Newbie City Design

[Mikimoto26 1]

Hi Simtropolis Folk!

I am trying to get back into SimCity 4. I was really into it, but got bored because my cities always looked like big squares and I couldnt fix them - I always wound up with a big square.

I have NAM, a bunch of downloaded content - houses, commercial buildings, etc..., water mod, sea port pieces, canal pieces, and the list goes on

This tutorial: http://www.ezlink.ca/~jwinterton/BasicTutorial/BasicTutorial.html

was GREAT!

But I just cant seem to break away from the ugly square city/town/village. While I havent come close to conquering the "grid" style city, I'd still like to start thinking of designing my cities.

Do you have an suggestions for creating cities with more flair?

And on an extra note: Do you have any tips for combining parks to make them look better? Like arranging different types and different sizes to create one big, unique park?

[The Avatar 1,089]

This is not the only way to do it, but here is a suggestion on how to create varied cities:

• In the downtown/CBD, have a grid of city blocks, let's say, around 6x8 or 8x8 tiles in size. This will leave you plenty of room to add parking, plazas, alleys, and different sized zones for variety in buildings. Don't worry; you can break this grid in certain places, but you don't want to have roads in random directions in a CBD. You generally want an organized pattern, and might consider using OWR. (One-way roads) Also consider using mass transit (GLR, Tram-in-road, El-rail in the CBD, etc) to connect your CBD with the surrounding areas of your city.
  
• As you move out from the CBD, have different sized/shaped city blocks. Try to transition from high-density and a strict grid to suburbs with sprawling streets. Remember to have a mix of avenues, roads, and streets, moving from high capacity in busy areas to low capacity in suburbs. Add parks, plazas, civics, and MMP's if you want to in areas that feel right. Use different zone sizes of medium/low density commercial and residential to transition to sprawling suburbs, which generally consist of large areas of low-density res. and small clusters of low-density commercial to create sub-communities within the city.
  
• You can make your suburbs in whatever way you want. Some people make long rows, not very deep, and zone them with small 1x2 res. zones; others make bigger rows/grids with 2x2 or 3x3 zones and spaces for parks/trees between; and others make random roads. Remember, in suburbs, trees make a big difference, both visually and simulation-wise.
  
• I find using the same sized zones for your CBD work for industrial zones. This allows for large industrial factories (can be downloaded from STEX and LEX) to grow, which adds realism. Add eyecandy such as alleys and other lots to make industrial areas look more realistic. You can also make your industrial areas near ocean or river and add seaports.
  
• Try to organize the sections of your city in to wealth levels. By placing civics and parks in certain areas and none in others, you can influence where your rich and poor districts will be.
  
• NAM, NWM, and RHW make all the difference in transportation, in both realism and functionality. However, the RHW can be a pain in the butt to learn how to use. RHW tutorials can help with the process.
  
• MMP's add realism in rural areas and open space. *Here is a tutorial on MMP's and how to use them effectively, written by me.
  
• Download lots of custom content! The larger your Plugins, the more variety you'll have in your cities.
  

And on creating unique parks, use the **BSC Parks Base Set and its many addons. They allow you to create large custom parks.

*Link

**Link

These are just some suggestions. Do what you want to; SC4 is a game, so have fun!

~ Charles/Evan

  Edited June 20, 2012 by MamaLuigi945  

[Lucario Boricua 7,029]

You could try going for a more challenging terrain and use streets that conform to the slopes--these are best for exurban/urban-rural fringe areas. Other options to consider:

- have some sets of grids for different purposes

- with suburban areas, use the 'dendritic' shapes--that is, make the streets in a branched layout

- add water bodies (rivers, ponds, lakes, coast) and build the road network such that it molds to the shorelines

- use the occasional diagonal main routes in the grids (main street, avenue, maybe highway if practical or otherwise doable)

- use some obstructive traffic networks--for instance, heavy rail separating different built-up areas, only having over/under passes for major crossings (Road, avenue, highway)

- build some notable city feature (park, coliseum, stadium, museum, university, among others) with some irregularly-shaped landscaping, such that things around it have to be wobbly rather than gridded

[husher 18]

Thats one thing about this; Sim City was designed in the US and it's based on their 'Block' system, which is fine for american players but we British and other europeans are used to less formal city lay outs.

Our cities are more randomly organised than the more rigid american types and it's very difficult to emulate european cities in SIM city, still it's only a game, but it's enjoyable all the same

[Ro-Bo 183]

I just cant seem to break away from the ugly square city/town/village

I have that problem too. I am naturally prefer systematic/geometric pattern. If I see the city is generally smooth, I'll tend to go with grids. But like you, I find that ugly. To minimize this, I'll add geographic features (hills,lakes,rivers ect) before & while playing the city (using Ctrl+Shift+Alt+god mode) to force me to change my road patterns. Or, before zoning RCI, I'll put some random straight/diagonal roads/avenues as the 'main road'.

Well, I'm not free from the grid completely, but I guess I managed to put some 'flair' in my city.

[simfan 11]

One thing to make a non-grid style city is to create a bay. Then to create a sufficient city, you HAVE to make a city that is diagonal shaped (or circular, if you have mods or NAM.)

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

To avoid over-gridding you can always start with a pair of intersecting diagonal roads or avenues.