RCI zone sizes available?

[Nielsen 10]

Is there info available about specific zone sizes that can develop on low, medium, and high density residential, commercial, and industrial areas? For example, it's possible to create a zone that is 6x6 low density commercial if you want to increase the likelyhood that a city gets a mall with a big parking lot, or 4x2 if you'd rather see a flea market. I ask because I just had a rather nooby experience, i.e. I accidentally zoned 4x4 high density residental and I got this huge and dirty looking project that can house more that 5.000 sims. I was rather suprised by this so I wonder how many other #X# zones that I have not discovered. In short, is there some kind of list available, which tells how the different zone sizes will develop certain buildings if the demand and wealth level is being met? If I'm not mistaken, if a single zone is too big for any of the in-game lots, nothing will ever develop and that's wasted time and space. By the way, I only use Maxis lots.

[Bdub01 201]

That's a good question. I just found out you can do 6x6 and get a maxis mall that I never knew the game had. It adds so much more to my cities now. So I too wonder what else is out there!

[Cyclone Boom 17,031]

You may find these RCI building lists helpful:

SC4 Buildings List: A table of all residential, commercial and industrial lots in the game, with pictures and general info.

SC4 Building Reference List: The same list, with a more detailed stats overview of each building.

----------

Edit:

@c4bl3fl4m3

I've fixed both the above links now, and also ran database queries doing so for all other posted instances (19 & 23 total respectively). I made the 2nd link go to the Wayback archived instance because the original SimCityCentral site appears to be no longer online.

Thanks for the Like reaction on my post here which notified and brought this to my attention.

  Edited November 15, 2019 by Cyclone Boom  

[Ganaram Inukshuk 906]

One thing about the CTRL+Zoning thing (which is a trick that's well-known amongst well-seasoned players) is that it gives more control over what can zone in an area, so long as very few of the same lots have the same size.

In fact, this video demonstrates the CTRL+Zoning trick.

For example, one of the CO$$$ towers may have a 4x4 footprint, but so will a CS$$$ lot. Similarly, a mansion will take a 4x4 space, but so will a residential high-rise, so a bit of demand control needs to be exercised when trying this method, that is, unless you don't mind at all over what grows there.

Most of the "standard" sizes for these growables tend to be 2x1, 1x2, 3x2, 2x3 (the first four being for small buildings), 3x3, 3x4, 4x3, and 4x4 (these tend to be skyscrapers). Many of the skyscrapers are around 4x4.

The only three 6x6 lots there are are CS$$$ lots, and two of them are variants of the same exact thing. There are also very few 5x6 or 6x5 lots available, but those are also variants of the same lots as before, plus other lots that are industrial buildings.

The only time CTRL+Zoning becomes extremely powerful is when you use custom downloads, and the largest I've seen is 17x21.

As of a catalogue of all available Maxis growables, I know of no such catalogue, but if you ever do find such a catalogue, you'll need to know something called growth stages. They're essentially special "thresholds" that you need to have in-game (and someone can better explain it than I can) in order to grow buildings of the next stage up. Commonly, stages 1-4 are low-density, and everything else is either medium or high-density. Unless it's Industrial, then in that case, it stops at 4.

[Jim14409 448]

You may find these RCI building lists helpful:

 

SC4 Buildings List: A table of all residential, commercial and industrial lots in the game, with pictures and general info.

 

SC4 Building Reference List: The same list, with a more detailed stats overview of each building.

 

What is meant by "Tileset"?

[Cyclone Boom 17,031]

^ A tileset is the type of architectural style that a residential or commercial building represents.

There are four tilesets in SC4 Deluxe:

 

•     Chicago 1890
•     New York 1940
•     Houston 1990
•     Euro-Contemporary

 

These are the ones that appear in the Building Style Control. Here, certain styles can be enabled / disabled to be built.

 

 

All tilesets are fixed, meaning they can only be changed by using or a similar editor that can modify game data files.

[Jim14409 448]

@Cyclone Boom

Thanks for responding. All these years I've played SC and SC4 I've never seen the picture you show. I just double checked my game and it shows no pictures in the Building Style Control. It has choices:

Build all Styles at once

Change Building Style every ____ years.

I vaguely wondered what styles it meant. Guess I just never paid that much attention. Wonder why mine doesn't have the pics? I bought SC4 on disk and then added Rush Hour. I'm not on Steam or anything.

[Bdub01 201]

^ A tileset is the type of architectural style that a residential or commercial building represents.

There are four tilesets in SC4 Deluxe:

• Chicago 1890
• New York 1940
• Houston 1990
• Euro-Contemporary

These are the ones that appear in the Building Style Control. Here, certain styles can be enabled / disabled to be built.

All tilesets are fixed, meaning they can only be changed by using or a similar editor that can modify game data files.

I turned off NY and Chicago. I want a more modern looking city.

[Cyclone Boom 17,031]

@Cyclone Boom

Thanks for responding. All these years I've played SC and SC4 I've never seen the picture you show. I just double checked my game and it shows no pictures in the Building Style Control. It has choices:

Build all Styles at once

Change Building Style every ____ years.

I vaguely wondered what styles it meant. Guess I just never paid that much attention. Wonder why mine doesn't have the pics? I bought SC4 on disk and then added Rush Hour. I'm not on Steam or anything.

 

If you have Rush Hour / Deluxe, this option should be available (it's not included in the "vanilla" game).

 

Try expanding the window by clicking the icon (circled):

 

[gd6noob 0]

if some buildings use only Euro style, by checking Build All Styles, will this work also, or does it need to be set to Euro style only?

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Now if you check build all styles at once, what is there about it that makes you think any of them would be omitted?

[Nielsen 10]

You may find these RCI building lists helpful:

 

SC4 Buildings List: A table of all residential, commercial and industrial lots in the game, with pictures and general info.

 

SC4 Building Reference List: The same list, with a more detailed stats overview of each building.

 

Awesome, here's more info than I hoped for! Thanks!

[Jim14409 448]

@Cyclone Boom

Thanks for responding. All these years I've played SC and SC4 I've never seen the picture you show. I just double checked my game and it shows no pictures in the Building Style Control. It has choices:

Build all Styles at once

Change Building Style every ____ years.

I vaguely wondered what styles it meant. Guess I just never paid that much attention. Wonder why mine doesn't have the pics? I bought SC4 on disk and then added Rush Hour. I'm not on Steam or anything.

 

If you have Rush Hour / Deluxe, this option should be available (it's not included in the "vanilla" game).

 

Try expanding the window by clicking the icon (circled):

 

Thank you again. Sorry for the delay in responding. I've been having a very hard time getting on the site and or getting around if I do get on. Anyway...

I feel about as stupid as stupid gets. Why haven't I ever clicked or noticed that button? I click those kinds of buttons in other areas, just somehow I was blind to this one. Thanks!

[Cyclone Boom 17,031]

I feel about as stupid as stupid gets. Why haven't I ever clicked or noticed that button? I click those kinds of buttons in other areas, just somehow I was blind to this one. Thanks!

 

Don't feel stupid. We all learn new things everyday in this game, that's what makes it so interesting.

 

Also, I must admit, it's not that obvious. There isn't really a need for the menu to be expanded/collapsed. IMO, the style controls would have been more accessible if they were on a singular panel.

[omnimutant 2]

So in reading all this it seems that Until I really know what I'm doing I should probably stop crtl clicking my zones unless I know specifically what i want... That clears up a whole host of questions I was about to ask about why Demand isn't being satisfied. I've been crtl clicking just about everything. So if I just drag or (shift drag) click and the game dumps a pile of 1X3's on me does that mean it will only build 1X3's or will it override that with what better satisfies demand? Because otherwise this whole game just got way more complex having to know what sizes = what and when to do it... that's nuts.

[timmie 988]

If you zone a street with 1*3, 1*3, 2*3, 3*3 lots might develop. You should however make a distinction between 'demand' and 'zones'. Zones determine the density of what can grow on it, demand is about the wealth. You can determine the density of what you want to grow by zoning, but you can't directly determine the wealth of it (this you do indirectly by education, parks, police,...).

[T Wrecks 10,210]

Zone depth is the decisive factor here. If you have a coherent strip of medium-density 1x3 lots, the game can and will combine these lots into 2x3, 3x3, 4x3... whatever fits. However, it will not be able to build anything with a depth of 2 or 4 squares. This opens up quite a lot of possibilities.

 

On the other hand, if you lay out a 4x3 zone, the game might split it into two 2x3 buildings, a 3x3 and a 1x3, or two 1x3's and one 2x3, or four 1x3's... it's not really that restrictive.

 

Ctrl-zoning only allows you to gain more influence and a higher probability of getting a building of just the desired size, but it is neither a guarantee, nor is it the final word (as long as other buildings with the same zone depth are available, that is).

 

Only if you lay out a zone sized 6 x 7 squares and there is no suitable building that can grow on a lot sized 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 x 7 will the zone remain empty.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

I have one lot that is reputedly 3 x 8 but the game keeps splitting my lot.  I think the only way to get this one is by using building plop.