Who Plays SC4?

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I'd like to see who still plays and whether anyone has stopped and started again.

[Haljackey 17,241]

Nonny: Want to make the poll public? Would be interesting to see who does what.

 

 

There are months where all I will do is play SC4, and there are months where I don't play it all.

 

Right now I'm in a 'play' mode, and using it to do a video series where I build a city from scratch. Click here if interested to see what I have so far: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3Yl0lRNSH1j2uClwY-RLuKD2Bee8Cd1N

[Ocram's Razr 963]

The last time I played it was a few months ago to make a Let's Play. It was rather boring experience to add voice after making the clip and later editing it so that discouraged me from playing it. Then again, until Cities XL came out, I would alternate between SimCity 4 and The Sims 2 (taking breaks from all games when busy with school). So right now, I am not playing and I am not sure when I will play any more games in that franchise again.

 

 

--Ocram

[Alejandro24 575]

The last time that I opened SC4 were around one month ago.

[SimCoug 5,972]

I used to play off and on since it came out 10 years ago, but as I've delved deeper into the modding aspect, I haven't been able to give it up lately.  

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Haljackey: The poll is public, from the start.  But I'll check.  ...

 

Did an edit and couldn't find a switch to control that.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

Ooh pick me pick me!

I find it's a game I can't hit too heavily. Sometimes I'll take a week off and then come back fresh. I find my work ends up better that way.

[The Avatar 1,088]

I haven't played in a long while, but I tend to play games in spurs of interest. I'll be really into playing a game, then after time I get bored of it and my interest shifts to another game. Unfortunately, SC4 runs quite poorly on both my laptop and desktop, and I was never able to get seriously into the game. The task of planning out cities was too overwhelming: I didn't know where to start with a city, and once I did, I could never any of them to look good. It's a shame - I never got to play around with mods very much, and there are so many great ones here.

[Duke87 1,070]

Started playing it as soon as it came out in January 2003. Stopped at some point in 2004 because I started having CTD problems so bad as to make the game unplayable. Started again in Summer 2005 after I got my own computer for the first time and with a fresh install on a new machine the problems went away. Then stopped again at some point in 2006 because the problems came back. Uninstalled the game soon after to free up hard drive space. Haven't touched it since.

[Haljackey 17,241]

Started playing it as soon as it came out in January 2003. Stopped at some point in 2004 because I started having CTD problems so bad as to make the game unplayable. Started again in Summer 2005 after I got my own computer for the first time and with a fresh install on a new machine the problems went away. Then stopped again at some point in 2006 because the problems came back. Uninstalled the game soon after to free up hard drive space. Haven't touched it since.

 

You should really pop it in again for old times sake. Add in the NAM and you'll have a wonderful time as that helps fix a lot of the bugs that can lead to crashing.

[mrbisonm 1,620]

Darn it...........I am still playing every week.........and that non-stop since......2003.....I can't help it.  

 

I just started my 59th region in June this year, this one with a lot of mountains though. I finished 57 of them so far and believe me they are almost all very large regions. Below is proof that I started my 59th region.

 

BTW, I played the Timbuktu region for 9 years, adding, deleting and adding new stuff every here and then. I am about to start a CJ here on ST later this fall, explaining what I did in these 9 years with this one region, having played a minimum of at least 1 hr every week. Yes, every week.....My best region yet, carefully planned in all details possible and....several thousand of hours of gameplay of course.

 

 

Valise....number 59.

 

 

 

Fred

[dazza262 133]

I played around with it for a couple of years when it came out in 2003, then stopped and moved onto other things. 

 

I picked it up again about two and a half years ago, then discovered all the fantastic custom content around that has transformed the game, and have been playing it regularly since then.

[AkemiAzula 280]

I first bought it in 2004 when it came out (not sure if the release was later in Australia but I thought it was fresh then) and played till 2007 when I had to replace my computer and the new one wasn't able to play it. Started again in 2008-2009. Again via digital download as my old disk had got scratched and lost in 2012-2013 with NAM. However after the failure of 2013 I decided not to play anything till a proper SC5 was made. Without curvy roads/full 3D etc it just wasn't going to last. I found the unrealistic grid based system and unrealistic railway gradients etc just impossible to work with my ideal city plans. Yes I am aware there are puzzle pieces but these are slow to place and really I think we need a new engine anyway. I was initially excited about GlassBox, because that is what I had envisaged for 5, but alas...

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Mark, I wouldn't hold your breath on EA/Maxis doing anything except consumer junk from now on.  They consider the current SimCity to be a success because it hauled in a lot of needed capital for them.

 

Making a game of the magnitude of SC4 is beyond most game shops now.  They want a quick product for a quick return and move on.  Our experience with Boomtown is showing us that this is a serious business and with only one (at the moment) programmer it is going to take a very long time.

 

If I were you, I'd load up SC4 with the current NAM and start from there.

[AkemiAzula 280]

Alas I must be a tad impatient, for after a decade I've grown to expect something new and improved. 

 

The Civitas forum is still existent although Brandon never comments any more. The mods seem to hold onto some level of optimism though... I'd continue working on Virtucity but I lack the skills to build what is required. Pity we can't just start a Kickstarter like Brandon did, but the momentum isn't there any more.

[Mr Saturn64 742]

Haven't in a while due to my laggy dumpster but the iPad version's just fine. But SC4 is a great game, and I hope to make a CJ soon on it.

[Duke87 1,070]

You should really pop it in again for old times sake. Add in the NAM and you'll have a wonderful time as that helps fix a lot of the bugs that can lead to crashing.

 

I remember following development of the NAM in its early stages and being enthralled by it. I had one of the first versions of it installed.

The problem was, at least with the computers at the time, having too big of a plugins folder caused the game to lag which in turn made it unstable and led to CTD problems. NAM even then was a huge plugin and I think it contributed significantly to killing the game the second time.

 

As for popping it back in today... not a likely proposition. For one thing, I simply don't have the time for it. Between working full time and having more friends than I used to, my life is a lot busier now than it was 10 years ago.

Besides, it isn't just SimCity... video games in general have at this point in my life been reduced to a secondary hobby for me - something I can enjoy on occasion but not something I have a particular passion for or want to spend a lot of time on. I'm more concerned with roadgeeking these days.

[Cyclone Boom 16,829]

I still play, but probably not as regularly as I once did -- say 2-3 years back. Nowadays it's become more of a hobby in my spare time. In around 2007 I did pack it in completely for a while, since I'd lost some motivation to play (as well as my CD ). This was well before I came across the community, and all the amazing content that's transformed the game. If this never happened, I'm sure many of us would've ceased playing quite a while back, without the will to resume our mayoral duties. When I eventually found the case, I realised the play disk was missing. So in the end, I bought a brand new copy of the Deluxe Edition.

 

Now to ensure I don't lose them again, I've recently backed up my CDs as a digital image, and mounted disk 2 for use as a virtual drive. Of course, you're legally entitled to make copies of software for personal use. Hopefully I can now continue to play for many years to come!

 

It does pose an interesting question, and one we'll never know:

How many players out there still own SC4, but are yet to discover communities such as ours?

[CaptCity 4,669]

Because I was absolutely addicted to SC2000 and SC3000, I excitedly purchased the game when it came out. But between finishing school and getting a new job around the same time, it sat on my shelf for probably a year because I didn't have the time to make the adjustment from the previous games. Then I found/returned to Simtropolis and played non-stop for several years. While I still play consistently, I guess I'm more into experimenting and testing things now rather than worrying about building complete cities. But who knows what the future will bring - retirement looms around the corner... 

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

mrbisonm, please, please start that CJ. I really can't wait.

 

I got SC4 for a Christmas gift in 2004.  Discovered ST in 2006.  Played from 2004-2009ish, then went to college/got job/had RLS and didn't play for about 4 years.  Now here I am again

[Snugies 91]

I played for awhile then stopped when my computer couldn't handle the large city tiles, and could barely handle the simtropolis CD's I bought then lost about 10 years ago. Then I became a student and was strapped for cash since, but now I got a new computer for SimCity 2013 which runs both SimCity 4 and 2013 like a charm and have a job so i'm set for life!

[ThirtyThree 141]

2003, 2005-2007, 2008, 2010, 2013-present.

[blade2k5 1,523]

I have never stopped playing since I bought the game back in early '04.  On average I'd say about six-hundred hours/year.  Never finished a region though I've started several dozen over the years.  Could never find the map that satisfied me even though I made hundreds for others to use.  I am currently working on a region that is 32km x 28km or 7x8 large city tiles.  The northern and eastern rows are now complete, began working on the southern row yesterday spending about nine hours plus.  Plopping trees takes some serious time and I plop a lot of trees.   Right now it's mostly farming with about 150k+ farm hands and a regional [low/med density] population of just under 300k and trees everywhere.  

 

When I get done typing this post, I'm going back to my region and continue plopping trees and do a little zoning and simming.  

[mrbisonm 1,620]

mrbisonm, please, please start that CJ. I really can't wait.

 

 

 

Coming in October.... I still have a lot of RL things to do and also finish my BATting Project, the MFP1 (Modern Farms Props).

 

mrb

[AcronShinra 60]

When it comes to games I have attention span of squirrel.

I usually complete everything or almost everything in any given game(I'm completionist) and goes to another title.

BUT

I still keep saves from old games just in case I would go back, as if game is good I will come back to it.

SC4 is like Minecraft for me - at first I play it often, then stop and goes back to game after months. With new mods and ideas, but with old saves to not do all that stuff from beginning.

[Dazzyls 576]

I play it since I was 8 or something. I stopped playing for 3 years when I was 9 and now I'm a sort of addicted!

[Ocram's Razr 963]

I bought SimCity 4 Deluxe in 2004, probably June, since that would be summer vacation back then. It was more entertaining than SC2000 and SimCity Classic (I never played SC3000 until it became available on Abandonia). Without plugins or modifications, it competed with The Sims plus all expansion packs. I found Simtropolis in 2005 after becoming bored/fed-up with the official exchange. At the time, I was unaware of forums so my first post in the forums was in 2007 or 2008. I remember playing the game for hours on end for several consecutive days for weeks or months at a time. At that point, I never spent much time online (I did not get my own email address until 2006 when I was 15) though I played a lot (with friends in real life, or alone on my mother's (and eventually my own) computer), hung out with my family a lot, or read books (and Popular Science). Nowadays, I do not play any outdoor games (I still walk, jog, and bike when I can) and don't hang out with classmates or real friends often (other than study groups at the campus library, I only meet up with friends at casual dining parties and the occasional birthday party). Between all the time spent indoors, newfound lack of desire to read large books, and easy access to a smartphone, I spend many, MANY more hours online, particularly on Simtropolis, Minecraft Forum, Facebook, and Mod The Sims.

On the subject of SimCity 4, the early NAM gave me frequent crashes and the Sims 2 can be more fun. In the dull years between 2006 and 2009, I grew bored of SimCity 4 and actively sought many other games, including the Sims (1 and 2), SimTower, OpenTower, Yoot Tower, SimGolf, Civilization (4 was OK), City Life, SCS, Spore, LinCity, Fable (1 and 2), Forza, Test Drive Unlimited, Simutrans, OTTD, and others. Nowadays, I prefer the Sims 2, Civilization V: Brave New World, Cities XL, and Minecraft. If they fix up SimsVille Online (AKA SC2013), and/or drop the price another $10, I would buy that in a heartbeat.

--Ocram

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I've already replied to this, but I want to add that getting SC4 to run on every new upgrade to my O/S is sometimes an interesting adventure.  Someday, I'll even get it to run in hardware rendering for more than  10 minutes without going nuts when it runs out of buffer space.  I am slowly beginning to realize that I might get a new desktop box for myself for Christmas.  Something with faster cores (I don't care if there are more than two), and a real, live, 1 GB graphics card.

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

 

mrbisonm, please, please start that CJ. I really can't wait.

 

 

 

Coming in October.... I still have a lot of RL things to do and also finish my BATting Project, the MFP1 (Modern Farms Props).

 

mrb

 

Thanks for the reply. I'll keep an eye out for it.