Future of SimCity Official Discussion Thread

[HawaiiBill 0]

crazycoders input with a Canadian flavor is very helpful and most welcome. The subtle differences in governmental architecture related to planning and governance is always fascinating. It is also difficult or impossible to accurately mirror those in a simulation.

The use of  'mayor' as the single authority for many actions and policies is accurate, however, in most American jurisdictions though it is not a single person. "Mayor" stands for an entire administration to include everything from consultants to the Department of Planning. The relationship of an administratiion to its elected legislative body -- City Council, etc. -- would vary. It is safe to say that "policy" is broadly a legislative responsibility and, beyond that, departments can set up separate "rules" for specific application. Some areas require that such rules also be approved by the legislative but not all of them.

Privatization can be incorporated in the administration because that is the source of most contracts for those services dealt out to the private sector. Trying to tweak Sim City for all these variables would make more turbulence than joy so, in my view, should be kept within the broad definitions of the agency ultimately responsible. That would be, in virtually all cases, the "mayor."

Great discussion and I hope some beta testing will be possible for those participating as SimCity 5 germinates and blossoms.

[chipersboy03 0]

Earthquakes should be regional, believe it or not, quakes tend to affect more than just a few city blocks! I think earthquakes and all disasters, should be a much larger part of the game. Perhaps you could choose what the area is vulnerable to when you first start a region. There could be city ordinances for building codes, one that requires all new buildings be reinforced for whatever disaster necessary. This ordinance would affect demand much like the clean air act. Also, there could be more radical acts, like requiring all structures in the city be retrofitted which would cause temporary extreme negative demand or at least mayor rating. All these would determine wether or not certain buildings in your city would survive a hurricane, earthquake or any disaster. Of course auto disasters should be an option. Ooh! how about an ordinance that, like legalize gambling, brings in money by allowing developers to build cheap and poorly designed buildings that fall down like card houses in disasters, or cheap government buildings that deteriorate quickly. I find the fires in simcity 4 unrealistically weak. with no fire protection whatsoever, the most damage you can get is like maybe four blocks in an industrial area. fires should be able to spread like crazy if, you never installed, or, something damaged, the city's water system. also how about fires spreading from city to city after they get to a certain size (wouldn't want to have a regional problem simply because a fire started near the border). On a higher note, I like the idea of maxis pre-designed facades and roofs that would be generated on the spot based on demand for sq. ftg etc., to conform to the roads. and, you should be able to see a few tiles into the next city to align roads etc.. Also less restrictive roads would be nice. AND, better integrated region play so it would be easier to run several region tiles as a single city.

[HawaiiBill 0]

In the real world there is the Uniform Building Code that is usually adopted by reference in a simple ordinance in every jurisdiction. This code changes from time to time and usually has variables depending on likelihood of various disaters. Fact is, however, that earthquakes are 'likely' -- sooner or later -- over a massive percentage of United States land. And "hurricane clips" are less of a requirement than codes for tornado alley. When sections of California realized that bricks were like jell-o in an earthquake they gave owners ten years to retrofit when they passed a code requiring reinforcement.

Because there is an element of universality in the likelihood of one sort of disater or another Sim City could probably introduce a SIMplified element of coding to include this.

Being an ancient type of guy, I yearn for the days when government buildings were designed for permanence, an effort to give folks an impression that their government might last as long and be as strong. These days it seems okay to suggest here and actually build in the real world 'disaposable' shelter for His Honor and his Royal Court and, I presume, the museums and library with evidence that a worthy civilization once existed on the lands.

[830point35 8]

I had an epiphany this morning about this stuff. Regions and individual city space: Cities in the region should compete for land. Fledgling cities must annex land for them to build upon. Neighboring cities could share maps, either totally or partially. That way, a town hell bent on being huge could run into a town hell bent on being small. Or towns could vie for natural resources or formations. This would allow for a city to be affected by it's neighbor's pollution, crime, traffic, etc. as well as being able to reap the benefits of it's neighbor's or neighbors' ports or high value areas. This could be especially challenging when set up with internet play. Additionally, you could set up a transportation network a little easier when you can see the other cities' highway/road/rail terminus points (a regional grid system).

Also, a single city could expand this way into it's neighbor's maps. You could switch maps, yet still retain the primary city's funds and needs to have a geographically enormous megapolis, without the need for the massive computer power required for such a task.

It would also be challenging to have the region already populated to a tiny extent. Most cities start out in the middle of farms. They could already have a minor amount of infrastructure, like roads. Or perhaps a military base or large remote factory that could provide jobs and income, only to be closed or expanded later on. A closed military base could be a fun challenge to reuse: demolition, zoning, cleanup, and the competition from additional cities to acquire such a facility.

Just sharing the idea. I hope I spelled everything right.

[HawaiiBill 0]

830point35, don't sweat the spelling as long as you keep pumping on those good ideas. We do have to be sensitive to 'turbulence,' the problem small computers have as they merrily crash to earth when trying to handle more data than they are built to handle.

DVD is an unexplored resource for large datafiles to run on small systems. Long ago when PCs were glad to have 64 bytes of RAM almost all programs had to have programs that used small bits to handle specific tasks. The main program just stepped out and brought back a tool to be used briefly and then dismissed back to the shelf. Seems like another world but it isn't that long ago, really.

But DVD could be used to segment Sim City data, I think. Easy to say when I don't know what I'm talking about but it's one way to explore a way to expand the data available a small bit at a time for specific chores.

Good send, that last one.

[IGGYMAN 101 1]

I will appreciate the future development in Simcity 4.

Standard Industrial Classification systems are the tool to make a graph & data view on the entire region or city.

* You can determine the industry which you know.

* SIC is use for statistical overview by the US

* You can read the list the differen kinds of industries.

* Plugin manager can be analyze the codes

* Stex makers can be idealize what building should be functionalized by these code

SIC Code Industry Title

0100 Agricultural Production-Crops

0200 Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties

0700 Agricultural Services

0800 Forestry

0900 Fishing, Hunting and Trapping

1000 Metal Mining

1040 Gold and Silver Ores

1090 Miscellaneous Metal Ores

1221 Bituminous Coal & Lignite Mining

1311 Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas

1381 Drilling Oil & Gas Wells

1382 Oil & Gas Field Exploration Services

1389 Oil & Gas Field Services, NEC

1400 Mining & Quarrying of Nonmetallic Minerals (No Fuels)

1520 General Bldg Contractors - Residential Bldgs

1531 Operative Builders

1540 General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs

1600 Heavy Construction Other Than Bldg Const - Contractors

1623 Water, Sewer, Pipeline, Comm & Power Line Construction

1700 Construction - Special Trade Contractors

1731 Electrical Work

2000 Food and Kindred Products

2011 Meat Packing Plants

2013 Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products

2015 Poultry Slaughtering and Processing

2020 Dairy Products

2024 Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts

2030 Canned, Frozen & Preserved Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties

2033 Canned, Fruits, Veg, Preserves, Jams & Jellies

2040 Grain Mill Products

2050 Bakery Products

2052 Cookies & Crackers

2060 Sugar & Confectionery Products

2070 Fats & Oils

2080 Beverages

2082 Malt Beverages

2086 Bottled & Canned Soft Drinks & Carbonated Waters

2090 Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products

2092 Prepared Fresh or Frozen Fish & Seafood

2100 Tobacco Products

2111 Cigarettes

2200 Textile Mill Products

2211 Broadwoven Fabric Mills, Cotton

2221 Broadwoven Fabric Mills, Man Made Fiber & Silk

2250 Knitting Mills

2253 Knit Outerwear Mills

2273 Carpets & Rugs

2300 Apparel & Other Finished Prods of Fabrics & Similar Matl

2320 Men's & Boys' Furnishings, Work Clothing, & Allied Garments

2330 Women's, Misses', and Juniors Outerwear

2340 Women's, Misses', Children's & Infant's Undergarments

2390 Miscellaneous Fabricated Textile Products

2400 Lumber & Wood Products (No Furniture)

2421 Sawmills & Planting Mills, General

2430 Millwood, Veneer, Plywood, & Structural Wood Members

2451 Mobile Homes

2452 Prefabricated Wood Bldgs & Components

2510 Household Furniture

2511 Wood Household Furniture, (No Upholstered)

2520 Office Furniture

2522 Office Furniture (No Wood)

2531 Public Bldg & Related Furniture

2540 Partitions, Shelvg, Lockers, & office & Store Fixtures

2590 Miscellaneous Furniture & Fixtures

2600 Papers & Allied Products

2611 Pulp Mills

2621 Paper Mills

2631 Paperboard Mills

2650 Paperboard Containers & Boxes

2670 Converted Paper & Paperboard Prods (No Containers/Boxes)

2673 Plastics, Foil & Coated Paper Bags

2711 Newspapers: Publishing or Publishing & Printing

2721 Periodicals: Publishing or Publishing & Printing

2731 Books: Publishing or Publishing & Printing

2732 Book Printing

2741 Miscellaneous Publishing

2750 Commercial Printing

2761 Manifold Business Forms

2771 Greeting Cards

2780 Blankbooks, Looseleaf Binders & Bookbindg & Related Work

2790 Service Industries For The Printing Trade

2800 Chemicals & Allied Products

2810 Industrial Inorganic Chemicals

2820 Plastic Material, Synth Resin/Rubber, Cellulos (No Glass)

2821 Plastic Materials, Synth Resins & Nonvulcan Elastomers

2833 Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products

2834 Pharmaceutical Preparations

2835 In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances

2836 Biological Products, (No Diagnostic Substances)

2840 Soap, Detergents, Cleaning Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics

2842 Specialty Cleaning, Polishing and Sanitation Preparations

2844 Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations

2851 Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods

2860 Industrial Organic Chemicals

2870 Agricultural Chemicals

2890 Miscellaneous Chemical Products

2891 Adhesives & Sealants

2911 Petroleum Refining

2950 Asphalt Paving & Roofing Materials

2990 Miscellaneous Products of Petroleum & Coal

3011 Tires & Inner Tubes

3021 Rubber & Plastics Footwear

3050 Gaskets, Packg & Sealg Devices & Rubber & Plastics Hose

3060 Fabricated Rubber Products, NEC

3080 Miscellaneous Plastics Products

3081 Unsupported Plastics Film & Sheet

3086 Plastics Foam Products

3089 Plastics Products, NEC

3100 Leather & Leather Products

3140 Footwear, (No Rubber)

3211 Flat Glass

3220 Glass & Glassware, Pressed or Blown

3221 Glass Containers

3231 Glass Products, Made of Purchased Glass

3241 Cement, Hydraulic

3250 Structural Clay Products

3260 Pottery & Related Products

3270 Concrete, Gypsum & Plaster Products

3272 Concrete Products, Except Block & Brick

3281 Cut Stone & Stone Products

3290 Abrasive, Asbestos & Misc Nonmetallic Mineral Prods

3310 Steel Works, Blast Furnaces & Rolling & Finishing Mills

3312 Steel Works, Blast Furnaces & Rolling Mills (Coke Ovens)

3317 Steel Pipe & Tubes

3320 Iron & Steel Foundries

3330 Primary Smelting & Refining of Nonferrous Metals

3334 Primary Production of Aluminum

3341 Secondary Smelting & Refining of Nonferrous Metals

3350 Rolling Drawing & Extruding of Nonferrous Metals

3357 Drawing & Insulating of Nonferrous Wire

3360 Nonferrous Foundries (Castings)

3390 Miscellaneous Primary Metal Products

3411 Metal Cans

3412 Metal Shipping Barrels, Drums, Kegs & Pails

3420 Cutlery, Handtools & General Hardware

3430 Heating Equip, Except Elec & Warm Air; & Plumbing Fixtures

3433 Heating Equipment, Except Electric & Warm Air Furnaces

3440 Fabricated Structural Metal Products

3442 Metal Doors, Sash, Frames, Moldings & Trim

3443 Fabricated Plate Work (Boiler Shops)

3444 Sheet Metal Work

3448 Prefabricated Metal Buildings & Components

3451 Screw Machine Products

3452 Bolts, Nuts, Screws, Rivets & Washers

3460 Metal Forgings & Stampings

3470 Coating, Engraving & Allied Services

3480 Ordnance & Accessories, (No Vehicles/Guided Missiles)

3490 Miscellaneous Fabricated Metal Products

3510 Engines & Turbines

3523 Farm Machinery & Equipment

3524 Lawn & Garden Tractors & Home Lawn & Gardens Equip

3530 Construction, Mining & Materials Handling Machinery & Equip

3531 Construction Machinery & Equip

3532 Mining Machinery & Equip (No Oil & Gas Field Mach & Equip)

3533 Oil & Gas Field Machinery & Equipment

3537 Industrial Trucks, Tractors, Trailers & Stackers

3540 Metalworkg Machinery & Equipment

3541 Machine Tools, Metal Cutting Types

3550 Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery)

3555 Printing Trades Machinery & Equipment

3559 Special Industry Machinery, NEC

3560 General Industrial Machinery & Equipment

3561 Pumps & Pumping Equipment

3562 Ball & Roller Bearings

3564 Industrial & Commercial Fans & Blowers & Air Purifying Equip

3567 Industrial Process Furnaces & Ovens

3569 General Industrial Machinery & Equipment, NEC

3570 Computer & office Equipment

3571 Electronic Computers

3572 Computer Storage Devices

3575 Computer Terminals

3576 Computer Communications Equipment

3577 Computer Peripheral Equipment, NEC

3578 Calculating & Accounting Machines (No Electronic Computers)

3579 Office Machines, NEC

3580 Refrigeration & Service Industry Machinery

3585 Air-Cond & Warm Air Heatg Equip & Comm & Indl Refrig Equip

3590 Misc Industrial & Commercial Machinery & Equipment

3600 Electronic & Other Electrical Equipment (No Computer Equip)

3612 Power, Distribution & Specialty Transformers

3613 Switchgear & Switchboard Apparatus

3620 Electrical Industrial Apparatus

3621 Motors & Generators

3630 Household Appliances

3634 Electric Housewares & Fans

3640 Electric Lighting & Wiring Equipment

3651 Household Audio & Video Equipment

3652 Phonograph Records & Prerecorded Audio Tapes & Disks

3661 Telephone & Telegraph Apparatus

3663 Radio & Tv Broadcasting & Communications Equipment

3669 Communications Equipment, NEC

3670 Electronic Components & Accessories

3672 Printed Circuit Boards

3674 Semiconductors & Related Devices

3677 Electronic Coils, Transformers & Other Inductors

3678 Electronic Connectors

3679 Electronic Components, NEC

3690 Miscellaneous Electrical Machinery, Equipment & Supplies

3695 Magnetic & Optical Recording Media

3711 Motor Vehicles & Passenger Car Bodies

3713 Truck & Bus Bodies

3714 Motor Vehicle Parts & Accessories

3715 Truck Trailers

3716 Motor Homes

3720 Aircraft & Parts

3721 Aircraft

3724 Aircraft Engines & Engine Parts

3728 Aircraft Parts & Auxiliary Equipment, NEC

3730 Ship & Boat Building & Repairing

3743 Railroad Equipment

3751 Motorcycles, Bicycles & Parts

3760 Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts

3790 Miscellaneous Transportation Equipment

3812 Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys

3821 Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture

3822 Auto Controls For Regulating Residential & Comml Environments

3823 Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, and Control

3824 Totalizing Fluid Meters & Counting Devices

3825 Instruments For Meas & Testing of Electricity & Elec Signals

3826 Laboratory Analytical Instruments

3827 Optical Instruments & Lenses

3829 Measuring & Controlling Devices, NEC

3841 Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus

3842 Orthopedic, Prosthetic & Surgical Appliances & Supplies

3843 Dental Equipment & Supplies

3844 X-Ray Apparatus & Tubes & Related Irradiation Apparatus

3845 Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus

3851 Ophthalmic Goods

3861 Photographic Equipment & Supplies

3873 Watches, Clocks, Clockwork Operated Devices/Parts

3910 Jewelry, Silverware & Plated Ware

3911 Jewelry, Precious Metal

3931 Musical Instruments

3942 Dolls & Stuffed Toys

3944 Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles)

3949 Sporting & Athletic Goods, NEC

3950 Pens, Pencils & Other Artists' Materials

3960 Costume Jewelry & Novelties

3990 Miscellaneous Manufacturing Industries

4011 Railroads, Line-Haul Operating

4013 Railroad Switching & Terminal Establishments

4100 Local & Suburban Transit & Interurban Hwy Passenger Trans

4210 Trucking & Courier Services (No Air)

4213 Trucking (No Local)

4220 Public Warehousing & Storage

4231 Terminal Maintenance Facilities For Motor Freight Transport

4400 Water Transportation

4412 Deep Sea Foreign Transportation of Freight

4512 Air Transportation, Scheduled

4513 Air Courier Services

4522 Air Transportation, Nonscheduled

4581 Airports, Flying Fields & Airport Terminal Services

4610 Pipe Lines (No Natural Gas)

4700 Transportation Services

4731 Arrangement of Transportation of Freight & Cargo

4812 Radiotelephone Communications

4813 Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone)

4822 Telegraph & Other Message Communications

4832 Radio Broadcasting Stations

4833 Television Broadcasting Stations

4841 Cable & Other Pay Television Services

4899 Communications Services, NEC

4900 Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services

4911 Electric Services

4922 Natural Gas Transmission

4923 Natural Gas Transmission & Distribution

4924 Natural Gas Distribution

4931 Electric & Other Services Combined

4932 Gas & Other Services Combined

4941 Water Supply

4950 Sanitary Services

4953 Refuse Systems

4955 Hazardous Waste Management

4961 Steam & Air-Conditioning Supply

4991 Co-generation Services & Small Power Producers

5000 Wholesale-Durable Goods

5010 Wholesale-Motor Vehicles & Motor Vehicle Parts & Supplies

5013 Wholesale-Motor Vehicle Supplies & New Parts

5020 Wholesale-Furniture & Home Furnishings

5030 Wholesale-Lumber & Other Construction Materials

5031 Wholesale-Lumber, Plywood, Millwork & Wood Panels

5040 Wholesale-Professional & Commercial Equipment & Supplies

5045 Wholesale-Computers & Peripheral Equipment & Software

5047 Wholesale-Medical, Dental & Hospital Equipment & Supplies

5050 Wholesale-Metals & Minerals (No Petroleum)

5051 Wholesale-Metals Service Centers & of fices

5063 Wholesale-Electrical Apparatus & Equipment, Wiring Supplies

5064 Wholesale-Electrical Appliances, Tv & Radio Sets

5065 Wholesale-Electronic Parts & Equipment, NEC

5070 Wholesale-Hardware & Plumbing & Heating Equipment & Supplies

5072 Wholesale-Hardware

5080 Wholesale-Machinery, Equipment & Supplies

5082 Wholesale-Construction & Mining (No Petro) Machinery & Equip

5084 Wholesale-Industrial Machinery & Equipment

5090 Wholesale-Misc Durable Goods

5094 Wholesale-Jewelry, Watches, Precious Stones & Metals

5099 Wholesale-Durable Goods, NEC

5110 Wholesale-Paper & Paper Products

5122 Wholesale-Drugs, Proprietaries & Druggists' Sundries

5130 Wholesale-Apparel, Piece Goods & Notions

5140 Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products

5141 Wholesale-Groceries, General Line

5150 Wholesale-Farm Product Raw Materials

5160 Wholesale-Chemicals & Allied Products

5171 Wholesale-Petroleum Bulk Stations & Terminals

5172 Wholesale-Petroleum & Petroleum Products (No Bulk Stations)

5180 Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages

5190 Wholesale-Miscellaneous Non-durable Goods

5200 Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply

5211 Retail-Lumber & Other Building Materials Dealers

5271 Retail-Mobile Home Dealers

5311 Retail-Department Stores

5331 Retail-Variety Stores

5399 Retail-Misc General Merchandise Stores

5400 Retail-Food Stores

5411 Retail-Grocery Stores

5412 Retail-Convenience Stores

5500 Retail-Auto Dealers & Gasoline Stations

5531 Retail-Auto & Home Supply Stores

5600 Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores

5621 Retail-Women's Clothing Stores

5651 Retail-Family Clothing Stores

5661 Retail-Shoe Stores

5700 Retail-Home Furniture, Furnishings & Equipment Stores

5712 Retail-Furniture Stores

5731 Retail-Radio, Tv & Consumer Electronics Stores

5734 Retail-Computer & Computer Software Stores

5735 Retail-Record & Prerecorded Tape Stores

5810 Retail-Eating & Drinking Places

5812 Retail-Eating Places

5900 Retail-Miscellaneous Retail

5912 Retail-Drug Stores and Proprietary Stores

5940 Retail-Miscellaneous Shopping Goods Stores

5944 Retail-Jewelry Stores

5945 Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops

5960 Retail-Nonstore Retailers

5961 Retail-Catalog & Mail-Order Houses

5990 Retail-Retail Stores, NEC

6021 National Commercial Banks

6022 State Commercial Banks

6029 Commercial Banks, NEC

6035 Savings Institution, Federally Chartered

6036 Savings Institutions, Not Federally Chartered

6099 Functions Related To Depository Banking, NEC

6111 Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies

6141 Personal Credit Institutions

6153 Short-Term Business Credit Institutions

6159 Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution

6162 Mortgage Bankers & Loan Correspondents

6163 Loan Brokers

6172 Finance Lessors

6189 Asset-Backed Securities

6199 Finance Services

6200 Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services

6211 Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies

6221 Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers

6282 Investment Advice

6311 Life Insurance

6321 Accident & Health Insurance

6324 Hospital & Medical Service Plans

6331 Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance

6351 Surety Insurance

6361 Title Insurance

6399 Insurance Carriers, NEC

6411 Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service

6500 Real Estate

6510 Real Estate Operators (No Developers) & Lessors

6512 Operators of Nonresidential Buildings

6513 Operators of Apartment Buildings

6519 Lessors of Real Property, NEC

6531 Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others)

6532 Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account)

6552 Land Subdividers & Developers (No Cemeteries)

6770 Blank Checks

6792 Oil Royalty Traders

6794 Patent Owners & Lessors

6795 Mineral Royalty Traders

6798 Real Estate Investment Trusts

6799 Investors, NEC

7000 Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places

7011 Hotels & Motels

7200 Services-Personal Services

7310 Services-Advertising

7311 Services-Advertising Agencies

7320 Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies

7330 Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography

7331 Services-Direct Mail Advertising Services

7340 Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings

7350 Services-Miscellaneous Equipment Rental & Leasing

7359 Services-Equipment Rental & Leasing, NEC

7361 Services-Employment Agencies

7363 Services-Help Supply Services

7370 Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc.

7371 Services-Computer Programming Services

7372 Services-Prepackaged Software

7373 Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design

7374 Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation

7377 Services-Computer Rental & Leasing

7380 Services-Miscellaneous Business Services

7381 Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services

7384 Services-Photofinishing Laboratories

7385 Services-Telephone Interconnect Systems

7389 Services-Business Services, NEC

7500 Services-Automotive Repair, Services & Parking

7510 Services-Auto Rental & Leasing (No Drivers)

7600 Services-Miscellaneous Repair Services

7812 Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production

7819 Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production

7822 Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution

7829 Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution

7830 Services-Motion Picture Theaters

7841 Services-Video Tape Rental

7900 Services-Amusement & Recreation Services

7948 Services-Racing, Including Track Operation

7990 Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation

7997 Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs

8000 Services-Health Services

8011 Services-Offices & Clinics of Doctors of Medicine

8050 Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities

8051 Services-Skilled Nursing Care Facilities

8060 Services-Hospitals

8062 Services-General Medical & Surgical Hospitals, NEC

8071 Services-Medical Laboratories

8082 Services-Home Health Care Services

8090 Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, NEC

8093 Services-Specialty Outpatient Facilities, NEC

8111 Services-Legal Services

8200 Services-Educational Services

8300 Services-Social Services

8351 Services-Child Day Care Services

8600 Services-Membership or ganizations

8700 Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management

8711 Services-Engineering Services

8731 Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research

8734 Services-Testing Laboratories

8741 Services-Management Services

8742 Services-Management Consulting Services

8744 Services-Facilities Support Management Services

8748 Business Consulting Services, Not Elsewhere Classified

8880 American Depositary Receipts

8888 Foreign Governments

8900 Services-Services, NEC

9721 International Affairs

9995 Non-Operating Establishments

[crazycoders 0]

Hawaiibill: Sadly, SC's biggest problem is not really the size of the data it has to work with, its the raw power needed to work with it, anyone can make a city provide they have the minimal requirements, put every setting on low and use a small city and you are off. Sadly DVD won't help solve the problem of having one full region to develop at a time, its strictly a bad programming algorythm (or probably a good one) but there is so much data to process that we'll need much powerfull computer to handle bigger maps...

[forny008 0]

Okay, I’m a newb (to ST and the forums but definitely not SC, I mean, I remember sitting at a friends house in front of the SNES with the original, while our parents played poker...oh, back to the topic), and I didn’t read all this post (a person can only read so much before he falls asleep), so I’m probably rewriting other guys ideas, but here goes:

 

1) I did read about a SimNation, and like it, and think it’s a great idea.

 

2) If you go out to a city, it’s not a square plot of land. When you start a new game, you should have the option of defining city limits, and as the game develops you should be able to annex surrounding area to your city.

 

3) With that in mind, there should be a way for you to have highways and roads in undeveloped areas without starting a new city just to build a stretch of road. If you drive down any interstate, there are long stretches if nothingness in between large metropolitan areas. Just because I want two cities to interact shouldn’t mean they have to be right on top of each other.

 

4) This is my number one request: make the Sim games intractable. Instead of U-Drive It, have a separate game like Streets of SimCity, make it to where The Sims literally live in the city, do all of this instead of putting it all in one package. When you feel like being in charge, you play SimCity, when you feel like controlling peoples personal lives, play The Sims, but when you go back to SimCity, what happened in their lives happened in the city. If you want to do something extra in your city, you have a whole different game to play. This I think should sound appealing to EA, because they would make money off of each game.

 

Now know that I know little to nothing about computer coding and programming unlike all the "Computer Geeks" (not to be offensive in any way and for lack of a better term; ill be happy to admit I’m a "Band Geek"), so I’m sure what I said is completely impossible (and if it is tell me and why), but I was interested and thought id chip my two cents worth into the jar of ideas.

[crazycoders 0]

eagles reply has some great ideas probably already said somewhere but eagles, part of your ideas won't happen in the near future and here is why :

1) I'm not sure what you mean by sim nations, but i think it is network play with lots of peeps, if it is, don't expect that to come up very soon... There is too much info that constantly evolves and changes, internet connections would be flooded at the server with the constant information change.

2) and 3) I'd like to see that asap, it can be done right now and should!!!

4) Yet again, to have a constantly evolving environment from one game to another will take lots of time to balance everything and to centralize everything in one big game engine. These kinds of game where you have worlds and several games attached to it to play different angles of the game will only exist in the far future. Make that 20 years when most houses will have central computers managing the home network, and all appliances. These computers will have the power to handle game services like that and then, you, your friends, your familly will be able to play at the same time in the same world which will constantly evolve depending on what game is connected.

This is not a speculation, this is what games are going towards. They are even speaking of incorporating the CELL processor to the new central home systems to have a multimedia house with touch screens everywhere, speaker in every room etc... god, future will be sweet as hell!!!

[forny008 0]

Thanks for letting me know. Now that you say it, it makes since that our pc's couldn't handle an ultra large engine. (Although If the people at EA thought that the pc's at the time could handle SC4, they probably think we do have pc's like that now.) IF and WHEN SC5 comes out, I'm sure I'll be one of the first ones to it at my Wal-Mart, no matter what it's like. (If it weren't for SC4 & RCT, I probably wouldn't play on the pc.)

[Pixelrage 34]

At this point, I'd be more than happy with a stable version of SC4 that has a well thought out mod & addon organization menu. Since that would never happen anyway I wish some programming genius out there could make one for the community

[HawaiiBill 0]

My guess would be there is more computing power on the desk of the average SC4 user than most of us know. Because it is doubltess a very stable user base with a known registration file, it would be a good idea for the Powers that Be to survey users to ascertain what that power is. Then SC5 could be and should be tailored to capability. When we got XP and when Mac turned to X3 it was with the knowledge that some folks would need to upgrade to keep up with general software potential. The world didn't crash and neither would Sim City and we would all likely be the better for it.

In other words, upgrade to a more powerful SC5 with expanded powers or remain on the case with a tweaked and strengthened SC4.

[IGGYMAN 101 1]

SimCity was completely full load with tool that ever I will use it to make my buildings and lots. I can't find something for the Lot Editor tool in any site. In search engine, I can find the lot editor using Yahoo search to download. Last year, I will download a Lot Editor, I can't remember, the site which I can download any games. I can put this in CD-R.

In the future of SimCity, I will look for the cars flying like on the Coruscant transport. A two mile or kilometer high rise buildings holds among 200,000 either residents or jobs. Flying structures looking in Bespin's cloud city. A submerge floating structures such look in Gungans. Tree houses looking on Ewoks at the planet of Endor. You make a rule in this game as a Mayor, State Governor, Realtor, Contractor, Counstructor, Chief Engineer, CEO, citizen and whoever you are in Simcity.

City building is a job on the computer compare to the other real jobs such as janitor, mail clerk, transporter, maid, security guard and street sweeper. Just, you sit down and make play Simcity 4 as a job to make a big city. You make a journal about your city. You make thousand of replies on your forum page. Not to mean, It is your thread everyday on your life. Someday, I will establish a company designing Simcity Buildings using a latest version of Building Architect tool and Lot Editor. This is my feasibility study of my own.

In next SimCity, all rewards should be unlocked even you downloaded. Any landmark version will be functionalized such as residential, commercial, industry, farming, police, fire, education, health, and transport. I can take back Arco buildings in Simcity 200 such as remembrance moments in SimCity .

God bless us!

IGGYMAN 101

[Gecks_II 0]

I have thought, and dreamed for a long time about the next installment of the SimCity franchise. In fact, to such degree in certain aspects that its too detailed, for even me to explain lol. So without further a due my thoughts/ideas;

 

1)     First and foremost, the next version of SimCity, should be built Open ended. That is to say that places like here, in Simtropolis, should be able to go into the game and add content (Thinking about all our awesome bat’rs and the rest of you!)

2)     The game itself, should be built to operate on the futures growing multiple core CPUs. That is to say, they should build the game to be able to not just utilize dual cores, or quad core processors, but no matter how many cores you have (not to sure if it is entirely possible, but just a thought) This would enable us, as time goes on, and the next version being 7years after, the game could in fact keep “growing” as our systems would become more powerful. I mean Frig! Vista will handle up if not over 128GB!!! Of Ram! (god knows why I’d ever need that much, but hey who knows.)

 

3a)            Get rid of the region and city levels/maps. Think outside of the box. (In this following case, literally.) You should be able to zoom in to what ever level of the game you want. (well not too TOO close). When you are about to create a region, the game should analyze your system’s capabilities, and tell you a good performance maximum. At which point a set of variables become available for you to mess around with for your region. (forests, water amount, mountains, type of climate/weather, etc)

 

3b) Now, what if (with reference to point 3a) as I said, zoom in at any level,

and be able to see your entire world/map/region, whatever you want to call it. (I can already here people saying, yeah, that’s great, but my computer would DIE). Well, what if, you could see it all, but you had what I like to call and “editing circle”?(See figure 001) That Is to say, you could see everything, but in fact the game simulation only ran within this free moving editing circle. Now this circle’s size, would be dependant on the games needs versus your systems capabilities. (Again, leaving for improvement that as you would upgrade your system, these changes would be seen as larger editable circles..regions..etc.). So lets say you were out editing a small village area, the circle would be able to be expanded to a larger size. But once you moved into a densely populated area, (at which point the simulation would be more demanding.) the maximum editing circle maybe much smaller? (lets say a current small city tile size for a thought.)

 

4)   So Basically what the game would do of your region, is divide the whole region into tile sized still pictures, so to speak. These would include all variables for pollution traffic, so forth. And basically, would become actively aware once you moved your editing circle over onto it and would update or change.

 

5) Now to stop weird things from happening, (like huge polutting industry next to a cottage farming town that hasent been edited in hundreds of years, the game would have a larger awareness running in the background, managing, traffic and other variables on larger less detailed and less computer resources intense way. So that it would judge that this industrial area(withing commuting distance) can accommodate 10,000 workers, so that your editing area can take advantage of the jobs available. This larger awareness would also control stuff like free flowing weather systems, and traffic. (again not a per-say changing traffic patterns, just a static one, with maybe a few adjustments taking into consideration new commuters).

 

      All this would lead you to believe your region is alive, but in fact the only area that is changing and developing (the part that sucks your computer’s ressources) would be limited to the “editing circle”, which could be free roamed or moved around at your own will, but separate of what your scrolling around and looking would be.

 

 

      And of course stuff like the grid should be smaller triangle like shapes instead of squares. That would make it easier to make different angles streets. And maybe set it so that you can kinda like “freeze” your lets say road level, so that your road will stay at the same height, and accordingly, if your drag goes through a mountain it turns into a tunnel, and over a valley, it adjusts to make a bridge. And that you can make it go up and down at different angles, at the selection of an option. Those are my 2 cents worth of ideas that I don’t believe have been mentioned.

 

      If you have any idea or questions about the concept, or would like to talk about that “editing circle” PM me or something ^.^ Id love to go into greater detail.


FYI: Maxis, if your reading this, Go ahead, feel free to use my editing circle Idea. If you are NOT Maxis, aka: not wanting to make the next simcity... you'll haft to ask nicely you have been warned...lol

[Kippis05 2]

That's some serious thinking there, Gecks. You pretty much gave anyone a good platform to base the next segment of Sim City on.

[HawaiiBill 0]

Excellent post, Gecks. It's nearly a MONTH and my copy of SimCity 4 has not arrived. It is very strange to me that EA/Maxis -- would somebody explain to this Newbie just who is the owning entity, please -- don't have it for sale. I had to go through Amazon. Still not arrived and I've had those stern words with the Amazon folks.

Anyway, It remains impossible for me to be intelligent in this discussion because I don't have the program. Anxious to receive/study and work on it.

[Kippis05 2]

Don't worry. I ordered a book off of Amazon.com, they told me it would ship on Thursday. (I had ordered it on the previous Monday) Two and a half weeks later they told me they would be shipping it in less than a week. Anyone can guess what happened next...

[HawaiiBill 0]

Amazon has these independent folks -- maybe hundreds of them -- who sell and ship some items. That was true with this one. My main concern is that EA/maxis -- what IS that all about? -- is leaving money on the table by not having the program to sell in the Simtropolis Store. I would have far prefered to get it from the 'maker' even at a higher price. But I appreciate being able to be on this and other forum topics so I can at least get started meeting the community.

[Ijuin 2]

On the area of effect radius: I think that the sharp area limit (100% overage inside the limit, zero coverage outside) should instead be replaced by an "optimum radius of effect" beyond which effectiveness fades off gently--at twice the optimum radius, you would only get a quarter of the optimum strength (since it would be covering four times the land area). For comparison, remember in Simcity classic and Simcity 2000 how police and fire stations had their effectiveness taper off with distance?

[HawaiiBill 0]

Hooray, my copy of SimCity4 DeLuxe has arrived and is installed and properly registered. Now if I can figure out how to keep it from crashing for no apparent reason...not often but every now and then.

This forum has been very kind to listen to me while I waited and that wss both good and helpful.

One more question: Which of the other forums here is the most helpful for learning how to keep my city Simmering? Thank you

[Gecks_II 0]

@Ijuin

Yup I totaly, agree, but only in overall effects; Pollution, traffic, etc. I guess I could of worded better, but basically the "editable area" is the area, where you can a) build new stuff, and b) that current buildings may change and develop. But overall direct effects of these changes would, like you said, taper off as you extended further outward from the "edit circle".

[astralis 0]

The next SimCity should revisit its roots and start from scratch. The idea was to show how cities developed and placed you in the middle as the urban planner to grow your own city by deciding on taxes, industries, and environment. This is still a great starting point. City management, though, also includes political decisions we must make. Combining aspects of the Sims and SimCity into a real online 3D city (and a powerful AI system for those who prefer single player) where people choose professions, build their businesses, run for office, make political decisions, and help grow the city is where the next SimCity should go.

For example, if anyone has played Vice City, San Andreas, or similar games, you can see that 3D cities have exisited for years in very good detail. SimCity needs to take it to that level and above and also place it online where the users build and govern it with other real players you can see and interact with in the game.

When you start a game, it would be very elementary. Perhaps the only things that exist are the raw resources that one needs to survive: shelter and food (that is trees, rock, plants and animals). Your goal is to collect the resources you need to become prosperous and influential for yourself and your family. As in real life, each person fills a role that provides a service that is required such as a farmer, a hunter, a builder, a leader, a soldier, a watchman, etc. There would be many other positions that can be created if the users decide. Government is structured however the players see fit. It develops naturally. So, if the users decide on a monarchy where it's led by one person then that's the way it goes (more than likely because someone has more resources than someone else). Revolution, though, can come if the users take over the leader or they decide to establish a council or assassinate the ruler. People can die in the game (but it would still be an arcade game after all and can come back but would lose resources). So, we would need police to patrol for criminals and criminal behavior and courts to prosecute them. We would also want to provide the rules that the police can and cannot do to keep them in check. As we gather more resources, we know that we cannot build our own houses and grow our own food and protect ourselves. We have to work together. So, people start establishing themselves into careers they do best. For example, starting a construction company that builds buildings. Or being a real estate broker that sells the houses. Or maybe your government decides that housing is free. Or starting an agricultural conglomerate to grow and process food. Or down the chain as a grocer on a corner or owning a chain of grocery stores that distribute food. Innovation and development then begins and the city grows. To keep buildings in check, the council creates an inspection department. A justice system fines people and imprisons them for not obeying the council. Or maybe you want to live the life of a criminal and rob people. Or maybe you want to see what it's like to be a police officer and patrol and arrest criminals and also investigate crimes. Or maybe be a judge to determine who is guilty based on evidence. Each of these careers involves the people in the game. The police arrest the criminals, collect evidence to prosecute them, and the judges determine who is guilty. Collecting the evidence would be a game in itself. But this is what makes a city survive. The city council can decide to place video cameras on the streets and at intersections. People can place them in their homes. Fingerprints.

Later, time progresses and more innovations become available to discover and process new resources such as oil (plastics), metal, etc... you can build cars, or sell cars on a small car lot. Or you can build ships or sail ships transporting the cars.

Like in real life, if you build something, you have to get it somewhere.

What happens if someone doesn't follow the rules? Like in real life, if they're not enforced then they don't work. The city must learn how to do this and create the system that works best for them. Otherwise, it would be anarchy.

For example, airflight will eventually be invented. Managing how people get to fly by providing pilot licenses so newbies don't plough into your house over and over (if they did, it would be a real loss in the game) or load the plane with 20 people who are just trying to get to their destination and die. Without these mechanisms, cities disintigrate into chaos. These same mechanisms would exist in the game and the users decide what they are.

Media would also become invented and people can run news services. The billboards, newspapers, radio, television, phones, etc... can be central to the game, especially during campaigns for Mayor and Council (if the city decides on a democracy, of course).

Learning how to control disasters (do you have an evacuation plan?), protests (must they ask for a permit?), blight (can you build a highway through a neighborhood without permission? what if it's your house the mayor is trying build over?), are all part of the game and central to the roots of SimCity but on a more interactive scale by placing us in the middle of the world, all online.

Do you want to live next to a railroad? How to stop it? Maybe you want to own the railroad. Or just be an engineer? Or be on the contruction crew building it.

The worse thing that can happen to a city or government is anarchy. Look at what happened in New Orleans. The city management has to take control of their cities and keep anarchy from happening by establishing a powerful police force, surveillance, tough laws, and tough judges, prisons and even executions. Or you can forgo that for a peaceful utopia. But for example, if you decide to run your car into someone's house. You will have to pay for the damage. If you run over someone in the street, you can be prosecuted and can sit in jail or pay a fine (after all, it is an "arcade" game and the person will come back to life). But, you can also outrun the police but they may have helicopters, or spotted your license plate and will come to your house to arrest you. Or you can forever be on the run.

So many possibilities.

This is where I see SimCity needing to go and our technology is now at the level to do it. SimCity4 is practically a mini-game in some of the new games that are out and game players are maturing in what they expect from games. Maxis can provide the tools for the users to create and play in these cities they create and govern.

[Pixelrage 34]

I would truly hate to see SC go 3-d....especially if it's going to look anything like that City Life game...ugh.

[HawaiiBill 0]

Astralis has presented a great challenge with detail and feeling. To some it may seem technically unfeasible but the truth is most machines these days are severely underused! The systems on a majority of desktops have more power than their room-size ancestors.

Stipulate, if you will, that these suggestions can be done. A question remains whether many players would have the patience to structure the real-world possibilities offered. I would love it and was somewhat disappointed that SimCity4 has so little 'actuality' -- such as the low role and importance given agriculture and the inability to decide beyond providing eduction what kinds of industry move in.

One reason I worry about that interest is the decline in participation in both political and civic activity in our nation. That isn't the case in every nation but ours is giving up on democracy to the detriment of our shared future. If anything, a game living up to the goals proposed by Astralis might help turn the tide back to some civic pride and responsibility. I'm an old man and was shocked and dismayed to learn that civics is no longer taught in virtually any grade schools. Same with geography and other courses that our earlier citizens deemed essential to an informed electorate.

By no means does my view here detract from my admiration of SimCity and the opportunities it does provide for imagination and municipal/urban thought. Though still new, I'm very much enjoying my time trying to keep Sims alive in a town that seems to have twice as many vehicles as people and fires bust out when you need to be building a university. Some reality to both of those examples.

Keep up the good work, Maxis, and keep those great ideas flowing, Astralis!

[gregfry 0]

I hope that they don't go 3D. I have City Life and the 3D enviroment is actually useless as far as desigining your city. I thinks it also greatly limits the variety of buildings and props they can render. City Life is a huge dissapointment. It would ruin any futuer version of SimCity.

[astralis 0]

Just because CityLife is in 3D and not very good doesn't mean SimCity in 3D won't be good.  After all, Spore is in 3D.  Maxis knows where they have to go and they can do it.

More importantly, the gameplay is still essential.  Simply making SimCity4 in 3D is NOT going to work.  Gamers have "been there, done that".  They will have to reevaluate their entire strategy and start from scratch.

I have more confidence in Maxis and will not compare CityLife to what Maxis can do.

[Pixelrage 34]

This is true - I have faith in Maxis. I just hope the next game is stable, and 100% completed before it goes out. Either way I'll buy it

[HawaiiBill 0]

Would somebody please take pity on us old coots out here and explain what 3D is in relation to games. SimCity4 LOOKS like three dimensions as the buildings are constructed and airplanes take off from the airports, etc. What do I need to know?

Okay, I need to know everything! But for right now I'm only talking about the 3D hole in my head.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Well, Bill, we in the frozen north do understand how isolated you can be out there in the middle of that pond, but SC4 is actually 2-1/2 D.  There are only four views possible from the cardinal compass points.

The modernists want it to have full 3D panning from any angle at any height.  This is like the Sims2 or the Spore engines.  If you want to see a real travesty of this, go look at City Life.  If Will and the boys had written City Life the graphics would be so good you'ld think you were right there.  As it is, it is rather ho hum.

[HawaiiBill 0]

N_O_Body used very few well-chosen words to explain exactly what I wanted to know. Good work.

I was afraid of something like that. Given the kind of vivid power and flexibility suggested by astralis  a few fibers down in the thread below, it seems infinitely better to have more to look at than merely getting a better view.

It would be very nice to have smooth zooming and, with the four detentes provided, I would be a happy camper. I'm continuing to carry my picket signs over the insult to agriculture Maxis has glued into the system. Consider this: The worst possible pollution you could imagine for agriculture is nothing compared to the added cost, pollution from truck and other traffic to get it to and throughout the city....well, even after all that it is still not fresh!

While that may seem a small matter, it is, in fact, a very good example of the difference in planning for the future and planning with no or little thought for the true necessities of life. Speaking of which, where are the golf course? Probably there but this newbie just hasn't found them.

aloha