and wait. The buildings will recover.

[Mandrall 1]

Hi,

I recommends you to read these guides for any Sim City players, newbies or veterans. Pretty good guides (trust me):

http://basic1605.blogspot.se/2008/10/sim-city-4-zones.html

http://faqs.ign.com/articles/400/400874p1.html

Warm regards,

Mandrall