The Perfect Simcity 4 City

[ryandrums 1]

hey

 

I have been thinking, would it be possible to calculate using the game code what the best possible city would be? As in having things layed out really efficiently. By perfect city I mean happy sims, a good budget high density, and stuff

 

Has this been down before? I think it would be cool to have a layout that has been figured out so that when you run it on cheetah speed everything will turn out perfect, and you could have very specific times to add new buildings, rezone zones, change budgets etc. 

[Metalpuritan 161]

Your idea of perfect and my idea of perfect are completely different, as such, I do not believe anything, no matter how complex can calculate perfection in this game. I personally think the "skyscraper pin cushions" look boring and ugly, the sims can approve of the mayor 100% with no pollution and earning you some money but it still isn't perfect in my opinion.

 

I think you are going to have to decide for yourself if whatever city you are looking at is "perfect" or not.  I certainly cannot ell you what is perfect, I don't think anyone can, they can tell you what they think is perfect but not what you think is perfect, come to think of it, I have never been satisfied with anything I have ever built in SimCity 4, there is always work to be done.... I guess that is why this game has lasted for over 10 years, it just never ends and is engaging forever until you get tired of it.

 

This game never gets old, the people playing it do though.

 

-goes back to work-

[Prophet42 1,503]

I agree with Metalpuratin.  Perfection is in the eye of the beholder (or gamer).  If you want to measure success for you, set a goal for your region and then measure your success or failure against the goal.  If you reach your goal, then I guess you have attained your perfection.

[Turjan 1,048]

I'm not aware of a method to do so. Also, there are not that many people that play the game without mods (some who say they don't use mods still use the NAM), so the question is sort of difficult to answer. I never went for super high density cities, as I think they look a bit boring, but if I would have to take a guess, the way to maximum density cities with happy inhabitants goes via a "pod" approach, like in older Simcity games. With that I mean that you make repeating units of R+C+parks+civics+underground stations, maybe alternate schools and police/fire to get the different spacing requirements right (parks and underground stations must be closer together), and you should be set. You still need some space for cap busters (landmarks), but that's about it.

 

As I said, that approach worked in the older games of the series, and it probably still works.

[Metalpuritan 161]

As I said, that approach worked in the older games of the series, and it probably still works.

Yes, that still works here.  There are a ton of videos and other tutorials on high density city building.

 

For the OP though, I suggest doing just that, look around a bit, there is a space in Simtropolis where you can find people showing their cities off, big, small, even smaller, some are bigger than big, some look like concrete wastelands, some look like small quaint villages and everything else in between, there are a ton to see, all of them are beautiful and "perfect" in their own way and I am sure they all hold a special spot in each one of their creator's hearts.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Running on Cheetah all the time is just a waste.

 

I've been playing for 10 years and have never found such a thing as the perfect city I didn't want to tweak in some way.  Cheetah speed is for quick bursts of development and certainly not a way to enjoy the game.  I generally play on turtle, and develop my "cities" as the chips fall.  I like to start with a rural farming community or a fishing port and allow the whole works to grow from there.  Currently I have three regions that I play with, and they keep me entertained.  I don't have any particular goal other than staying in the black and keeping the Sims happy.

 

No one should let today's fast paced living slide over into one's leisure time experience.

 

Skyscrapers are all very well in their time and place, but I never consider them as a goal.  If I start getting a downtown that looks like a "pincushion" I tend to do some urban redevelopment to adjust the scene.  Generally speaking, if any of my cities develops a CBD, I work to split it up.  I am not a fan of people heaps.

[Bdub01 201]

That's what I love about this game. What is a perfect city for you may be horrible to be and visa versa. And as Mr. Moose said, its a waste to play all the game in cheetah speed all the time. I prefer to use cheetah to grow some simoleans or to get a project started.

[Mr Saturn64 742]

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Likewise, perfection is also in the eye of the beholder. Taking an example used before, cities overloaded with skyscrapers in SC4 doesn't look all that good, considering its a flash of 1000-foot high, multicolored buildings whereas I prefer a city with yeah, some skyscrapers, but I prefer them to look good, different, and fit the city skyline. Jamming skyscrapers in randomized orders tha give me an OCD attack may be your idea of perfection, but it's certainly not mine.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

The perfect Sim City would feature monuments to the Supreme and Ultimate Leader for Life, Yoshi on every corner instead of Starbucks.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Giggle.  There is a Starbucks download.

[Metalpuritan 161]

My idea of a perfect city, well, not really, it isn't finished, but is close and is not really a city, is just a small town. Click for full size(it is big.).

[WarmRegards 6]

Well Clu created the perfect system in Tron Legacy, but it didn't turn out too well.

[Metalpuritan 161]

Well Clu created the perfect system in Tron Legacy, but it didn't turn out too well.

LOL, no kidding!

[Bipin 3,403]

Perfection is synonymous with both dystopia and utopia concurrently, but perfection itself is without unanimous context, thus defeating itself, for nothing can be accepted as ideal by all individuals.

[0din234 2]

@Metalpuritan nice city, where did u get that kind of road? i like them...

[Adjiebrotot 94]

Perfect city depends on the player themselves

[Metalpuritan 161]

@Metalpuritan nice city, where did u get that kind of road? i like them...

Oh, that is SAM 2, it comes with the NAM 31, if you have not yet upgraded your NAM, then you just need to download the Street Addon Mod(SAM) seperately.  The link to the SAM is here:  The link to NAM 31 is here:  https://www.simtropolis.com/news/_/general-gaming-news/nam-31-is-now-available-for-download-on-simtropolis-r383

 

Goodluck!

 

P.S.  There is not one single thing in that picture that is not modded, and there are too many to list.  The Water, the ground even the power lines.

 

Edit:  No that is incorrect, I still have not gotten the mod to get rid of the minimize button thingy....yet.

[monomass 36]

I agree with most everyone else. This game is very much an aesthetics or visual game. However, I do think that there are some universal ideas of perfection, such as low traffic, low pollution, low crime, high education, etc. The larger (or rather, more dense) your city, the harder it is to achieve these levels. 

 

I like Bipin's first sentence. I enjoy variety. I like to build high wealth/density utopias as well as ghettos and small rural farm villages. But, with all, I try to make them as visually stimulating as possible (as well as those features I mentioned above).

 

I also like A Nonny Moose's strategy of playing on turtle speed (most of the time). It's easier to micromanage that way and prevent huge problems that take time and money to fix (i.e., starting over).

[ShadeSigma 16]

Well most of you guys are experienced sim players. I haven't played that long. But my quest shall be to make the perfect city! I always wondered what speed to play it on. When I did the tutorial a while back, they kinda encouraged fastest speed. But it is a sight to see when you have it on slow and you see the buildings erect. Maybe slow speed is best after all. I think making a perfect city will take time.

[monomass 36]

Even speed is something that requires a feel for. There will be times when rhino or cheetah speed are more desirable/practical; but generally, it's easier to avoid problems and focus on small details in turtle speed. There will be times you don't need/want to expand your city's boundaries, but want to build up or increase your budget for an airport or something. Those are generally the times for the faster speeds, but there is such a thing as building too fast. If you are novice, I recommend starting with a smallsh agricultural village. You can always build your utopian metropolis on a different city tile within the region.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Those of us who are perfect have difficulty with others.

[Pinstar 13]

For every city I found, I have a stated goal in mind. And that goal is not always "Fill map with elevendy billion skycrapers and max my population". How well a city fills my stated goals is how I judge how close to perfect it is.

 

I value how good a city looks from the region view more than any of the hard and fast numbers that the charts might give me.

 

IF your goal is to min/max your city and push the limits of your transportation networks...then by all means! That is a perfect city for you. But SimCity is really about setting your own goals.

[Bdub01 201]

Well most of you guys are experienced sim players. I haven't played that long. But my quest shall be to make the perfect city! I always wondered what speed to play it on. When I did the tutorial a while back, they kinda encouraged fastest speed. But it is a sight to see when you have it on slow and you see the buildings erect. Maybe slow speed is best after all. I think making a perfect city will take time.

It does take time and as you play you will want to try new things and ideas so your region is continually growing. Again cheetah speed is great for short bursts, here and there, but I still believe turtle is the way to go!

[T Wrecks 10,210]

The idea of perfection expressed in the original post that started this thread is one focused on efficiency, not on aesthetics. That's fine, you can play the game this way and set yourself this challenge.

 

I remember that a corresponding experiment has been performed by someone on Simtropolis. He found out a block size for his city and a placement pattern for civic buildings that yielded the best results for him and as such might be regardes as "perfect" or at least as "optimal", unless something elese is found to work even better.

 

I'd love to link you to this thread now (it was an interesting read, complete with screenshots!), but it was posted years ago, and I don't remember any details (name, topic title, date, etc.).

[Benedict 3,119]

here's one of the threads about the optimal grid size.

 

 

Many images are missing, however the text is still useful. Hope this is helpful, or at least interesting.

[ShadeSigma 16]

Okay, okay I'm gonna play more like a turtle now instead of a hare. I am trying to make the new region called, Sigmatron. It'll take a while because my aim is to have a booming population also. But I am trying to balance cities out. I am going to have a city that's ghetto but maybe have a richer city next to it. Since I have had this game I have always played on hare speed. I only go turtle once I "feel" that I have stabilized my city.

 

Do you guys think playing on turtle will also calm down lot vacancies? I have trashed a lot of cities in the past. But maybe I should try tortoise speed this time. I'm going to keep everyone updated.

 

But what is ironic is that when I played Simcity Societies and Destinations, I play on a slow speed.

[gido505 12]

this is what i like about sc4. you can aspire and create the perfect sim city you want, it may be a beautiful realistic city, a bustling city full of challenge, a neatly gridded city earning lots of simoleons, a big city of skyscrapers, or a rural district with a relax and quiescent farming life, a fishing harbor zone and fishing industries, a nice peaceful suburbs for your sims, a dirty and dark industrial zone smack in the center. you have in your hands the tools, the power and the mods to create the perfect city you envision with sc4. 

 

there might be a way to calculate that to some degree, it could be like theory crafting in wow. you can only calculate so much but in-game events and player decisions can really screw things over. 

[Mr Saturn64 742]

Yes.  I completley agree.

 

I like to have a region of maybe 1 or 2 huge big cities, 3-4 just big cities, plenty of small towns/mid size cities and agriculture further from the city.

 

But for a city, my idea of perfect is some nicer, quiet areas around the edges of the city.  A CBD with some skyscrapers, as long as they fit the city and where it is, (for example, the Empire State Building next to the John Hancock Center to me looks good and fitting) with a variety of style and varying heights that flow the rhytm of the cityscape.  I like to have some stadiums, pererable ones like the game default or Safeco in a CBD/more developed area while have others in a farther off area.  Throught CBD's are plaza, parks, and open area.  Try to keep roads clear of much traffic, buses and subways and elevated rail trains going around, usually connecting to the outer edges of the city. 

 

Just an idea of my perfect city, I'd provide pictures of my idea of a perfect city, but just sharing my ideas.

[.anonyman 28]

The original poster was talking about an efficient 'formula' for designing a city, I think. That's the way I started playing this game, looking for the perfect geometric patterns that would lead to lower costs, traffic, etc. May have found a winner or two too, but then I discovered this website and amazing mods like the radius doubler, the holy NAM and bus stops that don't take up space. Now I say, 'Who cares?' Just build for fun; it's not like SC4 ever posed a challenge to gamers. It's just a sandbox where you can build whatever you want.

[The Pennsylvania Turnpike 252]

There is no such thing as perfection. There will always be a problem, especially in sim city. Not everyone in your city will be 100% happy with you it's not like North Korea.