'SimCity' ditches 'smoke and mirrors' for realism with GlassBox - Polygon

The more they show the better it becomes!!

Quote

A news wire flickers in the upper-left corner of the screen, ticking off information and providing clues to help players discern their city's needs.

Now that's what "SCWIRE" meant in the top left corner!

Quote

SimCity also features tilt-shift photography at street level.

Everyone complained! And now look, you will only see it at street level.

Quote

confirmation that cul-de-sacs and roundabouts will be available

Another thing people complained about!! They worried there was only one road type.

The more they show the better it becomes!! Didn't I tell you not to worry!

lol what are you talking about, it barly answers anything.

roundabouts and culdesacs arent much of a road type, highways dirt roads and stuff like that is what we are asking about.

lol what are you talking about, it barly answers anything.

To the untrained eye it is...

roundabouts and culdesacs arent much of a road type, highways dirt roads and stuff like that is what we are asking about.

Curvy roads, roundabouts and cul-de-sacs are much more transportation types then what it used to be.

One of the programmers said they were adding highways; they had highways since SimCity 3000.

Here is a image of the new highways...

People are nervous that it will repeat Societies, so they what Maxis to bring back the features that used to be in the game. If you think about it... Societies wasn’t made by Maxis... Maxis already had that road stuff in the first place, Maxis is just picking up where they left off.

I think they will add details like that, But it seems that they want to nail the new GlassBox simulation first before the aesthetic details.

I think we all want this to work... and regarding highways... (a sensitive subject with me) .. that six lane ground level road is hardly worth mentioning... as a highway that is...

I agree. A multi-lane road without a barrier separating the directions, complete with sidewalk and streetlights, is hardly a highway/motorway.

A news ticker has been a part of SimCity games for years.

"SimCity also features tilt-shift photography at street level." - this is not an unambiguous statement. It does not exclude tilt-shift effects anywhere else. It does not say "SimCity features tilt-shift photography at street level only". Come to think of it, what do they mean with "photography" at all?

So far all screenshots we have seen featured that blur effect, and this quote:

"Tilt-shift works because it gives us a license to speed things up..."

confirms my suspicion that it is a nicely dressed up means to go easier on your computer's resources. It's not a new idea to fade out areas that are further away to save processing resources, they are only marketing it cleverly - so much that apparently people think it's the hottest feature ever.

Finally, cul-de-sacs and roundabouts are good additions, but they are clearly not different road types!

I.Lostalim, I respect your enthuisasm, but you seem very, very determined to read whatever you want to read into virtually any statement, and I have the impression that you go far to bend things into your perspective because you want to see it that way so much.

Many things are simply not clear as of yet, and we shall see. All in all, there was not much new information in that tiny article.

that six lane ground level road is hardly worth mentioning... as a highway that is...

A multi-lane road without a barrier separating the directions, complete with sidewalk and streetlights, is hardly a highway/motorway

Why I like them so much is because they are exact representation from where I live...

Have you ever been to California??

That highway is the exact representation of where I live...

Remember, Maxis studio is near San Francisco, and I bet they model off what they see around them... So what you see is California highways...

Almost all the road types in the screenshots represent where I live.

but you seem very, very determined to read whatever you want to read into virtually any statement, and I have the impression that you go far to bend things into your perspective because you want to see it that way so much.

I think the designers over at Maxis have literally told all there is about it.

I have read and watched dozens of articles, videos, interviews, from various companies and various team members. All of them have said the same thing, which gets me to think they have probably told everything there is to know about it. Which may not seem much to people, but this isn't a "Shakespearian" idiom. They told people everything...

It's simple, people may not know what thing they're explaining, but what they are saying is exactly what it is and nothing more.

Sometimes... (But not all the time) It's just that simple, there is no secret to it, a lot of information can come from a few simple words. All of these articles have answered all my questions.

Also, I don't bend perspective, I simply infer. (But I know, inferring doesn't mean fact).

Tilt-shift better be toggleable

I.lostalim.... I live in San Diego, CA... I have lived 5 years in Los Angeles and San Francisco areas as well.. As far as the "exact representation" that you speak of... the only thing that road can possibly remind me of is maybe.. San Tomas Expressway in San Jose... Sepulveda Blvd in LA.. and maybe even Friars Road in San Diego.. but CA like Texas are known for superfreeways and the picture that you suggest isn't nearly like that

I.lostalim.... I live in San Diego, CA... I have lived 5 years in Los Angeles and San Francisco areas as well.. As far as the "exact representation" that you speak of... the only thing that road can possibly remind me of is maybe.. San Tomas Expressway in San Jose... Sepulveda Blvd in LA.. and maybe even Friars Road in San Diego.. but CA like Texas are known for superfreeways and the picture that you suggest isn't nearly like that

You lived in the major cities where they had to be elevated above the buildings. Have you ever gone into the outskirts?

Look at this...

T Wrecks: "A multi-lane road without a barrier separating the directions, complete with sidewalk and streetlights, is hardly a highway/motorway."

Oh, look! there is an image right above with a middle barrier.

Oh, and another image with street lights...

Some people call these desert roads Highways, and they don't even have 4 lanes!?!?

Even on a map atlas they're called Highways.

Most highways are on the ground...

Wikipedia: "A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads."

"In English law, parliament and more formal situations the term is used to denote any public road used which include streets and lanes as well as main roads"

What I consider a highway is how many lanes it has... We're not talking about its shape, or if it has sidewalks, or it has cloverleafs, underpasses, and elevation. Any road can have that shape, but what determines the road as a highway is how many lanes it has and if this road is a major road that goes to a different city or state and it's longer than a neighborhood street that cuts the time from place to place.

Whatever I.lostalimb dude.. I ain't seen what I am looking for so I am unhappy with it... you want to have just rural whatever and ground whatever with no ramps, flyovers, exits, please go ahead. Your presentation ain't convincing me otherwise OK ... oh by the way I am done with this and if you are one of those who feel the need to have the last word .. please, by all means, be my guest...

Whatever I.lostalimb dude.. I ain't seen what I am looking for so I am unhappy with it... you want to have just rural whatever and ground whatever with no ramps, flyovers, exits, please go ahead. Your presentation ain't convincing me otherwise OK ... oh by the way I am done with this and if you are one of those who feel the need to have the last word .. please, by all means, be my guest...

ok, I will...

that last pik is the new jersey turnpike i know iam from nj and the other 1 is istanbul turkey

chocolate_city, on , said:

that six lane ground level road is hardly worth mentioning... as a highway that is...

Quote

A multi-lane road without a barrier separating the directions, complete with sidewalk and streetlights, is hardly a highway/motorway

Why I like them so much is because they are exact representation from where I live...

Have you ever been to California??

That highway is the exact representation of where I live...

Remember, Maxis studio is near San Francisco, and I bet they model off what they see around them...

That is not a highway in that screenshot, it is an avenue with light rail tracks between the lanes. There is a screenshot in this article that shows the same type of avenue running through a city. The E3 trailer shows the actaul highways in the game.