"Sounds of the City" article at the official site. Includes first screenshots of the UI

[fatbuster 44]

You can read the article here: http://www.simcity.com/en_US/blog/article/sounds-of-the-city

Looks to still be very much a work in progress but you can at least you can see what they're aiming for and possibly what will be available to us. Right off I noticed the speed settings, news ticker & income now changed to an hourly basis. I can't wait to see how the finished version looks. It seems simple and the fact that it's based on HTML & Javascript should be awesome if modders are able to work with it.

There is also a snippet of one of the songs from the game. Sounds pretty good so far I think.

[The Avatar 1,089]

The UI looks over-simplified, IMO, but I'm sure it's a work in progress and it will change.

I love the ideas they've implemented into the game. The traffic system looks very well-thought-out and detailed, and I love that the sounds change based on the motion and speed of the cars. I also like the music ideas. The interactivity of the music is a feature that is in some of the other games I play, and I think it is a good addition to SC2013. The snippet of one of the songs sounds good to me. Like the music from all the other SC games, it fits the genre, and I feel the music of SC2013 will have a modern feel that none of the others in the series had.

And when the person who worked on the music of SC3000 and SC4 is working on SC2013's music, it has to be good.

[steelersfan95 6]

its ugly

[The_City_Builder 299]

The audio sample at the end of the article sounds good. I do agree, the UI does look over-simplified, but it's probably just an early stage.

Edit: Just noticed the speed settings! Me likey!

  Edited June 26, 2012 by The_City_Builder  

[alexbill 77]

its ugly

Atleast justify your opinion, this is a forum for thinking people.

[KeanoManu 42]

I don't like that the income is hourly based as i have a feeling that's real life hours and not in-game hours.

Can't find an icon for statistics and other overlay filters but if it's there i think it looks okay.

[The_City_Builder 299]

I don't think it's real life hours. There's a timer on the top left, and it's different in both pictures. So I'm assuming it's in-game hours.

[ziroi 14]

It looks like a development version of the UI, so I will guess we'll see it cleaned up and refined a bit before too long. It is interesting though! One thing I caught is that it looks like the in-game camera is free to move. I suppose people might say that would be an obvious move since SimCity is 3D, but still...glad to see that potential in some screens.

Tieing the sounds of traffic to individual cars is a great idea. I think it would absorb you into the "realism" of the city more. I also like that the music changes depending on what's happening. Hope that it's implemented well in the end.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

It is ugly but it is in debug mode. The music sounds nice and the simulation seems great!

[steelersfan95 6]

its ugly

Atleast justify your opinion, this is a forum for thinking people.

its unintuitive and non-user friendly

[Mark Waybill 242]

The music sounds promising, I hope it is as varied as earlier versions and not all in the same style. The individual traffic sounds are naturally progressive.

[mapboy 106]

I can't figure out all of the buttons, but this is what I am guessing:

I kind of wish that since Energy, Water, Sewarge? and Waste all got seperate buttons that the different transport options would too...

Edit: I realised I missed out the compass. It seems to show the different cities within the region - as squares :/

  Edited June 26, 2012 by mapboy  

[MapleNormandy 6]

The SCWire is the new news feed from your advisors (I remember them briefly mentioning it a while ago), and I think the last button on the bottom bar might be rewards, though I could be wrong.

[DCMetro34 577]

its ugly

Atleast justify your opinion, this is a forum for thinking people.

its unintuitive and non-user friendly

And, is almost certainly not a final product, in my opinion. Nonetheless, even if it is similar in the released version, this UI is sleek and minimalistic; isn't that what people are kinda into these days when it comes to technology? New operating systems, smartphones, websites - you name it, it's all about being sleek, and many times, minimalistic.

  Edited June 26, 2012 by DCMetro34  

[flyer2359 92]

I don't think it looks that bad to be honest. But overtime I think we've just gotten so used to the normal layout of the UI in previous Sim City games that it's weird for us to see it change.

[The Avatar 1,089]

its ugly

Atleast justify your opinion, this is a forum for thinking people.

its unintuitive and non-user friendly

And, is almost certainly not a final product, in my opinion. Nonetheless, even if it is similar in the released version, this UI is sleek and minimalistic; isn't that what people are kinda into these days when it comes to technology? New operating systems, smartphones, websites - you name it, it's all about being sleek, and many times, minimalistic.

Some people are into that and others are not. I personally don't like the minimalistic, and over-simplified designs in technology. I like the idea of making technology simple and sleek, but not over-simplifying it for the purpose of connecting all of our gadgets (tablets, phones, computers, etc.) and having them at our fingertips at all times. In my opinion, doing this is not moving technology forward, but holding it back. I like detail, organization, and accessibility in technology, without dumbing it down. I hope the UI accomplishes this, and I think having detail, organization, and accessibility is especially important for a game like SimCity, which Maxis wants to be complex, but accessible to new players.

Of course, the UI is in early development and will almost definitely change, so it is almost too early to say anything on the subject.

[DCMetro34 577]

its ugly

Atleast justify your opinion, this is a forum for thinking people.

its unintuitive and non-user friendly

And, is almost certainly not a final product, in my opinion. Nonetheless, even if it is similar in the released version, this UI is sleek and minimalistic; isn't that what people are kinda into these days when it comes to technology? New operating systems, smartphones, websites - you name it, it's all about being sleek, and many times, minimalistic.

Some people are into that and others are not. I personally don't like the minimalistic, and over-simplified designs in technology. I like the idea of making technology simple and sleek, but not over-simplifying it for the purpose of connecting all of our gadgets (tablets, phones, computers, etc.) and having them at our fingertips at all times. In my opinion, doing this is not moving technology forward, but holding it back. I like detail, organization, and accessibility in technology, without dumbing it down. I hope the UI accomplishes this, and I think having detail, organization, and accessibility is especially important for a game like SimCity, which Maxis wants to be complex, but accessible to new players.

Of course, the UI is in early development and will almost definitely change, so it is almost too early to say anything on the subject.

I do definitely agree that I would like to see some more detail, especially in terms of a more in-depth transportation menu, as mapboy mentioned above.

However, I think that Maxis is going for the look that the most people will identify and feel comfortable around. For the majority, of people, that might be this simplified UI. For the average layperson SimCity player, or the player that might just utilize the STEX and play the game leisurely, this is probably the UI that reaches out for to the highest percentage.

[Cob92 360]

I don't think it looks that bad to be honest. But overtime I think we've just gotten so used to the normal layout of the UI in previous Sim City games that it's weird for us to see it change.

No, you mean that you're used to the SimCity 4 layout, which in turn was copied over from The Sims. SimCity has never had a consistent UI across the major titles, and SC4's UI is fairly minimalistic in comparison to UI in its predecessor. I don't care as long as I can access what I need when I need it.

  Edited June 27, 2012 by Cobhris96  

[MapleNormandy 6]

[...]

I do definitely agree that I would like to see some more detail, especially in terms of a more in-depth transportation menu, as mapboy mentioned above.

However, I think that Maxis is going for the look that the most people will identify and feel comfortable around. For the majority, of people, that might be this simplified UI. For the average layperson SimCity player, or the player that might just utilize the STEX and play the game leisurely, this is probably the UI that reaches out for to the highest percentage.

I would like to point out that a simple UI does not necessarily lack in power for a power user. For example, take the Windows 7 taskbar/start menu search bar combo. Pin a couple of applications to the taskbar and right-click them to bring up a rich set of relevant features, or simply reduce the number of keystrokes necessary to access commonly used programs. Use the start menu search bar to bring up just about everything else you would want from your computer without moving your hands from the keyboard - extremely efficient, no visual or manual searching required. With desktop icons disabled, a calendar organizer program like Outlook with pop-up reminders, and maybe a weather gadget, the desktop environment is extremely sleek and minimalistic, but all relevant features can be accessed with a couple of keystrokes.

  Edited June 27, 2012 by MapleNormandy  

[RoseCityAlive 9]

I think that last button might be for great works??? just a guess

[duack 14]

Looks good. Although the movement of cars is a little funny - you can clearly see in the bottom picture two cars simultaneously turning left from the bottom street (travelling from the southern part of the road to the western part), presumably one was in the left lane and the other was in the middle lane. This could only be the case if the left lane was a left turn only lane, and the middle lane would presumably be left turn or straight, yet there are no markings to indicate that this is the case. Also theres 3 lanes on the other side of the intersection, so we would assume that the left lane can go straight, and if this is the case then the middle lane cant go straight because that would lead to a car accident. Of course this could easily be fixed, especially if TuLEPs are implemented.

It might seem kind of silly that Im fussing over such a small detail, but considering how much effort they put into the details like car sounds, this is a pretty big flaw.

Also, what's this 'edit mode' they speak of?

  Edited June 27, 2012 by duack  

[I. Lostalim 589]

I can't figure out all of the buttons, but this is what I am guessing:

The icon next to the "civil buildings" with the most question marks...

You see it has a mini simoleon sign... I'm guessing that’s the "data sheets and layers." But behind that mini simoleon symbol… It looks like a tent? That might be the parks and recreation icon also?

The one that says “sewerage,” that maybe the paint bucket… They said they were going to have some sort of building editor… I don’t think they would make an icon just for sewerage, they would combine it with the water tab.

The “SCwire” might also be the

“data sheets and layers,” but who knows!

We will find out one day!

[nedal2001 285]

Looks pretty good to me, considering it is probably not the final version

But one big thing is missing - terraforming tools!

[jdenm8 362]

SC wire is the probably-name-only replacement for the News Ticker from SC:C, SC3K and SC4.

As for the sewage button, that's what I think too. It doesn't really make sense for anything else to be between the Water and Garbage buttons.

One problem I have with the menu is that it's quite contrary to what a lot of people think. I don't think it's very sleek at all and, if categorised into Sub-menus, we're looking at exactly the same four buttons from SC4, Transport, Zoning, Utilities and Civil Services.

Quite a few of the pictures really don't make much sense unless you're American either. That Fire one is unheard of outside North America, same for the Police one. Makes me wonder why they didn't go for the Star of Life or Rod of Asclepius for Health, something remotely similar to SC4 and much more relatable to Health.

[Wiimeiser 452]

They should add a minimap. SC4 had one and I believe SC3K did too.

[Zarpia 12]

I think the button next to the water one is related to the resources; it seems like a oil tank spilling a oil drop...

[I. Lostalim 589]

Looks pretty good to me, considering it is probably not the final version

But one big thing is missing - terraforming tools!

That'll be like SimCity 4... You use the terraforming mode before you go to Mayor Mode...

[kellyboywonder79 15]

I like the music sample, and the descriptions of changing sound effects. I agree with others who say the UI is not so great. The missing mini-map could be because they don't plan to give us data maps anymore. Since what you see is what you sim, you don't need it. I would prefer to have a mini-map, and data maps and all the statistics that go along with it... but I don't see a button to access that information. Overall, not a terrible looking interface, but not cool, innovative, intuitive, or special in any way. I hate the city mood icon, it's too simple and not informative. While I'm at it, I hate the happy/sad face pop-ups that follow sims around. That was the most infuriating UI choice in Societies, and I've seen it in the demo videos for SimCity. Now that's "cartoonish".

[jacksunny 741]

I didn't see the chat before, thanks for pointing it out mapboy. I wonder if it's just with people in your region, or if you can chat with everybody playing the game at once.

[nashville nelson 51]

[Andrew] Yeah, this is exactly the kind of stuff we've been thinking about! We've even moved our UI system to being mostly html and javascript based, so we can more seamlessly integrate the game with the general internets and drop this kind of stuff in. (Also, so it's easier for people to customise, a la WoW's lua approach.)

When this is true what Maxis is saying on reddit it really doesn´t matter if we like the UI, we can just change it or download UI´s from other users .

The sound and the idea behind it is great!