Saving Magnasanti

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

In that other thread, @CorinaMarie has posted a link to the city of Magnasanti. This is something I always wanted to dig into... I'm sure that probably all of you mayors and urban architects had heard about it. If you haven't... what the heck are you doing on this forum...? 

To be brief, Magansanti is a mathematically ideal city that nurtures land value, functionality and stability. And nothing else apart from that...

Magnasanti is an oppressed city, swarming with sick, stupid and terrorized sims who die around their 50s', have no future and are uncertain about their past. It is a dystopia in the truest sense of the word.

But... what if the tides turn?

They say that our Universe has gotten out of darkness due to random quantum fluctuations. I'm sure the same can happen in this monster of a town... Something that could change this ruthless amalgamation of concrete into a much friendlier and gratifying place to live. All it takes is for one sim to stand up and disagree... then another, then a few more...

________________________________________

In this (attempted) megathread, I will try to save Magnasanti and its citizens from the living hell their city had become. Who knows, maybe someday the poor Magnasantians will even witness... a tree?

(naturally, the un-modded "sys.pak" will be used)

[CorinaMarie 29,616]

9 hours ago, TheMurderousCricket said:

I will try to save Magnasanti and its citizens from the living hell their city had become.

Yay!

Finally, a grylloidea to their rescue.

[BartonThinks 3,416]

Godspeed, noble freedom fighter. May we all one day possess your bravery.

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

"I can only imagine what city hall must look like in this place.

Probably a room full of completely pale hairless old men in black hooded robes sitting around an obsidian table each in his own H.R.Giger throne with cables and wires connected all over their bodies, all in wordless brain link communication with the mayor, whose body is composed of 95% machine fueled by human souls, suspended in a dark void."

- DumbTomato

 

So it’s come to this – I have been contacted by a group of Magnasanti Sims from an underground organization that goes by the name „REBUILD” (Radical Enemies of Brutal Urbanization Ideas, Lobbying for Democracy).

The REBUILDs have begged me for my help to make their oppressed city a better and healthier place to live. And before long, I have been elected the „Mayor-reconstructor” of Magnasanti. Albeit in exile…

Obviously, I can’t do anything to help while the pale, hairless, Geigeresque city council is still in place. Hmmm… perhaps the „SimCity 4” UFO and robots could help to oust them from power? Let me just make some intergalactic phone calls…

......................................

Okay. The Zeta Reticulans are on their way, so this gives me time to set some goals that will let me (and you) track my progress of making Magnasanti a better place to live. I think of the following, self-imposed, goals/milestones:

LIFE EXPECTANCY
Gold - ≥86
Silver - ≥82
Bronze - ≥77

LAND VALUE
Gold - ≥60
Silver - ≥52
Bronze - ≥45

AVERAGE EDUCATION
Gold - ≥101
Silver - ≥95
Bronze - ≥88

APP. RATING
Gold - ≥75
Silver - ≥70
Bronze - ≥65

CITY SIZE (R+C+I)
Gold - ≥4,5mln
Silver - ≥3,25mln
Bronze - ≥1,9mln

UNEMPLOYMENT
Gold - 0
Silver - ≤ 2
Bronze - ≤ 6

NEIGHBOR DEALS (a.k.a "INDEPENDENCE GOAL")
Gold - ≤1
Silver - ≤2
Bronze - ≤3

PARK/RECREATIONAL AREA
Gold - ≥2500 acres
Silver - ≥2100 acres
Bronze - ≥1400 acres

POLLUTION
Gold - ≤8
Silver - ≤13
Bronze - ≤20

Plus others that are not easily measurable – add roads, make the city more visually appealing, simply have fun etc. The revolution begins…

P.S.: Thanks to whomever enhanced my initial post with the links. I guess I should have done it myself in the first place. Sorry for missing this step!

[VetinarisClerk 271]

If I may offer a case study, from the best city I ever made:

Approval rating: kiss the mayor day (gold)

Life Expectancy: 87 (gold)
Education: 120 (gold)
Park area: 596 acres, proportionaly ~2484 acres (silver)
Funds: 1,406,369 § (?)
Population: 281,688 (?)

Land value: ?
City size: 443,799, proportinaly 1,7mil (worse than bronze)

Crime: 10 (?)
Unemployment: 2 (silver)
Neighbourhood deals: 0 (gold)
Polution: 5 (gold)

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

Wow, an impressive city! And a good medal count too. Great planning on your part.

Your post also made me realize I did not set any crime-related goal... I'll think about it yet.

I'd say an average land value in Omnia is circa 38%. Unless of course it's a 0-255 range instead of percentage... But let's just use percent then. 

The charts don't display any number, but if we assume that each stripe represents a span of 10%, then one may (more or less) call it.

[VetinarisClerk 271]

Ironicaly, I did not go for a maxed out aura. My goal was to build the smallest possible city with all combinations of densities and value, plus all rewards and opportunities. Hence the name.

I did plan a lot, because I wanted high value on the shore vs low inland, and high density by the river vs low density away. But "kiss the mayor day" was a complete surprise, and when I saw the aura, I couldn't believe it. 

The core of blocks was something I developed while I was still figuring out the game. Also, I kept taxes at 7%, to cover a 120% budget for all services and all ordinances, except curfew.

Hope this helps

[VetinarisClerk 271]

Check out the -matrix cities in STEX: Unimatrix, Supermatrix, Imperamatrix. All three have deep blue aura and insane stats. 😮

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

On 1.12.2020 at 9:42 PM, VetinarisClerk said:

Check out the -matrix cities in STEX: Unimatrix, Supermatrix, Imperamatrix. All three have deep blue aura and insane stats. 😮

These include some of the luckier Sims in the Imperar Omnika Republic. 

[VetinarisClerk 271]

So I've been re-playing my Ankh Morpork "scenario", which has the same idea as Save Magnasanti. I wanted to see if I could get the Kiss the Mayor reward intentionally, and I did, but not within the "scenario" time limit. I have taken notes and will try again, but so far, these are my tips:

Before 2000, put a cluster of gas power plants, incinerators and recycling yards in the corners, sorrounded by a thick wall of dense forrest to soak up air pollution.

After 2000, put solar power, waste to energy incinerators and recycling yards, thinner wall of dense forrest.

All services at 120%

All ordinances.

High taxes (3-4-3 for RCI, for 1M people)

A bus stop on every intersection (8x8 blocks). Metro stations on all avenue intersections (radial x concentric).

No trains, airports or highways.

Docks and roads for inter-city trade.

A library on every other residential block. A school/college/museum on every other residential block, alternating with libraries.

A pond/playground on every medium density residential block. Both pond and playground in every dense residential block.

Mostly medium density blocks. A few dense blocks in the center.*

Low density residential close to industry. A sports park in low density residential blocks. Low density commercial right next to industry. 

Emergency services in commercial blocks. Fire every 4 blocks. Police every 5 blocks. Hospitals as needed. Large parks and rewards in the rest.

Small dense industrial zones. NIMBY opportunities in industrial zones. Water treatment in every industrial block.

*This won't work for Magnasanti. Maybe don't use roads but rows of small parks between existing metro stations instead? That way you might not need playgrounds/ponds/large parks at all. 🤔

Anyway, that's it for now.

Hope this helps.

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

Wow, you've done massive research! Thanks for that.

You are right, there is certainly no need for the transportation amenities like airport, rail etc in the current state of affairs. The commercial demand in Magnasanti is insane and there is virtually no space to accommodate transportation stuff.

I wouldn't agree with the statement that these tips will not work for Magnasanti. It's just the matter of finding enough space to plant them into the city which, no doubt, will loose a large number of inhabitants anyway... But! Given that current approval rating is 41% (if I remember correctly) that gives us roughly 4 million Sims who are content with the current regime and will probably not be satisfied with the changes.  I'll be more than willing to help them pack. 

I actually need to be true to my own word and dive into that depressing urban jungle this weekend. I got really hooked up on SC4, but that doesn't mean I have abandoned this thread. And we all know how depressing a concept the abandonment can be! 

Speaking of which... what is that droning noise...? Oh, looks like my Zeta Reticuli mercenaries have arrived. Let's rool. 

[VetinarisClerk 271]

Well the scale of your goal inspired me. I woulddn't have the guts to take on the depression that is Magnasanti. But getting a maxed out aura by accident, and then realizing I already made a project like yours, with a time limit - that was just a challenge I couldn't resist.

Good luck freedom fighter!

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

I feel like I just got out of a 90s movie trailer telling me the tale of three ancient lost cities and now I have to stop some such dark overlord from achieving some such ancient artifact and only me and my cast of unlikely heroes can save the day.

- Arius Scorpius

Episode 1

" 'Dark Star' to 'Cricket'. We are ready to begin the citywide scan in search of the target area", said Tomabaltuu Saaltu - the commander of the Reticulan mercenary force called in for a seek & destroy mission, against the corrupt city council of Magnasanti.

" 'Cricket' to 'Dark Star' proceed..." I said "Surgical strike authorized when target in range. ‘REBUILD’ and popular revolution will take it over from there. Good luck!", I said, anxiously awaiting for a momentous battle to unfold.

Soon, the skies over Magnasanti filled with Reticulan crafts, each beaming a strange, pale-yellow scanner lights upon the entire city. Slowly but systematically, the UFOs combed each block in search for the people who held the entire city captive for tens of thousands of years...


 
Suddenly, my mayoral radio went on again " 'Cricket', this is ‘Dark Star’ we have picked up a strange reading on our scanners. Looks like some sort of a hive mind... located in the North-Eastern tip of Magnasanti!"

"This is your target, 'Dark Star'! Fire at will!"

Soon, the Reticulan mothership has silently hovered over the newly discovered target. The next minute, a blinding flash of blue light flooded half of the city.

When it subsided, we saw our enemy’s keep (disguised as a regular block of flats) ablaze, completely engulfed in flames. Extraterrestrial weapon made a short work of the evil city council. But the battle was not done yet…

Suddenly, thousands upon thousands of the city council minions have swarmed the nearby area, seeking revenge for the death of their leader. Apparently, summoned by the last will of a dying, diabolical, disembodied mind that has called itself “mayor” up until now. However, the popular revolution and the REBUILD rebels were no less determined…

Soon, both armies have speedily leapt at each other with a mighty roar and the streets turned red…

No! No, no, no. It’s not what you think! I just told them to use rotten tomatoes instead of firearms!   (Because, as we all know from SPAM, tomato paste can’t fix a broken tomato anyway...)

The battle raged on with the REBUILD forces taking the upper hand. But then, to my shock, I saw flames erupting in the battle area…

*Sigh* “If Sim wants, Sim gets. How, in the Simlord’s name, did they manage to incinerate the entire neighborhood with a veggie ammo?!”

Well, never mind, the situation could quickly escalate into a horrible blaze, not unlike the Great Fire of London. In case you missed it – Magnasanti has never had any fire stations.

Luckily, I remembered the lesson from an emergency simulation I also played in the good old days. I quickly realized there is only one way to extinguish the fire if no fire engines are available – by cutting the fuel out! Thus, with a heavy heart, I decided to bulldoze some blocks… This way, I could at least isolate burning buildings from the rest of the city!

Easier said than done… I forgot that every single building in this crazed city has been made historical!!

No turning back now… I promised to save this city, and I WILL save it. Even if it means “dehistorizing” entire city block! Disaster response (and the revolution) underway!

The REBUILD forces continued to fight for the freedom of their city, while I kept my “dehistorizing” and fire-containment efforts going. After several loooong and tense minutes (what must have been hours in Magnasanti) I have finally managed to isolate the fire from the rest of the city… Due to the “buffer zone” achieved, whatever burned now, could no longer “jump” onto any other building.

Gasping for air, heart beating heavily, I suddenly heard a triumphant cry. The revolution was over! The Magnasanti Sims were free! Chanting their revolutionary songs and the name of yours truly!

The battle was done. The REBUILDs have fought the evil loyalists while I fought the blaze, but we won… Our adversaries, all tied up with broccoli-made ropes, were now sitting in the rubble, defeated, resigned and soaked in tomato juice.

In case you are wondering, next week, we decided to send them all to San Francisco region as a part of a neighbor deal… 

“ ‘Dark Star’, ‘REBUILD’, this is ‘Cricket’ – a job well done guys! Congratulations!” I radioed to my allies. “Rebuilding this city should be far more fun than ruining it was!” 

And this is how the battle area (and the city overall) looks like by the end of this episode:

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

3:40 "We were in suspended animation" How right you are little sim, how right you are.

- 00iCon

Episode 2

What a fine day! The revolution in Magnasanti is over and the city’s future looks a little brighter these days. We continue our journey into the best-worst SC3000 city ever build.

I do keep in mind the milestones set in one of the previous posts. Let’s make an agreement that I will file a report on the progress, every tenth episode. K? There is obviously a lot of work to be done. Of course, the beginning is always the worst part. So where shall I start? Hmmm…

Regardless of what I decide to do first, I am sure some of the people will actually not like the changes. Given that the pre-revolution mayor approval rating stood at circa 43%, that leaves us with roughly 2.5 million residents who actually supported the old status quo!

Well, if they choose to leave, I will not be stopping them. Actually, this may have some benefits - more space for freedom-loving simtizenry and more responsible development being amongst those. However, in the current complicated situation it all sounds like daydreaming. Better start with some short-term goals.

Now then, what do you think, Dear Reader, is the first order of business after a successful revolution? You guessed it (or not…) – tearing down the monuments of the old regime! With that being said…

Bye, bye “Path to the Land of Darkness!” – POOOFF
Bye, bye “Statue of Insanity!” – CRUMBLE
Bye, bye “Performing Death Center!“ – WALLOP

Some extra space has just been gained. Not much though, and not readily available either, but it may come in handy one day or another.

Honestly, I also toyed with the idea of destroying the entertainment park and the stadium but… since these are the only entertainment establishments the Magnasantians currently have, I can’t in good faith deprive them of these buildings...

By contrast, one of the things that I just have to do, is to make some administrative changes. Just to let everybody know, “who-runs-Bartertown?”

Uhmm… Yes, I know that “TheMurderousCricket” does not sound very reassuring… But I guess my Sims have no other choice but to simply give me the so-called "benefit of the doubt".

Right, one thing that especially gets on my nerves right now, is the invasive, chant-like news-ticker which repeatedly “sings”:

SIMS WANT MORE FUN IN THEIR LIVES SIMS WANT MORE FUN IN THEIR LIVES SIMS WANT MORE FUN IN THEIR LIVES SIMS WANT MORE FUN IN THEIR LIVES SIMS WANT MORE FUN IN THEIR LIVES SIMS WANT MORE FUN IN THEIR LIVES SIMS WANT MORE FUN IN THEIR LIVES

Oooh boy... But then again, I think this might be a good starting point… “Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves” they say.

Let’s cater to the Sims’ entertainment needs and provide this city with some long-forgotten leisure amenities. The post-uprising battlegrounds offer a lot of space for this purpose. I can also see, that the previous disembodied-brain-mayor has hoarded some interesting items and rewards in the city’s databanks:

Oh wait! There's one more:

Ummm... no.

This city is sufficiently scary on its own.

Perhaps a Geyser Park then? Let’s do some cleanup and dezoning while we’re at it. Then, link the “stub” to some other green areas, parks aaaand…

Perfect! Though an oddity in a concrete jungle like New Magnasanti. It may take a while before the Simtizens get used to this profound change. Also, I’ve got a fitting name for this new development…

Speaking of freedom… It is high time to reduce funding for the police. Yes, it’s set to 120%, which is nothing short of abuse. The citizens will remain well protected from crime even at 100% funding. We don’t need too much of a “good” thing, right?

(By the way, while taking this screenshot, I discovered that you can actually see the police station radii change in real-time if you leave the data window open and move the budget slider)

All these actions combined, should influence aura in the vicinity, though it will take some in-game months for it to really take effect. Meanwhile, I’ll take a look at other problems throughout the city.

I believe it is time for some tough choices now. I need space. This is why I need to address the clean up of the mess that the uprising has left behind. Some rezoning and de-zoning is required as well to make the zones a little bit more functional and organized. Also, the residential demand is at an all-time low, which gives me a green light (sic!) to “repurpose” some of the original areas.

My fire containment efforts in the last episode have led to an inadvertent destruction of some of the subway stations in the vicinity. This has led to a profound abandonment crisis as many buildings in the affected area got vacated, just like that – I wasn’t prepared for that! I was also quite surprised at the magnitude of this phenomenon - even some zones in the center of New Magnasanti got abandoned as a result. It looks like the subway system in this city is extremely fragile and sensitive to changes.

As far as transportation goes, I’ve got this devious idea… What if I add actual ROADS into the picture? Encircling “Camp Freedom” with the first-in-ages road network should look nice and inject some movement into the city. Besides, I just need a good road network to chip my way into the inner New Magnasanti.

I have my doubts though… Most of the Sims have never driven a car in their entire life. I’m afraid this might be one of these “May cause death or serious injury” situations. Think of all the crashing, accidents, out-of-control cars, broken bones that will unfold!

Still, my determination has taken the best of me and I have built the very first road network… and the streets turned RRRRRed again!!

One more time, this is not what you think – these are just strawberry pulp deserts that are traditionally served around here to celebrate new infrastructural developments. (If you’d like to try one, go to “Aunt Corina’s Fresh Fruit Mart”. It’s just around the corner.)

Looks a little livelier, but depressing at the same time... It is nice to see the new (albeit not needed) commercial developments rising up from the ashes. It’s a pity though that the city looses so many citizens due to the “shock” it has been exposed to. Let’s just hope it will all smooth out in time.

What I don’t really like about New Magnasanti is the inflated commercial demand which is not very useful right now. I just don’t have any space for it. Had I decided to cave in and zone for new commercial regions then, within months, I might have again ended up with a glass and concrete jungle. Something I actually try to refrain from in this city… There is a massive exodus of the residential population going on right now, and the commercial well-being is one of my lesser concerns.

I think it is high time to actually reduce the commercial demand. If only by a little bit. In order to do so, I put my protective helmet on and descend into the underground city depths.

In the past, New Magnasanti border has been riddled with subway connections to all of the four neighbors. These connections cost money and increase commercial demand – two burdens, neither of which I am willing to accept. This is why I decided to burry some of the existing subway tunnels and plan for some new demolitions in the future:

When I emerged back to the surface, a distressed Sim came running up to me with some rather depressing news. Apparently, my decision to cut the police funding has seriously impaired crime safety in New Magnasanti! I did not believe it at first… But when I looked on the crime map again…

Ssssugar! I thought it’s gonna be less complicated. Aparently, in the current situation I have no other choice… but to keep police force oppressive… Given the number of Sims living in this city, it’s no wonder that even the slightest police oversight gives birth to new crime syndicates…

But crime does not really stem from the lack of police. It takes root wherever there is boredom, poverty, lack of education and poor health. If I manage to improve the conditions in one of these areas, crime will probably decrease.

In order to plan for the upcoming crime-fighting task, I have decided to consult the city graphs to see exactly how this city is doing. Here are the stats for New Magnasanti, in the course of episode #2:

The situation is clear – poor health + 11% unemployment + no entertainment = crime. It has skyrocketed as soon as the police funding was cut. Not good at all. Hospitals and some residential-industrial shuffling will be needed to bring the situation back around. It will not happen overnight for sure…

I must admit that I was rather surprised to see the relatively high level of education in New Magnasanti. This is really unexpected for a city that has no schools or colleges. Who would have thought that you can get relatively smart just by reading books? Still, I have seen (and built) cities which boasted a 120EQ rating, which means there is still some room for improvement.

In any case, the reconstruction of New Magnasanti has begun. I must say I like the looks of “Camp Freedom”. It’s a nice, colorful start on the way to the better future which New Magnasantians deserve. I wonder what other challenges lie ahead and how long will it take to deal with those already described. Here’s how New Magnasanti looks like at the close of the second episode:

[Cyclone Boom 16,918]

While I don't play SC3K and only tried it briefly several years ago, I'll just say how you've done a really nice job at presenting this. The illustrations and descriptions combined with humour go great. I've decided to add the Featured  gold star to your topic so hopefully it'll be more visible with listed on the main index and other content feeds.

Keep it up, and even for people like me it makes for interesting reading.

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

2 hours ago, Cyclone Boom said:

While I don't play SC3K and only tried it briefly several years ago, I'll just say how you've done a really nice job at presenting this. The illustrations and descriptions combined with humour go great. I've decided to add the Featured  gold star to your topic so hopefully it'll be more visible with listed on the main index and other content feeds.

Keep it up, and even for people like me it makes for interesting reading.

Wow! Thank you so much, it will be an honor! 

This gives me even more motivation to keep this topic going! I will try to post New Magnasanti situation updates at least every two weeks. Though one week will probably be realistic in most circumstances as well. 

It's great to have your support Guys!

[VetinarisClerk 271]

Interesting

It would appear the police's hyper budget didn't go to opressing people, but a sc-fi fornesinc department that solved all cirmes. Which is the ultimate deterrent.

And everyone in Magnasanti is self-taugth.

I can see where the 40% approval comes from - their only complaint is that that they're bored to death.

Even the dysmal life expectiancy is acceptable if it happens to everyone. If everyone lives fast and dies young, that's just life.

Except god emperor Imperar Ominka, of course. He's immortal.

Honestly, now I'm surprised at the 60% disapproval, given that he has ruled over them for 50 000 years. Nothing has survived that long. Cities are the most enduring things known, outlasting nations, ethnicites, even religions. And the oldest ones are only 10 000 years old.

Magnasanti was made to be a dystopia, but with aboslute justice, negligent inequality, and effective informal education... maybe it's not one? I mean, for starters, nobody is is punished for disenting. Maybe Magnasanti is just... Meh.

To quote the Patrician:
"They say they want freedom, but what they realy want is stability, for things to stay prety much the same as they were yesterday."

If it aint broke, don't fix it?

Honestly, Ankh-Morpork has worse stats than Magnasanti, and I haven't aimed at eternal dystopia, just a few decades of embezzelment and neglect.

Don't get me wrong, I really want to see what you can do with it, but so far the implications are fascinating.

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

This is actually an insightful and intriguing post. No offense taken.

The basic premise of this story is the improvement of a city environment. An environment which we - people who enjoy liberty, decent health and a broadly understood diversity - consider unbearable and depressing. This is well evidenced by the YouTube comments under Imperar Omnika's "-santi" series video which I quote at the opening of each episode.

You are right to claim that if a situation persists for a prolonged period of time, it becomes a standard to which nobody pays attention any longer. Take a look at the current COVID situation - by the end of 2020, spending your free time at home is not that scary anymore...

However, were these Sims exposed to a better healthcare, organized education, reduced pollution and full employment within their lifetime, they would have, I believe, experienced an epiphany... or an utter shock... Were they to reflect on the living conditions from their past lives.

Or maybe it's just me. As an idealist myself, I have a major "flaw" of seeing the world as it should have been. Not as it is. Current state of New Magnasanti, despite no crime and relatively high education, simply does not match my "should have" standards. 

Implications to the changes I've just started are indeed staggering and it seems everything is connected. You are right about that. However, given enough time (episodes), one may set a number of short-term "stability goals". Ideally, each of these goals has the power to make a part of the city firmly stabilized again only with better terms in the deal. The new "stability" may be defined either as a reduced abandonment rate or an encouragement for new development.

As far as technical issues are concerned - I actually have two more theories regarding the crime rate. If I am right, the solution to this problem might be easier than we think. 

[VetinarisClerk 271]

I agree completely. It's just that the raw facts were mind blowing. Just considering the 50 000 years timeline moved the whole scenario fom despot to godhood territory, and suddenly the whole thing feels much more... Medieval? The mayor is imortal, has ruled longer than recorded history exists, no one knows that better is even possible and their only complaint is boredom. Its just. Wow. 😮

I am interested to see if you theory on crime turns out true. 😁

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

These cities resemble microprocessors viewed through a microscope - many identical components packed to reach maximum efficiency

- John Johnson

Episode 3

I’ll be frank with you. I really wanted to make another „Streets turning red” joke, but I think I can hear crickets chirping outside my window... You know, humor is just like a GPU – its power gradually wears off.

Anyway, I’d like to open this episode by making a reference to the people who actually do sport red colour on their vehicles. Behold, the first two fire stations in New Magnasanti!

Not much for a city this size, but a much-needed support nonetheless. I just think that a single squad of firefighters, embattled by flames erupting from every possible direction, is a very tough and sad thing to witness. Luckily, this will soon be a thing of the past.

Considering I have inherited six billion simoleons from the previous mayor, building a fire protection network should not be a problem. In this situation, placing even a hundred fire stations is an expense comparable to planting a tree…

But let’s put these considerations aside for a while. This time through, I’d like to focus on something that is probably the single, most time-consuming and burdensome task on my “to do” list – un-ticking the “Make historical” boxes. Not all of them at once of course - just the buildings in the immediate vicinity of Camp Freedom.

I’d like to be as systematic as possible about it, so all abandoned projects will be the first to go. These areas will be “de-historized”, dezoned and repurposed. The existing, fully functional buildings will be dehistorized as well. This may give the developers a chance to build something new there.

The former mayor Imperar, has forced his Simtizens to live in identical structures which are just plain depressing. However, judging by the land value of some of the residential areas, there is a potential to rebuild them into something which is actually attractive and pleasant to look at. Hopefully, they will eventually turn into more handsome buildings. You know, some elegant white and brown-shaded bricks instead of the “henhouse high-rise” style that repeats over and over. (See? I invented a building name for all of you BAT-dwellers. You’re welcome.)

Of course, I do not intend to document the entire process of un-ticking, so forgive me - no pictures for now. In any case, I can assure you that, even for a part of the city, this was a looooooooooooooong process… Maybe this is why I feel a sudden weakness at elbow.

Once un-ticked, all “expired” areas have been bulldozed and dezoned, to uncover a lot of land for new growth:

Wow! At last – some space to breathe. But now is the time to decide what should be done with it. Like I said, I am reluctant to let the commercial developers in. It is a very complicated decision though – remember the 11% unemployment? Exactly…

This is why I plunge back into the city depths and continue with the demolition of close to 1000 neighbor connections that New Magnasanti “enjoys”. This, actually, is not a made up number – there are roughly that many subway connections here.

I’d like to have a better control over commercial demand and these tunnels are not unlike “pumps”. Except it’s demand instead of water they’re pumping.

Oh! Speaking of water, I also wanted to show you how the water system in this city looks like. This is one of the few things in New Magnasanti, which I do not plan to change:

A perfect, well-watered grid. The only disadvantage is that New Magnasanti actually buys all water from neighboring cities. But this is a different topic for a different day. The most important part is that the water system is in an excellent shape. I just have to rebuild the two missing water treatment plants that were probably destroyed on the revolution day.

Rrrright… yadda-yadda-yadda. I just realized I do all this storytelling to procrastinate a more serious issue, which I referred to by the end of the previous episode… Fighting crime.

As it (surprisingly) turned out, all of these police precincts cannot handle the crime in the city at a normal 100% funding level. Something I thought is perfectly possible. The inflated police funding is just necessary to keep the crime in check. Such high police funding, however, significantly decreases aura throughout the city. In case you are wondering how the current aura situation looks like, here it is:

Pretty bad, eh? From my experience, keeping the police accountable for their deeds can really lift city spirits up. Currently, this sounds like a luxury though - better sad but safe rather than happy and stabbed to death by a random cutthroat.

However, as a handsome, smart, educated and virtuous young man [redacted by 'globaladministrators' – @TheMurderousCricket - Keep it down, it’s not a dating site. This is your first and only warning.] I do have two theories on how to solve the crime problem in New Magnasanti. The first theory has legalized gambling at its core. A very profitable but also a very problematic ordinance if not carried out correctly. I guess this is what must have happened here! I open up the books and…

Sssssugar again… It’s been disabled all this time! Pity. Onwards to the second theory then.

Theory #2 suggests that the crime at 100% funding stems not from the ineffective police or the sheer criminal power but from... the lack of jails. I can’t see any of them here in New Magnasanti… Oh wait, there it is. Can you spot “Wally” in the following picture?

To be honest I never, like, believed the “revolving door” argument, stipulating that the lack of jails accounts for a high crime rating. Sure, I did plop a jail in each of my cities, but only at my own pace and whim. Still considering them fairly useless. But… desperate times require a reconsideration of our beliefs. Frankly? I doubt if it helps… But let’s give it a try anyway.

The only question is how many jails a 5.7 million city needs…? Hmmm, let’s make it 25 for now, k? I shall put them in the empty spaces that I gained after dezoning.

Can you see the irony…? A huge jail complex lies just two blocks away from Camp Freedom… If you are in the mood for a “trivia time”, I can tell you that the area covered by the penal colony is larger from Camp Freedom by roughly 0.3 square kilometers…

In any case, the prisons are up and running, though ridiculously overcrowded (you don’t wanna know.) Currently, this is one of the most important municipal services, tasked with the job of reeducating the Simian (wow, it’s a homophone people!) detritus that has infested New Magnasanti.

Unfortunately, the influence of all prisons combined is strong enough to trigger some new abandonments and even the rock-solid “henhouse high-rises” fail in its vicinity. Sadly, this cannot be fixed just yet. Everybody has to clench their teeth and simply wait it out until the wave of convicted criminals clears. Perhaps then, the number of prisons may be reduced to a reasonable quantity and the aura will improve. Currently, the situation in this corner of the city looks rather depressing…

But there are some good news as well. I did not make a separate shot of the RCI demand meter, but if you take a look at the picture below, you will find that the residential demand has climbed back to normal (despite some abandonments near the prisons). This has happened automatically, apparently without any action on my part… It looks like the mass exodus has simply been caused by the shock the city has sustained, but it looks like everything has fallen back into place.

I’m now going to let the time fly and let the prison officers do their job. So now we wait a bit…

But it doesn’t mean a day off for the Mayor. Oh no. In the meantime, I’d like to do some more work on the city infrastructure. I think I’ll run a few more streets through the free spaces I still have. For your convenience, I have briefly turned off all the ugly buildings that obscure the view:

It’s great to actually see some of the area still remaining open. I think I will fill it up with parks just to lift the Simtizen’s spirits a bit. Yep, a fire station can find a good home here as well.

As far as fire stations go, I wanted to show you something…

Remember the aura map from one of the previous pictures? Here’s how it looks like after a few more fire stations have been built. See anything interesting?

    

I was happy as a kid in a candy store when I discovered how powerful the fire stations are. Not only do they protect Sims from fire, they also bring a noticeable boost to the aura in the region.

What I did, was to randomly put a few more fire stations in areas that were no longer used (read: abandoned). As you can see, the aura in these areas have visibly improved, which proves just how much SC3000 Sims cherish safety. The safer it is, the better the general well-being.

I would say that this is one of the things that we as players sometimes don’t even notice and frequently scoff at - “How on Earth can a single ‘X’ improve ‘Y’? Rubbish…”. Apparently, this is a mental dead-end and it is only on an extreme "-santi" magnitude that things like that are properly noticed and appreciated. I wonder if this will also prove true in the case of the crime problem…

I believe we are drawing to a close of the third episode. However, before I wish you all a pleasant weekend, I think it might be a good idea to take a note of the current crime stats for later comparison and record-keeping. This is my #1 concern these days. Then we’ll compare if there is any difference between the current state and the future. Here is the crime situation by the end of the third Episode:

     

Naturally, I also offer a glance at New Magnasanti at the end of Episode 3:

And now, have a very, very nice weekend! Feel free to share your comments and thoughts below.

[catty-cb 4,401]

It makes for interesting reading, I must admit I 'm one of those people that start a city and immediately start plopping fire and police stations till I've got complete coverage over the entire area .... might not have any people or for that matter any money left but no worries about crime or fires

[VetinarisClerk 271]

Nice. Personally, I tend to put police down early and fire later, as business complains about crime more than the advisor complains of fire coverage. But once I've established the place, have a solid budget and go for aura, I add fire stations to fill out coverage.

I'm really interested to see if you can get the budget down to 100% through entertainment and health. I have 2 cities with perfect aura, both with great health and education, plenty of parks and few police stations, but in both cases the budget is at 120%. And both have only one prison with a few dozen inmates. But as soon as budget goes down, crime spikes outside coverage.

Are more stations with lower budget/range better for aura? Worse for finance? 🤔

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

1 hour ago, VetinarisClerk said:

Are more stations with lower budget/range better for aura? Worse for finance? 🤔

Only to a certain extent. Police stations are not that expensive in SC3K. So if a city is mature and has a decent land value the tax revenue should easily outpace the cost.

I also noticed that crime is hitting really hard when legalized gambling is in effect. Just terrible... 

But that reminds me - I need to post the budget window too! 

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

On 21.12.2020 at 2:02 AM, catty-cb said:

I must admit I 'm one of those people that start a city and immediately start plopping fire and police stations till I've got complete coverage over the entire area .... might not have any people or for that matter any money left but no worries about crime or fires

It actually works great in SimCity 3000, I agree wholeheartedly. Normally, it's a standard in this game - you loose money for ten to fifteen years after initial investments after which your population becomes wealthier, smarter and more sensitive. By that point, their tax money pours in fast enough to grant a positive balance in the budget.

This, unfortunately, does not work well in SimCity 4 and is the very reason why it is so hard to switch from game to game.  In SC4 you need more things to convince the one-percenters to settle in and pay their hard-earned money into your city's coffers. Not unlike a job interview - "Mayor, why should we choose your city above all others? What is it there that you could offer us that no other city can provide?".

I practice both games anyway. It seems I don't royally suck at either, so I guess I'm fine.  

[VetinarisClerk 271]

Whelp! Turns out I have latent crime because of gambling and no curfew. You try to be a permissive mayor and that's how they repay you. 

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

2 hours ago, VetinarisClerk said:

Whelp! Turns out I have latent crime because of gambling and no curfew. You try to be a permissive mayor and that's how they repay you. 

At least once, the Excessively Cultured got this right.  And I actually hate the curfew - seems to always flare a heated debate (both sides) and I have never really studied its effects (granted, it is on in New Magnasanti... yet.) 

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

So if a building were to ignite the entire city would burn...

- TheNobleGoon

Episode 4

Christmas season is still alive and this is perhaps why the things got a little lazy in New Magnasanti. Everyone, me included, were just relaxing. One thing I know for sure (and happily share with you) is that New Magnasanti Sims have got a taste of white, carefree Christmas, despite all the wrong and scary that surrounds them.

(Also, this is the only cheat I intend to use - you know, two "Winter Wonderland" parks?)

We can slowly resume our work on the city. Bit by bit. One of the things I haven't examined yet is the petitioner queue. I guess it has to be long... Especially after Christmas!

Ok, let's get the red tape flowing again, I open up the petitioner window and this is what I get:

Hm, at least some of the advisors are smiling...

Quite a lot of remarks/suggestions/death threats. Some are really valid, while others are not. Worthy of note is the fact that, coincidentally, the most important issues have been listed first - lack of hospitals, schools, parks and an overwhelming feeling of senselessness. These are the most burning petitioner issues, conveniently placed on top of the list. Looks like me and my Sims are generally on the same page.

In case you're wondering, I'd like to show you at least some of the messages that I have received. For instance, I haven't seen this one in a long while:

I'm not even sure if it's English anymore...

Hmmm... This makes me wonder of what use all these libraries actually are. I'm afraid the word "cat" is spelled with eleven orthographic mistakes around here... Don't even mention grammar... I may not be a native speaker, but man...! Looks like comrade Mao was right when he said that "To read too many books is harmful".

Oh. At least one woman around here seems to be literate and has a perfectly good point. Luckily, we have our firefighter stations to help us out.  More parks will also do the job, so this issue is already being taken care of! Honest! 

Ummm. What can I say... I burst with laughter (plus a classic "coffee spray") upon reading this. Sometimes, I just can't help the feeling that the "Society for the Excessively Cultured" son de verdad las paletas. A marina. In a city without a drop of surface water. Way to go ma'am. Way to go.

What is it that you say? "Our waterways?" "Renowned guests arriving in splendid seacraft?" I bet these were "splendid spacecraft" that you have actually seen...

I guess the (mental) health in New Magnasanti is even worse than I thought at first... I'll have to take a closer look at this issue. And fast!

Whew. Hearing out the petitioners might be helpful in a mayor's work but it is an exhausting chore as well. Especially when you are up against silly constituents. With that in mind, let's put the paperwork aside for a while and take care of more pressing issues. There is a very important matter we should see into. Something that you might be keenly interested in...

Shall we take a look at the crime charts? Hmm? Hmm?

  Ok, ok, let's! Here's how the situation looks like in this episode:

     

Let's compare it to how the things were last time:

     

This, ladies and gentleman, means that the crime has been cut almost by half. And all this by "just" establishing an effective correctional system.

Needless to say, it proves the theory that prisons indeed do play a vital role in maintaining the order in a city. I think this is actually comparable to how recycling centers reduce the amount of garbage, or how railways relieve the traffic burden.

The "miracle" which has just happened proves, again, how all the relatively small things are only noticed on a grand scale. Probably, you wouldn't get quite as much of an effect in a 150k resident city as you do when doing the same thing in the 5.7mln New Magnasanti. This city is an interesting testing grounds for various buildings, theories and mechanisms and it doesn't take that much time to get the results, whether good or bad.

I'm really happy that the crime has been cut down on and that my instincts were correct. The rest of the crime probably stems from a myriad of other problems this city has and I hope that all of them can effectively be solved in time.

But in order to perform other miracles like that, I need to have a free mind. I can't be bothered by all those petitioners. Some help in brainstorming and targeting for better, more effective solutions, could be helpful.

I heard there are private companies who are willing to offer help and advice to mayors in distress. Since New Magnasanti's charter allows to hire commercial contractors for advisory roles, I happily invited one of them to set up the shop in my city. I even gave them a nice parcel and helped them build their new headquarters. Bah, I even took 'em a picture:

Just a step away from the subway station!

On our first discussion, the VC experts provided me with a very concise and brief advice...

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it?"

I have to admit this is true on many levels in New Magnasanti.

One of the things I won't even bother with is the water system. You've seen it. An outstanding grid that needs no improvements.

Another such item is the subway system, which covers the entire city. It could perhaps use a few tweaks and connections. It only runs in looong, continuous "V"s that don't intersect with each other. Of course, it doesn't mean the system deserves to be bulldozed or something - on the contrary. Just expanded a bit.

Just to let you know, I am colorblind. Green, yellow - all the same.  

And one more thing... the commercial demand. I think I may actually cave in and let the commerce grow as it pleases...

I specifically mention this, because I've been trying to nudge the developers to rebuild and renovate some of the residential areas. However, due to a zero R demand, there is hardly any will for that. Bulldozing already existing buildings cannot help, because there is not enough "momentum" for any new buildings to rise.

Therefore, there are only two ways in which this can be achieved. One of them is the "same old, same old" type of thing - granting commercial developers enough land to construct the buildings and businesses the city needs. Theoretically, this could kickstart a search for new employees which, in turn, will need new homes. This way, some of the existing buildings will probably be replaced by nicer, more elegant homes.

Another way is to stimulate the "urban renewal" through the taxes. Raising the residential taxes to some outrageous levels, causing new abandonments. This could give me a chance to remove some of the dilapidated buildings. And once the taxes return to normal and Simtizens move back in, nicer apartments are sure to shoot up into the sky.

Hard to tell which one's it gonna be... Maybe a combination of both? I should probably mention that this is only an aesthetic change. There won't be any bad or good things coming from the fact that a grey high-rise is transformed into a proud, marble-white tower (except for the tax income of course). This will not solve New Magnasanti's problems. But, I feel this is a right thing to do... Art and aura-wise.

I guess this means... welcome back commerce?

I'll wait a few weeks to months for the new development to take root... aaaand, I will also increase the residential taxes a bit... I promised you a screenshot of the current budget anyway.

In the meantime, I plan to close down all the unneeded prisons that are scattered around the city. Yep, I was not entirely honest with you - I actually placed more than the initial 25 in order to speed up the reeducation process.

Believe it or not, most of these prisons are currently completely empty, just few months after experiencing a massive influx of thieves, crooks and other cutthroats. Not to worry - in the other cities I've built, I actually noticed that once a prison "recycles" all outstanding criminals, there just won't be another "wave" of them coming. That is, unless you really ignore the problem. This is why it is perfectly safe to close down any empty prisons one may have if the city is no longer expanding. In fact, the things in New Magnasanti look so good that I can even close some of the jails which belong to the "penal colony"! More will follow.

Well, I must say I am pretty satisfied with the crime reduction, which was (is?) the key point of our today's "meeting". Other elements might be much harder to improve, but not impossible to do. Health and education will be a real challenge... Who knows... I might even be forced to create "hospital villages" or "educational camps" in much the same way I did with jails. Could be a lot of trouble but should be fun too. I look forward to this work.

I hope you had fun reading today's episode and I also hope you'll stick around for the upcoming ones. Have another look at New Magnasanti. Not to many changes in the urban landscape this time, I admit. 

And before you go...

Happy New Year!!! 

I wish you all Simtropolis buddies a successful, inspiring and serene New Year! 

Hopefully, the next New Year's Eve we'll just shut our computers down, walk out the door and spend the entire night at some wild party, away from home, free from viruses, face masks and lockdowns. 

All the best and have a nice "stay" in 2021!! 

[VetinarisClerk 271]

18 hours ago, TheMurderousCricket said:

 

 

😮 ... 🤣

[TheMurderousCricket 5,057]

I have an announcement to make! 

From this time on, new episodes of the Magnasanti chronicle, will be posted to a new, dedicated CJ, which can be found under this link. It's by no means a dead topic and  'm about to dust it off a bit! 

For the next month or so, I will be converting the content previously posted here, into the CJ format and when the time comes, will resume from where I last left.

I hope anyone who was present and participated in this forum-based format will stay and follow the story on our CJ charts. Thank you for your support till now and I hope you enjoy the renewed "Saving Magnasanti..." too!