Leaderboard

In a major milestone for Simtropolis, the STEX has now reached a grand total of 100 million downloads! Over the past 12 years, members of this community have shared and continue to share content of dazzling and diverse quality. Join us in celebrating this remarkable achievement! There may be a few surprises in store over the next few weeks (all will be revealed)... Click to view the discussion thread. Click here to read the interviews with BATters.

Cities: Skylines is a modern take on the classic city simulation. The game introduces new game play elements to realize the thrill and hardships of creating and maintaining a real city whilst expanding on some well-established tropes of the city building experience. From the makers of the Cities in Motion franchise, the game boasts a fully realized transport system. It also includes the ability to mod the game to suit your play style as a fine counter balance to the layered and challenging simulation. You’re only limited by your imagination, so take control and reach for the sky! Main features: Multi-tiered and challenging simulation: Constructing your city from the ground up is easy to learn, but hard to master. Playing as the mayor of your city you’ll be faced with balancing essential requirements such as education, water, electricity, police, fire fighting, healthcare and much more along with your citys real economy system. Citizens within your city react fluidly, with gravitas and with an air of authenticity to a multitude of game play scenarios.Extensive local traffic simulation: Colossal Orders extensive experience developing the Cities in Motion series is fully utilized in fully fleshed out and well-crafted transport systems.Districts and Policies: Be more than just an administrator from city hall. Designating parts of your city as a district results in the application of policies which results in you rising to the status of Mayor for your own city.Extensive modding support: Build or improve on existing maps and structures. You can then import them into the game, share them as well as download the creations of other city builders on the Steam workshop.

"Cities: Skylines is a great city builder. I still think my personal favorite is SimCity 2000 but at this point I can confidently say that's more because of nostalgia than because Cities: Skylines doesn't measure up. It does. Gigantic areas. Pretty tilt-shift post-processing. Offline mode. Curved roads. Interesting pollution and water simulations. Steam Workshop support. Plenty of information overlays pertaining to everything from wind to population happiness to noise pollution. And there are some features I haven't even mentioned, like the fact you can create districts in your city and then assign them unique policies like high-rise bans and small-business tax breaks. Is it perfect? No. The end of the game is just as mindless as any other city builder, including SimCity 2000, and certain simulations could be more involved or at least more communicative. I'm still delving into the traffic system for instance and trying to figure out whether certain quirks are actually broken simming or just my own incompetence. But overall this is the city builder I've been waiting for. Time to get back to it—my city's in another window waiting for its mayor to return." At a Glance Cities: Skylines somehow lives up to the unfair expectations heaped upon it, presenting one of the best city builders in years. Pros Massive area to build inEasy to get started, but plenty of depth for those who want to dig into systemsCons End-game is mindless, as you might as well have infinite moneyTraffic simulation can be intimidating to newcomersRead the full review at the source.

Cities: Skylines sells more within 24 hours than any previous game in the Paradox catalogue! STOCKHOLM – March 12, 2015 – Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order, currently gaming’s proudest parents, have today revealed that Cities: Skylines, the critically and commercially acclaimed city simulation game for PC, Mac and Linux, has sold an incredible 250,000 copies, including pre-orders, in its first 24 hours on sale, shattering sales records for every previous game in the Paradox catalogue released within the same period of time. Commenting on the success of Cities: Skylines, CEO of Paradox Interactive Fredrik Wester said, “We would like to offer our deepest and heartfelt thanks to the community for their passionate support and to let them know that we are committed to supporting this wonderful game for years to come, in the same way that we have for our Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis communities. We knew that we had a great game on our hands and so to be able to continue to provide fans of the game with a multitude of new content for it going forward is fantastic.” Wester then went on to talk about their relationship with developer Colossal Order. “Our congratulations and thanks must also go to developer Colossal Order for making what is being widely described as the new benchmark of the city building genre. We have forged a strong partnership with them over a number of years through the release of Cities in Motion and Cities in Motion 2, and I am happy to see such a talented team now being widely applauded for their unmatched passion and skill.” CEO of Colossal Order Mariina Hallikainen commented, "We at Colossal Order are absolutely thrilled to see so many players enjoying Cities: Skylines and that the Steam Workshop is filling up with amazing content from the modders. We are feeling very happy and proud and can't wait to continue working on Cities: Skylines together with the community!" Cities: Skylines is now available for purchase for $29.99, with a deluxe edition available for $39.99 that includes five in-game historical monuments.

STOCKHOLM – April 14, 2015 – Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order, the city building genre’s new ‘It’ couple, have today revealed that Cities: Skylines, the monumentally successful city simulation game for PC, Mac and Linux has smashed through the 1 million sales barrier since its release on March 10. Widely hailed as the new benchmark for the genre, Cities: Skylines has captured the gaming public’s imagination with a staggering 33,000 mods having been created to date and made available via the Steam Workshop, with an average of 21,000 concurrent players continuously online since launch. Commenting on the continued success of the game, CEO of Paradox Interactive Fredrik Wester said, “We continue to be amazed at just how players have embraced Cities: Skylines. The game is still selling at a steady pace, which is remarkable for a game that has been on sale for well over a month. Once again, we want to thank everyone that has supported and continues to support this game.”

Are you ready for a little heat? Our next STEX legend brings some flavors from Central Mexico to Simtropolis and his Latin American themed BATs ushered in an entirely new city building experience for players. Heblem (AKA Hableurg) was one of the founding members of the LBT (Latin American BAT Team) which has produced countless models and mods aimed at giving SC4 cities a Central American twist. But his BATing talents go far beyond Latin American themed buildings. Terrain mods, lush flora, suburban retail giants and even downtown NY skyscrapers can be attributed to his creative prowess, and with over 400,000 downloads, he has distinguished himself as a STEX superstar. Please give a warm welcome to Heblem! ST: When did you first get SC4, and what do you remember about your first experiences with the game? Was SC4 your first involvement with SimCity, or did you already have a history with the sim games? Heblem: My first contact with SC4, was in the coming months after it released in 2003. My father bought me a copy in a Sam’s Club store because I got good grades in school (I was 13 back then). My experience playing the game was mixed, I wasn’t really satisfied with the original SimCity 4 compared to SimCity 3000 due to its limited flexibility in modding. Later in 2005, bought the expansion pack Rush Hour and my experience with SC4 changed due the ability to make more transportation options and custom content. My first overall contact with SimCity was in 1994 when SC2000 came out for SNES, I received it as Christmas present. Ever since I was a child I loved to make cities with cereal boxes, toy cars, Legos, Hotwheels and such. But honestly the only SimCity I have enjoyed most was SimCity 3000. ST: What aspect of SC4 do you enjoy most – what keeps you coming back? Heblem: Actually what I enjoy most is the ability to make huge cities in regions in a relatively short time, something impossible in recent games or other program/engines, as well as the endless possibilities using custom content. What gets me back, honestly, is all the hard work done in last 12 years of custom content. ST: Before we jump into the all the custom content questions, I’m curious… what is your favorite Maxis lot/BAT? Heblem: My favorite Maxis BAT is Chrysler building, due how it was detailed, and its correct size in game. Even today, over 12 years later, no one has made a better Chrysler building to replace the original one. That BAT helped me once in making The New York Times building, to compare both buildings in game, since in RL both buildings are similar in height, only about 2-5 meters of difference. ST: Do you recall the first plugin you installed? Heblem: Honestly can’t remember, however my first experience with custom content was looking for how to install custom maps. ST: What led you to Simtropolis at first? Can you remember your initial impressions of the site? Heblem: My first contact with Simtropolis was in 2005, after I found out I could install such buildings into the game. The first sites that I visited looking for custom content were the original Simcity exchange, the Spanish SimCity forums (CSC), and of course, Simtropolis. I only used those sites to download (but not for forums or collaborate). My initial impressions of Simtropolis were great, since its exchange was much better than the EA exchange. Later in 2006, I finally register to forums, to show my city creations (city journals) and my first BAT. This is the only image I found of me using Simtropolis in 2006 as Hableurg account. ST: Describe your progression into the world of SC4 custom content. Was it a particular lot or BAT that inspired you to take the first step? Heblem: The creations that inspired me to BAT were the lots and BATs made by SimGoober. I loved how realistic and detailed those are, and they made my city look more alive and suburban themed. However it wasn’t until one year later that I made my first BAT. At first, I looked at how to install custom maps, and then realized I could easily make my own custom maps by just editing the PNG grayscale file as my desire. Later, I saw in the forums how people make great buildings using the BAT tool. Initially I thought it shouldn’t be too difficult, because in SimCity 3000 the BAT tool was easy to use and from there you could easily put your own custom buildings into your city, which was something I often did in SimCity 3000. I decided to give the same effort to creating SimCity 4 buildings, however I was disappointed at first because the SC4 gmax BAT tool was too different than the SC3000 BAT. My second try in gmax BAT was in 2006, after looking at tutorials in different sites on how to do BAT modeling, lighting and export, and finally came up with my first creation, but never uploaded it. ST: Do you remember what the very first thing that you modeled using the BAT? Do you still have a screen shot? Heblem: The first thing I modeled was what I been instructed in the BAT tutorial, which basically is this (only image I found of it) But as for my own, could be this office building, never released it due it poor aspect. Later my first BATs released at STEX were the and a (under Hableurg account, which lost password long ago) ST: You were one of the founding members of the LBT (Latin American BAT Team) which produced a wide range of very popular BATs for the SC4 community. How did that collaboration come about, and do you still keep in contact with anybody from the team? Heblem: The initial goal and idea was to create custom content from Latin America, which were non-existent at that time. The team was set by Berethor07, Tcxalapa and VictorGonzales at CSC forums in doing BATs themed from Latin America. Later, Debussyman, and a few others joined. The original idea and founder was Berethor07, who made some interesting landmarks from Mexico City, myself and Berethor. Initially we teamed up for MBT (Mexican BAT team), later VictorGonzales joined and suggested we change the team name to LBT, due to the fact that he was Venezuelan. The main project idea was to change every SimCity maxis growable to look like Latin American slummy homes, but as of today, we actually never achieved our goal. The proposed project is still getting dust in my computer. However, buildings models such as homes, department stores, offices, and commercials packs are available on STEX without lots since 2009. Unfortunately as today I haven’t hear anything from Victor Gonzales nor Berethor07 since 2009, currently sometimes I still in contact with tcxalapa. Since 2009 I rather do creations by my own under HBS tag, which it’s a shorten name of Heblem’s, Heblem, my real name Eblem, H for Henry, Henry Eblem. ST: You created a number of very popular BATs, including the Treasure Island Casino, the Super Walmart, and many other famous retail outlets, but your has proven to be one of your most popular creations. Did you ever expect flora props to become such a big hit with the SC4 community? That pack also contains plopable sand/dirt – I don’t think that had been done before, so what gave you the idea to create such a versatile MMP? Heblem: I didn’t expect so many people would use my ploppable sand/dirts. When I made those for a tropical region, I was looking for something that could decorate missing details over the repetitive texture pattern of the terrain mod. My first thought was to use alpha textures as BAT/props, which was a great idea to implement. After testing it myself, I then had the opportunity to share it (I still have some other ploppables for my own personal use). Thankfully, with those MMP’s I could make realistic SC4 landscapes like this one: Many of these props are by my own, including the creation of new terrain mods, water mods, rock mods. Many extensive tests were conducted in mid-2009, but as of now I haven’t gone back to that topic. However, my future MMP (not released) project will be a different set of MMPs that can recreate different earth biomes. I am still considering making more in the future. But overall my most popular and detailed BAT that I have ever made was the New York Times building, which took 2 months to create and as of now has over 30k downloads. ST: Your BAT library is very extensive, but you also managed to create a number of terrain and rock mods, maps and even a stoplight replacement. Many BATers like to stick to what they know, so what motivated you to step out and try your hand at other types of SC4 mods? Heblem: Well, most of my motivation in doing different things comes from what I see that’s missing in game. For example, one day I wanted to recreate a So-Cal city (Southern California), but the only stoplights I could find out were some Dutch-European and the original maxis one. I wanted some So-Cal curvy stoplights, which were nowhere to be found, so I decided to BAT one for myself. I found out how to replace the old one, which was as simple as changing an instance number using the iLives reader program. Later I decided to share it, including some simple props like a stop sign. Another example is the PWG lots I made some time ago. Those lots were very personal for doing a city fast, but I thought it could be useful to others by sharing it. Eventually I decided to remove it (including many of my creations, such office buildings and gas stations), due a compatibility bug reported. As of today, I haven’t taken the time to re-export and upload again. ST: I think most custom content creators would consider their work a hobby, but like anything in life, some parts are more fun than others. What do you consider your least favorite part of the BATing process? What about your favorite? Heblem: My least favorite part of BATing it’s of course waiting for exporting and the darn export code error 6, hah! lost many hours and projects due the exporting procedure, mainly because of my old computer specs were insufficient, especially in memory. Initially I used a 2005 toshiba laptop, and many projects took over 20-30 hours to export. Many times the computer would overheat, turn offs, or the process failed due to an export error. I’ve lost many projects, such as the Bellagio casino, nighlight of Treasure Island, Old design of Burj Dubai Tower, office skyscrapers and many BATs due that reason. I now own a better and more powerful machine which I hope to use to complete projects and never again see the export code error, but unfortunately as I get older, other priorities are first. As a hobby, my favorite part of creating BAT’s it’s the ability to project something you see, and you like in RL to the game. To give it its correct textures/materials, lighting and modeling, properly match as it is in RL and share and see what others think about your creation is exciting. ST: Since this is a sort of hobby (in the sense that custom content creators are not paid for their work), what keeps you motivated to continue releasing new creations for the SC4 community to enjoy? How much do comments in the download section mean to you? Do you get a thrill seeing your models pop up in CJs? Heblem: Of course it motivates me seeing peoples comments, and watching my creations get used in their CJs. It means a lot to me. Almost every two or three months I do an extensive search at Simtropolis or other sites about how people uses my creations. I do a search of HBS, Heblem or simply looking at CJs, for example, Basted69008 - he has an amazing CJ diary called San Theodoros which mostly uses my old creations from LBT and some exclusive BATs and props I sent to him. ST: You have been BATing wonderful models for over 6 years now. Is there any one of your creations that you are particularly proud of? Are there any fun stories or facts relating to some of your works that we don’t know about? Heblem: Well, I have been active in the community since 2006, and since then, I have created hundreds of models, mods, maps, textures for over 9 years, including my old account of Hableurg (2006-2009) and currently Heblem in Simtropolis. In those years I have made a few CJ’s such as (small mini cities of the world), Canatlán (a Mexican city using LBT props) and much better and personalized city and of course my https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azYEvtKjbvw, a totally eyecandy American town. I’m proud of making many of these creations, including top quality BATs and lots like the recently uploaded commercial stores, restaurants and such. Over these years, there has been many funny moments and collaboration with different people who share their knowledge. For example, making detailed 3D maps, general modeling help, rendering, seamless textures and many aspects to be better and create better custom content. ST: Has your experience BATing had any influence on your personal or professional life? Are there any skills that you have developed over your BATing career that have helped you beyond the world of SC4? Heblem: It has definitely influenced me over my professional life. Many BATers around might be going for architecture or civil engineer careers for their professional life. In my case, video game development influenced me, and I just graduated in August 2014 with a degree in Game Design thanks to family and friends. The BATing career gave me the opportunity to be a better 3D designer, and it made it possible to learn many new things that I can apply to SC4, other games or even new games. ST: What advice would you give to a new member of this community who was planning on creating their firstBAT or mod? Heblem: My best advice to them, just never give it up. Give yourself a second chance, or maybe a third, the third always scores. Ten years ago I was in the same boat as you. I just gave myself a second chance and finally made it. Once you know how to do it, you’ll want to learn and do more. ST: Simtropolis is organized into ‘player’ and ‘builder’ categories. Regarding the ‘player’ section, do you have any favorite CJers that you enjoy following? What are your favorite SC4 ‘scenes’ (i.e., towering metropolises, urban sprawl, rural landscapes, etc.). Heblem: Honestly I only look at few CJs once a month because lack of time. I do especially look for those who use my custom content, such as, Bastet69008’s San Theodoros, whom I mentioned before. And for those who are asking for me to take a look into their CJ, I will gladly look at and comment. But as for myself, I don’t really use the forums often or comment much (if you see my profile I have less than 400 post in 6 years). Mostly I just visit Simtropolis to look at new comments in my mailbox, do searches, post something in my BAT thread and upload something (rarely). There was a time in which I used to be more active here at Simtropolis, back in 2006-2009, using the Hableurg profile. My favorite SC4 scenes are landscaping, using MPPs, mountains, river streams, trees, etc. Basically because it reminds me of nature (I love nature). But I also enjoy looking at urban sprawl, but not really a fan of towering metropolises. ST: On the ‘builders’ side, do you have any favorite BATers that you enjoy following? If you still play SC4, what was your most recent download from the STEX? Heblem: Recently, the lots by nos.17 have attracted my attention because of the quality he puts into so many detailed lots. I even sent him an old commercial file stored in my computer for him to lot and upload, and honestly he did a great job! That’s my most recent STEX download. Lately I haven’t played SimCity 4 due lack of time. Last time I opened the game was for doing some lot testing at Mall del Sur (my latest creation), but overall in last 6 years, I haven’t played as much as I should. Most of my SC4 spent time is spent on custom creations such mods and bats. Additionally, I have been attracted to other games instead. ST: SimCity 4 has been out for over 12 years now. Are you surprised that this community is still going strong all these years later? What do you think is the secret to its longevity? Do you think there will still be new content being created 12 years from now? Heblem: Yes, I’m surprised it keeps going on after 12 years. It’s longevity is mainly due to its strong community in the creation of daily new custom content, and currently it’s the only game capable of making a huge “realistic” city than any other city building game. I think there will be new content even after 12 years, but it depends on those who still play, and if those kids who play today will learn to BAT and contribute more into the game. Even if a new better “Sim City” like game comes out in a future and convinces us to change over to it, I don’t think it is going to kill SC4 after more than 12 years of custom content. It will be a hard to kill for years to come. ST: Other than SC4, what types of games are you involved in? Heblem: Before I got involved into the SC4 modding and bating community, I used to make campaign scenarios for Age of Empires II (from 2000 to 2006). I made famous TD games, like Warriors Defense, Empire Defense, fixed and improved many active maps, like AN’s world map, castle bloods, and cooperative. Strategy games have influenced me into pursuing video game development as a career. Some other games I play include Far Cry 4, Banished, Minecraft, The Crew, AC Unity, Sanctum 2 and many other games from Steam. And recently I’m collaborating in doing Huntington City in Minecraft, (not all work is mine) Take a look to Huntington Surface map, I think you’ll love it. It’s like SimCity but in Minecraft! Also I do projects with Cry Engine and Unity 3D, I have city creation projects in 3D within Unity 3D. ST: What are some of your favorite hobbies or activities away from a computer screen? Heblem: As a hobby, currently I like doing 360° panoramas of the environment and nature of some public spaces. ST: Will we see any new SC4 content from you in the future? Heblem: If I get enough time, I hope to create some more content for SC4, but eventually I plan to stop doing so.

EA has shut down Maxis Emeryville, the main Maxis studio and longrunning developer behind SimCity and Spore, among other games. Though the Maxis brand will carry on, the studio that most people knew as "Maxis" is no more. "Today we are consolidating Maxis IP development to our studios in Redwood Shores, Salt Lake City, Helsinki and Melbourne locations as we close our Emeryville location," an EA representative said in a statement. The news comes smack in the middle of the Game Developers Conference, where developers from across the world are congregating in San Francisco for various meetups, lectures, and sessions. It's poor timing, to say the least. I've been hearing rumblings about a shake-up at Maxis for a few days now, but official word first came this afternoon from former Maxis designer Guillaume Pierre, who wrote on Twitter this afternoon that the studio would be shutting down. Originally founded in 1987, Maxis was best known for the Sim franchise, which began with Will Wright's SimCity and expanded to include a number of other games, including the popular The Sims series, which is handled by a separate developer called The Sims Studio. In 2013, Maxis released an online reboot of SimCity that was plagued with all sorts of problems, which may have been what led to this final closure. Neither SimCity nor the recent release of The Sims 4 performed very well, according to a person familiar with goings-on at the studio.

Our next interviewee calls Norway his home. Glenni has brought us all a taste of the world'S finest and most interesting buildings and BATs, with a list of downloads ranging from brutalist W2Ws to tunnel entrances/exits. There are design o' plenty to fit just about any playing style, so we feel confident in assuming that you probably have at least one of his works in your plugins folder. And if you don't, why not give his work a look? Glenni has made us all plenty of good stuff. Now let's take this chance to get to know him a bit better... ST: When did you first get SC4, and what do you remember about your first experiences with the game? Was SC4 your first involvement with SimCity, or did you already have a history with the sim games? Glenni: I bought the game around 2002, or thereabouts. I had already played SimCity 3000 World Edition, and SimCity 2000 before Simcity 4, so I was by then used to the series. My first thoughts were, “Oh my god, this is SO difficult compared to the previous!” For those of you who never played SimCity 4 without any expansions, let me just tell you, it was absoletely brutal! Everything was hard. The best I managed to get, before moving on to Rush Hour Expansion pack was 110 000 people in a city. And just that one growable high rise - that one high rise alone felt like a proper acchievement. Another thing I noticed was just how smooth the animations were. And the street life, wow. With SimCity 3000 I was used to cars moving at a choppy pace. Pedestrians were there, but didn't do much but walk awkwardly. Suddenly we had cars driving, stopping, going around bends and pedestrians standing, sitting at tables, walking, doing tasks and chores, people in pools, kids on trampolines. It was quite the sight for me back then. ST: Do you recall the first plugin you installed? Glenni: I don't remember much of them specifically, but i found EA's now defunct SimcCity 4 website. Simcity.ea.com I think it was? It used to have a lot exchange. I downloaded the standard EA landmarks and then tried the exchange. I just remember that one of the first I installed was some office called MSNBC. It was basically just the wren insurance, with a huge logo saying MSNBC slapped on the side. The problem is that with the official exchange, you had no way of telling what exactly it installed. So it installed that building, and a few custom versions of existing lots, with that sign popping up everywhere in my cities. ...We're off to a great start! One the plus side I did find Mikeseith's ( the automata dude) earlier work there, that was some of the best I found find there at the time. ST: What led you to Simtropolis at first? Can you remember your initial impressions of the site? Glenni: Having finally had enough of simcity.ea.com's rambunctiousness I began looking for other sites. After some googling for Simcity 4 mods, I found Simtropolis. It was amazing. Wow, good buildings, wow, cathedrals, wow, new cars! Where have I ended up?! I think one of the first mods I downloaded was one of Xannepan's JENX cathedrals, and some Simgoober hotels. ST: Describe your progression into the world of SC4 custom content. Was it a particular lot or BAT that inspired you to take the first step? Glenni: It wasn't as much the BATs and mods, as it was the people. I started at Simtropolis as a lurker, but eventually I started hanging out at the chatroom. From there I got help to get started, Ill Tonkso, N747 and NintendoMaster128 were some of the guys that inspired me and helped me get up and going. They helped me with textures, they shared some of theirs, taught me how to start with scale, etc. ST: Speaking of first steps, what was the very first thing that you modeled using the BAT? Do you still have a screen shot? Glenni: Oh lawdy. Well, what confused me with Gmax/BAT at first, was that I was used to BAP/Ba+ from SimCity 3000, BAT's predecessor. So I thought that all I had to was make a basic shape, and then texture that. Boy was I wrong. I learned the hard way that Simcity 4 had some simple, but rigid design rules: - Detail the building. - Maintain a general 4 metre floor height. - Exagerate the vertical scale. - Exaggerate the scale of ornaments - Textures are what make and break the models. My first attempts were truly dreadful, but here's a shot of one of them: http://i579.photobuc...od.png~original ST: You have a very wide range of buildings in your list of BATs. What is the thought process behind choosing what to create? Glenni: For most part it's the desire to create realistic, and non descript buildings. The stuff people tend to forget about, the non-shiny or glassy every day buildings. High rise 1960s residentials, down and out tenements, etc. But of course, I have made some non-grungy stuff too. Another reason was to create more Norwegian and Scandinavian content in general, content that there isn't all that much of. ST: Many of your BATs have been released under the BLaM and NDEX banners. For those of us (including myself) who may not know much about BLaM or NDEX, can you elaborate on what you guys were about/how you were organized and what your role with them was? Glenni: BLaM and NDEX were, and are two teams devoted to creating content under a common banner for SImcity 4. In the past, NDEX and BSC were the two main teams - you could say rivals if you wanted, but I never saw it that way. NDEX has a special interest in big, bold, and spectacular skyscrapers, made by people like Dusktrooper, Eburess, N747, Superstar, and in later years me, Ill TOnkso, and Dragonanime, whereas BSC focused more on game beautification, mansions, chateaus, vinyards, that sort of thing. BLaM was founded by Mike Dixon Kennedy, alias Onlyplace4, who sadly is no longer with us. (God rest his soul.) He was a very good, competant leader for the team. I forgot the exact names on some of the other founding members, as I lost contact with most of them, but Mightygoose and I held somewhat central positions in the team. In both BLaM and NDEX, I was and am just the BATter, all though I did and do for most part my own lotting, because I have more of an actual interest in it, whereas other BATters just wanted the damn things out, and not have to worry about it. ST: Since this is a sort of hobby (in the sense that custom content creators are not paid for their work), what keeps you motivated to continue releasing new creations for the SC4 community to enjoy? How much do comments in the download section mean to you? Is it exciting to see your models used in the CJs of others? Glenni: For most part I just like sharing, and knowing that someone actually has a use for something you create does feel nice sometimes. Comments are generally not a neccesity, I don't need comments just to keep on making and releasing stuff, although I should admit, that If I've had a bad day, and see rude or nasty comments, it does of course affect me a bit. ST: Has your experience BATing had any influence on your personal or professional life? Are there any skills that you have developed over your BATing career that have helped you beyond the world of SC4? Glenni: They haven't had all that much of an influence other than making it easier for me to step into the modding community for other games, such as GTA, Mafia, Cities XL, and SecondLife. Those games are where I have dabbled since. ST: What advice would you give to a new member of this community who was planning on creating their first BAT? Glenni: Start simple. Don't go for the tallest, most detailed, and most spectacular skyscraper you can find. Aim low. Make a small house, or a store. Maintain a general height of 4 meters per floor. Detail it with air condition vents, pipes, and chimneys, etc on the roof. Model the actual window frames, set them back in the walls like in most buildings real life. Make the walls 0.3 m thick at the minimum. But first and foremost, have fun, and enjoy what you are creating! ST: Simtropolis is organized into ‘player’ and ‘builder’ categories. Regarding the ‘player’ section, do you have any favorite CJers that you enjoy following? What are your favorite SC4 ‘scenes’ (i.e., towering metropolises, urban sprawl, rural landscapes, etc.). Glenni: I must admit that I haven't had a very close watch on the latest CJs, but the ones that I remember, and particularely liked were as follows: Thames by Frogface: A little piece of the UK, the first serious attempt at a proper British CJ, and boy was it good! An old CJ made by the Swedish member SAS: I forgot the name, but some oldtimers might remember it. Wooded hills, huge bridges spanning gorges, impressive lot work, etc! BurroDiablo's Sakhaliyan Peoples Republic: This one was a killer, dark dinghy soviet style, with his neat photoshop skills made this a fun CJ to look at, it made you want to pop some anti depressants just looking at it, and that's a good thing! Ilikihotdogsalot's World CJ: This was a CJ, where he would recreate one city per post, and then move on to the next one. Some of them got freakishly close to the originals! There were a few others, but it's hard to remember the exact titles of the CJs and the members behind them. ST: On the ‘builders’ side, do you have any favorite BATers that you enjoy following? If you still play SC4, what was your most recent download from the STEX? Glenni: Yep, most of my favourites are the ones that did good down to earth buildings, Odd From Sweden, Erdmoebel, Ferox, Ill tonkso, Jestarr, Simhottody, Jasoncw to name a few. I haven't played simcity since 2011, and therefore have not downloaded any buildings, but I plan to go back to this. I really want to get myself a desktop for it, though. Laptops are a bit awkward and jerky to play Simcity 4 on. ST: SimCity 4 has been out for over 12 years now. Are you surprised that this community is still going strong all these years later? What do you think is the secret to its longevity? Do you think there will still be new content being created 12 years from now? Glenni: I am a little bit surprised, yes. The fact that new buildings get uploaded every week even after the game was released 12 years ago is actually pretty amazing. Part of the success is because of the blatant failure that SimCity Societies and SimCity 13 were, though. If anything, it just brought even more fans to SimCity 4. The reason for the success I'd wager would be the wide variety of stuff you can find for this game, just the STEX alone has 14 000~ uploads. And then there's SC4Devotion, and several other sites that add their own content to the game. One good example would be toutsimcities.com if you are interested in French buildings and mods. I ventured a bit into simcity.cn, too, a Chinese SimCity fansite. I managed to find some gems there, too, that are not found anywhere else. I'm pretty confident that this game still has a lot going for it, but if it will be around in another 12 years we'll never know. But at this point it doesn't seem too unlikely. Grand Theft Auto 3 was released over 13 years ago, and that's also going strong in its mod community. ST: Are there any games you play besides SC4? What other hobbies do you have away from BATing and SimCity? Glenni: I play a few games, like Garry's mod, Cities XL, S.T.A.L.K.E.R - Shadow of Chernobyl, Grand Theft Auto V, Mafia II, and Tropico 4 is what I play the most. I don't have many hobbies, I sometimes enjoy hiking, photography of urban landscapes - and I recently picked up an interest in making some models devoted to Secondlife. Interview questions by SimCoug and NMUSpidey (but mostly SimCoug), MandelSoft interview conducted by NMUSpidey

The question gets batted around often enough, “I’m looking for city ideas, what CJ’s should I look through?” – The answer is usually a resounding “Journey through Paengia”. With almost 250,000 views and nearly 2,200 comments (not to mention the trophy case full of Trixies), Paengia is one of the most popular City Journals on Simtropolis, and it’s no coincidence that it’s author has been filling the STEX full of amazing creations since 2009. From scenic parks to modular truck stops, or grungy industry to behemoth nuke plants, Paeng has turned lotting into an art form. And with over 400,000 total downloads, chances are his lots reside somewhere in your plugin folder too. So without any further delay, please welcome Paeng, as the next member of our STEX 100 million interview series. ST: When did you first get SC4, and what do you remember about your first experiences with the game? Paeng: I got it right off the shelf on release. Then I got annoyed with it and put it back on the shelf. Until RH came out, now that was quite the day... ST: Was SC4 your first involvement with SimCity, or did you already have a history with the sim games? Paeng: Nah, I played on and off since the very first version... but it was always more of a seasonal thing - none of the early versions could put me in a trance like SC4 does... not even the fabled SC3000 ;-) ST: What aspect of SC4 do you enjoy most – what keeps you coming back? Paeng: In the beginning it was clearly the region play, then with RH the network stuff... Then, later again, MMPs and all the green stuff... ST: Before we jump into the all the custom content questions, I’m curious… what is your favorite Maxis lot/BAT? Paeng: Maxis defaults are quite underrated - actually I like most of it... well, after some cleaning up, I'll admit ;-) The main reason why I don't use much of it any more is the inconsistent scale. I guess I like their grungy industrials best, and still use them a lot, too. ST: Do you recall the first plugin you installed? Paeng: Nope. Actually I was off the grid for quite a long time in the early 2000s, until about 2005 or 6... lots of RL, two sons in puberty... you know ;-) So basically I slept through the early custom content era... and when I woke up to it, I started downloading with a vengeance. ST: What led you to Simtropolis at first? Can you remember your initial impressions of the site? Paeng: Well, by the time I was getting interested in city builders again, I quickly realized that there had been a lot of batting, modding and lotting going on - behind my back, so to speak LOL... so I started some in-depth research that quickly led me to places like ST, SC4D, SimPeg and many other fan sites and repositories in all corners of the world... I pretty much stayed in lurk mode then - there was so much to catch up with, so many different 'philosophies', opinions, emotions... So for the next year or two I dug in quietly, reading tons of material in all the forums, while polishing up on my playing skills and building up a first collection of custom content - really without any plan to ever start producing stuff on my own. ST: Describe your progression into the world of SC4 custom content. Was it a particular lot or BAT that inspired you to take the first step? Paeng: No, it was more a lack of particular lots and Bats - when I started building cities using more and more custom content, I kept hitting snags and dead ends, where I just could not build things the way I envisioned them. I spent endless hours on the exchanges looking for that one piece that would fit. On top of that I was already drifting away from large city vistas, tinkering with more rural settings. ST: Speaking of first steps, what was the very first thing that you lotted using the LE? Paeng: Tehehe... I had this sleepy rural town, and there was supposed to be a bus stop with a pedestrian overpass - fit for small town... but all the textues, props and lots I found were too urban for my liking... that's when the bubble burst, I hit the forum wailing: "How the hell can I get this the way I want it?!" You guessed it - all answers were like "Get the Lot Editor", "Use The Reader", "Learn how to Bat"... So I started with the easiest obstacle to overcome - the Lot Editor. ST: Your first STEX upload was a in June of 2009. You started your now famous ‘Mountainview/Paengia’ City Journal about a month earlier. What prompted you to begin sharing your creations with the SC4 community? Paeng: Well, the moment I started lotting, I knew this is just my thing... so I started to look around for stuff that I can turn into lots... the security fences were basically a lotting exercise, and the fence props were there, hardly used - because they were "just" props. Then someone said, hey - this is a useful little set, you should put it up at the Stex... So I did, and to my surprise folks started downloading and indeed found it useful. ST: You have created and shared a wide range of lots over the past 6 years, but they all share some common characteristics. For one, you have a keen eye for the right details and a knack for eye pleasing designs. You also tend to focus on sets that have modular capabilities. How did this ‘Paeng’ style come about? Paeng: I strongly dislike the grid. I hated the fact that everything is forever bound to squares and rectangles. Now I can't change that basic SC4 principle... but I can do a lot to at least break that appearance. I can combine a couple of 1x1s with a 4x4 - it is still made up of squares, but it appears to be an irregular shape. That is the simple approach I took, and it continues throughout almost all the lots I created. Not everybody uses them that way, but if you look closely, most of my pieces can be combined any which way with other pieces, even if they come in seemingly unrelated sets... That's why I also use as few "dependencies" as possible - basically I use the same set of "essentials" in all my releases... Of course there are exceptions to that, certain specialty items would just suffer if I don't add special ingredients as well... but I rarely 'splurge'. As for my keen eye - thanks :-) Indeed I'm a stickler for details and not satisfied before I get that tickle in my gut... ST: A large number of your lots are influenced by the prolific BATer Pegasus. How did you come about to work so closely with one of the top SC4 custom content creators? Paeng: As mentioned I was drawn early on to rural settings... so the style of Pegasus held high appeal for me, aside the fact that he is a fantastic Batter (and taught me the ropes with the Reader). Add to that the fact that the Simpeg community is smaller and generally more quiet and relaxed than others - something I need for my mental make-up, I'm over 60 by now and the brash vigor of the very young does not always sit well with me ;-)... you can see why Simpeg.com became my home base. My early work is based on the 'Mountain Theme' - I probably turned every Bat and prop of that set inside out at least once... At some point Peg and I worked close together on a re-launch of the Simpeg site --being a (former) web-developer, my skill-set happened to match the needs-- and during that time we decided to finally tackle the Agricultural Mod - something that had been a long-time topic with some members of the Simpeg community, like Rebecca and Craig, plus a host of others volunteering for work and input and beta testing. The result was the - Pegasus doing the Bats and most of the modding, Becca and Craig most of the lotting, myself doing some lotting and modding as well as the documentation and packaging. Many addons followed, like Becca's Irrigation Canals, my Access Roads, Craig's Agri Industrials and many more... Regretfully, Pegasus has since retired from producing Custom Content - but he left us the simpeg keys... So Craig and I are sort of commissary webmasters, fortunately supported by a whole bunch of great people to help. Visit Simpeg and you'll know who they are :-) ST: I think most custom content creators would consider their work a hobby, but like anything in life, some parts are more fun than others. What do you consider your least favorite part of the Loting process? Your favorite? Paeng: I start with my favorite... The greatest fun is to work with other people having a similar mindset for custom content. I seldom lack ideas - but it's all so much richer and rewarding when you can do it with a bunch of people who enjoy it as much as you do. Brainstorming, throwing ideas around, solving problems together, continuously learning from each other, or just generally shooting the s*hit - that's what makes it worth all the time we sink into this... passion. Hobby does not really fit :-) Then of course the actual lotting process - slowly seeing your idea taking shape, pulling together all the right ingredients until there is harmony - very zen. My least favorite? Probably the time between packaging and release. That time when you're all alone and need to check every lot one by one to tweak little things, finalize LTexts and Descriptions, remove the ballast, make icons, write the readme - the nitty-gritty stuff... that's time-consuming and concentration-eating WORK. ST: Since this is a sort of hobby (in the sense that custom content creators are not paid for their work), what keeps you motivated to continue releasing new creations for theSC4 community to enjoy? How much do comments in the download section mean to you? Do you get a thrill seeing your lots pop up in CJs? Paeng: The motivation - that this game is still alive after all these years, still attracts new players, and is still not depleted as far as new discoveries and new techniques are concerned... and that it still attracts people to pick up Custom Content Creation and come up with amazingly unique stuff... Comments - I had to learn not to let them get to me... I have spoken to producers who were about to leave it all behind (and some who actually did), just because some jerk made a snide remark, or because some troll pulled the ranking down... On the other hand it's uplifting when a comment is really "speaking" to you, taking the time to form at least a full sentence. But I can fully understand that not everybody has the time or is in the mood to do this all the time. So naturally - seeing one of our items pop up in a CJ is always thrilling - it's the best applause we can get. ST: You have been loting amazing creations for almost 6 years now. Is there any one of your creations that you are particularly proud of? Are there any fun stories or facts relating to some of your works that we don’t know about? Paeng: Since you ask for one personal favorite, then it has to be my & - if only for versatility and size, it has something for everybody... and there are countless hours in that one, both for me and any player ;-) Though most credit must go to those who provide us with a sheer endless stream of models - they are the true heroes. Personally, I can't Bat if my life depends on it. Funny stories you don't know about? Not really - It's All In The Lots... LOL ST: Has your experience with loting had any influence on your personal or professional life? Are there any skills that you have developed over your SC4 career that have helped you beyond the world of this game? Paeng: No. ST: What advice would you give to a new member of this community who was planning on creating their first Lot/BAT? Paeng: Go into Lurk Modus. Get a feel for the community. Read up on the tools - everything you need to know is out there. Search for answers yourself. If you have questions left, ask them in a precise manner. Download lots of files and analyze them inside LE. Don't upload your first lot to the Stex. Have Fun! ST: Simtropolis is organized into ‘player’ and ‘builder’ categories. Regarding the ‘player’ section, do you have any favorite CJers that you enjoy following? What are your favoriteSC4 ‘scenes’ (i.e., towering metropolises, urban sprawl, rural landscapes, etc.). Paeng: To be honest - I basically rely on BTT + 10... without that fantastic resource I'd probably miss out on a lot of CJs... so if you look at BTT plus its yearly top 100, then you know what I'm looking at - as much as time permits. Well, it's no secret that I much prefer rural settings. Once in a blue moon I get the urge and build up some "Towering Inferno", though even that will usally be a seaside resort, or a rich enclave in the middle of nowhere LOL... But mostly I like to zoom in on bucolic settings. ST: On the ‘builders’ side, do you have any favorite BATers that you enjoy following? What was your most recent download from the STEX? Paeng: Same as on the player's side... I'm an avid collector, and with the roughly 15Gb I have collected so far, I daresay I have seen most of it - so I know who the good Batters are, if they put up something on the Stex, it's an automatic download... If I tried to list them all, I'd surely forget half of them. Of course I have a soft spot for all these guys who concentrate on the smaller buildings - mid- and lowrise COM and RES, so guys like MattB or Madhatter come to mind, or the guys who make great series of props, like NBVC or Murimk or Shokthrpy... but again - I can't really single out anybody, there are just so many who make fantastic content available to us... My latest Downloads are - The latest ST: SimCity 4 has been out for over 12 years now. Are you surprised that this community is still going strong all these years later? What do you think is the secret to its longevity? Do you think there will still be new content being created 12 years from now? Paeng: No, I'm not surprised - we have to remember that this game's history goes back much farther than SC4... all in all we're talking about what? Almost a quarter of a century? There is a reason for this long-time appeal - something no ego shooter can ever get near... probably because it is constructive, not destructive? 12 years from now? Hard to say - there may still be small groups of afficionados everywhere, but the community as a whole will be totally different. Just imagining what technology can do in 2027 is kinda... mind-boggling.

Representing Eastern Europe, let's welcome Seraf and his wonderful BATing skills to our next interview! Seraf's list of files includes a very unique selection of BATs, from gardens and greenhouses to some very classy NYC-style buildings circa 1900. If there were a BAT Olympics, his creations would always get high marks from the always very strict and severe East German judge. If there were a BAT Bowl Series (like American college football) his BATs would always play in the Rose Bowl because you can find roses in gardens like the ones he makes. If there were a BAT art gallery- wait, that's kind of what the STEX is, to a certain extent. Anyway, Seraf! ST: When did you first get SC4, and what do you remember about your first experiences with the game? Was SC4 your first involvement with SimCity, or did you already have a history with the sim games? Seraf: I vaguely remember that I stumbled upon SC4 (I think it was SC4) when I was still in primary school. It was installed on one of the computers in the computer class; I tried to play this strange version of "the Sims" as I called it back then but didn't succeed in anything more than spending money. The next time was when I was a little older - fifteen, maybe sixteen. I think I borrowed it from someone. This time the gameplay was more productive. But my first sim game was "The Sims", I absolutely loved building and decorating houses, in fact I still do but rarely have time for this. ST: What aspect of SC4 do you enjoy most – what keeps you coming back? Seraf: I don't really know, in fact for the last few years I only turn on the game when I need to test my BATs. But I always enjoyed building beautiful cities, full of great plazas and vistas. ST: Do you recall the first plugin you installed? Seraf: Oh, not really, I remember that one of the first was the Library Tower form LA. I knew this building from the Independence Day movie and liked it so it landed in my plugin folder. ST: What led you to Simtropolis at first? Can you remember your initial impressions of the site? Seraf: I think what led me to ST was STEX. I couldn't enjoy other aspects of the site since I didn't really know English. And I think my first impression was probably something like: "dammit, everything's in English. How am I supposed to find anything in here?" ST: Describe your progression into the world of SC4 custom content. Was it a particular lot or BAT that inspired you to take the first step? Seraf: Not really. I remember that I wanted to recreate New York City, so I downloaded everything that I could find onSTEX. But it soon became clear that I need more of the characteristic buildings to make my city even remotely similar to real New York. And that's how I discovered BAT. And you know what they say: "need is the mother of invention" but also: "if you want something to be done right do it yourself" (and the second sentence pretty much describes my approach to BATing most of the time). ST: Speaking of first steps, what was the very first thing that you modeled using the BAT? Do you still have a screen shot? Seraf: Apart from some random walls with holes that were supposed to be windows - my very first BAT was Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower. Which is still (unfortunately) available on STEX. I have a few screenshots; I seldom delete any previews so I suppose that back then I just didn't make that many. You can see a mosaic of the renders below (I must say I'm still quite proud how the clock turned out, it still looks good). ST: Many of your BATs are released under the NYBT banner. For those of us (including myself) who may not know much about the NY BAT Team, can you elaborate on what you guys are about/how you are organized and what your role with them is? Seraf: Oh my... better sit comfortably because this one will be long So, just looking on our group's name you can tell that we focus on the buildings from New York City area, although I think at some point we expanded it to the whole New York State. As far as the organization goes...I don't think there's much of "organization" per se. We try to keep up with what others are doing so we don't end up having two people working on the same thing - but that's about it. My role... well, I don't think I have one. Or if I do it's probably "this columns-and-cornices guy" I enjoy making classical or eclectic buildings and since it seems that there's not that many who want to model this kind of buildings - I make most of them. Manhattan has many great buildings in traditional styles so I think I'll never run out of potential BATs. ST: Your list of uploads includes a number of plazas, gardens, and greenhouses. Are there any particular reasons for choosing to direct your efforts in this direction? Seraf: Yes. You see, when I finished MetLife Tower and Macy's, my eyes turned to Central Park. If I remember correctly I was just recreating it in game, I looked at some photos of Bethesda Fountain and thought that it isn't that difficult and I could make it, just to make my Central Park a bit more real. Then I made the seats around it, then started making the terrace. And somewhere along the way I got hooked. At the same time I started making Temperate House from Kew. I intended to use it as an entrance to Olympic Ice Rink in my CJ. The Rink never made it to the game but I finished Temperate House and meanwhile I grew to love the subtle elegance of iron-and-glass Victorian greenhouses. I think the plazas, fountains, gardens - all of them are an important part of the space around us. We can't live in cities consisting only of streets lined with buildings, it would be unbearable. They are like paintings or figurines we place in our homes, they beautify our cities. And I have a soft spot for beautiful things. ST: I think most custom content creators would consider their work a hobby, but like anything in life, some parts are more fun than others. What do you consider your least favorite part of the BATing process? Your favorite? Seraf: I can never decide which one I like the least - texturing or modding. But recently I learned that if you plan the texturing when you model then it can be a little less unpleasant. As for the favourite... I think the end of work. When you upload your work for others to use and you know that you did a good job and it looks great. ST: Since this is a sort of hobby (in the sense that custom content creators are not paid for their work), what keeps you motivated to continue releasing new creations for the SC4 community to enjoy? How much do comments in the download section mean to you? Is it exciting to see your models used in the CJs of others? Seraf: I have no idea. I suppose I just like to do it. But I must say that because I usually model the buildings I like, by modelling I can really get to know them, or at least their exterior. So I guess that's important too - I learn something about things I like. I appreciate the comments, it's nice to know that people download (so probably like) your work but it's even nicer to read the comments (and here I'm a terrible hypocrite because I can't remember when I commented someone's finished work...). It's definitely exciting to see my BATs in CJs, it really tells you that people like your work and use it to make their cities which is even more rewarding than comments. I remember seeing one of my old BATs (the Waterlily House from Kew) in one of the CJ. I was grinning like an idiot. ST: You released your first BAT in 2008. Is there any one of your creations that you are particularly proud of? Are there any fun stories or facts relating to some of your works that we don’t know about? Seraf: I think that I'm proud of all my BATs in some way. My most recent work - the NY University Club, I think it's a great BAT in many aspects. I learned much while doing it. Another BAT that I'm exceptionally proud of is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial - for me it marks a new stage in quality of my BATs. Fun stories... I must say I can't really think about any, unless you count me getting pissed when some of the details I was sweating over aren't even visible on render ST: Has your experience BATing had any influence on your personal or professional life? Are there any skills that you have developed over your BATing career that have helped you beyond the world of SC4? Seraf: It had huge influence on my interests. As I said, while making Bethesda Terrace I got to know this structure pretty good. All the intricate ornaments and reliefs, the planning and scale of it made great impression on me. That's what started my interest in historic and traditional architecture. I started to study it on my own. Over time I noticed that some of the buildings look graceful and proud while others do not. I started to study principles of classical architecture so I could know why. From there the road to designing things of my own wasn't very long. As for now I designed a few monuments, started developing a scheme for grand opera house and some other things. And while it is all in terms of my hobby - I don't think of it any less than if it would be part of my job. As for the skills - I think BATing taught me how to look at classical architecture, at least in part. Most people looking at the building see just columns, random lines or parts of figures that make up a cornice. They rarely see the scheme that architect had in mind when he designed the building. Also - staring long hours at the photos of a cornice trying to determine its profile is a good exercise in classical design ST: What advice would you give to a new member of this community who was planning on creating their first BAT? Seraf: Don't rush it. Take all the time you need. Also - don't choose something that would be difficult to make even for seasoned BATers, it will only discourage you if you fail. And above all: choose something that you like - your favourite building or place. ST: Simtropolis is organized into ‘player’ and ‘builder’ categories. Regarding the ‘player’ section, do you have any favorite CJers that you enjoy following? What are your favorite SC4 ‘scenes’ (i.e., towering metropolises, urban sprawl, rural landscapes, etc.). Seraf: Oh yes. I enjoy SimCoug's CJ and Schulmania is also great. I remember seeing many good CJs but my problem is that I see some good CJ and then can't remember its name. And of course I won't think about bookmarking it either because I'm just me. I like historical scenes but also representative spaces in the city. With government buildings and plazas (what a surprise, isn't it? ) ST: On the ‘builders’ side, do you have any favorite BATers that you enjoy following? If you still play SC4, what was your most recent download from the STEX? Seraf: Hmm, there is JasonCW and darn42. Aaron, Vlasky and Paul from NYBT. I always enjoyed the Nofunk's and Amthaak's threads but sadly neither of them is active now. ST: SimCity 4 has been out for over 12 years now. Are you surprised that this community is still going strong all these years later? What do you think is the secret to its longevity? Do you think there will still be new content being created 12 years from now? Seraf: Maybe a little? But I think it's still a great game which doesn't have many worthy opponents in category of city-building (among new games that is). And that would be one of the reasons why it's still popular. Another one would be that there's so much custom content. And the quality of CC is still being improved. But will it be still being created in 12 years? I have no idea, maybe it will be, maybe not. Maybe there will be a miracle and EA will decide that it's better to come back to SC4 and improve it rather than make new games that mostly fail to meet the expectations of the gamers ST: Are there any games you play besides SC4? What other hobbies do you have away from BATing and SimCity? Seraf: Yes, my favourite genre is adventure games. I like spending time solving various riddles and puzzles. But I don't shy away from shooters either, although the ones set in WWI or II repel me very much. The last game I played was Watch Dogs, I got it for free so I thought - why not? It was ok. I have many hobbies. I draw and paint (although the latter only digitally). Ironically - mostly humans rather than architecture. I like designing buildings (or parts of them) so I guess I do draw architecture a little after all. I'm an aspiring writer so I spend much time improving my writing skills. I've been learning to sing for a few years now and recently I started training figure skating. So I have my schedule full. ST: What question have I not asked that I should have? Seraf: I have no idea Although I think I'm glad that you didn't ask about unfinished BATs or plans for future ones. The former could upset a number of people ( ) the latter is an ever-changing matter.

NAM… Tarkus… Do we really need more of an introduction? Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the past 12 years, the NAM (Network Addon Mod) is the single most famous addon for SC4… ever. And considering there are tens of thousands of SC4 custom files, that’s quite an accomplishment. Tarkus, who has been a part of the NAMsince 2007, was kind enough to take a quick break from his busy life in the great Pacific Northwest and answer a few questions in commemoration of the STEX 100 million celebration. ST: When did you first get SC4, and what do you remember about your first experiences with the game? Was SC4 your first involvement with SimCity, or did you already have a history with the sim games? Tarkus: I first picked up SC4 in the spring of 2004, sometime after SC4 Deluxe was released. I had intermittently had some experiences with the SimCity franchise before that, first with the SNES version in 1991 (my dad pulled an all-nighter with it!), and sometime in the late-90s, with Streets of SimCity, which happened to include SCURK (a stripped down, sandbox SC2000). I wound up spending more time with SCURKthat with Streets (which was notoriously buggy, sadly) and meticulously plotted out a multi-tile region over several years, using TXT files to map out the coordinates for neighbor connections. When I ran across SC4 by chance at the store, and saw they had actually implemented multi-tile regions, it was instantly a must-purchase. After that, it was a game where I went through spurts of intense play. I didn't know there were mods out there until I ran across Simtropolis by accident in December 2005, and the rest is history. ST: What aspect of SC4 do you enjoy most – what keeps you coming back? Tarkus: I think the two biggest things are the open-ended and (for all intents and purposes) infinite nature of the gameplay, plus the massive amounts of custom content out there, and the ability to add even more yet.SC4 isn't one of those games you “beat”, and I've never really considered any of my cities “completed”. While the advisers may try to push you in one way, I've always found it's ultimately up to the player to decide the goals, and that's something I find appealing. Believe it or not, I've never built a city over 350,000 population, because I've never really had the desire to build a skyscraper jungle. ST: Before we jump into the all the custom content questions, I’m curious… what is your favorite Maxis lot/BAT? Tarkus: That's a good question. I'd have to say it's probably tied between a few of the high-tech buildings, like the Accelerator and Cryo Testing. They're probably the shiniest buildings in the Maxis defaults, and I was always happy to see them pop up back when I played vanilla. ST: Do you recall the first plugin you installed? Tarkus: It was NAM Version 19, which I picked up about two months after its release in late 2005, shortly followed by the first RHW alpha. Absolutely blew my mind to have all that transportation functionality added. ST: What led you to Simtropolis at first? Can you remember your initial impressions of the site? Tarkus: I recall getting bored one day in December 2005 and browsing the fansite listing at the official EA Maxis SimCity 4 site. I had run across SimCityCentral and a couple other sites quite some time prior, but there wasn't much there on the custom content front, and I had kind of forgotten about my search for mods and such until I decided to look again that day. Eventually, I found and clicked the link to Simtropolis, and it was like SC4 Disneyland, with a bunch of custom content I had only dreamed of—like the NAM—plus a forum that seemed way more level-headed than some of the ones I'd followed for other games. Eventually, I bit the bullet and officially joined the site in February 2006. ST: Describe your progression into the world of SC4 custom content. Was it a particular mod, lot orBAT that inspired you to take the first step? Tarkus: It all started with the NAM. From there, I downloaded quite a bit of custom content, mostly BSC Team stuff in the suburban vein. I was really fond of building suburbs, but found Maxis' building selections on that front lacking. It was probably the potential of the then-brand-new RHW mod (the “R” still stood for “Rural” then), and the burgeoning roadsign development stuff, like artforce1's Generic Highway Sign Development Project (GHSDP) and Ryan B.'s stuff that got me thinking of getting into the content business myself. ST: Speaking of first steps, what was the very first thing that you attempted to mod? How did it turn out? Tarkus: My very first upload was a pack of roadsign lots, with Oregon-style “speed” signs—without the word “limit” as has been the practice in my home state for many years (though ODOT now seems to have a Commie plot afoot to convert us to the standard “Speed Limit” verbiage). They came as standalone grass lots, plus “space saving” transit-enabled lots. They ultimately got a couple thousand downloads, as I recall. I eventually deleted them as “youthful indiscretions”, as they weren't modded all that well, and there had been some controversy about the effect of TE lots on traffic simulation in the late-00s. ST: The NAM team was founded way back in 2004, and you joined shortly after in 2007. What was it like being a new member of the team? As a freshman on the High School swim team, we had to run through the school in nothing but shoes and our speedos. Was there any NAM initiation of the new members? Tarkus: Being brought onto the NAM Team was just like the sense of “SC4 Disneyland” I felt when I first discovered ST. I had actually been working on RHW content for about 4 or 5 months before I got added to the team. One day in February 2007, I looked in the old private topics area that used to be on the site, where I had an ongoing thread with jplumbley, Ryan B, and beskhu3epnm about this crazy thing called an NWM, and I noticed the sudden appearance of a “NAM Private Discussion” in there. I was basically added to the team without a peep, which made it a very pleasant surprise. That silent addition is still a tactic we'll sometimes use when adding new members to the team—most recently with Durfsurn. ST: What was your first contribution to the NAM? What motivated you to spend the hours digging through the inner workings of SC4, attempting to make it a better game? Tarkus: The RHW project had really caught my attention when I first arrived in the community. At that point, it was still in what we know today as Version 1.2—a rough alpha with a very limited feature set, but I could tell it had potential. At that point, it wasn't even technically part of the NAM, but a loosely affiliated side-project. There was pretty much just one thing I really wanted to add to it—an Avenue-over-RHW-4 piece—and maybe a couple more along the same lines. Eventually, I ended up releasing those pieces as part of RHW Version 1.3 in April 2007. I found that once I had invested the time into learning the ropes, I got quite a bit of satisfaction out of it, so that one puzzle piece turned into 8 years of NAM development for me. ST: I think most custom content creators would consider their work a hobby, but like anything in life, some parts are more fun than others. What do you consider your least favorite part of the moding process? What about your favorite? Tarkus: As far as a least favorite part, I don't think anyone enjoys bugfixing, but from a personal standpoint, I've gotten to the point where I don't really enjoy making standard puzzle pieces anymore. That process has become rather tedious. Fortunately, because we're on the cusp of getting the FLEX stuff dialed in, and I haven't had to make one in some time. As far as favorite parts, it's always things like getting the first prototype of a new override network or FLEX piece into functional shape—enough that I can use it in an actual city. It's been quite fulfilling getting the new elevated ramp interfaces in place for our upcoming NAM33 release. ST: Since this is a sort of hobby (in the sense that custom content creators are not paid for their work), what keeps you motivated to continue releasing new creations for the SC4 community to enjoy? How much do comments in the download section mean to you? Do you get a thrill seeing creative uses of the NAM pop up in CJs? Tarkus: What's kept me motivated is my vision for projects like the RHW and NWM that I had right as I was first starting to mod. There's still stuff I'd like to add to the game, and there probably will continue to be for some time. Most of the comments in the download section we get now for the NAM are tech support-related, but looking back over my infamous April Fools' upload, the , I really get a kick out of those comments. I still get a thrill out of seeing people playing around with stuff I designed in “Show Us” threads, CJs and MDs, and I still remember how ecstatic I was once the RHW's Modular Interchange System first starting showing up there. Especially once McDuell got a hold of it. ST: You have been moding for the NAM team for over 7 years now. Is there any one of your creations that you are particularly proud of? Are there any fun stories or facts relating to some of your works that we don’t know about? Tarkus: It's 8 years this month, which I still find hard to believe. I'm probably the most proud of the modular interchange concept for the RHW. Before that time, just about every other post in the old NAM Requests thread was asking for new highway interchanges, but the problem was that the process of making the big pre-fab interchanges for the default highways was ridiculously labor intensive. With the clean slate of theRHW, it made sense to build up a new approach, which did everything differently from the Maxis Highways. Rather than spending 6 to 12 months developing a single interchange to add to the NAM, the modular approach broke things up into smaller chunks that could be easily produced, and then assembled by the users into thousands of different combinations. This allowed all the would-be highway engineers to take matters into their own hands, creatively, rather than sitting around in the request thread. While some folks out there may not be fond of the RHW's complexity, once the RHW 3.0 release in 2009 added elevated components (thanks to the modeling efforts of my good friend Swamper77), and true RHW-to-RHWinterchanges became possible, without having to fudge things with tunnels or one-way roads, the whole request backlog fell away. We only see maybe one Maxis Highway interchange request every couple years now, and the lessons we've learned from RHW development have paid dividends with implementing the NWM and other components, so I feel that it's been an enormously successful transit modding initiative. And we could probably keep adding to it for many years to come. Probably the funniest fact I can think of relating to NAM development was the nickname we had for the RHWneighbor connector pieces. Before we added those, the only way to get commuter traffic to continue onto the next city tile with a multi-tile RHW system was to build a loop connector, a visible perpendicular stretch of road that went between the two halves of the RHW and broke the override, in order to get around a limitation in the game's simulation engine. It did the trick, but it was rather unsightly. Internally, on the team, as the present-day NC pieces you know today were being developed, we called them NREEs: Nicole Richie Effect Eliminators, as Ms. Richie was well-known at that point for driving the wrong way on a California freeway, much as the sims using loop connectors did. ST: Has your experience moding had any influence on your personal or professional life? Are there any skills that you have developed over your moding career that have helped you beyond the world ofSC4? Tarkus: As far as my personal life, not really—pretty much no one in my RL know about my SC4 activities, and I actually keep that on the downlow for the most part. Professionally, my experiences with modding actually inspired me to take about two years of computer science coursework while working on my doctorate, and I've been putting some of those skills to use of late, developing Java-based music theory utilities. ST: I understand that you delved into the world of local politics recently. Do you think your interest in city simulations has played a part in that? Tarkus: Yes, I ran for a city council seat in my home town, and while I didn't get in, I was pleased with getting 10% of the vote as a virtual unknown. And I'd say it's the other way around for me—I think my interest in local politics, and particularly, in transportation and land use policy, was what got me into SC4. I spend quite a bit of time researching those issues in my spare time, looking over a lot of technical documents—transportation system plans and the like—and that's heavily influenced my approach to the game, as evidenced by Tarkusian Cities. I'd also say that the policy research I did during my campaign will influence my approach to the game going forward—for starters, discovering the dismal safety records for Oregon's multi-lane roundabouts will cause me to steer clear of those in the future. ST: What advice would you give to a new member of this community who was interested in joining theNAM team? Tarkus: The way that most of us have gotten onto the team is by virtue of starting on transit modding passion projects on our own, and then invited to the team once we've shown enough skill. My advice is to find something you're interested in seeing in-game, reading up on the various modding tutorials and the like (which are far more abundant than when I started), and learning how things work. We're usually happy to provide some technical assistance and answer questions for new transit modders giving it an honest go. That's how I ultimately started out—Swamper77 and qurlix were two members who helped me out as I was first getting going. Also, if you find a buddy in the community who is also giving it a go—as happened with me and jplumbley—that can also make the experience more enjoyable. ST: Simtropolis is organized into ‘player’ and ‘builder’ categories. Regarding the ‘player’ section, do you have any favorite CJers that you enjoy following? What are your favorite SC4 ‘scenes’ (i.e., towering metropolises, urban sprawl, rural landscapes, etc.). Tarkus: Admittedly, I haven't been able to follow CJs as much of late—heck, my own has gone MIA—but I've typically enjoyed the ones that kind of get heavy on planning and roadgeekery. and are two authors on ST today that I think do a good job with that. Going back in time, things like dedgren'sThree Rivers Region, haljackey's , , and pickled_pig's Travels Down I-85 appealed to me. I'm normally drawn to the more suburban settings, but really, anything that's done well and focuses on thinking about the game stands a good chance of piquing my interest. ST: On the ‘builders’ side, do you have any favorite BATers that you enjoy following? If you still playSC4, what was your most recent download from the STEX? Tarkus: I'd say that probably the most distinctive BATer for me nowadays is Bipin. He's got some interesting ideas, and executes them well. I've also been pleased to see Bobbo662's lost work coming to light, through nos.17's efforts. As far as all-time favorites, I like a lot of the old BSC stuff—SimGoober and mattb325, especially. Most recent STEX download for me, technically, was this month's challenge region. I've been considering a strictly exhibition entry for it, with the idea of siccing some new toys on it. ST: SimCity 4 has been out for over 12 years now. Are you surprised that this community is still going strong all these years later? What do you think is the secret to its longevity? Do you think there will still be new content being created 12 years from now? Tarkus: I'm maybe a little bit surprised, mostly at the fact that it's been 12 years, but I've always pegged this community as being in it for the long haul. It's crazy to think that most of the pioneers of the SC4 modding scene, from the 2004-2005 era, thought we'd have “jumped ship” to the mythical SC5 by 2007—and we're 8 years past that date. I think there's been a few things that have led to the longevity. First, there's just so much custom content out there, and it's still coming. The rate of production isn't nearly what it was in the mid/late-00s, but it's still coming. The game's still readily available and is selling well on Steam and other digital retailers, and that's bringing a steady stream of new players in, which is astonishing for a game of this age. Also, the other attempts at making city-simulators haven't quite captured the balance of SC4. People find the new SimCity, and that actually becomes somewhat of a gateway to SC4. As far as 12 years from now goes, that'll be 2027. I'll be turning 42 that year (yikes!). Retro gaming is a huge phenomenon—one I'm into, personally—and as this generation gets older, provided Steam and the like are still around, SC4's going to become a big nostalgia trip for people. Consider that SC4 will be the same age then that Super Mario World and the original Sonic the Hedgehog are in 2015. I could see at least some diehards continuing to make content then. ST: Cities:Skylines... have you played it yet? If not, what are you first impressions based on the mountain of feedback available here on Simtropolis or around the web? Tarkus: I have not played it yet--RL has been absolutely insane recently--though I am certainly curious about it. A lot of people in this community, whose opinion I trust, some of whom are as hardcore about SC4 as they come, have had very positive things to say. And I've been impressed with what I've seen. ST: 12 years later, many are calling this game the 'successor' to SC4 and the city building genera. What are your thoughts? Tarkus: Colossal Order and Paradox have been very smart about how they've handled things, and while I haven't personally been able to play it yet, the approach they've taken and the widespread support they've gotten seem to suggest that Cities: Skylines may in fact be "the mythical SC5". As soon as I heard they were entering the market, I had a feeling about this game. Being a smaller operation with a proven track record, who seem to learned from SC4, I think really allowed them to avoid the pitfalls that plagued the other post-SC4 city simulators. They didn't try to make it an MMO or an online game, or build it around some other sort of gimmick. It actually fits with the current direction in hardware and OS development by properly supporting multi-core processors and 64-bit architecture, which is really critical if you're going to produce a city simulation platform that can handle the sort of complexity and depth that many of us enjoy. And it's very fairly priced--the standard edition is only $10 more than SC4's MSRP, which is pretty astonishing. I don't think SC4 is going to die off--there's still people playing SC3000 and earlier out there, and the NAMTeam still has the gears turning for NAM 33--but this game is getting an unheard of adoption rate among the real core of the SC4 community. I have no doubt it is going to change the face of the community across the board, here at Simtropolis, on Reddit, and over at SC4 Devotion. In fact, it already has, in just a week after release. ST: It will take plenty time before C:S can rival the amount of custom content available for SC4, but the developers have really encouraged modding, and there are already many new buildings and 'assets' that can be found on Simtropolis and the steam workshop. Are you encouraged by the leap into C:S custom content? Tarkus: I think that the content side of things, and how it's already exploded in just a week's time, shows that Colossal Order really gets what made SC4 tick, and they were smart in getting Steam Workshop set up for the game. And consider that it took the SC4 community sometime to really crack that game open. NAM Version 1 didn't see the light until over a year after the game's release, and the content development scene didn't really resemble what most of us recognize today until the second year after release, when you had the BSC, the NAM Team, NDEX, and Pegasus firing on all cylinders. Given that the developers seem to be indicating they'll be opening up more stuff in the near future, I think the C:S community may very well have an accelerated trajectory, compared to how things unfolded with SC4. As for whether or not you'll see me enter the modding scene with C:S, it's too early to say at this point, especially as I don't yet have the game. I'm also not normally one who buys games with a predetermined intention of modding them--it was 2 years between when I purchased SC4 and when I started developing content. But the way things are integrated, as far as I can tell, the way they've done it, the modding is kind of a seamless part of the game with C:S. I'm certainly interested to see how it all works in practice, firsthand. ST: What question have I not asked that I should have? Tarkus: Just kidding on that one—I could certainly go another 12 years without hearing it, as could about half the site. Thank you for the interesting questions, and to ST and its staff for continuing to foster the SC4 community—congratulations on this significant milestone!

Simtropolis’ very own AutoSaurus… T Wrecks is a giant in the SC4 custom content world (he even has his own ). From recent hits like the game changing Industrial Revolution mod, to his prolific work with kurier.simcityplaza.de and NDEX, T Wrecks fingerprints can be found all over the STEX, and almost certainly in your very own plugin folder. He has quietly been planning sim-world domination one lot at a time, but before that happens, we’ve been lucky enough to get a chance to sit down and pick his brain for the ongoing STEX 100 million interview series. ST: When did you first get SC4, and what do you remember about your first experiences with the game? Was SC4your first involvement with SimCity, or did you already have a history with the sim games? T Wrecks: I think I first borrowed SC4 (pre-RH) from a friend a short time after its release, liked the graphics, but had a hard time really getting something going. It was before even the first patch, and I guess the radical change in terms of cost management made things difficult for me initially. In SC3K, if you could afford zoning/plopping something, you could afford its upkeep easily. In SC4, all of a sudden plop/zoning cost was nothing, but maintenance cost... jeez, a few basketball courts too many could break your neck. Then I lost SC4 from my radar somehow. When the RH addon came out, I wanted to get both finally, but while the basic game could be bought anywhere for a few bucks, RH was incredibly hard to come by. I finally managed to buy both in 2004, though, and immediately started to get really involved in the game. I know SimCity right from the start - played the original SimCity first with a friend on his PC/XT with amber monitor, later on my own Amiga 500 - and even later on my first PC. Naturally, SC2K followed. I also liked a "multiplayer" edition of SC2K where you could buy land on which to build your city. The SCURK (SimCity Urban Renewal Kit), which enabled you to replace in-game buildings with your own (or other peoples') hand-drawn stuff is also the first time I discovered custom content for SimCity. I dipped my toe in it a little, but it didn't amount to much. SC3000 was the logical next step, and SC3K. I also got the BAP (and later the BAP+) to make custom buildings. SC3000 marks the first time I went hunting for custom content on the 'net in addition to fiddling around with it on my own PC. I didn't contribute anything, though. ST: What aspect of SC4 do you enjoy most – what keeps you coming back? T Wrecks: What I like most about the game is that the city behaves almost like something alive. You control many parameters, and yet a city can always surprise you. Turn your back on a totally uninteresting spot to take care of something, only to find something totally surprising has developed in the meantime. That, and the fact that it is totally not based on levels, scenarios, a story, fixed goals or anything - you have zillions of possibilities, and the resulting cities and regions are as individual as your handwriting. I also like how relaxing it can be. Sometimes I like to sit back and just look at those tiny cars driving around in my city. Last but not least, the vast modding possibilities keep me coming back more than the actual game these days. There is always so much more you could add... ST: Before we jump into the all the custom content questions, I’m curious… what is your favorite Maxis lot/BAT? T Wrecks: Phew, that's a difficult one. I don't think I have THE favourite building. I like several that are very well done IMO, even if they are not too spectacular. Many of the small family homes are really decent IMO. Other buildings I (almost) always like when they pop up include White's Clothier, Brown & Sons (a very rarely growing building), Mace Co., Schnittjer Printing, Strang Deeds Office Tower, Kanarowski & Co., Futa Consulting, Goldman Building / Hourvitz Accounting (really pretty much the same building), West & Co., The Pratt, Hi-Rise Apts (Chicago tileset), Simon Manor, Jolly Manor, Wallace Manor, The Long Building, Butts Condos, Russo Condos... The lots are mostly pretty poor, but Maxis had to make ends meet with a severly limited amount of props and textures - not to mention that RCI lots needed to accommodate several buildings of a family. When you mass produce, you can't work wonders... I know that myself because some of my projects (such as the IRM) also involved a high degree of mass production. ST: Do you recall the first plugin you installed? T Wrecks: No, I'm afraid not. No idea, really. ST: What led you to Simtropolis at first? Can you remember your initial impressions of the site? T Wrecks: I was looking for custom content, of course! I must have visited Simtropolis long before I registered, because when I finally signed up, I know I had vague memories of the site, even though it looked much different back then. I don't remember any particular first impressions (it was more than 10 years ago, give me a break!), but I do remember that I found not only a place to download stuff, but also a promising community. When I commented on a CJ posted by an Austrian player, michi5, he invited me over to the German-speaking community - an involvement that would lead me to becoming a member of the SFBT. However, I'm no longer active in said German community, but I never felt like leaving ST. ST: Describe your progression into the world of SC4 custom content. Was it a particular lot or BAT that inspired you to take the first step? T Wrecks: I don't think so. It was probably more the sheer possibility. As I mentioned above, I also tried my hands at the SCURK for SC2000, the BAP / BA+ for SC3000 / SC3000 Unlimited, and I also tried other custom stuff before. After playing through Duke Nukem 3D, for example, I was more interested in the level editor. I have also made waypoints for a Counter-Strike (1.5/1.6) bot before, and the Half-Life level editor is not unknown to me, either. Guess I just have a tendency to get fascinated by editors and their potential. It's not so much about any particular item. ST: Speaking of first steps, what was the very first thing that you lotted using the LE? Do you still have a screen shot? T Wrecks: I don't have the slightest idea, let alone a screenshot, sorry. :/ ST: You’ve been creating unique and beautiful lots for quite some time, but if members were to search your library of STEX files they would only come up with about 2 pages worth. Yet, you are constantly creating the lots for many of the great BATers on this site. So best guess, how many of your lots are on the STEX? T Wrecks: Argh, another difficult one. Counted in STEX uploads (and not in actual .sc4lot files), I guess there may be up to 100 in addition to what I have released under my own name. Add to this a further 50 or more over at kurier.simcityplaza.de, where I used to be involved in the modding, lotting, translation, and packaging of uploads. All the NDEX files you can find there, for example, have been tweaked and often re-lotted by me. In the end, I don't care about numbers that much. I'm rather glad that I could help several great BATters to get their stuff on the STEX! ST: As a lotter myself, I find lotting can put me in a peaceful Zen state. What do you enjoy about lotting and what keeps you firing up the LE after so many years? T Wrecks: Peaceful Zen state? Hmm... I don't really know if I share this feeling. I guess it can be close to that if you're not doing a boring routine task, and if things are going together all right. Other times, it can be tedious and a bit boring. The actual act of lotting is pretty ok, I guess, but what motivates me most is when I see how I can make the lot complement a building as seamlessly as possible, and - in the case of a re-lot - when I check out the lot in game and see how it's much better than the original lot, at least according to my taste. Ultimately, it's not the process of lotting itself, but the satisfaction of getting a result that conforms to my taste and liking that motivates me. ST: I think most custom content creators would consider their work a hobby, but like anything in life, some parts are more fun than others. What do you consider your least favorite part of the lotting process? T Wrecks: Sometimes it's the very beginning: Sitting in front of an empty lot and not knowing what to do with it, trying out many designs that don't work... sometimes it's repetition: one down, five more versions to go... However, the parts I like least in general are all the activities that don't have to do with the actual lotting: determining stats, recording them in my ever growing database, fixing file properties, and worst of all: documentation, packaging and uploading. I really hate that part. Did I mention making menu icons? No? Well, then: making menu icons. ST: Since this is a sort of hobby (in the sense that custom content creators are not paid for their work), what keeps you motivated to continue releasing new creations for the SC4 community to enjoy? How much do comments in the download section mean to you? Do you get a thrill seeing your lots pop up in CJs? T Wrecks: Hm, I figure since I have taken so much and since I mod the heck out of my plugins anyway, it would be only logical and fair to give something back and share some of the stuff that I have on my HD anyway. It's nice when you post a question because you're trying to do something, and people not only help you, but also take interest in that project of yours - that's how it started for me. That's what convinced me that my stuff may be interesting for others initially. These days, what I enjoy most - more than STEX comments, although I do appreciate these! - is players actually using something I made. It shows me that I haven't uploaded those files for nothing, and as a bonus it's often interesting for me to see how players will use my creations. Sometimes I see applications that I would never have thought of myself. ST: You have been lotting for almost 10 years now. Is there any one of your creations that you are particularly proud of? Are there any fun stories or facts relating to some of your works that we don’t know about? T Wrecks: Hm, I kinda like the relots of . IDS Offices may also be one of my better lots. But that's only the optical side of affairs...On a larger scale, I'm most proud of the fact that I contributed a little bit towards taking more care of the stats of BATs and lots, and I also think the is not too shabby because it has expanded into an entire lot family - and a big family at that! Now that I think about it, those low-wealth mega lot sets I made based on 645978's buildings were pretty popular in their time, and my first modular set of lots. I still have fond memories of them - and even a screenshot from the day the first one became a STEX feature! I hope you can excuse the crappy quality and low resolution: Fun facts or stories? I'm afraid there are none that I remember, and if I don't remember them, they probably haven't been all that interesting in the first place. It's really boring work, haha. ST: Has your experience with SC4 custom content had any influence on your personal or professional life? Are there any skills that you have developed over your lotting career that have helped you beyond the world of SC4? T Wrecks: Yes, there has been some degree of influence. The German SC4 community has brought me into personal contact with several people, and I mean not only contact over the 'net. What began as a pleasant, but absolutely unintended side product evolved into a chain of acquantainces and friendships up to and including a girlfriend - these days, we're no longer together, but still good friends even after many years, although she's the only one who remains from that time. So much for personal life... As far as my professional life is concerned, I'd say that there have been indirect influences. Obviously my incredibly spectacular skills at pushing props around in the Lot Editor and clicking on boxes (*gasp*) have not led to my running a blue chip company now, and neither has my ability to convert from decimal into hexadecimal on a very low level (2A = 42) without using a calculator resulted in a position as CIO. Lotting IS a pretty trivial task, after all, and there's not much "RL carryover", as you might call it. However, hanging around in an English-speaking community for 10 years is certainly not detrimental to your language proficiency, and as a professional translator, I can always use that. In this respect, my hobby lotting/modding has certainly been more helpful than jazzdance or collecting stamps. Private life and job life aside, such an international community also gets you into contact with a very broad variety of people and widens your horizon. This may not result in any direct benefits, but I still think it can be an important lesson for life in general. ST: What advice would you give to a new member of this community who was planning on creating their first lot? T Wrecks: Three words: Start a thread. Next to that, be prepared to read a lot.There's vast knowledge floating around, but it's not very well catalogued. Old hands may be able to direct you towards useful resources, or they may point out stuff that's hard to find in writing out there. Starting a thread is very useful to gather feedback, and if you're doing it right, you will learn more than by merely asking. How so? Well, if you ask something, you'll get a solution - hopefully. If you present your progress in a thread additionally, people may suggest things and mention stuff you haven't been aware of before. They may cause you to consider solutions that you wouldn't have considered by yourself or that you didn't even know about. Ultimately, however, you should take care to do what you like best, or you may end up being torn between different options favoured by your thread followers and not knowing which way to go.By the way, the Lot Editor comes with a manual. It's in your root SimCity 4 directory, and Maxis doesn't really rub its existence in your face, but it is there. This should be enough to teach you the basics. The rest is patience, ideas, and some hints found here and there and/or provided by other community members. You should also be prepared to use , and possibly as well.Finally my catch phrase: Always start with an empty plugins folder! Get to know your props and textures, and use them sparingly. ST: Simtropolis is organized into ‘player’ and ‘builder’ categories. Regarding the ‘player’ section, do you have any favorite CJers that you enjoy following? What are your favorite SC4 ‘scenes’ (i.e., towering metropolises, urban sprawl, rural landscapes, etc.). T Wrecks: I don't really follow anything in particular. If it's on the frontpage and catches my interest, I'll take a look. Otherwise, not so much. It's not that I don't respect the CJers' work (many of them are amazing!), but I'm simply not into that "following a CJ" thing. I do find myself taking a look into Ln X' "" pretty often recently because we now have CJ features, this particular CJ is often featured these days, and Ln X often uses stuff I made. It's a good way for me to check out some of my stuff "out in the wild". If it wasn't for the features, however, I might not even know that this CJ exists. ST: On the ‘builders’ side, do you have any favorite BATers that you enjoy following? What was your most recent download from the STEX? T Wrecks: All of the above! Seriously, if there's a BAT thread, then I'm following it. Usually when I turn off my notebook and go to bed, not a single BAT thread here on Simtrop has unread replies.I don't exactly remember the most recent download because I don't download that regularly these days - no need to because I haven't actually played the game in years. I do download whatever is relevant to my interests every now and then, but the intervals tend to be long. One person I'd like to highlight is C.P. aka Cycledogg. Especially from a lotter's point of view, his work is awesome. In addition to great BATs, the use of custom foundations for slope-friendly buildings and the "invention" of shaded props (which I like to use a lot), he has organised his props into hundreds of prop families, making it so much easier to add variation to a lot. There are cars that appear and disappear at certain times of the day or have a certain probability of appearing in general, there are prop foundations, there are seasonal props, there are angled versions... and he even took it upon himself to go through most of his flora props again, re-render and re-organise them, updating the packages, and even making cohort files for the prop families so that a proper name shows up in the list instead of a hexadecimal ID. That's an insane amount of work, and I can only begin to imagine how much dedication, diligence, and persistence must have gone into that. He's by far not the only one who has made valuable contributions for the community, but I think he deserves particular praise from the perspective of a lotter. ST: SimCity 4 has been out for over 12 years now. Are you surprised that this community is still going strong all these years later? What do you think is the secret to its longevity? Do you think there will still be new content being created 12 years from now? T Wrecks: Not that surprised, actually. Open up a game to additional custom content, make that game one that ages well (i.e., a game that doesn't depend on visual effects that much), fail to release a successor deemed worthy by the fans, and you have a pretty decent chance of a fan community taking things into their own hands. I'm also thinking of Chris Sawyer's Transport Tycoon right now, a much older game than SimCity 4. It has been "re-released" as fully open source software, OpenTTD, and the community keeps making great mods, just like the SimCity crowd. These can't be the only examples, either. Another aspect that certainly helps is the attitude that all content is offered free of charge, made by fans, made for fans. This eliminates barriers, helps to attract newcomers, and ensures good circulation of the files. Otherwise we may have a situation where downloads rot away behind paywalls on several private websites that become inactive as soon as their owners disappear from the community, and eventually vanish as well. I've witnessed some pretty nasty quarrels over paid downloads for the Sims games. That was quite a shock for me because I thought all custom content communities were like the SimCity crowd more or less.12 years from now? EA will surely have released a great successor in the vein of SC4 by then! Ok, silly jokes aside: 12 years are a lot, so there really is no telling. I see more than enough strength in the community to last for another 5-6 years, that's for sure. We'll see about the rest. With C:S being out now, I sometimes get that sad feeling that the SC4 community might fall apart sooner than we think. While I'm happy for all those players who eagerly anticipated a true "3D SimCity" experience and wish them tons of fun with this new game, I have always had other priorities for a SimCity successor (deeper regional concept, non-rectangular lots, procedural lots, shopping and tourism traffic, surface water, mixed-use buildings, defined W2W areas and other zone-specific regulations, non-rectangular maps / definable city limits, to mention just a few ideas). This is why C:S is not simply a great relief for me: "Finally 3D!" "Finally no longer SC4!" - just like many players may think. For me, however, it also marks the possible departure from something that I have always liked, and that ended up playing an important role in my free time. It marks what may be the autumn in SC4's life cycle, and this thought makes me a little sad and nostalgic. I know I will miss the discussions in BAT threads when it's finally over. But here's to hoping that we'll be able to keep SC4 alive as a long-time niche game! ST: Speaking of Cities:Skylines... have you played it yet? If not, what are you first impressions based on the mountain of feedback available here on Simtropolis or around the web? T Wrecks: I don't even have a PC capable of handling it, and won't have for several months. Even if I had one, my primary goal is getting back to actually playing SC4again after a long hiatus. So no, no first-hand experience with C:S yet. From what I see, it looks rather different. So far, the overall aesthetics don't really appeal to me since I tend to prefer highly detailed 2D over low-poly 3D. This may change as further mods are being made, but for now it's not causing me to hyperventilate. It is, of course, one of the games on my "watch list"! ST: 12 years later, many are calling this game the 'successor' to SC4 and the city building genera. What are your thoughts? T Wrecks: Apparently the creators did a much better job than even EA themselves and managed to accommodate many of the primary wishes of the SimCity fan community. So yes, I guess it could be called a "successor" in spirit - just like the Age of Wonders franchise can be called a "successor" of Microprose's Master of Magic, or Freelancer a "successor" of Wing Commander: Privateer. We'll know more once the dust settles, and I won't comment very much without having played the game myself. ST: It will take plenty time before C:S can rival the amount of custom content available for SC4, but the developers have really encouraged modding, and there are already many new buildings and 'assets' that can be found on Simtropolis and the steam workshop. Are you encouraged to leap into C:S custom content? T Wrecks: Not in the foreseeable future. I got a few months' worth of SC4 content on my 'to do' list, and then I want to PLAY some SC4. Afterwards, and when I have a better PC (if I even buy one instead of rediscovering yet another retro game that captures my limited free time!), we shall see. The retro gaming aspect really holds some importance. You see, the last time I bought a game was in early 2014 - and it was a retro game! The last halfways up-to-date game I bought? I don't even remember that. More than 5 years ago for sure. This is just to explain what some may perceive as an odd lack of enthusiasm. I just have a tendency to enjoy old games with a high replay value, and since I don't have much time on my hands, me buying a new game is something of a snowball in hell event. I must say, though, that the possibility to build intersections and turn the entire structure into a pre-fab element strikes me as an admirably smart move by the developers. Looks like they also thought about the aspect of getting these assets into the game, with some user-friendly features such as using the editor itself to take a screenshot of the finished asset and introducing it into the game as the menu icon for this new asset - quite a progress compared to the tedious process of making in-game icons forSC4 content! I can guarantee, however, that you won't see my name attached to a C:S upload any time in 2015. Maybe later. ST: Are there any games you play besides SC4? What other hobbies do you have away from lotting/modding and SimCity? T Wrecks: Although I did play first-person shooters when I was younger, I always had a liking for round-based RPGs and strategy games, 4X games, occasionally some RTS. Notable examples of other games than SimCity that I really liked are Master of Orion 1 and 2 (round-based 4X in a sci-fi universe), Master of Magic (think of Civilization 1 with heroes, spells and magical creatures) and its inofficial successors, the Age of Wonders franchise. Transport Tycoon (these days, OpenTTD) certainly deserves a mention, as does the Earth 2150 franchise (innovative 3D sci-fi RTS with modular units, research, experience system, ammo, etc.). I'm so retro! In my defense, however, I can say that they just don't make them like this any more, and that's not a lie. What I'd give for a subtly improved Transport Tycoon with up-to-date graphics! And don't even get me started about SimCity... Away from my SimCity-related hobbies, I occasionally build scale model ships - non-military stuff like ocean liners or tug boats because they're more colourful and involve fewer repetitive tasks. I have enough of that in the Lot Editor! As a counterpart to that indoor stuff, I really like to ride my bike out of the city and go swimming. I prefer lakes over pools because I like to be out in nature, and preferably not surrounded by people. Too many people around me make me aggressive in the long term, so it's a great way to recharge my batteries. I also like to go hiking. Doing sports in a way that's focused on performance (faster, longer, higher) is not my way at all, but I need to be on the move occasionally.I also like music, so I go to live concerts and festivals a lot. ST: What question have I not asked that I should have? T Wrecks: Hm, maybe about my future plans or my goals in terms of SimCity. Tucked away deep inside my mind is that little hope that one day I might actually play the game again. But the way I know me, after a few days I'll find that something is sorely lacking, and go back to the drawing board...

Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you're at! Up above the world you fly, Like a tea tray in the sky. Alice in Wonderland’s Mad Hatter was quite the poet, but he probably couldn’t BAT his way out of a paper bag. Fortunately for us, madhatter106 eschews the poetry (at least as far as we know) and instead, dazzles us with his twinkling BATs (the SC4 model kind). He hails from the City of Angles, and the cities sprawling suburbs and gritty atmosphere can be seen in the massive collection of buildings that reside here on the STEX. If you browse the forums, his name continues to pop up when new members begin looking for custom content because his creations mix so well with the standard Maxis fare, and his ‘no dependencies’ lots are a welcome bonus. With almost 150,000 total downloads, it’s easy to see how popular his creations have become. So follow us down the rabbit hole and spend a little time with our very own madhatter106. ST: When did you first get SC4, and what do you remember about your first experiences with the game? Was SC4 your first involvement with SimCity, or did you already have a history with the sim games? madhatter106: I remember getting the original SimCity for the Commodore 128 back in the spring of 1990. I've played that and SC2 and SC3 a bunch, in college and afterwards. I like sandbox style games, so SC4 was a definite buy; I think I picked that one up in 2005 or so when I was on a hiatus from work. ST: What aspect of SC4 do you enjoy most – what keeps you coming back? madhatter106: I think seeing a great new BAT pop up in the game, especially if it's very cleverly done or perfectly modeled or textured. Those are the moments I enjoy. I must say that IBAT much more than I play the game - I would guess that 90% of my time is spent outside of SC4, making content for it. I think I'm more of a content provider than a player, because I like making the kind of stuff I like to see in-game – that is, in those rare moments I am actually playing. ST: Do you recall the first plugin you installed? madhatter106: It must have been off the original SC4 Exchange on the Maxis site. I remember looking for carwashes, so it was probably something along those lines. I still haven’t found a carwash plugin that I really like; maybe I’ll make one someday. I'm guessing that I might even still have those early downloads somewhere on a backup hard drive, now that the desktop I originally used is long gone. ST: What led you to Simtropolis at first? Can you remember your initial impressions of the site? madhatter106: I don't remember how I found Simtropolis. I do seem to remember finding it soon after using the original Maxis exchange. I don't recall my initial impressions, but I'm sure I spent more time surfing the STEX than I did in the forums. I was searching for good plugins, rather than reading about the game and its intricacies. ST: Describe your progression into the world of SC4 custom content. Was it a particular lot or BAT that inspired you to take the first step? madhatter106: I remember getting and installing gmax/BAT when I first started with the game. And then I didn't use it at all. It sat on my computer for a couple of years, and I kept thinking, "oh I'm never going to use that, I'm not playing SC4 at the moment, I should just get rid of it and save some hard drive space," but I never took it off. And then I picked up SC4again after a long, long hiatus, and on a lark started reading the phillipbo tutorial and then thought, "why not give it a try?" There were a couple of BATters whose style I admired (and probably inadvertently emulated at first), so I guess that was also a push. ST: Speaking of first steps, what was the very first thing that you modeled using the BAT? Do you still have a screen shot? madhatter106: I messed around a little bit in gmax to learn the interface. Making piles of standard primitives with very basic manipulation, you know that sort of thing. I do remember sorting through the phillipbo tutorial as I was making my first BAT; I didn't want to create that specific tutorial BAT, but did want to apply what I was learning to what I was creating. That finished BAT did end up getting uploaded to the STEX, and it was my first upload. ST: Skyscrapers tend to get all the glory in SC4, and many BATers gravitate to them as well, yet your first upload on Simtropolis was a tiny CS$ shop called You followed it with a number of small commercial packs, including a massively diverse set of low wealth commercial shops. What led you to take this ‘road less traveled’ BATtrajectory? madhatter106: It's partly because those are the kinds of BATs I like seeing when I am playing the game, and it's partly because of how I play. I start lots of small cities all the time (I’m a total Aries that way), and I usually don't end up with a population that is too high, so I rarely see the tallest buildings growing on their own; I think the highest population city tile I may have ever made is in the 80K range and it amazingly only had a single incarnation of Wren Insurance. So when you play like that and build like that (lots of smaller areas and towns), the Maxis content gets very, very repetitive. The Sim IQ rating is really low when you start a new city tile, so you don't see a lot of offices or high tech industry or high wealth residential growing at first, and so there's a lot of industry and low wealth commercial that is needed. That means that you could have a plugins folder full of skyscrapers, but you won't see them for a good long while - so you need to have little guys, the low wealth commercials and smaller buildings to get you going. Also, there's a lot of stuff that hasn't been really explored by other BATters - some types of businesses are sorely under-represented on the STEX, and those are the ones that really interest me. I mean, I was amazed that not many liquor stores existed on the STEXbefore . Likewise, no one had done surf shops, so . Ultimately I make the types of buildings that I like to see grow in my cities; skyscrapers don't interest me that much, as so many other (and better) BATters have those covered and those BATters are working in better software than i am (ie. 3dsMax). ST: One aspect of all your creations that I really like is the unique names and descriptions that you include for each of your models. Your models and lots are already colorful in their own sense, so what possesses you to go the extra mile? madhatter106: I don't know; it's just part of my nature and style. I rather appreciate anything that's clever, so when I create stuff like this, I like to include little "in-jokes" or sideline things or Easter eggs to give them a little extra layer or meaning. A lot of the time it will whiz past people's heads, and that's fine. The goofy stat response curve that is included with all my uploads is straight-up Maxis style, whose humor I find similar to mine; and since I like keeping in the vein of some of the Maxis stuff, including those in my uploads seemed like a given. Anything a custom content creator can do to give you a laugh or breathe life into the game is good by me; there are lots of boring buildings out there, and you want to make your stuff memorable. The office packs have each had an underlying theme given to the names - mysteries and cryptozology were one of my interests since I was a little kid, so a whole pack of references to those seemed fitting. The old Leonard Nimoy-narrated program In Search Of was probably (for me) the greatest thing on television when I was eight years old, as well as the history of old silent era Hollywood, true crime, etc. At one point, I was tempted to do a more modern true crime pack, but I think I shelved it because I thought it might be in bad taste; I think naming BATs in a building pack after serial killers or mass murderers or truly despicable people would be glorifying their deeds in some way, so I scrapped that idea. I had also done a paper on the Lindbergh kidnapping in high school, so famous kidnappings and disappearances seemed like a fitting theme for a pack. I might do a pack with naming conventions around the idea of exposed and discredited hoaxes - the Hitler diaries, the Piltdown Man, etc. ST: I think most custom content creators would consider their work a hobby, but like anything in life, some parts are more fun than others. What do you consider your least favorite part of the BATing process? Your favorite? madhatter106: My favorite part is the first few hours of a BAT. When you get the modeling and the proportions right, and when it starts to really come together, that's a good part. The texturing is hit or miss - sometimes I can sail through it and sometimes it's a long slog to get all the balances right; is this too dark, or is this too light? What happens when I change the contrast on this texture, does it mess up the other two? Is this too blue or is this too red? Too saturated? Not saturated enough? Thankfully I am pretty quick with Photoshop and I have a good library of standard textures from which to build, but sometimes I can't get the right effect without a lot of swings and misses. Nightlighting is the least fun, and this is partly because I'm working in gmax; it's a lot of trial and error, and a lot of preview renders, particularly if it's a multi-story building. The little buildings were easier to nightlight, but the taller ones (the offices in particular) were usually a bit of a hassle. I must also say that by the time I am at the testing stage, I'm kind of over it; luckily with the small commercials, they're easier for me to test. Sometimes these are affected by the way the BAT is modeled - there are different ways of doing things were the modeling is messy but the texturing goes quickly, or there are situations where the modeling can be very clean and precise, but will require lots of work when it comes to textures. (Minimizing the number of objects and polygons will make for a great precise BAT but will mean that I will spend forever making the textures and unwrapping the UVW maps.) I think the last great joy once all that is done is dropping in all the details and little tidbits that give a BAT life and personality – vending machines, window signage, payphones, HVAC equipment, and all that. These kinds of details can really make a difference, and I wish newer BATers would pay attention to that; but since I come from a theatrical design background, where those details mean character and story and that fancy word “verisimilitude,” that stuff is second nature to me. ST: Since this is a sort of hobby (in the sense that custom content creators are not paid for their work), what keeps you motivated to continue releasing new creations for theSC4 community to enjoy? How much do comments in the download section mean to you? Do you get a thrill seeing your models pop up in CJs? madhatter106: Truth be told, I rather appreciate the commentary in the BAT thread for my stuff more than the comments sections on my uploads. The comments section is fun, and I appreciate everyone's enthusiasm. It's difficult to read something silly or dopey that's written as a comment, but I try to ignore those sorts of things. I'm a small business owner, and it's really difficult to read critiques of your business online, so it's a similar situation. I do like seeing my stuff in CJs, though I rarely spend time in the CJ section (partly because there are so many and partly because I don't have lots of free time.) People usually relot them and they look even better (because I’m not much interested in lotting), so that's a good feeling. ST: You have been BATing wonderful models for over 6 years now. Is there any one of your creations that you are particularly proud of? Are there any fun stories or facts relating to some of your works that we don’t know about? madhatter106: , as is the teriyaki joint in the same pack. I love , but I should mod it so that it grows more often; it doesn't show up nearly as much as I'd like in my cities. The surf shops are all fun, too, because of their details. I love the front details of - they take a boring building and really give it life and vibrancy. I made a property rental shop that I haven't uploaded yet, and that's another case where the details make the building sing. I usually have a favorite or two in every pack; some of the offices turned out really well. A lot of my inspiration comes from just going about on my normal day-to-day business. Buildings like , , and the were inspired by buildings that I would encounter while driving around Los Angeles (where I live). I also associate certain BATs with certain movies or pieces of music that I was listening to while I was making them. The movie theaters, diners, and coffee shops I will always associated with certain work projects, because I would do a ten or twelve hour day at work, then go home and decompress and BAT them for a couple hours. ST: Where do you draw your inspiration from? madhatter106: Apart from driving around Los Angeles as I had already mentioned, I have a huge "swipe file" of stuff that I find online that I think might be good to include in BATs. Everything from HVAC units to windows and whatnot, as well as folders of building types - the office packs had a lot of buildings that were based in part on stuff from my swipe file. I usually don't recreate things exactly as shown in the pictures; I'll use a shape or size or window configuration, but change the ground floor design, or I will shorten the height of the mezzanine, or something along those lines. Rarely do I ever completely recreate something I've seen. ST: Why is your stuff made in gmax? Why not make the jump to 3dsMax like so many others? madhatter106: It’s partly the time to learn something new (though there’s a lot of carryover from gmax to Max) and partly the expense. And partly the fact that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks – I’m dug into working with gmax; it’s a deeply ingrained habit. And since SC4 is over a decade old, if archaic gmax was good enough for it back in 2005 or 2006, it’s still good enough for it now. I suppose I could learn it if I picked it up and applied myself, but that’s more determination or discipline than I can muster. Of course, when I see all the cool tricks you can do with Max that you can’t get with little old gmax, that’s frustrating. But I make out all right with gmax, I guess. ST: Has your experience BATing had any influence on your personal or professional life? Are there any skills that you have developed over your BATing career that have helped you beyond the world of SC4? madhatter106: I don't think so; if there are any aspects along those lines, it's something of which I'm unaware. I do look at buildings differently, and am always figuring out, "how would IBAT that?" when I see something interesting. Or I will think, "oh that's a different window detail, I should remember that on the next BAT," or some such. ST: What advice would you give to a new member of this community who was planning on creating their first BAT? madhatter106: Start small - you're going to want to follow the tutorials out there, but try making something small, like one or two stories max. You're going to be working incredibly slowly, since you're learning the ins and outs of the program, so getting bogged down in a super tall building means it's going to take forever. A short little one story commercial shop or office is the best aim, and see it through to the very end - modeling, textures, nightlights, modding, etc. Then once you get the hang of things, you get faster - I bet I could knock out a small commercial shop in a few hours now, as I know what I'm doing and I know my way around the program, versus taking all day to do one when I first started out. Also, I'm saying it constantly (and even made it part of my Simtropolis signature) that "good textures are made, not found." You rarely can take an image from an online source and have it 100% perfect and ready to be added to a BAT without some form of change. Textures can make or break a BAT, and for many things I’ve seen on the STEX I’ve liked the modeling, but have not pressed the download button because the texturing is substandard or too extreme. ST: Simtropolis is organized into ‘player’ and ‘builder’ categories. Regarding the ‘player’ section, do you have any favorite CJers that you enjoy following? What are your favoriteSC4 ‘scenes’ (i.e., towering metropolises, urban sprawl, rural landscapes, etc.) madhatter106: I don't really read the CJs, partly because of what I mentioned before. I wish I could, as there's lots of lovely stuff in there; I just don't find myself there very often. ST: On the ‘builders’ side, do you have any favorite BATers that you enjoy following? If you still play SC4, what was your most recent download from the STEX? madhatter106: As far as I'm concerned, jmyers2043 (of the BSC) is the best BATter there is; hands down, without any question, jmyers2043 is the king. I love his style, I love what he chooses to BAT, I love his textures and details; I don't have a lot of BSC stuff in my plugins folder, but his stuff is essential. His stuff is so thoroughly modeled and tested and lotted and perfectly crafted; if there were a BATter whose career I would replace my own with, it would be his. , , , and uploads that he did. I can’t sing the praises of jmyers2043 enough – just about every BAT he’s created has made me say, “I wish I made that.” He’s another custom content creator who does top notch textures; he also has his stuff modded very well, but that’s not surprising as he is a charter member of the BSC. Some of JBSimio’s stuff makes me swoon also; there are a couple of his BATs that have really been inspirations for my later stuff. The great thing about this feeling and what I come away with in my own work is the inspiration to try my hand in a similar vein; maybe partly out of emulation but also partly out of trying my own “spin” or take on it. ST: SimCity 4 has been out for over 12 years now. Are you surprised that this community is still going strong all these years later? What do you think is the secret to its longevity? Do you think there will still be new content being created 12 years from now? madhatter106: I think it's a testament to how good the genre is in general, and this iteration of the game is in particular. It's like a model train set, but in digital form; we can create these great scenes - small towns to sprawling metropolises. And with all the custom content and mods that people have created over the past 12 years, it really doesn’t surprise me that this game has had such a good shelf life. It doesn’t even seem to have abated – there are newcomers proving their worth every year; the STEX hasn’t dried up and the NAM hasn’t stagnated. I can certainly see new content being created years from now ; we have such a dedicated community for the game in general and on Simtropolis in particular, it wouldn’t surprise me if we see other BATers and modders coming along in the mold of SimGoober or Pegasus or SimFox, so it’s exciting to see what they could come up with. And I do hope that groups like the BSC and NYBT and the NAM team are going to continue to provide us with all manner of goodies to make the game look, feel, and play better. ST: What are you working on now? And what else might be in the pipeline? madhatter106: I have some more offices to do or finish; I wanted to get some 2x3 office buildings, as there aren't a lot of those available on the STEX to compete with the Maxis ones. The ones that come with the game are fine, they're just repetitive unless you have a bunch of plugins to help dilute them, so that's part of my next goal. Like commercial services, I don't think I could ever tire of doing offices, and you can never have enough of either type in your plugins folder. I have some industry that I was working on a long time ago which I haven't picked up in ages; there's the from several years back, which is still waiting for its nightlights. (I think that's probably partly the reason I put it down and haven't picked it up since. Nightlighting for me is the least pleasant in gmax.) ST: Is there anything you haven't BATed yet that you would like to? madhatter106: I would love to do some packs of medium wealth commercial shops - along the same lines as the earlier packs of low wealth, but offering services like plumbing or electrical, bookstores and little mom-and-pop shops, that sort of thing. I have tried my hand at pawn shops, but every time I get one worked up it just doesn't coalesce - there's something that just doesn't make it happen, as much as I might like to do some. There’s a whole host of other packs I would love to try my hand at, should I ever find the time; I would love to do some Mexican restaurants (ranging from taco stands to more flashy places), and I’ve been thinking of doing a pack of car repair places – auto body shops, places to get your transmission repaired or your windows tinted or oil changed, etc. I've always wanted to do what I call the Burbs Pack, which would be a set of American style Craftsman homes and small suburban houses, to add variety to the Maxis ones; jmyers2043 did it far better than I ever could have with a pack along the same lines released a while back on the LEX. One day I might try to do some larger apartment buildings, but the folks over at the NYBT do them so well already; I look at theirs and think my stuff can’t even compete. And I'd love to do a pack of tiny industrials, to add variety - sheds and storage units and weird machines and tanks and whatnot, but I would have to do a lot of research and dig up a lot of pictures to make them seem authentic. ST: Are there any of your BATs that you might like to redo or remake or improve upon? madhatter106: If I were doing them now, some of the low wealth commercial shops would be much better. I would definitely load in more details on some of them, though they kind of work in a generic, non-specific sense. I don’t think I’ve ever released a BAT on the STEX that I didn’t like; if I didn’t like it, I doubt I would have ended up sharing it with others. When I was doing the first office packs, I was making them look similar from all angles (that is, the elevation was practically the same on all four sides) but that’s not how a lot of buildings are designed, so there’s room for improvement there. Though with a lack of free time in general, I doubt I would ever remake any of them; but I am diligent about hanging on to the original gmax models in a folder labeled “Done,” so they are always available to me should I ever get the urge to do so.

Filling a much-needed niche, our next BATer focuses his energies on midrise, medium density apartment buildings. A man who calls Aaron City his home (or at least who calls his home Aaron City- it could just be a cute name), Aaron Graham's buildings are finely detailed and have proven popular over the years. His files collect reputation points like my floors collect crumbs and the variety of designs and variations of his uploads help to ensure that repetition becomes a thing of the past, a most noble effort. And now, Aaron Graham! Click here to view the interview in the Omnibus.

Our next interviewee continues to provide A+ top notch content to this day, and he has been around SImtropolis from the beginning. As a founding member of mipro (formally the BSP), he has represented the American mid-west well with BATs from hard working towns like Detroit and Milwaukee. Kid Rock, Eminem and RoboCop all list him as their favorite BATer… please welcome nofunk! ST: When did you first get SC4, and what do you remember about your first experiences with the game? Was SC4 your first involvement with SimCity, or did you already have a history with the sim games? nofunk: I must have bought the game soon after it was released, because I've been on Simtropolis since August of 2003. I remember finding the game much more challenging and realistic than SimCity 3000. In fact, I seem to remember being a little turned off by it, because I struggled initially to grow a successful city. I've played every version of SimCity except for Societies. I even have SimCity BuildIt on my iPhone. I've been playing SimCity since it's original incarnations on the PC and Super Nintendo -- I'm a veteran SimCity player! I've also played other Sims games, but none of them has kept my interest like SimCity has. ST: What aspect of SC4 do you enjoy most – what keeps you coming back? nofunk: Hands down, the custom content is what keeps me coming back. I love the fact that you can take all this amazing content developed by some really creative individuals -- and even create your own buildings and lots -- and make your city truly unique. There are so many great maps, BATs, lots -- the NAM!! -- that together make the game so much more dynamic and exciting. ST: Before we jump into the all the custom content questions, I’m curious… what is your favorite Maxis lot/BAT? nofunk: Some of my favorites are Cameron Cameras, Brown & Sons, Buechner Apartments, and the Long Building. Of course, they're all Pre-War buildings similar to what I BAT. ST: Do you recall the first plugin you installed? nofunk: I don't, but it was probably something by Pegasus. There wasn't much in the way of custom content when I first joined Simtropolis. ST: What led you to Simtropolis at first? Can you remember your initial impressions of the site? nofunk: Haha -- that was so long ago! I remember feeling sort of unsure of what to do on the site; at that time I didn't really know forum etiquette, so I laid pretty low. It was also a much quieter site back then. I'm also not sure what led me to the site initially: I'm sure it wasn't for custom content, because I didn't even know what that was when I first started playing and first joined Simtropolis. ST: Describe your progression into the world of SC4 custom content. Was it a particular lot or BAT that inspired you to take the first step? nofunk: I remember thinking about creating buildings long before I actually started doing so. And I experienced quite a few false starts before ever making something that bore any semblence of the thing I was trying to create. I'm not sure there was any particular BAT or lot that inspired me to start creating; I think it was more just a general desire to have in the game some of the buildings I really loved in real life. I eventually ended up joining one of JasconCW's BAT Schools and making it most of the way through. That gave me enough technical know-how to start learning and creating on my own. The rest is history! ST: Speaking of first steps, what was the very first thing that you modeled using the BAT? Do you still have a screen shot? nofunk: The very first thing I modeled using the BAT was a really terrible attempt at the Burton Memorial Tower on the University of Michigan's campus. And I do have a screen shot! I guess it wasn't so bad for a first attempt, but I've come a long way! ST: Tell me a bit about the Barry Sanders Project (BSP). I know that you and Jasoncw have been the caretakers of this group (and it has since been renamed mipro) for some time now, but I believe it got started all the way back in 2004. When did you become part of this BAT group and what are some early memories of the BSP? nofunk: The Barry Sanders Project was probably one of the first BAT groups organized around a city, but it took a long time for the group to actually produce anything. I think it was started with a lot of ambition, but when I first began posting in the thread (sometime in 2006) it had pretty much become a social forum. There was a lot of talk about making BATs, but very little action. When I really starting participating in the BSP, I think Jasoncw had just released his Detroit Free Press building, and JBSimio was working on some things as well. Wolverine was working on Ford Field or something similar. And I started small on a few buildings in and around Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I spent most of my time. Since then the BSP has died out, been resurrected by me and Jasoncw (and later SimHoTToDDy), and then reincarnated as mipro. Since then there have been 56 uploads by the BSP/mipro! ST: Most of your BATs focus on buildings found in the Upper Midwest (US). What is it about the area that draws you to recreate some of the great buildings found there? nofunk: Well, I've lived in metro Detroit most of my life, and now live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Both are old, post-industrial, rust-belt cities, with a deep sense of history and culture. I guess I just really love the feel of old rust-belt cities -- the pre-war architecture, the grit and grime of the old factories and rail lines and infrastructure, and the determination and eternal optimism of the folks who still live here. I've thought about moving out of the Midwest a few times -- to Seattle or Boston or Washington, DC -- but my heart will always be in the Midwest, and I'll probably always find myself back here! ST: Even though you focus on one region, you have BATed a wide range of buildings, from towering skyscrapers to small apartments, and from W2W shops to industrial behemoths. How do you end up choosing projects? Are you inspired by walking around a town and seeing the architecture up close, or is as simple as seeing a picture on the web? nofunk: Occasionally I'll get talked into BATing something I wouldn't normally pick on my own, or I'll BAT something that fills a need in my game, but most of the time I just BAT what I like. I find inspiration everywhere, but particuarly from visiting cities and walking around and discovering buildings that really stand out to me. It's certainly easier to recreate a building that I've seen in person, been able to study, and take reference photos to capture all the little details. ST: I think most custom content creators would consider their work a hobby, but like anything in life, some parts are more fun than others. What do you consider your least favorite part of the BATing process? What about your favorite? nofunk: Least favorite is definitely lotting -- it's just such a tedious process searching through all the poorly labeled Maxis props to find what you need for a lot. On the other hand, my favorite parts would be the excitement of first picking out a building to BAT, and then that moment near the end when the modeling is done and the textures are coming together and I run a preview render and it actually looks like the building I was trying to create! ST: Since this is a sort of hobby (in the sense that custom content creators are not paid for their work), what keeps you motivated to continue releasing new creations for the SC4 community to enjoy? How much do comments in the download section mean to you? Do you get a thrill seeing your models pop up in CJs? nofunk: The Simtropolis community is absolutely what keeps me going. I enjoy spending time developing a building from scratch and seeing it come together, but what I enjoy even more is the amazing feedback and responses I get on Simtropolis when I'm working on something! I've been pretty quiet on Simtropolis the past few years, but we really do have a great community here and it means a lot to me to be a part of that and share in the excitement of such a great game. And I sure do get a thrill when I see my BATs in people's CJs! ST: You have been BATing wonderful models for almost 9 years now. Is there any one of your creations that you are particularly proud of? Are there any fun stories or facts relating to some of your works that we don’t know about? nofunk: There are three BATs that I'm particularly proud of, all three because they required me to persevere. Cadillac Tower I started not once, not twice, but three times before finally getting it right. I also think it has some of the best texturing I've ever done. I'm proud of Carew Tower because it was such a huge undertaking -- by far the biggest BAT I've ever made -- and it required so much attention to detail in terms of both the modeling and the texturing. Finally, I'm proud of One Detroit Center, which was another big project that also forced me to step outside of my comfort zone of usual pre-war BATs and work on a building with a completely different architectural style and need for new textures and materials than I was used to. ST: Has your experience BATing had any influence on your personal or professional life? Are there any skills that you have developed over your BATing career that have helped you beyond the world of SC4? nofunk: I work in the urban planning field, and BATing has definitely helped me become more familiar with architectural ideas, terminology and the design process, which comes up more frequently than I had expected when working in a big city. So much of city planning is focused on site development, which means constructing buildings, and requires you to review plans and renderings and in those cases, having some understanding of how they come together helps. ST: What advice would you give to a new member of this community who was planning on creating their first BAT? nofunk: Stick with it! It takes time to develop the skills required to create really good BATs, and at times the process can be incredibly tedious and frustrating (I can't tell you how many times I've had to just walk away from a project for a few hours... days... weeks... before revisiting it). And keep learning and trying to improve! My BATing process and the quality of my work is dramatically different from when I first started. And I'm still learning new things! There's always room for improvement. ST: On the ‘builders’ side, do you have any favorite BATers that you enjoy following? If you still play SC4, what was your most recent download from the STEX? nofunk: Of course I really love the BATs that Jasoncw makes, although he has a modernist streak that doesn't always appeal to me. I also really like Aaron Graham's work -- his work has improved so much since he started BATing! I've also always loved Odainsaker's work -- he hasn't put out much, but what he has released has been just impeccable. And Spa has been making great content for smaller city and neighborhood commercial districts for as long as I can remember! ST: SimCity 4 has been out for over 12 years now. Are you surprised that this community is still going strong all these years later? What do you think is the secret to its longevity? Do you think there will still be new content being created 12 years from now? nofunk: There have been a few times when I thought that maybe Simtropolis was running out of stream, but ultimately I'm not surprised how long it's lasted: when you have a group of people who are this passionate about something, that something doesn't die easily. As long as people stil care about the game, the community, and creating for it, I don't see any reason why Simtropolis can't be around for 12 more years! ST: Cities:Skylines... have you played it yet? If not, what are you first impressions based on the mountain of feedback available here on Simtropolis or around the web? nofunk: I have not played Cities:Skylines yet, but I’ve seen plenty of screen shots from it and it looks amazing! I’m excited to install it and start building my dream city. ST: 12 years later, many are calling this game the 'successor' to SC4 and the city building genera. What are your thoughts? nofunk: It certainly seems like the game could be SC4's successor: it’s really the first city simulation game we have seen since SC4 that actually intends to be a city simulator and not some strange Sims offshoot or awkward foray into social engineering! The graphics and gameplay seem realistic, and the opportunity for modding is exciting! And I’ve heard you can even plan out bus routes! It seems to me Cities:Skylines has many of the elements we all love about SC4 with even more realism and detail. ST: It will take plenty time before C:S can rival the amount of custom content available for SC4, but the developers have really encouraged modding, and there are already many new buildings and 'assets' that can be found on Simtropolis and the steam workshop. Are you encouraged to leap into C:S custom content? I've already talked to some folks who are actively working to develop custom content for C:S so I think the potential is huge for the game! I can't say whether or not I'll end up making custom content for C:S, but I also never imagined I'd make so much content for SC4, so who knows!

ST: When did you first get SC4, and what do you remember about your first experiences with the game? Was SC4 your first involvement with SimCity, or did you already have a history with the sim games? Jasoncw: My first involvement with SimCity was the original. I had to have my brother start the game using the command line in DOS. I’d start a new city (usually Jasonville or something similar), plop the airport, and then fill an area with roads, because a cluster of 4-way stops looked like a parking lot. And then I’d have no money and that would be the end of it. For SC2K I was old enough to actually play the game. Before SC3K came out I was so blown away by the graphics that I told my friend the resolution was so high that you could even see inside the windows. That wasn't completely true, but compared to SC2K's graphics it might as well have been. I had a demo of the game where you could build a city, but only for about 20 minutes before it would kick you out, making you start over next time. I played it for hours on end before finally getting the full game. ST: What aspect of SC4 do you enjoy most – what keeps you coming back? Jasoncw: Considering how rarely I actually play the game, the answer would be BATing, but the truth is that if it weren't for the community I wouldn't be BATing, so it’s the community that keeps me coming back. ST: Do you recall the first plugin you installed? Jasoncw: I don’t, but I do have fond memories of certain early plugins. The and by Sabrethooth78, the by Prepo, and by ONeil_1. Pegasus’s was both very useful and very funny. ST: What led you to Simtropolis at first? Can you remember your initial impressions of the site? Jasoncw: Despite being an active SC4 player and a lifelong SimCity fan, my reason for coming to Simtropolis had nothing to do with SimCity! I wanted to learn 3d modeling and found gmax, and needed the BAT gamepack in order to render things. I came to Simtropolis for gmax tutorials. ST: Describe your progression into the world of SC4 custom content. Was it a particular lot or BAT that inspired you to take the first step? Jasoncw: SimMars was close to my original intention of modeling science fiction stuff, so I started making things for SimMars, but it didn't take very long for me to start making normal buildings. ST: Speaking of first steps, what was the very first thing that you modeled using the BAT? Do you still have a screen shot? Jasoncw: I’m pretty well organized and I keep everything, but somewhere along the line I lost a lot of my early stuff. Below are the earliest things I was able to find, I believe from fall and winter of 2004. My first upload was in spring of 2005. The BATs to the left were intended for SimMars. ST: Many of your BATs are released under the mipro (originally BSP) banner. For those who may not know much about mipro, can you elaborate on what you guys are about/how you are organized and what your role in it is? Jasoncw: mipro is dedicated to recreating buildings from the US State of Michigan, including Detroit. During the time that I was getting into BATing I was also getting into Detroit’s architectural history and development news, the BSP thread was very active, and a lot of the early BSP members were the same people I was interacting with on other urbanism/Detroit forums. So a lot of different things converged, and it was inevitable that I got involved. Unfortunately by the time I was producing BATs the original group was pretty much gone, but nofunk came along soon after, and JBSimio did our early custom queries. ST: Your list of uploads is populated by a large number of buildings from the Midwest. Are there any particular reasons for choosing to direct your efforts in this direction? Jasoncw: To be honest I didn't realize that until you pointed it out! Obviously my mipro BATs are from the Midwest, but the rest I think are just a coincidence. A lot of my fictional BATs are loosely based on buildings from outside of the Midwest. ST: What is the thought process behind choosing what to create next? Jasoncw: It’s a combination of how much I like the building (or a style, if I'm going to make a fictional building), how well it fits into the game’s 16x16 meter grid, and how easy it would be to make. ST: I think most custom content creators would consider their work a hobby, but like anything in life, some parts are more fun than others. What do you consider your least favorite part of the BATing process? Your favorite? Jasoncw: I hate lotting, and I avoid projects where I have to do it. When I make a BAT I start off with the facade, which is the fastest, funnest, and most immediately rewarding part of the process. After that there’s a point where the entire building is modeled and the BAT is no longer a cluster of floating facades, and it’s nice to see the building come together as something close to its final form. I also love seeing the transformation from an untextured BAT to a textured BAT. And of course I like plopping the building in the game for the first time. ST: Since this is a sort of hobby (in the sense that custom content creators are not paid for their work), what keeps you motivated to continue releasing new creations for the SC4 community to enjoy? How much do comments in the download section mean to you? Is it exciting to see your models used in the CJs of others? Jasoncw: You’re going to throw me into an existential crisis! Why do I BAT?? I absolutely appreciate the positive support I get. BAT releases are like a party, and comments, ratings, and downloads on the STEX are like confetti. In my thread, comments and upvotes can be encouraging when I’m struggling to be productive. And then there are times, especially during the Trixies, when people go beyond typical commenting and write very kind things. Most people go through their entire adult lives rarely experiencing the good will and appreciation that I experience regularly. People have been very generous to me. ST: You released your first BAT in 2005. Is there any one of your creations that you are particularly proud of? Are there any fun stories or facts relating to some of your works that we don’t know about? Jasoncw: My early BATs. For those, each one I worked very hard on, learned a lot, and I was improving a lot from BAT to BAT. My first uploaded BAT was and I probably spent 6 hours in Photoshop just trying to make a peach color that was similar to ones used in the game. was similar, I spent absurd amounts of time literally matching my BAT’s facade with Maxis’s Fisk Insurance. I’m also proud of Fisk Insurance (and some WIPs that never made it) where I first developed my glass texturing technique. After my early BATs, I’m most proud of the Penobscot Building. I started it in 2006, restarted it several times, and finally pushed through the difficult task of finishing it in 2014. Even counting my early BATs it’s the most hours I've put into a BAT. ST: Has your experience BATing had any influence on your personal or professional life? Are there any skills that you have developed over your BATing career that have helped you beyond the world of SC4? Jasoncw: There were things like LEGO and drawing, but SimCity most specifically lead me down the path to pursuing a career in architecture. But unfortunately I’m very unemployed. If you work in architecture, are located somewhere in the world where I can get by with English at first, and would like to consider hiring me, please contact me (I’m not joking!). I bring the same dedication to quality and personal engagement to architecture as I do to BATing. On a personal level I've become friends in real life with Nofunk and a few others, and I've enjoyed online friendships as well. If you get along well with someone here and live in the same area I recommend meeting up. ST: What advice would you give to a new member of this community who was planning on creating their first BAT? Jasoncw: The most important thing is that you have to feel it in your heart that you are capable of making great BATs. Then you have to understand that at first you’ll be bad, but you need to be patient and keep working and learning until you’re good. You can’t accept ‘bad’ as your final result. And then, more practically, start a BAT thread, follow other people’s BAT threads, and learn how to find existing information (be a resourceful self-learner). And don’t be afraid to ask questions. As long as you've done your due diligence, BATers won’t mind helping you out, and it’s a nice way to build relationships. ST: Simtropolis is organized into ‘player’ and ‘builder’ categories. Regarding the ‘player’ section, do you have any favorite CJers that you enjoy following? What are your favorite SC4 ‘scenes’ (i.e., towering metropolises, urban sprawl, rural landscapes, etc.). Jasoncw: Over the years there have been certain CJers whose work I've enjoyed, but I don’t follow city journals closely enough to be able to list names without the risk of leaving out great CJers that I’m simply oblivious to. I like CJs that contain realistic urban areas, and that do a good job of using my BATs. I've never been able to get into story-based CJs though. You've probably noticed that most BATers don't follow city journals, and that most CJers don't BAT. I respect the few that are able to do both well. I enjoy seeing my BATs used, so if you’re happy with the way you've used one of my buildings, you’re welcome to post it in my BAT thread. ST: On the ‘builders’ side, do you have any favorite BATers that you enjoy following? If you still play SC4, what was your most recent download from the STEX? Jasoncw: When I see Odainsaker's BATs I think I get a glimpse of what it’s like for other people to see my BATs... especially those years-long “almost done” WIPs! Nofunk is an obvious answer to this question. Aaron Graham is very important to my cities. Vlasky does a great job. Don Miguel was very influential early on. My plugins folder is in a perpetual state of disrepair, but I don’t think anyone would be surprised about the types of things I have in there. ST: SimCity 4 has been out for over 12 years now. Are you surprised that this community is still going strong all these years later? What do you think is the secret to its longevity? Do you think there will still be new content being created 12 years from now? Jasoncw: If you’d have told me all those years ago, I would be surprised. But moving forward from year to year there’s never been any indication that the community was about to die. At this point SimCity 4 has gotten so big that even when the day comes that it’s not very active, I think it will still linger on for a very long time. ST: Are there any games you play besides SC4? What other hobbies do you have away from BATing and SimCity? Jasoncw: I mostly play older games, a lot of RPGs on the SNES. The Earthbound/Mother series is one of my favorites. I play StarCraft 2 casually. I play the guitar. I like architecture of course. I used to draw and it’s something I’d like to get back into. Thank you very much for your time and for your great answers!

Nominations are now CLOSED! Thanks to everyone who contributed, with the final total standing at 289 nominations! The counting and validating process now begins, with the awards ceremony following shortly... In the meantime, check: For all the latest news & anticipation.

While it has been a while since he has uploaded a file, our next BATer was creating custom content in our website's infancy. He was creating BATs before it was cool. Well, no, that's not true, creating BATs was always cool. Anyways, Sabretooth78's efforts center around the area he calls home in western New York state, with many BATs coming from Buffalo including the impressive Buffalo City Hall. Go ahead and check through his files, there is sure to be something there that you'll find interesting. But not yet, we have an interview to conduct. And now, Sabretooth78! ST: When did you first get SC4, and what do you remember about your first experiences with the game? Was SC4 your first involvement with SimCity, or did you already have a history with the sim games? Sabretooth78: I pre-ordered SC4, so I had it right at the beginning. I remember learning of it and pretty much instantly abandoning SC3k in anticipation. My involvement with the game dates back to SC2000 Deluxe on the Macintosh. ST: What aspect of SC4 do you enjoy most – what keeps you coming back? Sabretooth78: The fact that it's constantly changing; that you can come back to some point in the game a million times and it doesn't get boring. There's always something to fix or redo. It's like a sandbox or model railroad, only faster. ST: Do you recall the first plugin you installed? Sabretooth78: Not quite, but aside from the official download packages it was probably an "American Flag Park" from the official exchange. ST: What led you to Simtropolis at first? Can you remember your initial impressions of the site? Sabretooth78: I don't remember, there must have been some reference to it on the official forum. I remember having a tough time trying to figure out where things were so I left. A few months later (would have been August 2003) I came back and finally registered. ST: Describe your progression into the world of SC4 custom content. Was it a particular lot or BAT that inspired you to take the first step? Sabretooth78: BAT had recently been released and I was curious about it but hadn't done anything with it. I was living in New Hampshire at the time and had a postcard tacked to my wall at work showing an aerial view of Buffalo, NY. I remember looking at it and thinking the then-HSBC tower should be a pretty easy building to pull off. ST: Speaking of first steps, what was the very first thing that you modeled using the BAT? Do you still have a screen shot? Sabretooth78: The first thing I actually modeled was a set of highway sound walls. There was a lack of good BATed walls available (there were some that had been made using Maxis props in Lot Editor) so I decided to attempt that myself for something to cut my teeth on. Unfortunately, any screen shots I had are long gone. I've changed ISPs several times in the intervening time. Haljackey had pulled up a couple images of an interchange I was modeling for the NAM back in 2005 over on SC4D, but I'm not sure if any others still exist. ST: Your list of uploads is populated by buildings from Buffalo, NY. Are there any particular reasons for choosing to direct your efforts in this direction? Sabretooth78: A few reasons. First, it's my hometown and where I now currently live, so there's the familiarity aspect. Another reason is that for being a relatively small city it has a pretty rich architectural heritage so there are plenty of different styles available to choose from. Another reason is simply that nobody else was doing it. This was around the time that quite a few city-centered groups were forming, with the Barry Sanders Project (Detroit, MI) and the Portland, OR groups probably being the most well-known. ST: I think most custom content creators would consider their work a hobby, but like anything in life, some parts are more fun than others. What do you consider your least favorite part of the BATing process? Your favorite? Sabretooth78: My least favorite part is that I tend to get too particular and bogged-down in details. Blowing a dimension of some feature which just cascades into other problems down the road is frustrating and I just don't have the freelance creativity to run with it; also as I like to build recreations as faithfully as possible given the limitations of the game. The best part, aside from finally uploading it and seeing it in use is just seeing it progress and develop. ST: Since this is a sort of hobby (in the sense that custom content creators are not paid for their work), what keeps you motivated to continue releasing new creations for the SC4 community to enjoy? How much do comments in the download section mean to you? Is it exciting to see your models used in the CJs of others? Sabretooth78: Ultimately my motivation is to see the finished product in the game, to build something that nobody else has. Comments are usually satisfying but it's not the basis of motivation. I build for myself, but I figure if I'm doing that then why not share it? It's quite satisfying to see the models in CJs, the "Show Us ..." threads and even if one just happens to show up in the background of some completely unrelated post like a bug thread or something. ST: You released your BATs in 2004. Is there any one of your creations that you are particularly proud of? Are there any fun stories or facts relating to some of your works that we don't know about? Sabretooth78: My favorite is easily Buffalo City Hall. It's a very complex building and it was a lot of fun to make. I'll venture a guess that it was probably one of the premiere BATs available at the time of its release. I don't really have any interesting stories about the BATs themselves, but they did indirectly get me my current job. A few forumers at Skyscrapercity had seen my work and eventually through one of those connections I started at my current position in 2008. Same line of work as before, just a better place to work. ST: Have you considered going back and revisiting any of your old BATs, or perhaps adding to your works? Sabretooth78: Yes, that was actually the basis of deciding to get back into BATing. Honestly, when I returned to the game almost 2 years ago, I didn't really want to have anything to do with it, but eventually the itch returned. I currently have 2 all-new projects in the works (shown in my thread) and another which I've only put one night in so far in order to get started. Ideally, I would like to release all-new models for all of my old BATs to bring them more in line with the current standards for BATs. Things have come a long way since 2004. ST: Has your experience BATing had any influence on your personal or professional life? Are there any skills that you have developed over your BATing career that have helped you beyond the world of SC4? Sabretooth78: Not so much, if anything it's the other way around. I deal a lot with CAD on a professional basis, so if anything it enables me to be able to pick up a 3D modeling package and be able to find my way around perhaps a little better than if I didn't have that background. Interestingly, we do have a guy in the office who spends a lot of time making renderings in Sketchup and he was pretty impressed with what I showed him. That said, it's a hobby and not something I think I'm good enough to actually be able to do as a career. ST: What advice would you give to a new member of this community who was planning on creating their first BAT? Sabretooth78: Take your time, do the tutorials and listen to feedback. The software is intimidating, but you don't need to know it all right away, and for the most part you'll never touch 90% of its capabilities no matter how advanced you get. ST: Simtropolis is organized into ‘player’ and ‘builder’ categories. Regarding the ‘player’ section, do you have any favorite CJers that you enjoy following? What are your favorite SC4 ‘scenes’ (i.e., towering metropolises, urban sprawl, rural landscapes, etc.). Sabretooth78: My favorite CJs at the moment are probably packersfan's "District of Wenzel" and wwetom1's "Stone Creek", but there are several that I follow on a consistent basis. I like journals that are realistic, believable and generally parallel my own playing style. I get bored with skyscraper jungles and prefer to see gradual transitions, well-planned out developments and good transportation networks. As a roadway engineer myself, that's easily the most interesting part of the whole game to me. ST: On the ‘builders’ side, do you have any favorite BATers that you enjoy following? If you still play SC4, what was your most recent download from the STEX? Sabretooth78: RDQ, spa and the mipro team are the ones that come to mind immediately but I've been following most of the active threads on-and-off over the past half-year or so. Apparently, my most recent download was Don Miguel's "Storefront Church". I haven't been able to get into the game much this year on account of gearing up my CJ reboot as well as just being generally busy. ST: SimCity 4 has been out for over 12 years now. Are you surprised that this community is still going strong all these years later? What do you think is the secret to its longevity? Do you think there will still be new content being created 12 years from now? Sabretooth78: If I had told asked 12 years ago that it would still be going strong today, I might have been surprised but really there was no point along the line where it seemed an end was in sight. I think the secret is that SC4 is, despite its many shortcomings, the best and most complete offering in the genre. I think there probably will still be new content 12 years from now, but who really knows? While the community doesn't seem nearly as active as it was back then, it's still strong, new content is constantly coming out and there always seem to be old-timers returning. I think as long as people can still run or emulate Windows XP, it'll be around. ST: Are there any games you play besides SC4? What other hobbies do you have away from BATing and SimCity? Sabretooth78: I like to play Civilization IV and the Rollercoaster Tycoon series - other old games. Civ is nice for when I want to get in-depth with a game without all the "overhead" of SC4 in the form of maps, spreadsheets, etc. Yeah, when I play SC4 it's all-in. As for RCT, I haven't actually played that in a while but it's up there with the classics. I used to also be big into MS Flight Simulator, and have occasionally thought about trying out X-Plane. Other hobbies mostly involve projects around the house and eventually I want to get moving on a model railroad. I have over $1000 worth of kits in a closet that I've just never gotten to. ST: What question have I not asked that I should have? Sabretooth78: I think that just about covered it. I can't think of anything else at the moment. ----- Thank you for taking the time to read through our questions, and extra-special thanks for taking the time to answer some of them. We appreciate your participation with this!

SimCity 4 is a game that appeals to people living all over the world who want to build cities in wildly differing styles. Some have added content to enhance American-style building all the way back to colonial times. Others have created BATs for building classical European towns. Our next interviewee helps to make this possible with his incredible Hong Kong BATs. bixel's buildings are essential downloads for making any city with a hint of East Asia. They are what rice is to fried rice. They are what Peking duck is to Peking duck. They are what bell peppers and beef are to bell peppers and beef. Anyways, let's give a warm welcome to bixel! ST: When did you first get SC4, and what do you remember about your first experiences with the game? Was SC4 your first involvement with SimCity, or did you already have a history with the sim games? bixel: I think it was 2 years after SC4 was released. It was actually browsing the internet on SimCity 3000 modding that got me to purchase Simcity 4, and through that of course lead me to simtropolis. ST: What aspect of SC4 do you enjoy most – what keeps you coming back? bixel: The aspect to SC4 which extended the play-ability was actually Sim Peg's Garabage Chute!!! Without this mod, SC4 was similar to the earlier versions of the game, chasing down fires, fixing water problems, etc etc. While it is always a good method to keep players engaged with random scenarios I don't think SC4 would have been able to evolve into the "City Garden Building" game, which I feel is what the community actually uses SC4 for. Hence, city diaries and hours and hours of ocd-like city pruning and beautifying that we enjoy. ST: Do you recall the first plugin you installed? bixel: The 1st plugin were the official ones, like South Koreas 63 building. ST: What led you to Simtropolis at first? Can you remember your initial impressions of the site? bixel: That thirst for more buildings led me to Simtropolis to download more. ST: Describe your progression into the world of SC4 custom content. Was it a particular lot or BAT that inspired you to take the first step? bixel: NDEX plugins were, by far, the biggest influence. I had by then been learning 3DS Max and had been playing with the BAT at the time, so I felt I was ready. I wanted to do something NDEX-y but since commercial-office buildings were being made by several power artist groups I decided to try my hand at residentials. ST: Speaking of first steps, what was the very first thing that you modeled using the BAT? Do you still have a screen shot? bixel: The 1st release was a terrible, terrible residential skyscraper called the Liberte. It was very tall and pretty ugly, but had some detail that appealed to some users. This encouraged me more to release better and do better. It went through 3 versions I think in over 4 years. [NMUSpidey: ST: Your list of uploads is populated entirely by Hong Kong buildings. Are there any particular reasons for choosing to direct your efforts in this direction? Are they based upon real buildings, or are they true-to-life recreations? bixel: Since I was committed to adding much needed high density residentials to the game, I needed to find a style that was both realistic and exciting to look at. I had a couple of attempts of making fantasy buildings but they were ugly, so I used the internet to find inspiration. Right away I found Skyscraper Diagrams website and Hong Kong is the 4th featured city of architectural drawings. I chose HK because it was not Chicago or New York, which I felt the content was already saturated. ST: Most of your BATs are released under the HKABT banner. For those of us who may not know much about the Hong Kong/Asia BAT Team, can you elaborate on what your role with them was? bixel: Once I latched on the HK style, immediately my work improved and I met some friends through my work and other HK content that was being uploaded. Particularly Paul v. Montfort, Simfox and T-Wrecks. Paul and I formed the team and quickly gained some very amazing talent to help us populate the game with some visual style and content. My main role was simply encouragement and teaching some skills and methods when needed. ST: I think most custom content creators would consider their work a hobby, but like anything in life, some parts are more fun than others. What do you consider your least favorite part of the BATing process? Your favorite? bixel: When it comes to making content for Simcity 4, it is very different from making content for almost any other game. Simply because SC4 is NOT a 3D game but very cleverly uses images rendered at fixed angles to create an illusion of 3D, the camera is orthographic at preset angles. Because of this you must render your building at all 5 zoom levels at 4 different directions. For large buildings this can take hours, and if your lighting is bad, you have to render it again. My biggest projects were so huge I had my PC running for 2 days! By far the rendering process is the most tedious and stressful for me. Simply modelling the building gave me the most joy. ST: You released your first BAT in 2005. Is there any one of your creations that you are particularly proud of? Are there any fun stories or facts relating to some of your works that we don’t know about? bixel: For a short while I had many dedicated followers in HK sending me photos of buildings when I asked for them. They were very enthusiastic and would travel to many different locations to snap a few photos. Several times they would reply that they live in the building and where overjoyed to see them in game. That meant a lot to me and I was glad to bring them such joy. ST: Has your experience BATing had any influence on your personal or professional life? Are there any skills that you have developed over your BATing career that have helped you beyond the world of SC4? bixel: Making 3D custom content for SC4 has definitely allowed me to acquire new skills and land me some pretty interesting jobs. I think game modding is really a good starting point for any hobbyist looking to increase their skills and enter the industry. Counter-Strike is still one of the most played multiplayer games and it was a mod, same with DOTA. ST: What advice would you give to a new member of this community who was planning on creating their first BAT? bixel: My advice to anybody wanting to make content for SC4 or any 3D game is to watch and learn from Lyndia tutorials. I learned by myself and I picked up some very bad habits that are hard to get rid of. The worst is modelling solely from splines... because of that I would have to re-train myself to do anything other than a box. I can't do characters or curves at all! Broaden your ability to work in different platforms, Modo is very popular now as well. If you want to do more than just SimCity 4 seriously consider sharpening your UV-Unwrapping skills, upcoming generation games like Cities Skylines are different from the way they did things for SimCity 4. It will also help you find a job in the industry. ST: Simtropolis is organized into ‘player’ and ‘builder’ categories. Regarding the ‘player’ section, do you have any favorite CJers that you enjoy following? What are your favorite SC4‘scenes’ (i.e., towering metropolises, urban sprawl, rural landscapes, etc.). bixel: I don't follow any CJs but I do check them from time to time for inspiration and how to use NAM effectively . My favourite CJs are of course the HK re-creations and stuff with a lot of clever train and public transportation schemes. ST: On the ‘builders’ side, do you have any favorite BATers that you enjoy following? If you still play SC4, what was your most recent download from the STEX? bixel: Most BATs I download are Euro/Asian style. I have no idea why but I can't do NY or Chicago stuff. I also am keen on parks and city beautification sets. I think there are many new content makers out there that have greatly increased the quality of output thanks to members ability to help each other and of course ST: SimCity 4 has been out for over 12 years now. Are you surprised that this community is still going strong all these years later? What do you think is the secret to its longevity? Do you think there will still be new content being created 12 years from now? bixel: I am NOT surprised SC4 has lasted this long. This game appeals to young and old and is also casual and OCD (Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder)(like Minecraft) at the same time. It is such a great game. Additionally, I don't want to get too socio-economic here but SC4 is able to expand with new players with an old PC or laptop, they don't need to spend $2000 on a new rig. For this reason i expect to see more people playing in many different parts of the world. New content in 12 years? Sure, SC4 still looks great, and the skills of the custom content makers have surpassed the default content. ST: Are there any games you play besides SC4? What other hobbies do you have away from BATing and SimCity? bixel: My biggest hobby right now is programming games, hopefully I will mature to an indie developer! games I find myself playing mostly are Guild Wars2, Hearts of Iron III, and World of Tanks. I also enjoy small indie games like FTL. I'm really looking forward to Cities: Skylines. I have been following the dev guys closely and I will be making content for it.

Can you hear the steam hissing? Our next interview guest spent the better part of a year painstakingly upgrading the SC4 railroads so that sim mayors everywhere could build railroads like true barons. The (Railway Upgrade Mod) gave rail enthusiasts a chance to cheer, but rivit has been contributing amazing custom content on the STEX for many years, and with over 175,000 downloads, there’s a good chance one of his creations has snuck into your plugins folder. From a to , and from to a , rivit’s library of content has something for everybody, and we are lucky enough to have a little chat with this Modder from down under. Please give a warm welcome to (Railway Upgrade Mod) gave rail enthusiasts a chance to cheer, but rivit has been contributing amazing custom content on the STEX for many years, and with over 175,000 downloads, there’s a good chance one of his creations has snuck into your plugins folder. From a to , and from to a , rivit’s library of content has something for everybody, and we are lucky enough to have a little chat with this Modder from down under. Please give a warm welcome to rivit, and thank him for participating in the next STEX 100 million interview series. ST: When did you first get SC4, and what do you remember about your first experiences with the game? WasSC4 your first involvement with SimCity, or did you already have a history with the sim games? Rivit: I think I first got Simcity4 as soon as it came out, before the later Rush Hour Add-on turned it into SC4 Deluxe. I remember being quite disappointed because the PC that I then had (which was quite high end but a few years old) couldn't run it very well and it just didn't look very good - so dark and gloomy after SC3000. So I didn't play it very much at the time (in fact put it aside for a couple of years). I rediscovered it when I got the addon cheaply somewhere and (by now 2005) finally got into it. I have played Simcity since SC1 (flatland) in 1989 on my Amiga. Then played SC2 and SC3 too. In fact almost all of the SimX programs (but not The Sims) and Spore got a run too. Simcity was the one that stayed. ST: What aspect of SC4 do you enjoy most – what keeps you coming back? Rivit: Ultimately it's the open ended nature of the simulation that appeals most - that is if you let things evolve and just tweak as you go the final outcome is only partly predictable. Obviously its a hugely simplified model but clever. Probably too the humour embedded in it. I also have a deep technical admiration of the product - what was done at that time was phenomenal. The foresight (and discipline) of separating code and data has meant we have been able to modify and extend the game without touching the code. ST: Before we jump into the all the custom content questions, I’m curious… what is your favorite Maxis lot/BAT? Rivit: The Red Railway bridge. Something very solid and gritty about it. ST: Do you recall the first plugin you installed? Rivit: I don’t, but I looked it up - way down in my archive it looks like a series of Churches by gshmails - the , the , the , The were the first. - and they are still in my current setup!. I also seem to have gone looking for other Civic buildings - Fire stations, Police stations and the like. And way down in the depths an early Water Mod. What also shows is that as I was on a 14.4k modem at the time I only downloaded very small things. ST: What led you to Simtropolis at first? Can you remember your initial impressions of the site? Rivit: I think I found it by accident - in early 2005 - when I went looking on the web for SimCity. To be frank, I can’t remember what I thought at the time, but I signed up as rivitoz (Ive forgotton that password) and kept coming back. Still my favourite SC4 site. ST: Describe your progression into the world of SC4 custom content. Was it a particular lot or BAT that inspired you to take the first step? Rivit: I remember seeing Trolca had made some brick streets which I liked, and I thought maybe I could make some too. Also the very first water mods got me thinking. ST: Speaking of first steps, what was the very first thing that you attempted to mod in SC4? Rivit: The first thing I tried to do was load maps from greyscale images and improve someone's Water Mod - one texture. I hadn't the foggiest idea of what to do or how to do it. However gradually, by dredging the online forums wherever I could find them, finding out about iLives Reader and FSHman I was able to cobble together enough info to make a herringbone brick road texture and overlay it on some high wealth streets. It took me months. It was my first upload to Simtropolis and was quite popular and eventually led to being used in SAM. ST: Some BATers and Loters have a particular style or genera that they stick to, but a quick look through your STEX library tells a different story. You have dabbled in automata, terrain textures, transportation textures and even stand-alone programs. How did you develop such a wide range of content for SC4? Rivit: The library reflects my learning process in SC4. At its core is the game texture - I started there and I'm now pretty good at that. Reader was how I came to understand how models and textures and automata worked and so I was able to learn how to make automata by hand-editing models. Through the Reader and the community forums I came to understand how the larger parts worked and so I was able to progress to bigger works. Laziness was the real reason I wrote the as it enabled me to make very large texture sets with minimal effort by generating rather than drawing things. The was an attempt to simplify auditing my plugins and summarise my knowledge of how the game worked. I've many more experiments that haven't made the grade yet. ST: Many of your contributions fall in the railroad category. In fact, the (Railway Upgrade Mod) is one of your most popular files. Do you have a particular interest in railroads, and what spurred you to take up such a massive project? Rivit: I think I do have something about trains - I can just remember travelling on steam engined trains and we had aMarklin trainset when I was about 8 or 9 and it must have left a deep impression. SC4 is a bit like having a trainset with working scenery. As I got better (and fussier) at making textures it started to dawn on me that Maxis had put nowhere near the quality into the rail part of Simcity when compared to other parts. The NAM extensions were much better, but different, and so the whole had become fragmented. I started on the Maxis textures as they were the dodgiest but eventually ended up doing them all (otherwise I would have made the problem worse). Took me about a year before they were done to my satisfaction, but I really wasn't comfortable with releasing them. It took prodding by a community contact who saw them by accident and went lyrical on me when I was helping him work out something else, that I finally put them up. RUM has stood the test of time quite well - its still a massive change to the way the game looks. ST: I think most custom content creators would consider their work a hobby, but like anything in life, some parts are more fun than others. What do you consider your least favorite part of the Modding process? Your favorite? Rivit: The creative part of discovering how it works and then inventing and experimenting is the buzz, but the drudgery of repetition of the idea over the sometimes hundreds of instances of things can get you down. There is also the administrative aspect of making sure you've got everything and the dots on the i's that can wear you down. Both parts are necessary and let’s say it’s a character building process... you come to learn where your limits lie very quickly. ST: Since this is a sort of hobby (in the sense that custom content creators are not paid for their work), what keeps you motivated to continue releasing new creations for the SC4 community to enjoy? How much do comments in the download section mean to you? Do you get a thrill seeing your mods pop up in CJs? Rivit: For me it’s the best way I can give back for what I gain - I believe information should be freely exchanged - and in this sense what the community is doing is sharing its information through what it creates and shows of what it has learned. I do get a buzz from the comments I receive - brickbats too - and its all part of the learning interaction - learning how to deal with criticism is part of the deal. I have to say though that seeing my creations in someone's pictures, or CJ, is the biggest return - particularly when they've done something with it that defies my skills with the game. ST: You have been modding spectacular content for over 6 years now. Is there any one of your creations that you are particularly proud of? Are there any fun stories or facts relating to some of your works that we don’t know about? Rivit: I'd have to say the rates for me - making a water texture that tiles as neatly as it does was a bit of a holy grail found and a lucky break. RUM was mind over matter. The is my ultimate favourite because it was a first, but the have the best download comments. They've all had their little challenges and that's what makes them worth it. ST: Has your experience with modding SC4 had any influence on your personal or professional life? Are there any skills that you have developed over your modding career that have helped you beyond the world of SC4? Rivit: The main influence modding has had on my personal life is that I've spent a lot more time than I should have in front of a computer. However, it was a valuable diversion given that I had been made redundant from a senior IT role. So ironically a lot of my skills (analysis, modelling, reverse engineering, application design and programming) proved to be useful when modding and I had the time to use them. ST: As a very productive member of the SC4 custom content community, I imagine you have developed a number of relationships with other members of this community. Can you talk a little bit about the friends you’ve made through the years? Rivit: Overall I have to say I've been a bit of a loner - even online. However, an exception occurred with Doc Rorlach, who unfortunately is no longer with us. He was an intense, funnily abrasive character in that he was merciless in his feedback but equally enthusiastic about pushing the limits. Without him RUM might never have been published, and I certainly wouldn't have learnt what I know of how the game works as quickly. He would try something out, then start asking questions about why it hadn't worked as he'd expected and ask me to explain. No chance to say "I don't know". Since his memory was nowhere near as efficient as his imagination this often ended up as a looping process. One of those loops led to discovering how to make STR tunnels. He was an excellent BATer and I couldn't BAT my way out of a paper bag - he had little time for "fiddly things" as he called them (read Pathing, Transit Enabling, Hex Editing). All up we had a lot of fun and were able to bump each other’s productivity a lot. Overall I've always had friendly interactions with community members and that’s one of the reasons I stayed. ST: What advice would you give to a new member of this community who was planning on creating their first mod? Rivit: While many, many things have been made the SC4 world is never complete. Configure your setup with things you like from the community. Learn how to use Lot Editor, and Reader. Fiddle things. Find some aspect of the game you really like and get deep on it. Ask. The more you play and learn, the more you will come to a conclusion you would like to change something and then you have the seed and motivation to try modding. It doesn’t matter whether you are a game player, game artist, story teller or tech there are ways to make what you want in the game - and modding is the way there - all it takes on your part is willingness and effort to try and learn. ST: Simtropolis is organized into ‘player’ and ‘builder’ categories. Regarding the ‘player’ section, do you have any favorite CJers that you enjoy following? What are your favorite SC4 ‘scenes’ (i.e., towering metropolises, urban sprawl, rural landscapes, etc.). Rivit: I like two kinds of CJs the most - the scenic art landscape variety - cannot ever get over just how good how good the artists with their MMPs are in creating their masterpieces - and the story, be that historical, the development of the city or even the detective story. I think it’s because there has to be quite some planning, visualization and perseverance to get either of these categories to work well - and because while I might be able to tackle the latter class, I almost certainly can't do the former. ST: On the ‘builders’ side, do you have any favorite BATers that you enjoy following? What was your most recent download from the STEX? Rivit: I tend to go looking by theme. So some time ago I had an Art Deco phase where I collected all sorts of those. I also had a shot at collecting Australiana, and Scenery. I've recently started to take a deeper look at industrial areas and so have discovered (albeit late) . These are proving to harbour a number of surprises so its fun trying to understand exactly how these work. ST: SimCity 4 has been out for over 12 years now. Are you surprised that this community is still going strong all these years later? What do you think is the secret to its longevity? Do you think there will still be new content being created 12 years from now? Rivit: The longevity of the community is rooted in the huge collection of items for the game, and the variety of uses to which the players put it - this keeps people interested. There are still secrets to be discovered even if the game is largely understood. After the release of Simcity 2013, which seems to have failed to meet what avid SC players imagined would be next, it looks like a lot of people said "enough", stopped playing SimCity and left the community. A year on there is a new group joining and there are good signs its picking up again, and it will take this group to drive it back on. Good to see that there is also a SC2013 community alive and well. Unfortunately I do think that there is a limit to how long SC4 can retain its appeal without change - the community has seriously expanded the content but the executable is, technically speaking, getting very old and unlike (say) Excel has not been regularly renewed. However, any successor that can make use of the current content and enhance gameplay, be played together online/alone offline and give what SC4 has given us socially would do the trick. If ever the source code should surface there is half a chance.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun Interview with Colossal Order’s CEO Mariina Hallikainen

Thriving in the icy Quebec winters, we will be speaking with mrbisonm next. To borrow a bit from his own profile, mrbisonm is from Germany, passing through the Netherlands and Andorra on his way to his current home in Canada where he is currently surrounded by vast swaths of nature. On the game-relevant side, he has been uploading custom lots and BATs to Simtropolis for very nearly 12 years, adding to the variety of the game. Let's take a little while to get to know him a little better, shall we? ST: When did you first get SC4, and what do you remember about your first experiences with the game? Was SC4 your first involvement with SimCity, or did you already have a history with the sim games? mrbisonm: I got SC4 as soon as it came out in North-America, cannot remember the exact date though, but it surely was in early 2003. It was my third SimCity, since I started playing simgames with SimCity I. I used to build a lot of stuff for SC3K also, but it was not quite the same because we used more or less some blockbuilding technique at the time. So, I am an Oldtimer with SC. ST: What aspect of SC4 do you enjoy most – what keeps you coming back? mrbisonm: What I enjoy most with SC4 is that it is expandable, kneadable and can be transformed, so to speak, to almost anything we want. Manipulating and making it different with every region I play is what makes me come back. ST: Do you recall the first plugin you installed? mrbisonm: Oh yeah, the first plugin, it was a Maxis Plugin, a landmark, but I cannot remember which one exactly, then when the BAT came out, I asked Raphaelninja to render me a Nexis 100 flag I made because of my 100th upload of Lotmaking to ST, the first one to reach this. Gmax BAT was not yet available, but some had the ability to render models for SC4 already. ST: What led you to Simtropolis at first? Can you remember your initial impressions of the site? mrbisonm: I came to Simtropolis by error, when I was searching in the fall 2002 the SimCity4 game. I saw the site, had a look at it and liked it, so I became a member right away. That was in September 2002 when less than 100 folks were members of the site. I did not come back to the site until March 2003. I probably forgot all about it, but then I did not remember my [original] screename nor the password.....darn. So, I became a new member in March 2003 under a new name, mrbisonm, and guess what..... I got stuck on the site, where I am still active today. ST: Describe your progression into the world of SC4 custom content. Was it a particular lot or BAT that inspired you to take the first step? mrbisonm: I was not the first to make BATs, but those which were made by others inspired me of doing some of my own, since I was at my 150th or so LOT and slowly was running out of ideas. So I gave it a shot and surprisingly it came out well, encouraged by myself and a good friend of mine from Simtropolis, GranPa Al, to start BATting myself. ST: Speaking of first steps, what was the very first thing that you modeled using the BAT? Do you still have a screen shot? mrbisonm: Of course I still have a screenshot of my first BAT, I have everything that I did for SC3K, SC4, Civ III, and now Farming Simulator 2013 also. I must have some 150 or so CDs and DVDs of all kinds of stuff, including thousands of downloaded files for SC4, some of them most likely do not exist anymore anywhere else. The first BAT I did was for my CJ NEXIS OF GENESIS, and it was for the construction site of the Dam in Grand Dam City. Picture below.... ST: Your files have all been released under the Nexis name. Can you tell us a bit about your Nexis of Genesis City Journal? mrbisonm: Most of my files were called Nexis, some of them do not bear the name of Nexis and others were uploaded by others under a different name, such as Vlakhaas and his CSX lots. The Nexis of Genesis CJ was an inspiration to deliver something new and diffenrent to the community, a CJ with a story, action, and new, never-seen-before BATs and LOTs. Also it was a CJ that started with the creation of a new planet and the evolution of life. It was the first CJ to have done like this. Then after awhile I tought that it was a good idea to involve other players into the story and give the new characters a name and a lifetime story which helped to build up the region of Nexis of Genesis. Again, this was a first and it gained a lot of interest by members from ST and even other sites. Nexis became a name, a legend and then an example for many other CJs that followed it. Somewhat strange to say, but I still play the region sometimes. ST: I think most custom content creators would consider their work a hobby, but like anything in life, some parts are more fun than others. What do you consider your least favorite part of the BATing process? Your favorite? mrbisonm: My favorite part of BATting is to let my soul wander on its own and create just models as I see them. I have more than 5000 models made, of which most are not finished or not uploaded. My favourite BATting models at the moment are the ones that I am working on for more than 2 years, the MFP1 set, Modern Farm Props, which will have approximately 600 to 700 big models and will change SC4 to SCFarming. It should be ready before summer 2015. The models and modeling can be seen on SC4Devotion.com under... The FrankU and Nexis CO-OP ST: Since this is a sort of hobby (in the sense that custom content creators are not paid for their work), what keeps you motivated to continue releasing new creations for the SC4 community to enjoy? How much do comments in the download section mean to you? Is it exciting to see your models used in the CJs of others? mrbisonm: Yes, somewhat it pleases me that others use my LOTs and BATs in their CJs. Comments of others also keep me going and encourage me to continue BATting. I make all these for others to use in their play of course, some are for me and personal use though, for my CJs. BTW, I will start another CJ here on Simtropolis as soon as I finish my farming sets. It will be innovative again and surely something new and interesting. Look out for Tymbactou, my world. ST: You released your first file in 2003. Is there any one of your creations that you are particularly proud of? Are there any fun stories or facts relating to some of your works that we don’t know about? mrbisonm: I will be proud of the set that I am working on right now. FrankU is fully involved and he will be doing the first lots with my BATs. The MFP 1 should change a lot how we see and play the farming community of SC4. Not really a fun story, but I must confess that some of my BATs turned out well by simple pure luck..... lol... some of them I cannot reproduce because I do not know how to make them. They just happened. lol.... it is just that I clicked on this and that and then all of sudden.... “Wow... I'll keep this one!” ST: Has your experience creating SC4 content had any influence on your personal or professional life? Are there any skills that you have developed while creating that have helped you beyond the world of SC4? mrbisonm: The experience surely changed my way and understanding of computer knowledge, private and also professional. I am, or should I say, I was a Loghome Designer, owning my own well-established business from the seventies and having done all my work with my pencils and tools, no computer. Since I am not very active anymore, after my second heart attack and operation last year, I left 95 percent of the designing to my followers, who use computers, but since BATting gave me experience with modelmaking, it really helped me to understand their designing on the computers. ST: What advice would you give to a new member of this community who was planning on creating their first BAT? mrbisonm: The only advice I can give to new BATters is to get to know the 3D program first, not giving up and understanding that it looks and sounds more difficult than it actually is. The reward is great, creating models that you like is the most important, and of course... Having fun... that is what this is all about. If it does not come out right, just put it aside, make a copy and put it on a CD or DVD. Later you will know how to finish it. And please, always ask for help on the Forums if nothing is working right, there will always be someone to help you. ST: Simtropolis is organized into ‘player’ and ‘builder’ categories. Regarding the ‘player’ section, do you have any favorite CJers that you enjoy following? What are your favorite SC4 ‘scenes’ (i.e., towering metropolises, urban sprawl, rural landscapes, etc.). mrbisonm: I do not really have the time to look at todays CJs a lot, but sometimes I peak into any random one showed on the highlighted starting page and slowly go through them, sometimes seeing some really good concepts and excellent stories. No preferences though. My favourite scenes differ a lot, I like to look at roadworks, city lines , downtowns, nature, farms and even just landscapes terraformed by our members and players, and anything thatSC4 and the Players can come up with. So many possibilities. Like I always say, the limit is your imagination, which sometimes can become mammoth-sized. ST: On the ‘builders’ side, do you have any favorite BATers that you enjoy following? If you still play SC4, what was your most recent download from the STEX? mrbisonm: Again, I do not have that much time to look much into other BATters works, but I enjoy anyone who is BATting decently enough. There are some Legends out there, really good ones, some still quite active. ST: SimCity 4 has been out for over 12 years now. Are you surprised that this community is still going strong all these years later? What do you think is the secret to its longevity? Do you think there will still be new content being created 12 years from now? mrbisonm: No, I am not surprised that SC4 is still going strong, along with the site. Both are one today and will continue for long time to come. And yes, there will still be uploads in 12 years from now... hey... I am planning to do an MFP2 set later........ ST: Are there any games you play besides SC4? What other hobbies do you have away from BATing and SimCity? mrbisonm: I play regularly these games, almost every month or so: Civ III, Farming Simulator 2013, The Sims 2, Serf City, The Settlers 7, Anno 1503, Tropico 4 and Banished. My other hobbies are painting, hunting, collection all kinds of things, reading, nature and animals and taxidermy. And most of all, I am interested in everything that is interesting... ST: What question have I not asked that I should have? mrbisonm: Ah, you have probably asked everything possible for this interview, now I am somewhat tired......need my evening nap. ST: Thank you for taking the time to read through our questions, and extra-special thanks for taking the time to answer some of them. We appreciate your participation with this! mrbisonm: My pleasure....

The NAM Team is pleased to announce the official release of the 33rd edition of the Network Addon Mod, NAM 33, for EA Maxis' 2003 title SimCity 4. NAM 33 is the result of nearly two years of development, further refining a project that has been continuously going for over 11 years, and adds a considerable number of new features, including the long-awaited revamp of the FLEXFly flyover ramp system. Brief Overview of New Features Changes in the NAM 33 Pre-Release: Massive update to the Draggable Ramp Interface (DRI) and FLEXRamp systems in the RealHighway (RHW) Mod. 90% of all previous static puzzle piece ramps have been given easier-to-use FLEX and/or draggable counterparts, and a plethora of new ramp interfaces for elevated RHW networks are now available, Wealth textures are included for ground level versions. The RHW FLEXFly system has been completely overhauled, and now includes 90-degree and 45-degree versions, in single and dual-lane configurations, at Ground Level (L0), 7.5m (L1), and 15m (L2) heights. The double-decker RHW-4 (DDRHW-4) has been lowered one level (from L2/L3 to L1/L2), increasing ease of use. Disconnector added, to simplify demolition of FLEX-based RHW pieces. Multi-Radius Curves (MRCs), in both draggable and FLEX form, have been added to the RealHighway Mod, in three different radii, for the RHW-2, MIS, RHW-4, and RHW-6S. Stability improvements to the FLEX Height Transitions. Major improvements to the RealRailway (RRW) plugin, which now supports most crossings. Transit station functionality and compatibility has been further improved. Minor fixes to other NAM components. Further changes in the NAM 33 official release: The RealRailway (RRW) FlexTrack system makes an earlier-than-expected debut. See the FlexTrack User's Guide in the Documentation folder for more details. PedMall functionality greatly enhanced with the addition of access paths to most non-Highway-type road networks, including NWM networks and Tram/El-Rail Dual-Networking items. Pedestrians may now directly access the PedMalls from these other networks without the need of a station or other transit-enabled lot/switch. Many custom bridges that previously blocked all ferry traffic have now been corrected. MandelSoft's previous RHW texture sets, including Euro, Ontario, and Irish/South African textures, have been discontinued. A new standard Euro RHW set, based on the default US set, has been added as a replacement, and adds compatibility for all current RHW features. An issue with the NAM 33 Pre-Release in which the Controller Compiler would fail due to an XML read error has been fixed. Several overhanging texture issues with the new RHW ramp interfaces have been corrected. The R3 FLEX-Multi Radius Curve now rotates fully as intended. A number of Left-Hand Drive transit path file issues across the entire mod have been added or corrected for proper functionality. For more information on the NAM 33 release, see the official announcement thread, or the STEX download page. NAM 33 is also available to download from: ModDB LEX

This month's worthy winners are definitely very deserving of this recognition. Come on in and give them a big hand!

Announcing two members who provided recent invaluable support for the community. Be sure to stop by and show your appreciation.

Following the trend of Windows 10, Microsoft has released security update KB3086255 for Windows 7, Windows 8.1 & Windows Vista. Due to "security concerns", this intentionally disables the service which runs the secdrv.sys driver – a component of the SafeDisk protection which SC4 uses. As a result, this prevents the disk-based (CD) version of SimCity 4 from running, and you may receive an "Access Denied - Please login with administrator privileges and try again" or similar permissions error. Many other legacy games are also affected. It would seem the update simply disables the service, rather than removing secdrv.sys completely (like Windows 10 has). NOTE: This shouldn't impact users of a digital based game, such as from GOG or Steam, as these don't rely on the same copy protection. Full details of the update are as follows: Security update for the graphics component in Windows September 8, 2015 (KB3086255) https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/kb/3086255 Workarounds 1) Purchase SC4 digitally Online retailers such as GOG or Steam offer a digital version of SimCity 4 Deluxe. This comes as a download without the need for the CD to start. It's also fully patched and doesn't use the same method of copy protection, so you can install KB3086255 without issue and play the game as normal. In the case of GOG, the game is currently sold DRM free, meaning it starts by itself without a client service (e.g. Steam). During seasonal sales, you can often purchase the game for as little as $5. 2) Redeem your SC4 Serial Number You may be able to redeem your original Serial Number (product key), found at the back at the CD's manual. This may entitle you to a free digital copy of the game, with the same benefits of not needing other workarounds. With Origin you can try contacting customer support, who can usually assist with this. As well as the serial number, you may need to provide physical evidence that you own the boxed copy, such as screenshots of the game's case & disks. Other online retailers may also offer a similar option, so it's best to contact them directly. NOTE: Use at your own risk! The following suggestions will allow SimCity 4 to run, although they could potentially expose your system to security vulnerabilities (which the update intends to bypass). Therefore it's your own responsibility should any issues arise from not installing KB3086255, however the risk level of security flaws being exploited. 3) Uninstall KB3086255 If updates are set to install automatically, you may have this update already installed. In which case, to allow the CD game to start again, without the need for any workarounds, you'll need to uninstall the update: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/24373-windows-update-uninstall-update.html A quick way to check if it's installed: Enter KB3086255 in the "Search Installed Updates" box at the top right. Note: To reduce the risk, it might be worth disconnecting from the internet whilst the game is running. Also it's recommended to ensure your anti-virus has the latest protection definitions. 4) Hide KB3086255 If you haven't installed KB3086255, it might be worth hiding it from the list of updates: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/24376-windows-update-hide-restore-hidden-updates.html 5) Enable secdrv.sys on demand However if you wish to retain the update, the below instructions (from the knowledge base article) describe how to start the service on demand, which should allow SC4 to run from the CD when you require: Using a script Alternatively, see the following Reddit post for a way to start the service using a batch file: https://www.reddit.com/r/simcity4/comments/3kmfmi/quick_and_dirty_solution_to_recent_windows_update/ List of systems the update is offered to: Feel free to post any comments, questions or suggestions below, or in the dedicated support thread.

It's another city building game app, but not like any other. You can play it both online and offline, smooth to play and fast to load. It also have some futuristic graphics. It's like a mini Simcity, you can see all the stats, desirability, services coverage, power, water, pollution, happiness, etc... To download from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sphere-Game-Studios-Designer-City/dp/B00XASNIMQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431174319&sr=8-1&keywords=designercity To download from Slide me: http://slideme.org/fr/application/designercity This is what the description says: I started playing it a while ago and here's some screenshots:

Wrapping things up from 2014 with a couple very deserving awards. Check out who they are and give them a big cheer.

It's been busy times around the site, and these two have been very helpful with their assistance. Be sure to offer up a big 'thank you' for a job well done.

In a collective effort, we're looking for people with knowledge on Cities: Skylines custom content / modding. You don't necessarily have to know everything inside out -- that's not to be expected as the game's only a couple of months old! It's really a case of being passionate about custom content / modding, to help maintain resources which will benefit the community. Please see here for more info!

Will Wright, renowned creator of SimCity, Sim Ants, The Sims and Spore, is back with another simulation of sorts, but this time it's not a game. Thred, which launches today on iOS in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, is best described as Facebook meets Pinterest in a mobile-only app fueled by the creativity and unusual insights of Wright's long history in game development.

The new SimCity game for iOS and Android may have a four-star user-review rating on the iTunes app store, but a glance at those reviews and some time playing the games make it clear that this city's got some problems. I know, I know: "Oh, it's Kotaku harumphing about a new SimCity game again." But, well... have you seen what they did with SimCity for this new game SimCity Buildit? We've got an attractive 3D game that lets you zone and build a city. That's good! Not so good? SimCity fans, how much do you love timer-based resource-production as the primary means for growing your city? Let's say that you zone some plots of land for houses. In most SimCity games, you tweak the tax code, improve the roads, maybe build a police station nearby and, bit by bit, those homes improve. In SimCity Buildit? You can do some of that, but the main way you improve the residential areas you've zoned is by dragging resources to them. Take this example, where the building will only advance if we put some steel into it:xpand Here's another residential zone that you can develop. You'll need nails for this one: Short on nails? You can make nails out of steel at a building supply shop (you may wait five minutes for them to be made, or you may pay virtual dollars to hurry that up). You need steel to make nails. How do you get steel? You make it at a factory. You must wait one minute per steel girder (or you may pay to hurry that up). With a big enough factory you can at least fill three orders at a time: Tap-tap-tap. Collect those resources. Is this SimCity? The wait-then-tap-then-spend-then-wait formula is more FarmVille or Clash of Clans.

Well, the holidays are over and it's time to get things back on track. That means we have two very deserving winners to recognize this month. Let's give them a big hand for a job well done.

At Gamescom 2015, Paradox have announced the first expansion for Cities: Skylines. It will feature a much requested day & night cycle, new specialization, service and transportation options: Will you construct a bustling city that lives and breathes at night or will your city succumb to the perils and misadventures of night life? You’re only limited by your imagination, so take control. The sky is the limit! Find out what life is like in the city when the sun goes down! Main features Day and Night Cycle: Day and night changes in the city and affects citizen schedules. Traffic is visibly slower at night and some zoned areas do not work with full efficiency, further easing the traffic. Service vehicles move around as usual. A free update for all users. Leisure specialization: Commercial areas can specialize in leisure activities. Leisure areas are especially active during the night, but work like regular commercial areas during the day. Beach specialization: Commercial areas such as beach bars and restaurants, small marina and fishing tours on the shoreline can specialize in beach activities. Expanded City Services: Criminals will now be taken to Prison from Police buildings. Taxi service will help citizens and tourists travel around the city. Cargo hubs are harbors that accept cargo trains straight to the terminal. International airport is a huge airport, allowing much more traffic than the previous airport. It has a metro station attached to it. Bus terminal allows citizens to transfer to other bus lines in the terminal building. New transportation options: Bikes and dedicated bike lanes and bike ways let citizens opt for a faster alternative to walking. Bus lanes can be used to help the public transportation run smoother. System Requirements: Requires Cities: Skylines Base Game. Release: September 24th 2015 Price: $14.99 [More info] Full source: https://www.paradoxplaza.com/cities-skylines-after-dark

What's that noise? Surely it can only be one thing... Yes, they're here folks! We finally got there. Way back in May, nominations opened for the 2014 Trixies -- the 12th annual edition of the awards. Quite remarkably, by coincidence, today is exactly 200 days since the opening date. So it's finally time to collect your awards. There were many notable contributions from members new and old, so come aboard and go Back to the Future, to relive those memorable Simtropolis moments of 2014... We've decided to do it slightly different this year in a formatted presentation thread. Each award is hidden in a spoiler, which also reveal links to named items of content (STEX files, CJs and other items). Click these to view the actual items mentioned in the awards. In summary there were: 287 nominationsFrom 52 different members (Ave. 5.52 per member)Making up 79 individual awards (38% Custom Content, 32% City Journal, 30% Community)11 team awardsFeaturing: 59 unique winners44 single time winners (74.6%)15 multiple winners (25.4%)Including: Three members with 3 or more awardsOne 5 time winner A big congrats to all winners, runner ups and nominees. And even if you didn't win anything this time, stick at it and keep up the good work! Join us in congratulating everyone, and we welcome your detailed acceptance speeches... c'mon guys, you've had plenty of time to prepare them! So we'll see you again next time, hopefully a bit earlier in the year! -The Admins

Design, build, and manage the world's largest and most diverse cities in Cities XXL. Bigger and better than ever before a more powerful game engine and new interface, become the mayor of your very own sprawling metropolis. The Cities XL franchise returns with Cities XXL, now available for download and next week in stores! Cities XXL is a bigger, more complete city-builder pushing the city limits to the edge of your imagination. Running on an improved game engine for enhanced performances, Cities XXL offers classic and extended city-building content, including over 1000 buildings and structures, over 65 maps including new landscapes and environments, and ecological features making Cities XXL the 'greenest' Cities XL game yet.

First Cities: Skylines Expansion to Release on September 24th Sneak in After Dark and Read Colossal Order’s Diary STOCKHOLM – Aug. 20, 2015 — Paradox Interactive, a publisher of games and a civic-minded somnambulist, today announced that “After Dark,” the first expansion for the hit city-building game Cities: Skylines, will release worldwide on September 24, 2015. The expansion, which will include a broad variety of features, such as a day-and-night cycle, new nighttime city services and options, and much more, will be available to players of Cities: Skylines on PC, Mac, and Linux for $14.99 via digital distributors everywhere. To give curious city constructors a glimpse of what awaits them in After Dark, Paradox has released a design diary from Cities: Skylines developer Colossal Order, along with a new batch of in-game screenshots showing several of the substantial sundown surprises that await players. Read about the changes that go into a city at night in the first After Dark diary: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/release-date-price-and-developer-diary-1-for-after-dark.877722/ In After Dark, the sun will set on mayor-players’ in-game cities – but it will rise once nighttime is over, so nobody needs to worry. Towns will look – and behave – differently at night, with new leisure-focused nightspots, popular beachfront properties that thrive during the daytime, and new systems such as taxicabs, prisons, bike lanes, and much more.

After Dark, the first big expansion for Cities: Skylines, has many new features, but the most notable one is the day and night cycle. Taking the cities from daytime to night is not as simple as one might think. While the change from day to night is visually stunning, there's much more going on under the hood. Each and every building in the game received a new texture layer to have the windows light up nicely. In addition there are new lighted signs, neon signs and other lights to make the city look interesting during the night. The sun rises and sets, painting the sky with bright colours, you can see the moon and stars move across the night sky. The city simulation changes during the night to make sure the night time feels like a night should. Citizens go out less and prefer to stay indoors. Only a few go to work, to simulate a night shift. The people who do go out, choose destinations that have to do with having fun and spending time with friends. When there are not as many private vehicles on the roads as during the day, service vehicles can move more freely. The separate night time budget allows you to adjust how active services are during the night and day. To get the most out of the quiet night time, you can set garbage trucks to operate mostly during the night, or have hearses pick up bodies at an increased rate. One big change during night is that crime increases. With the cover of the night criminals are more active and more police are needed to keep the city safe. This can easily be done with the night time budget: raising the budget allows police stations to have more vehicles in use and thus they can work more efficiently. When traffic is less intense during the night, it also helps to identify problem areas in the road network. As traffic jams lessen, the real problem areas are easier to spot and the quiet night is the perfect time to alter roads and create new ones. This ebb and flow of traffic will make the city feel more alive and add a whole new element of trying to cater for both the quiet times and the busiest times. New options for public transportation allow you to choose if the lines are active during the day, night or both. Creating bus lines that serve the needs of citizens only during the night, when their destinations are different from the day, is possible and a very good strategy. All in all the night time creates new challenges and changes the way traffic behaves to alter the way the city works. We want to create more variation to the game and make the cities feel alive, with ever-changing needs and a constant, but changing, stream of citizens traveling to their desired destinations. Night looks awesome and we are currently balancing it to feel equally awesome! Karoliina Korppoo Lead designer on Cities: Skylines

Hi All, As you probably know, CitiesCorp Concept has been submitted to Steam Greenlight some time ago. In general the feedbacks were good, however the community did not like the unpolished artwork at all. That's why I started to work on the appearence of the game and today I wanted to show you the actual progress and a bit of gameplay. You can watch the videos: on Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=526802271 or on YouTube: Don't forget to vote. Thanks. Have a great evening. Sebastian

Check out some screenshots from the upcoming Cities: Skylines After Dark expansion!

Mod compatibility in 1.1.1b Due to some improvements with how mod-specific options are displayed in-game a fair amount of popular mods will be incompatible with 1.1.1b. We recommend using the steam launch options "-disableMods" and "-noWorkshop" until the mod creators have done the necessary, albeit very small, changes. More info on what needs to be done can be found here. Patch notes Added 30 new buildings (growables)Added tunnels for Pedestrian pathImproved error handling for when a mod does unholy operationsAdded "unsubscribe all" button in the Steam Workshop category in Content ManagerFixed De-zoning areas sometimes results in zoned tiles reappearingFixed trains stuck to map bordersImportant note: This takes a few minutes to go into effect on old saves experiencing this issue. Please let it work its magic!New option panel layoutAuto-save option added for gamesGraphics: visual glitches with pavement on steep slopes fixedFixed polish UI audio volume not fitting the Options panelFixed the keymapping in all languages not fitting to fit on 2 linesFixed missing info tooltips for markers (smoke, large smoke, info tooltip shot, invisible parking space and steam)Fixed the "-noWorkshop" toggle to completely disable the Steam workshop integrationFixed mouse wheel to scroll the build toolbarAdded shutter sound to snapshots in map editorFixed left and right mouse button references in all languagesAbility to reset keybindings to default without losing all other settingsInstalling multiple workshop items at once should not freeze the game anymoreDedicated options space for mod settings (IUserMod.OnSettingsUI(), added checkbox, button, slider and dropdown support) - http://www.skylineswiki.com/Mod_Options_PanelAsset editor: Added new thumbshot and infoshot tools for capturing thumbnail and infotooltip images, respectivelyAsset editor: Automatic snapshot, thumbshot, and infoshot are taken when opening the save panel for an asset (unless the user already took them)Asset editor: Save asset panel now has the ability to select which to use of available thumbnails and infotooltipsAsset editor: Trailer and LOD colors show correctly in the editor when editing color variationsAsset editor: Removed color variation property from trees since it is not used by the gameAsset editor: Optimizations on saving/loading custom assetsAsset editor: Fixed a bug where creating several new assets during the same session would get the same ID, resulting in e.g. snapshots going to the same folderAsset editor: Fixed additional polygons sometimes appearing in the models when scaling and/or rotating modelsAsset editor: Scaling the model larger no longer makes it vanish from the preview cameraAsset editor: Overriding only some of the lod textures (e.g. assetname_lod_d) now works again without having to override any of the othersAsset Editor: Railtracks now available in Intersection editorAsset Editor: Loading an asset does not reset the previously entered descriptionAsset Editor: Level 2 specialized industrial buildings can now be imported and editedDesign: Now possible to see what all future milestones unlockRUS/GER: Fixed the "View on steam workshop" text cut-off in Content Manager.Fixed trucks stop and wait outside cargo train station, blocking trafficAdded population info in the load panel for new save games

Once again the venerable title is deeply discounted thanks to Steam's wallet purging Summer Sales. Even if you own this -- which you do -- you might as well get it and gift it to a frriend or enemy. This is SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition which includes the Rush Hour expansion.

Indie Developer Crowbox in Germany, has promised a new and interesting take on the city building experience. Welcome the game EndCiv. "EndCiv is a survival city building game with high-quality 3D graphics. The world has been destroyed, and you are tasked with re-civilizing the wastelands. Resources for survival must be collected permanently to keep people alive. Energy production is an important task which is directly connected to the simulated weather of daytime, rain and wind. You will also experience that the wastelands are coming to life at night." With dynamic weather, and manageable resorces EndCiv offers a new take on the ideas of city planning. But the developers need your help, after a failed indegogo campaign it is not certain of the future for the game. Spreading awareness of the game would be a wonderful thing, as I know some of you might find interest. EndCiv on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/endcivgame UPDATE: New Images Released from Crowbox Productions for the upcoming title: Also, be sure to check out the game at Steam Greenlight to keep updated on the progress. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=322996033

Ever wished you could build a futuristic metropolis as massive and beautiful as the mighty Coruscant in Star Wars? Then you want to check this indie project out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2029782298/dotcity DotCity is not only a city builder where kilometers high skyscrapers, flying cars and hundreds of millions of inhabitants will be the norm. It's a city builder about demography and technology, where the challenge is to survive fast population expansion from the industrial age towards the far future. It's beautiful, too. And developed by an actual mathematician from Belgium :-)

Paradox have released After Dark, the first expansion for Cities: Skylines. Building on the features from the base game, a range of new gameplay and simulation options are introduced, giving greater control of how your city interacts and functions. It includes ways to specialise district areas (e.g. leisure & tourism), and changes in activity based on the new day/night cycle. There's also expanded city services and additional transportation options, including bike & bus lanes! The expansion requires the base game installed, and is a separate purchase (currently $14.99 / £10.99 / €14.99). Launch FAQ Patch Release Notes (includes the differences between the free update) Mod Compatibility Guide (community created)

Ben Rayner chats with Cities Skylines lead game designer Karoliina Korppoo…

Top feature of this new patch is the increased building/zone limit. Other than that it's mostly bug fixes and UI enhancements to finetune gameplay. Full patchnotes in the link. https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/building-limits-increased-patch-1-2-2-f2-is-live.890051/ See here for the discussion topic.

Hi All, Today, CitiesCorp Concept has been submitted to Steam Greenlight. The basic idea is to scale and shape your buildings, putting them into complexes, setting own productions lines and many more features. This gives you a different city building experience in comparison to the well established brands. Check it out on Steam Greenlight and if you like it, vote Yes! Small town during testing Control Panel to control what is going on inside the building

The Cities XL franchise returns with Cities XXL: a bigger, better city builder pushing the city limits to the edge of your imagination, as seen in the stunning world reveal trailer. Running on a vastly improved game engine, Cities XXL offers classic and extended city-building content, including over 1000+ buildings, 70+ maps including new landscapes and environments, and ecological features making CitiesXXL the 'greenest' Cities XL game yet. Discover in the first Cities XXL video the sprawling cityscapes and city-life in action, to get a sense of the scale and grandeur of the game: As you'll see in the video, CitiesXXL lets you design and build a sprawling metropolis across many different landscapes and maps, with varying available resources - from oil to fertile farm land - to keep the denizens of your city content. Featuring four classes of citizens spanning four densities of housing, you'll watch as your cosmopolitan paradise grows from a quiet suburban town to huge economic powerhouse. With varying road-sizes, including curved roads, bridges, and tunnels unlocked from the start, you'll be able to plan the entrance to your city and its layout before you start plotting its city-scape. As it grows, take advantage of a unique richly detailed street-level view, and meet the citizens as they drive to work, ski, play basketball, or even parachute of the top of towers in unprecedented detail for the genre. Cities XXL features low-level city management mechanics, such as local air and noise pollution levels illustrated with the new stream-lined UI, and beauty hot-spots suitable for holiday locations to supplement cash-flow. At citizen management level, you'll be able to track a person's route to work in order to best manage transport from sea, underground and over-ground rail, or air. Cut-down on traffic queues with the park and ride and busses, or even bike hire - reducing that carbon footprint! Now with Steam Workshop support and streamlined modding, it has never been easier and quicker to share and download user-created content for a Cities XL game. With Cities XXL, you'll be able to use widely available free tools online to create your content and upload it to the Steam Workshop, for all players to download it right through Steam! To find out why Cities XXL helps you to build a bigger, better world, see the feature break-down below: Over 70 huge maps across multiple terrains and landscapes, from the tropics to the mountains and all in between.Region specific roads to match your country: French, English, German, etc.Over 1000 buildings, many with civilian activity animations to enjoy at street levelGreener options for the environment conscious, such as the park and ride, bike hire, and ability to upgrade industrial buildings to reduce emissionsUnprecedented detail for the city builder genre, with multiple sky-boxes to choose from and a dynamic time-of-daySteam Workshop support to easily create, share and download new contentFor more information, check the official website. For discussion, see our Cities XL forums.

SimCity That I Used to Know On the game’s 25th birthday, a devotee talks with creator Will Wright Regardless of its precise birthday, SimCity was a hugely influential game. Popularizing a genre of “software toys” that presented players with an interactive, complex world writ little, gamers growing up in the ‘90s may remember a time when any new PC title from Maxis (the company Wright founded with partner Jeff Braun) bearing the prominent ‘SIM’ prefix promised endless hours of play time that wasn’t about winning or losing, but experimentation and discovery. The Sim series also represents a philosophyabout design, and the role of play in our learning process. A screenshot from the original SimCity game for the Macintosh. “I think that play, in a more general sense, is fundamentally one of the ways that we understand the world, the real world,” says Wright, “as is storytelling. I think the two are both kind of educational technologies, and that’s the part that interests me; basically, how we take these things — whether it’s storytelling, or play, or games — and use those to increase our understanding and our engagement with the real world, not pull us away from it.” SimCity gives the player macro- and micro-managerial control of a voxelated urban terrarium. Along with its subsequent titles — SimCopter, SimTower, SimAnt, Sim et cetera ad nauseam — SimCity kicked off a series of digital sandboxes that put complex systems within the grasp of anyone with a computer mouse. Every decision has a consequence in the balance of dozens of variables. The RCI (residential, commercial, industrial) balance that guides the city’s economy, the layering of transportation options and power lines, the funding of schools or location of prisons—each reacts in subtle or overt ways based on a simplified system of logic devised by Wright and his team. “How do we take these big complex things we’re embedded in, and bring them into such a focus that we can now apply our natural instincts and intuitions to it?” Wright asks. Seeing cars begin to drive down the roads you’ve built, watching as neighborhoods flux and gentrify when a new commercial zone is established nearby, all while getting familiar with each little wrinkle of the city and its geography — you can start to imagine what it’s like to live there. Keeping track of a budget may sound more like a simulation of accounting than urban planning, but the beauty of the game is that it manages to turn things like fiscal policy into a feature of play. That’s largely because their effects are visible. Unlike a “replicative” simulation (say, a simulator), which recreates an experience you might actually have in life, the scales of size and time are variable. With the added power to call up natural (and unnatural) disasters, this essentially transforms the player from mayor to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVl8vfev4L8, and allows them to watch as the long term consequences of their choices unfold. “All of a sudden you get this totally different view of it, it feels like this organic picture in front of you … That’s kind of what I would call turning something into a toy that we can now play with.” These toys were especially effective for kids, who were at an age when the real and the imaginary seem less distinct. Watching as the little cities exhibited behavior in reaction to the player’s actions created a link between us the game. That link was also an intentional part of the game’s design. Wi Will Wright “They’re starting to understand its behavior and you’re getting kind of an instinct or an intuition for how it operates,” he says, “in a totally different way than if you’re reading a book about classical economic theory, which is entirely abstract.” Wright is fond of the notion of seeing a player’s brain as the second processor — its proclivities and responses feeding and responding to the invisible gears and pulleys behind the simulation. For the link to work, the interface has to be intuitive enough that anyone from a pre-schooler to a PhD in urban systems can get their hands and heads around what it takes to grow their city. The array of variables they control must be dramatically simplified from reality of course, but complex enough that the the models they create exhibit dynamic ‘behavior.’ A critical feature of the design of these games is, in fact, that they allow for unpredictable phenomena to arise. Unexpected harmonic convergences of circumstances occur in the city that lead to explosions of growth, or collapses of neighborhoods, say, from causes that aren’t as easy to trace back as pointing out that, say, lowering police funding meant an increase in crime. “Most of the simulation is really built up of rather simple rules, if you look under the hood, and it’s really interesting how these simple rules, when they interact with each other, give rise to great complexity,” Wright says. “You can’t even really sit back and engineer it or blueprint it. It’s more like you have to discover it, because the emergent systems are inherently, by definition, unpredictable.” A screenshot from the first Windows version of SimCity. The way Wright sees games, players occupy and explore what he calls “possibility spaces.” Simply put, possibility spaces are all the potential arrangements a system (or game) might find itself in. The whole tree of possible placement of pieces on a chessboard, or the countless ways you might reach a destination in Grand Theft Auto, each are a kind of possibility space. These spaces often intersect along numerous dimensions — in the Sims, for example, the interplay between social success and professional success created a jointed set of possibility spaces that a player could work to maximize (the game was designed around an ideal, not unlike in real life, that lay in achieving a balance between the two). The possible choices faced by a player of SimCity include the aesthetic priorities, economic models, level of environmental concern, and other more subjective dimensions. Depending on the player, a city might be a green oasis or a some might try to make the most visually pleasing city they can, or simply have fun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVPPRNIc8rk. Their decisions in these spaces—which can be measured, by the way—are often a reflection of their own values and sensibilities. “Players right off the bat were forced to sit down and in fact pick their goals,” Wright says. “They had to first of all decide what their values were, what kind of city would they like to live in. That was part of it, and the other part of it was that at some point, invariably, the people who played it enough would start arguing with the assumptions of the simulation. They would start saying, ‘I don’t think mass transit’s that effective, I don’t think pollution really would drive away that many residents.’ At that point, they’re also having to clarify their internal model of the way a city operates … all of a sudden your assumptions become clear to you.” A screenshot of the 2013 version of SimCity, its fifth major installment. Wright’s games—if you can call them that—were uniquely influential for a generation of kids with access to computers in the 90s. One could guide the complex course of events within a continent, a neighborhood, or beneath a picnic table, and leave with a more systemic understanding of each. An imaginative player could also weave their own stories between these layers — many hours were spent imagining stories taking place within and between these worlds. “Whenever you see a kid that’s really motivated and into something, it’s entertaining to them, they love it,” says Wright. “But at the same time that’s also probably the most effective process of education.” ‘Fun and educational’ is an aspirational combination of words, one that many products claim but few live up to. I emerged from my hunched sessions with my pet cities carrying a new appreciation for the world around me. With all the talk of gamifying education, and with a new generation of teachers — the first in history — raised on video games, the value in approaching learning with games may get the real-world traction it deserves. “I really think our brain is wired to consume entertainment and enjoy entertainment, precisely because of the fact that it’s inherently educational,” says Wright. “And we’ve made this artificial distinction between the two, we’ve almost kind of put a chasm there that didn’t exist…I think SimCity was just a simple example that a lot of people started to removing the wall between the two.”