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I just felt like voicing my opinion - I hope no one minds! Maxis is doing a new SimCity - that's great! I'm sure we can all agree, regardless of what we personally think of the new game, that we're all excited about it. Some of us have loved what we have seen so far - others, not so much. Personally, I've starting fearing their press releases, screen shots, and new videos. Instead of making me want the game more, its like with every release, we get told what's NOT going to be in the game. Am I the only one that feels like this? My issue is not that they are making a new SimCity game in their vision. Any game developer has a right to do so - they are, afterall, putting their own money up to design a game that reflects their image for it. I have no place to sit here and be mad or angry, simply because its not my money or effort that has been put into it. As an owner of several businesses, I can tell you that while setting them up, in the end, they were finalized in the image I wanted. At the same time, however, my ear was ALWAYS listening to my core client base, because at the end of the day, I am catering to them. Every game, like a business, has a risk of failing. SimCity Societies was an epic failure. It was also a representative of taking the SimCity franchise away from its roots and giving it us a more casual, user friendly (etc.) in hopes of attracting the "casual" fanbase. As we all know, it was a miserable attempt, and accomplished absolutely none of its goals. Having been through that experience, why do I get the feeling that its a slow repeat of what happened the first time around, with every new press release seemingly taking us further and further away from previous SimCity titles? Anyway, again, since its not my money, I can personally be frustrated with the direction they have taken, but I have no place to get mad and shake my fist at Maxis - It is my choice, afterall, to pay or not to pay for the game. No, my issue is this: Why claim, over and over again, in countless interviews, blogs, etc, that you've really "listened to your core fanbase?" This, I have a problem with - I AM your core fan base, and you have NOT listened to me. I wanted more, not less. More freedom, bigger city tiles, more data, a more realistic feel, an intricite (Is that how its spelt?) transportation system, more God-Mode terraforming options. I wanted realistic rivers and waterways, realistic airport construction, different tilesets, more control over my budget. I wanted seaport construction, billboards/advertising ploppables, smoother region terraforming. These are things I, and hundred of thousands of other loyal SimCity players from its "core fanbase" wanted. Multiplayer? Could be a nice touch, but a neccessity - I dont think Ive spoken to anyone who would take that over some of the things I listed above. To me, and I assume to most other players (I could be wrong here), multiplayer could add another dimension to the game, but in no way would I consider it as a core of it. If you listened to your "core fanbase", the very people that will either cause this game to succeed or fail, you would know that. You would know that we don't want to build Cityville type of towns where my downtown area is going to be half my city, surrounded by three cartoony residential neighborhoods with 10 houses in them. I read somewhere that terraforming was a no-go...seriously? If Maxis were paying attention AT ALL, they would realize that quite a few of us spend hours upon hours terraforming and plopping, making the perfect rural/forest areas. I read somewhere that there won't be any modding? Are you kidding me? As its core fanbase will tell you, the only REASON must of us still play this game is because of the modding that has been done by the SimCity community. I personally do not care how many achievements I get to unlock. Again, however, its not my place to tell Maxis how to develop their game. I do take offense, however, when you tell me you're listening to me, but everytime you say something about the game, its to tell me what I won't get to do. As far as I'm concerned, Glassbox can be the greatest innovation ever, but its not going to mean anything if you implement it in a glorified Simcity Societies. You have not listened to me, and dont tell me that you have. Release whatever game you like, in the end, it is Maxis that will feel the reward or failure from it, not me. Just dont rub it in my face, having waited 10 years for this, and tell me this is the game I wanted when it wasnt. As an ending to this incredibly long rant, I hope it does end up being the game we all want. These are all based on first impressions - I want it to succeed. I really do. I want to enjoy it. The release date is still a reasonably long way from now. Here's hoping that the final product will be worth it.

To enjoy the best experience, why don't we enjoy some music Today we visit Atarashima Point, the building was completed in 2009. The facade of the tall building looks like gold due to the technology hidden in the building itself. Atarashima Point also houses an observation deck, 8 restaurants, 4 bars and 324 rooms which is owned by Hilton. Located underground of Atarashima Point is also Downtown ARTS Station. A major station and serves thousands of passengers every day And now to finish this update with a picture of the waterfront on Mid City Island ... Join us next time when we check out the Atarashima Rapid Transit System (ARTS)

Update 12 WAR! The Battle of New SorGun February 1856 The Puget Sound War has spread to the SorGun region. A number of Indian tribes in the area, including the Nisqually, Muckelshoot, and Puyallup have decided to fight, rather than give up their lands in accordance with the poorly negotiated Treaty of Medicine Creek. The previous month, in January, a raid was conducted against the small town of Seattle. The local militias were able to repulse the attack on Seattle with the help from the USS Decatur and a detachment of US Marines. Unfortunately the Indian war party has set their sight on the town of New SorGun and the surrounding area. In February of 1856, the Indian war party began to make their way down the Rannug River, putting the town of Junction directly in their path. The Wapato tribe became aware of the danger and warned their friends in New SorGun. It was quickly determined that the town of Junction was indefensible. Orders were given and everybody in the area was to pack what they could and head north towards New SorGun. (click for full size) Early in the morning of February 17, the Indian raiders prepared to attack the town of Junction. Homes outside of town were put to the torch as the sun began to rise. With no resistance to be seen, the Indian warriors quickly set fire to the main town of Junction. The main crossroads in town were ablaze in no time. By the evening, most of the structures in the immediate vicinity of the town were on fire, or already smoldering. By nighfall, even homes outside of town were set ablaze and burned throughout the night. For most settlers, years of hard work and a lifetime of savings disappeared in a day. The Indian party wasted little time and continued their war path. Fortunately for Farmer Ben, the Indians crossed the Rannug River further upstream, leaving his home and farm untouched. All he could do was watch on the opposite bank. The next day they came across the Wapato village. Because the Wapato were widely known as friends of the New SorGun settlers, their village was not spared. Like Junction, the village had been evacuated. The Wapato tribe was safe, but their village was no more. The war party was on the move again, and New SorGun was the last stop. Old man Nug climbed to the highest point on his hill. Smoke rose in the west where the Wapato village had once been. Would the town of New SorGun be next? (click for full size) The Indians made camp in preparation for the big raid. Less than a mile of dense forest separated the two groups – The townsfolk could see the smoke of their campfires rising to the west. For the first time, the fate of New SorGun was in question… Note: Most of my images are rarely touched using Photoshop, but this update is an exception. I'm still very new to photo editing, so I would like to hear your feedback. Thanks for stopping by!

@colco2121: Oooh, good guess - you are on the right track. As for JBSimio, I do plan to use some of his great BATs, but most of them won't be showing up until later in the 19th or early 20th century. @MamaLuigi: Oh no indeed. @Fox: Thanks! @City_Master: I can see that... but not quite... Here's the next update. Hope you enjoy it. Update 12: WAR! The Battle of New SorGun February 1856 The Puget Sound War has spread to the SorGun region. A number of Indian tribes in the area, including the Nisqually, Muckelshoot, and Puyallup have decided to fight, rather than give up their lands in accordance with the poorly negotiated Treaty of Medicine Creek. The previous month, in January, a raid was conducted against the small town of Seattle. The local militias were able to repulse the attack on Seattle with the help from the USS Decatur and a detachment of US Marines. Unfortunately the Indian war party has set their sight on the town of New SorGun and the surrounding area. In February of 1856, the Indian war party began to make their way down the Rannug River, putting the town of Junction directly in their path. The Wapato tribe became aware of the danger and warned their friends in New SorGun. It was quickly determined that the town of Junction was indefensible. Orders were given and everybody in the area was to pack what they could and head north towards New SorGun. (click for full size) Early in the morning of February 17, the Indian raiders prepared to attack the town of Junction. Homes outside of town were put to the torch as the sun began to rise. With no resistance to be seen, the Indian warriors quickly set fire to the main town of Junction. The main crossroads in town were ablaze in no time. By the evening, most of the structures in the immediate vicinity of the town were on fire, or already smoldering. By nighfall, even homes outside of town were set ablaze and burned throughout the night. For most settlers, years of hard work and a lifetime of savings disappeared in a day. The Indian party wasted little time and continued their war path. Fortunately for Farmer Ben, the Indians crossed the Rannug River further upstream, leaving his home and farm untouched. All he could do was watch on the opposite bank. The next day they came across the Wapato village. Because the Wapato were widely known as friends of the New SorGun settlers, their village was not spared. Like Junction, the village had been evacuated. The Wapato tribe was safe, but their village was no more. The war party was on the move again, and New SorGun was the last stop. Old man Nug climbed to the highest point on his hill. Smoke rose in the west where the Wapato village had once been. Would the town of New SorGun be next? (click for full size) The Indians made camp in preparation for the big raid. Less than a mile of dense forest separated the two groups – The townsfolk could see the smoke of their campfires rising to the west. For the first time, the fate of New SorGun was in question… Note: Most of my images are rarely touched using Photoshop, but this update is an exception. I'm still very new to photo editing, so I would like to hear your feedback. Thanks for stopping by!

Apple computers are not ment for games.

I suppose you would have to have been here during the whole Simcity Societies and Cities XL fiasco's to really get why this is an issue. During both occasions we had masses of people all around the net verbalize they didn't want what was in those, they wanted Simcity as what had been established by Simcity 1-4 and that they wouldn't buy and didn't. Granted SC2013 is more Simcity than Societies or Cities XL, but it's not a logical progression in the Simcity line. How much that gives or takes away is up for debate but it's not what I nor many people would expect for a game called Simcity 5. But that's a big part of it. EA is not listening to the people who said they wouldn't buy and didn't. And it was substantial as both games failed to be profitable. Instead of talking specifics, let me be more general. One thing I've really heard from the community is to make the game more mayor like. More real. One of the magic elements of Simcity 4 is after I've been playing it for a few hours I get Simcity vision. And if I've been in a binge session, the Simcity vision will last for days. What I mean is when I drive around in real life I "get it". I "get" why the planners put a road here or allowed commercial property there. I "get" why a highway is needed and I "get" why City Council has to make decisions. In SC4 you get the feeling you are a mayor and when I look at pics of people's cities from SC4, I see real Cities. In SC2013, I don't. In fact they've intentionally made the game to not be like that. Read the interviews, they say it. They're trying for whole different perspective, one that is a lot less mayor like and a lot more playing-with-blocks-like. That doesn't bother me as much but I can see why something like this would cause so many to voice their opinion against. Because this game is going to be online and tied to the online economy, others see the difficulty EA has in allowing modding. If EA allowed modding that would mean people might be able to influence the economy and how can EA allow that? How can EA have mods and cheats when the region is connected to the online economy? What's to stop someone from making a house hold 1,000 sims? Or 1,000,000 sims? That alone would throw a region way out of whack and I could see a group of griefers or trolls teaming up and doing something like this to influence the global economy. And considering to date in every interview I've read when the topic of modding comes up they put it off and that's pretty telling. Also modding means people can change the game to meet their desires. I think a lot of people see their tweaking being taken away. And what about user generated buildings? Especially since EA's current business model is really push that kind of content out as paid-for-add-ons? This is a sore spot with the community because EA promised Societies was going to be the most moddable Simcity to date but they didn't allow new 3D models to be imported so that killed the game. And is EA also going to pony up the resources it takes to vet all those mods and original content so they're compatible with the service? Let's just say I don't have faith they would if they do allow modding and that stuff. And this directly ties in with the problem of being forced to be tied with the online economy. I could go deeper but changing the Mayor aspect and the mod/cheat aspects alone drastically changes the game and how it feels. But for someone like me, mostly comes down to the points you have already identified. Plus I work on this computer so I have to consider my client's confidentiality which is a huge reason why I don't want EA on my computer. One last thing, the zone density change is part of the overall de-Mayorization of SC2013 and might seem small but actually is pretty significant. I really controlled cities in SC4 with that aspect and it's been replaced with an extremely clumsy and unrealistic method of tying zone density to road type. I'm pretty excited by the base game but I have to say that was definitely a let down. I can already tell with out having played the game that SC4 will be far superior in that regard. It's a proverbial one step forward and five steps back situation.

The Government of Schulmania and the Royal Protectorate of Harar have signed an agreement with the Bureau of Feline Affairs to coordinate international postal standards and collaborate on transit and delivery of letters and packages to, through and from the feline zone. Toward this end, the multiple postal agencies of Schulmania, the Royal Harar Post, the BFA Postal Service have all signed a compact to form the Universal Feline Postal Union (UFPU). This will allow for the establishment of international delivery service and increase trade and communication in the feline zone and beyond. The UFPU will be administered by the Bureau of Feline Affairs in The Wirdleplex and have regional offices in participating nations. The UFPU will not result in any changes to established postal rates in participating states. Postage Specifications Each region and national organization may issue stamps denominated as follows: 1 purr: postcard or small letter rate 2 purrs: large letter or small package rate 3 purrs: large package rate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JryrosDK1Qw 7 purrs: shipment rate or international letter Thus far, each region has issued several stamps. The Bureau of Feline Affairs has also issued several stamps. There are both definitive and commemorative issues. Most commemorative issues are associated with the Supreme Wirdle’s Coronation Day. Others include holidays such as Schulman Day or special events like the signing of the Coronation Accord. All stamps remain valid as postage until cancelled by the postal services. Postal rates are the same regardless of whether the parcel remains in one region or travels across the country. See the UFPU homepage... Here's the latest issues from UFPU member Schulmania... And, remember us for all of your postal needs...

Additional 'levels' of RHW are planned for the next release, so you'll definitely be able to make more 'stacked' creations with the next release. However, interchanges like the Dallas High Five are some of the most complex junctions in the world, so I'm not sure how well it could be recreated at this point. Perhaps later releases will enable interchanges like this to be possible. In the way it interacts with zones, it is a highway-type network. Among transit modders, that's typically what we mean when we say "highway-type". Now, as far as the Dallas High Five goes, that's one of the "holy grail" interchanges we've used as inspiration. Part of the reason we're allowing for 5-level functionality as part of the multi-height expansion on the RHW is because of the High Five. You probably won't be able to do an exact replica, but somewhere in the ballpark isn't out of the question. Going to require a lot of stability code and probably some further expansions on flyover ramp capability. -Tarkus Oh I understand how complex it would be. As long as I can build stacks then I'm satisfied (BIG FAN of you both btw... I loved the RHW though I sucked at first I've gotten pretty good with interchanges thanks to the RHW guide, I just modify some to make them a little more compact... only thing I need to find now is some eye candy to make my highways look more urban) look forward to your future work. and thanks

It is available at SC4 Devotion. Be sure to read the listing. You will need Gmax installed first.

Ni Hao, Konichiwa, or as we say in Okatabawashi YOKEWA ! I hope you are fine, me ? yes, holidays in 3 days, so yeah here's a little update, enjoy

Hi-larious!

Whoa, really amazing. I'm hearing the Dances with Wolves soundtrack in my mind lol. Love the pictures and the storytelling, really good stuff.

Yes, that is quite good. I have no skill whatsoever in creating visual delights, but you seem to have done a pretty good job at it. So, I don't really have any advice, but it does look cool to me.

Man, I never thought that the university would be based on a real one. I wonder if other rewards / civics are based on real buildings? There don't seem to be any industrial references here, so I think I've found the first one: SC4: The Tubing Facility Real world: Uploaded with ImageShack.us It's from the {NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View}. Actually, I'm not sure if this is a unique facility, but it looks pretty similar...

You are truly a master in the Photoshop department. Have you ever thought about showing some of the tricks you use to get those great effects?

In SC4, you feel like a mayor and you see real cities? Visually maybe (it doesn't even look real actually). But feel? After seeing the new game, every time I play SC4 it feels more like a static board game now than a real city. "Typical SC4 mindset" First of all let me tell you where that came from; it redefined not only gaming but entertainment for a lot of creative people alike; from model train set builders to meant to be city planners / architects. They found a way of expressing themselves. The more I play my virual cities in Simcity 4 the more I feel like they are real cities mayored by me. I don't care that I have a checkered grid because I have all that backs me up doing so.

I'm going to call it "utterly useless". I never make my bed and I can't for the life of me understand why anyone ever does. Nothing is gained by doing so.

So, I've been busy... And that's all the baby pictures you'll get from me, Simtropolis!

I always saw Apple as the underdog, but since Itunes has been manipulating my PC for the last year because I haven't been updating their tracking devices and 3 of my Ipod's broke for no reason.... I cannot think less of Apple.

The point raised by T Wrecks is IMHO very important. I think you should avoid using a glass texture and prefer reflect a textured ground plane. You 'll get better "control" "playing" with reflection/transparancy and addind , as it was mentioned, some noise throw the special purpose map/bump (in this case, you'll have to check the "do not apply bumps to the diffuse shading" option) ! It will give a really more realistic aspect

lol thats what i meant love the shenzen stadiums i believe awsome random pics too you know what amazing update

Indeed, the Maxis 2x3's like Modde, Curtin, and Fancey are on my list to make some competition. I'm used to 1x1 and 1x2 and 2x2 buildings, so wrapping my head around something larger takes me a little time; I have some stabs at them currently in the works but nothing worth showing yet. In the meantime, here's a dumpy little building that's been sitting in my "work on this" folder for ages... It's horrid, isn't it? I think it's going to be some accounting firm of sorts with a name TBD.

Ok, to install the BAT after you've downloaded gmax and the BAT installer: Install gmax. Activate gmax by starting it up and going to Turbosquid to register and get a password (license number). Install the BAT, which should now go in like silk. It did on XP when I installed it. Open the BAT from the shortcut. And awaay you go. For openers follow the BAT tutorial on the Omnibus. This eases the shock and helps with the learning curve. Enjoy.

Well if it weren't for that forced online only and having to use that horrid Origin service, I'd buy it on release day. I'm not over looking the new features, and the graphics don't bother me one way or the other. Although I will admit I like a very in depth game, I can enjoy games that aren't so in depth just fine. The regional economy stuff just means I have to clean up other peoples messes...that can be fun...and adds the depth I would enjoy. But then it all comes back to Origin again, and I'm gonna have to pass due to that.

[img]http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/22210042.jpg[/img]

For more information about B.A.T. you can register in SC4Devotion going to the link below: https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?action=register After registration you can see several other tutorials on this link: https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?board=39.0 Good luck!

From Turbosquid. There's a link on the BAT page through the link in the above post.

To be all honest here, dropping "zone density" and having medium size SC4 maps as biggest maps in SC2013 are a major bummer for me. I thought the maps in CitiesXL were even too small, and they're 10 by 10 km. I mean the maps were large, but there were no regions. These days cities are all spread out, heck the city I live in is more than 60km north to south and 50km west to east, imaging how many SC2013 maps that would be! You'd think that a new Sim City after 10 years would support such size, at least that is what I was hoping for.

In my opinion, and please don't take this as a slight to anybody, but the only real complaints I see from SC4 "core" fans is multiplayer, online-only, graphics... over and over and over again. All the while, it seems that all of the fantastic new features and simulations that SimCity 2013 will have is being ignored. I consider myself to be a "core" fan, and I'm quite happy with how the game is turning out. You consider yourselves to be "core" fans also, and yet you are very unhappy. Even going so far as to say you will never buy SimCity 2013. So besides multiplayer, online-only, and graphics... what is it exactly that people feel is such a big failure in the new Simcity? What is it exactly that Maxis has done to slight the Simtropolis community? Because it's EA behind the multiplayer and online-only decisions, and graphic style will ALWAYS be in dispute for any game. I look over all the new features that SimCity 2013 will have, and I'm impressed. But thats just me.

I think the mistake people are making in this thread, is that the core audience consists of what they think the core audience is. I have been a Simcity fan since forever, yet not a single mod has touched any game of simcity that I've played. I just play the game and enjoy it. According to some here, that simple fact means I'm not part of the core audience as I'm not part of their "group". There are probably millions around the world just like me who have not been part of modding communities, but love the Sim City franchise all the same. Long story short, people always assume that games are being, or should be made for them and when it doesn't care to their specific needs, they get in a tizz. As has been highlighted many times in this thread, declaring yourself THE people Maxis must absolutely mean when they say the words "core audience" and dismissing the fact that they could also be aiming the game at other types of people with different interests, play styles or needs than yourself, is only setting yourself up for disappointment.

Why not give you the option? Why not have an easy setting where the zones get defined for you and a hard (core) setting for us that understand SC4. I'm sick and tired of developers forcing dumbed down trash on us.

Queen - Another One Bites The Dust

Thanks Amthaak, I actually had lights in the water however as the scene is really heavy I decided to remove them, however it might be a good idea to add them back. I will indeed add some more noise to the water even that I think that in a pool so small water shouldn't show much movement it would probably would look better in game. Some more progress, beside some missing roof junk I think finished the first building si I started with the second. By the way this corner is the opposite from "El museo del estanquillo" or "Joyeria La Esmeralda" a BAT released by Debussyman many years ago...Once I finish this one I will start releasing the rest of my finished models...

Welcome to the first update for Atarashima, you've seen the teaser and now it's time to show you what it truly looks like. In every update, a map will be provided showing you where we are for this update. A reply block will also be made soon to keep in touch with your comments Also, since you don't know much about Atarashima yet, we will provide you a map of the districts in Atarashima. Today, we look at the downtown of Atarashima on Mid City Island. That's all for now folks! We'll be visiting the downtown again next time so don't worry

Hope you like the glimpse of Atarashima... Don't forget to comment and rate up!

well said. I certainly agree that there's no way that everything that everyone wants can be added to the game (and I also think that some of what people want is unimportant and nit-picky). But for god's sake...don't take options AWAY.

nedal2001, I agree with you excellent observations. I have pre-ordered the game. However, after the latest interview I saw about the game and the video of actual game play, I am seriously considering cancelling my order. It is NOT what I wanted a new SimCity to be. The most importatant point I think they are missing is my, and obviously many other's love of architecture.

don't buy it. the only way that you are going to be able to stop this trend is to vote with your feet. If you buy it anyway they have no reason to question their business model.

I might upset some of you with my opinion but I just gotta post it. I absluteley hate ths cartoonish style. I already hated it when playing SC3000. Now the first screenshots to see show it again. That's just childish junk but not graphics. EA invests like mad into graphics of ther other games like NFS but this SC5 looks like straight from the 90's again (or just creepy and cheap)

Things can look colourful and bright without being cartoonish. Sim City 4 was fairly brightly coloured, especially after all the excellent terrain, water and rock mods that have been created over the years, but it's still grounded in realism, which allows for a great degree of versatility on our part - TekindusT's famous gritty "Tenements and Rust" , Skimbo's "Dragon Islands" and Schulmanators comfortingly wacky "Schulmania" have all been able to use Sim City 4's versatility - with a little photoshopping - to create the tone they want. From the screenshots I've seen so far, there's absolutely no versatility of tone in SC5, which is a shame. Hopefully, improvements to texturing will add a lot of detail which, in turn, will stop it looking so much like the setting for Fireman Sam. I'd also add that the art style says a lot about the underlying creative philosophy of the game - wacky, silly games have a similar art style, games that try and be serious go for gritty and de-saturated. Spore, for instance, was initially shown off as a serious, deep game with an art style to match. By release day, the cartoonish graphics were accompianed by shallow gameplay.

Well I always wanted to show my region project :} But sadly I may not finish in time, since Simcity 5 may be released in 2013 , However I would try my best to finish it Lets continue.... This is Carson Oceaside Metropolitanian Area as many of you haved seem. and this are some other pictures from a close up view of my region Oh well this is it, and awesome regions by the way!