The more I play this game, the less fun and more frustrating it gets

[MallowTheCloud 41]

Again, someone that apparently assumes I'm dumb and haven't thought of any of this myself.

 

1. No, it's not realistic. A realistic water supply is a reservoir. Aquifers are secondary. Untreated sewage dumped into an aquifer and then re-extracted and treated is certainly not a large source of our drinking water in real life. "Water problems" are normal for a city. These are not normal solutions.

 

2. I wasn't asking what's "right" for my city, I was asking what the threshold is (and why it's there) to be able to send an ambulance, say, to another "city" (read: neighborhood). This is something that has to have a definitive answer in the simulation, and there's no "real-life" counterpart to compare it to. And my problems aren't with building a successful city, they're with trying to figure out what's going on in my city and why, and whether or not I'm seeing a bug.

 

3. That's what I figured, but I wasn't sure. And how am I supposed to know that? Wouldn't it be logical to have some way of keeping track of everything so I know things aren't just getting lost, or so that I know about how long it will take to see the results?

 

4. That's not why I'm upset. "Figuring it out" from the perspective of "finding a good balance of services, growth, etc" is fine. My problem is "figuring it out" from the perspective of "finding out why the game is doing things I don't think it should be doing, or isn't doing things I think it should". And again, this only pertains to some of the complaints I listed.

 

I don't think you're dumb, not my intention.

 

1) Your simcity is basically on an aqufier, But you use up all the water faster than nature can replenish it. So you basically have the exact same choices real cities use. Import water (See California) or Treat your water and reuse it. In the game, your treatment center treats the water and puts it back in your 'aquifer'. I see it as a pretty reasonable simulation, although in reality, the treated water would go straight into your water system.

 

2) I don't know the threshold anymore than people in real life know the threshold for police protection

 

3) This is also part of the answer to #2. Your ambulance coverage is broken because the servers are broken (between cities)

 

1) So you're treating it as a facsimile. Which is fine, but as I just noted in the other thread about water...

"1. Treating this as an "infinite" water supply defeats the purpose. If the purpose is to challenge us in water usage, then don't make it possible to completely solve the "challenge" with one easy-to-use trick.

2. There should be some hint that this is what was intended, like showing the water table replenishing under the sewage outflow pipes. This isn't occurring, so there's nothing in their data layers that would suggest this should actually be a thing that could happen."

 

2) My point is that in real life there is no "threshold" for a neighborhood to send police coverage to another neighborhood. It's a judgment call. I understand that they have to have some limits in the game, but the fact that these game-based thresholds are completely unknowable bothers me.

 

3) Maybe. But again, how am I supposed to know that it's this reason, and not because I haven't reached this ethereal "threshold"? I simply want to know what's happening in the game so that I can adjust my play style accordingly. How can I adjust my play style if I don't even know what I should be adjusting?

 

 

 

Well, your water problem is not the fault of the game.  Water is a resourse and you need to think about that when claiming a city.  If you claim a city with no water you will have water issues and you will need to make a deal with a nearby city to handle your water needs.

 

I have several cities with around 150 - 200k population and plenty of water.  I also have a couple of cities with 50 - 100k population that need water shipped in from other cities.

 

Note also that the filtration plant and sewage outflow trick is not a bug.  They designed it that way so low water cities can make their own water.

 

 

You make the statement that some of your frustration is due to your ignorance and I must agree.  I think most of your frustration is due to it.  City builder games are ment to be technical and strategically difficult.  That's their purpose.  If you are getting frustrated learning how to use your resources then SimCity may not be the game for you.

 

 

>This game was never about, scream at the top of your lungs I'm having the time of my life fun!  The fun is building your region and having a strategy in doing so.  Have you built your 4 great works in a region of 16 cities?  If you've already done that, post a screenshot and then I can take your comments seriously.  

 

Maybe city building simulation isn't your type of

game.

 

 

Um, you guys do realize that SC4 is one of my favorite games of all time, right? I know how city-simulation games work. I've played pretty much all of them (even Cities XL).

 

Zpike, the city I ran out of water in was a city with "max" water supply. It now has almost zero. As for the sewage->treatment->water not being a bug, that's fine, but there's no way I would have figured out that that's a way of "fixing" my water problems by myself. I would have assumed, logically, that dumping sewage would not lead to an infinitely-replenishing water table. That makes no sense.

 

kgpurrs, it should be a challenge to build a large, successful region. It should take strategy and wise use of resources. There should be moments of frustration, but it should be a moment to learn and recover. That has not been my experience so far. My experience has been that I don't even know what's going on in my city half the time, and have no idea where to even begin looking. How can I learn from a mistake when I don't even know what the mistake is in the first place, and have no idea where to find out? They claim data layers give you more information about your city than ever before. But not all mechanics have a data layer, and for those that don't, you're stuck just accepting that what's going on is intended behavior (if you can even know what's going on).

 

 

EDIT: I'd also like to point out that I could easily create a large, successful region on my own if I wanted to given what I know of SimCity so far. But I'd have to forego some of the aspects of the game I want to try in order to do so. Which is ridiculous game design... "we have made this available for you, but good luck figuring out how to implement it how you want to successfully, because we're not going to explain how it works in-game".

 

 

... some of us know who you are and still have your maps in our region folders, they were and still are great maps

 

-catty

 

 

Aww. 

[catty-cb 4,412]

I do have the electronic SimCity 2013 Prima Guide, and offered on my own site to look up things for people, can't do it till I get home from work tonight, but happy to have a look for you when I do.

 

-catty

[MallowTheCloud 41]

I do have the electronic SimCity 2013 Prima Guide, and offered on my own site to look up things for people, can't do it till I get home from work tonight, but happy to have a look for you when I do.

 

-catty

 

Maybe that's what I need to get to answer the questions I have?

[Xenocity 343]

 

 

 

Half of your issues are related to the launch issues with the lag and server problems.

And half of your issues are related to your ignorance of game mechanics and apparent refusal to try to figure them out. I can't remember where off-hand, but there's a link to a game manual in the main menu of the game, so maybe you should check that out.

As for the rest of your issues (I know, I already accounted for two-halves, but that's the bulk of them) are what seem to be bugs that are minor and or easily patched out, but also issues that I haven't personally run into (not saying they don't exist, just saying they might be rare issues).

Please elaborate? Many users are mentioning a bug with the water system. Or you dont have anything factual to add?

 

I'd also like to point out that many of the issues I originally brought up (certainly more than half) are neither related to launch issues nor simple game-mechanic-ignorance. Like the fact that my city selling water wasn't earning any money for it. I'm reasonably convinced Mr. Griffith didn't even really read my post.

Could be a bug.

 

My Capital City (Main city) sells Power, Water, Sewage to its neighbor.

It in turn buys garbage and something else.

 

This keeps my city from completely going under.

 

Ugh, so apparently bugs just like me, then?

Yup could just be a bad luck of the draw.

 

Or try rebooting Simcity, that causes your whole region to resync.

[MallowTheCloud 41]

 

 

 

 

Half of your issues are related to the launch issues with the lag and server problems.

And half of your issues are related to your ignorance of game mechanics and apparent refusal to try to figure them out. I can't remember where off-hand, but there's a link to a game manual in the main menu of the game, so maybe you should check that out.

As for the rest of your issues (I know, I already accounted for two-halves, but that's the bulk of them) are what seem to be bugs that are minor and or easily patched out, but also issues that I haven't personally run into (not saying they don't exist, just saying they might be rare issues).

Please elaborate? Many users are mentioning a bug with the water system. Or you dont have anything factual to add?

 

I'd also like to point out that many of the issues I originally brought up (certainly more than half) are neither related to launch issues nor simple game-mechanic-ignorance. Like the fact that my city selling water wasn't earning any money for it. I'm reasonably convinced Mr. Griffith didn't even really read my post.

Could be a bug.

 

My Capital City (Main city) sells Power, Water, Sewage to its neighbor.

It in turn buys garbage and something else.

 

This keeps my city from completely going under.

 

Ugh, so apparently bugs just like me, then?

Yup could just be a bad luck of the draw.

 

Or try rebooting Simcity, that causes your whole region to resync.

 

I would if the servers were working.

[Xenocity 343]

 

 

 

 

 

Half of your issues are related to the launch issues with the lag and server problems.

And half of your issues are related to your ignorance of game mechanics and apparent refusal to try to figure them out. I can't remember where off-hand, but there's a link to a game manual in the main menu of the game, so maybe you should check that out.

As for the rest of your issues (I know, I already accounted for two-halves, but that's the bulk of them) are what seem to be bugs that are minor and or easily patched out, but also issues that I haven't personally run into (not saying they don't exist, just saying they might be rare issues).

Please elaborate? Many users are mentioning a bug with the water system. Or you dont have anything factual to add?

 

I'd also like to point out that many of the issues I originally brought up (certainly more than half) are neither related to launch issues nor simple game-mechanic-ignorance. Like the fact that my city selling water wasn't earning any money for it. I'm reasonably convinced Mr. Griffith didn't even really read my post.

Could be a bug.

 

My Capital City (Main city) sells Power, Water, Sewage to its neighbor.

It in turn buys garbage and something else.

 

This keeps my city from completely going under.

 

Ugh, so apparently bugs just like me, then?

Yup could just be a bad luck of the draw.

 

Or try rebooting Simcity, that causes your whole region to resync.

 

I would if the servers were working.

Yeah that would help...

[catty-cb 4,412]

I do have the electronic SimCity 2013 Prima Guide, and offered on my own site to look up things for people, can't do it till I get home from work tonight, but happy to have a look for you when I do.

 

-catty

 

Maybe that's what I need to get to answer the questions I have?

 

The electronic version is only 9-10 US dollars, but its online only at Prima Games, depends on whether you want to spend any more more money on the game or not, I've only bought the guide at this point as I wasn't sure this was the game for me and I was sure there would be problems on launch so buying the guide was me dipping my toes in the water.

 

Its made interesting reading, so I know not to go burning garbage at the city dumps, unless I like the idea of giant lizards destroying parts of my city, or to think twice when adding wind turbines to any city unless I like tornadoes ... I think it was tornadoes not at home so I can't check

 

-catty

[MallowTheCloud 41]

 

I do have the electronic SimCity 2013 Prima Guide, and offered on my own site to look up things for people, can't do it till I get home from work tonight, but happy to have a look for you when I do.

 

-catty

 

Maybe that's what I need to get to answer the questions I have?

 

The electronic version is only 9-10 US dollars, but its online only at Prima Games, depends on whether you want to spend any more more money on the game or not, I've only bought the guide at this point as I wasn't sure this was the game for me and I was sure there would be problems on launch so buying the guide was me dipping my toes in the water.

 

Its made interesting reading, so I know not to go burning garbage at the city dumps, unless I like the idea of giant lizards destroying parts of my city, or to think twice when adding wind turbines to any city unless I like tornadoes ... I think it was tornadoes not at home so I can't check

 

-catty

 

I thought those were the ways to unlock the disasters for yourself, not that they would actually make those disasters more common... ?

[claz 0]

There is a popup in game anytime you have excess police, fire or medical to share with nieghbors

[Xenocity 343]

There is a popup in game anytime you have excess police, fire or medical to share with nieghbors

Actually your city will send them regardless if you can spare them if your neighbor is lacking.

 

You do earn money for it.

[MallowTheCloud 41]

There is a popup in game anytime you have excess police, fire or medical to share with nieghbors

 

 

There is a popup in game anytime you have excess police, fire or medical to share with nieghbors

Actually your city will send them regardless if you can spare them if your neighbor is lacking.

 

You do earn money for it.

 

Well I guess I've just yet to have excess safety personnel. Unfortunately that's probably the least pressing of the issues I listed, at least for me.

[Xenocity 343]

There is a popup in game anytime you have excess police, fire or medical to share with nieghbors

 

 

> 

There is a popup in game anytime you have excess police, fire or medical to share with nieghbors

Actually your city will send them regardless if you can spare them if your neighbor is lacking.

 

You do earn money for it.

 

Well I guess I've just yet to have excess safety personnel. Unfortunately that's probably the least pressing of the issues I listed, at least for me.

 

Even if you are strained, you will still aid a city in need.

This keep happening to me.

[fpdlskf 5]

I just want to be able to play the game I bought.

Gave up after spending 30 mins last night trying to log on.

 

 

[catty-cb 4,412]

 

 

I do have the electronic SimCity 2013 Prima Guide, and offered on my own site to look up things for people, can't do it till I get home from work tonight, but happy to have a look for you when I do.

 

-catty

 

Maybe that's what I need to get to answer the questions I have?

 

The electronic version is only 9-10 US dollars, but its online only at Prima Games, depends on whether you want to spend any more more money on the game or not, I've only bought the guide at this point as I wasn't sure this was the game for me and I was sure there would be problems on launch so buying the guide was me dipping my toes in the water.

 

Its made interesting reading, so I know not to go burning garbage at the city dumps, unless I like the idea of giant lizards destroying parts of my city, or to think twice when adding wind turbines to any city unless I like tornadoes ... I think it was tornadoes not at home so I can't check

 

-catty

 

I thought those were the ways to unlock the disasters for yourself, not that they would actually make those disasters more common... ?

 

I actually looked this up for someone else who had been visited by a lizard

 

 

"The guide says all six disasters are locked to begin, once unlocked by completing achievements then a disaster can either be triggered manually, by selecting it from the Disasters menu, or it can occur randomly, as determined by the simulation and certain geographical features"

 

-catty

[Xenocity 343]

 

 

 

I do have the electronic SimCity 2013 Prima Guide, and offered on my own site to look up things for people, can't do it till I get home from work tonight, but happy to have a look for you when I do.

 

-catty

 

Maybe that's what I need to get to answer the questions I have?

 

The electronic version is only 9-10 US dollars, but its online only at Prima Games, depends on whether you want to spend any more more money on the game or not, I've only bought the guide at this point as I wasn't sure this was the game for me and I was sure there would be problems on launch so buying the guide was me dipping my toes in the water.

 

Its made interesting reading, so I know not to go burning garbage at the city dumps, unless I like the idea of giant lizards destroying parts of my city, or to think twice when adding wind turbines to any city unless I like tornadoes ... I think it was tornadoes not at home so I can't check

 

-catty

 

I thought those were the ways to unlock the disasters for yourself, not that they would actually make those disasters more common... ?

 

I actually looked this up for someone else who had been visited by a lizard

 

 

"The guide says all six disasters are locked to begin, once unlocked by completing achievements then a disaster can either be triggered manually, by selecting it from the Disasters menu, or it can occur randomly, as determined by the simulation and certain geographical features"

 

-catty

I've already had a tornado and yet all the disasters are still locked (not that I am complaining).

[MallowTheCloud 41]

 

 

 

I do have the electronic SimCity 2013 Prima Guide, and offered on my own site to look up things for people, can't do it till I get home from work tonight, but happy to have a look for you when I do.

 

-catty

 

Maybe that's what I need to get to answer the questions I have?

 

The electronic version is only 9-10 US dollars, but its online only at Prima Games, depends on whether you want to spend any more more money on the game or not, I've only bought the guide at this point as I wasn't sure this was the game for me and I was sure there would be problems on launch so buying the guide was me dipping my toes in the water.

 

Its made interesting reading, so I know not to go burning garbage at the city dumps, unless I like the idea of giant lizards destroying parts of my city, or to think twice when adding wind turbines to any city unless I like tornadoes ... I think it was tornadoes not at home so I can't check

 

-catty

 

I thought those were the ways to unlock the disasters for yourself, not that they would actually make those disasters more common... ?

 

I actually looked this up for someone else who had been visited by a lizard

 

 

"The guide says all six disasters are locked to begin, once unlocked by completing achievements then a disaster can either be triggered manually, by selecting it from the Disasters menu, or it can occur randomly, as determined by the simulation and certain geographical features"

 

-catty

 

Ya, as Xenocity noted, you still get disasters even when they're locked. I wouldn't be surprised if they're more frequent under certain circumstances, but that would kind of suck if you wanted to build a city based around something that would make a certain type of disaster extremely frequent, but you weren't looking for those disasters.