The goals of creating a farm country are quite different than building a city. A mayor must aim for rustic and natural, as opposed to most efficient and practical. Follow these basic guidelines.

1. When choosing your terrain, you want an extra-large, semi-flat block with no large rivers or coastlines (small streams and lakes are okay). The reason is that large bodies of water raise land values and are a tempting site for high-density development.
2. Build two roads that stretch from city limit to city limit and that cross each other somewhere in the middle. You can add other roads later.
3. Build a coal power plant on the edge of the map. It produces a lot of pollution, but with the low-density development you'll be doing, it won't make much of an impact.
4. Start developing with low-density zones at the intersection of those two roads. This is your county seat. Avoid development too far away from the main roads. Development should stretch no farther than 10 tiles away from the intersection.
5. Zone low-density industrial plots for farms anywhere along the roads. I like to use 14 x 9 plots. Make sure they are hooked up to power.
6. Build light residential at random locations along the road. Try not to let any zoned squares touch each other. It looks more rustic this way.
7. Gradually add more end-to-end roads. At the intersections you can add clumps of zones to create a village. Don't worry too much about placing residential zones next to non-agricultural industrial zones.
8. You can use government buildings (police, fire, school, library), certain landmarks (Quincy Market, Independence Hall, North Church), or rewards to act as village halls.
9. Water is not necessary at all, especially on the farms. If you want to build a water tower to satisfy the needs of the villages, that's fine. But they'll live without it.
10. Much later in the game, you may want to introduce suburban sprawl. Build pockets of high-valued residential zones as housing developments. Continue with middle-density commercial. Your county seat may eventually become your historic downtown.

You'll create an interesting city history of progress that does not happen when you build metropolises right away.

See also
Building a garden city
Creating a wine country
Build a realistic-looking campus
Creating a national park
Create a nice-looking school
How to build a nice golf course
How to build a nice vineyard or fruit farm
Build a hillbillie hangout

If you're an in-depth SimMayor like myself, you probably want to achieve a high standard of beauty in your city. One of the things that can create aesthetic appeal in your city is a wine country. Inspired by the rolling hillsides of Burgundy in France, and Napa Valley in California, I decided to build my own wine region.

Before I begin, I need to tell you that you must use the Building Plop cheat (http://www.sc3000.com/underground/showarticle.cfm?id=0094). I suggest creating a wine country if you've truly experienced the essence of SimCity 3000. I built numerous cities without cheats, and I felt the true meaning of SimCity 3000. So if you feel you're ready to "plop", read on. . .

It's time to begin making your wine country. (Or vineyard if you want to keep it small.) Start by creating A) a flat [pick your own dimensions] landscape or B) a hillside [trees can be planted on hillsides]. In my wine country, I chose both A and B. Set aside an area to put up a house, gardens, and tool shed.

In rows, plop a plowed field to meet your desired dimensions. In the adjacent row, plant one deciduous tree (not pine or palm). Plant each tree per each tile. When planting your tree, there are two options. I tried planting one tree per tile. Chris Szabla suggests placing two trees per tile, so you click on the tile twice, respectively.

Your vineyard should have one row field, one row trees, one row field, one row trees . . . It will look like this:

x = trees
: = fields

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Remember to click on the tile once for a single tree, and twice for two trees.

Now that you have filled up your region with the agricultural part, you need to build a home.

Every major vineyard and winery has a house with gardens surrounding it. I suggest building Stratton Hall (or your preferred house) with a few English Gardens around it. Also place a tool shed near the fields, to add a sense of "rusticness" to it.

Finally, name your region or vineyard. While it won't be displayed in the game, if you post images online you'll want to call it something. I named my vineyard Maison de Romain. So when tourists come to my vineyard, they can sip back on a vintage '88 Romain bubbly . . .

Creating a wine country can add aesthetic appeal like none other. Bon Appetite!

See also
Build a realistic-looking campus
Creating a national park
Create a nice-looking school
Creating a farm country
How to build a nice golf course
How to build a nice vineyard or fruit farm
Private neighbourhood entrance

Have you ever wanted your prison to look more Ominous? Have you ever wanted your prison to have walls? If so and you have SC3K Unlimited. Then this will work.

This will require use of the building plop cheat (Underground article #0094).

Run the above cheat and view the building list. If you scroll down to near the bottom you will find "The Wall" from the Berlin scenario. When you build your prison leave 1 tile on every side around it. (It should be obvious what to do from here but here's the rest):

Surround the prison with "The Wall" The barbed wire and messy surroundings really make it look like a real high security prison.

I use this in most of my new cheat cities and it looks great. Try it sometime.

See also
Making realistic cities
Ten points for the ultimate realistic city creation
Build an island jail complex
Make your mayor's house into a nice resort
Build a realistic-looking campus
Create a nice-looking school
How to build a nice golf course
Making a recreational harbor

Note: You can do this by using the All buildings Cheat, more commonly known as "the plop cheat." You can also do something a little similar to this without cheating. I'll explain below.

I was building a country town trying to make it realistic. So I plopped 3 4x4 pieces of the University(and aligned them properly). Then I went ahead a built the Adler planetarium in the extra 4x4 space. It worked out well because the planetarium blends very well with the University, and adds a realistic touch to the campus. You don't have to use all three pieces of the University you can use two, or even just one. As long as you use the Adler Planetarium. Also, it looks even better in the country, with a lot of pine and deciduous trees surrounding it. If you want you can add some small parks, and/or fountains. Ponds look great there too!

x = University building.
y = Adler Planetarium
: = Tree                              

Here is the example:

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::: x  x :::::::::::::
:::::::::::::: x  y :::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Since there are four different University buildings, make sure the University buildings line up the way they were meant to. Keep in mind you can use one piece of the University, or two, or three etc. Menime adds this additional advice: you can also add the Medical Research Center or Science Center buildings. To make a library, build 2 or 3 or 4 library buildings close together. If you want a dorm in your university, use the all buildings cheat and pick out buildings that look like dorms to place near your university. Add fountains or small parks to make a broadwalk around buildings and use the all buildings cheat again to add some shops around the campus (gotta have those shops!). Don't forget roads and parking lots, too.

If you don't like to cheat, you can wait for the University to be offered to you. After you place the 10x10 University, put the Planetarium anywhere near the campus. Add ponds, parks, fountains trees, whatever you desire. Have fun! .

See also
Building a garden city
Aesthetics of a major university
Private neighbourhood entrance
Build a softball complex
Making a recreational harbor
Creating a personal mayor's theme park
Creating a wine country
Make your mayor's house into a nice resort
Creating a farm country
Make a realistic prison
How to build a nice golf course
Estates: getting them to grow

To create a nice school:

1. Build a school (make sure there is a lot of room around it).
2. Use the "all buildings cheat" (see below) and make green lawn all around your school, using as much as you want because this will be the school's field.
3. Add a ballpark and a playground in the field.
4. Finally, fence it all it and fill any empty tiles with green lawn.

All buildings cheat

To activate this first go into the power plant window. Then close it with the X in the upper right hand corner. Then go in to the rewards window. Then close it with the X. Next go into the sanitation window, and close it with the X. Then go into the landmarks window. All buildings should be available for placement. You may need to repeat this cheat later if you loose your building selection list.

See also
Building a garden city
Aesthetics of a major university
Build a softball complex
Creating a wine country
Make your mayor's house into a nice resort
Creating a national park
Creating a farm country
Make a realistic prison
How to build a nice golf course
Making a recreational harbor
Creating bike paths

Have you ever been bored with that old mayor's house? If so, you may be pleasantly surprised by the results of this suggestion. There are two ways of doing this: one way is with cheats, and the other one is without. It is recommended to use the cheats for this but if you are not the cheating type, feel free to try it without cheats.

With cheats

You will first need the "all buildings cheat". To activate this first go into the power plant window. Then close it with the X in the upper right hand corner. Then go in to the rewards window. Then close it with the X. Next go into the sanitation window, and close it with the X. Next place your mayor's house in a picturesque area of your city. Place the building wherever you want, leaving at least 8x8 tiles (8x8 or 4x4; it all depends on how large you want your grounds to be). Then go into the landmarks window. If the cheat worked you will be able to place all buildings from SimCity 3000. Place green lawns, swimming pools and tennis courts around the grounds in whatever you think looks like an acceptable layout. Then top it off with a Gazebo somewhere on the grounds. Mark the structures as historic (by querying the items and checking the "Make historic" box) so that the structures will not change.

Without cheats

Instead of using the "all buildings cheat", plop low or high density residential around your mayor's house. Preferably, your mayor's house will be in a high land value area. If the land value is indeed high enough, green lawns, swimming pools and tennis courts will start to build. You can bulldoze any unwanted buildings. Lastly, make all the buildings on your grounds historic (by querying the items and checking the "Make historic" box).

You should be surprised with the results that you get with the above. Not only will you have a nice house, but some nice landscaping to go with it. If you want to see the results of this without trying it for yourself, check out www.SimCity.com and download the city Saffron Island and look for the mayor's resort.

See also
Build a realistic-looking campus
Create a nice-looking school
Make a realistic prison
Creating a personal mayor's theme park
A cheat-free mayor's mansion
Create a ski resort
Estates: getting them to grow

My cities usually import garbage. In later stages of the game I have a dedicated corner of the map for my landfills, recycling, etc. (I decommission as my city expands). The military base, prison, and industries are generally in this area also.

I build 3 separate landfills, 8 spaces away from the access road, and 8 spaces between each other. The spacing ensures the landfills are not connected to each other or to the road.

I then run a road to one of the landfills so that it is the only one connected. Once it's filled with garbage, I bulldoze the road to decommission the first landfill, and build a new road to the second landfill. Once the second landfill is filled, I bulldoze that road and build a new one to the third landfill. By the time I am filling the 3rd landfill, the first one is empty again (the garbage has decomposed), and the cycle starts over.

See also
How to get rid of landfills
To export, or dispose of garbage on your own?
Emptying landfills faster
Landfills: a warning

WARNING: Early on in the game, do not place a landfill next to any other buildings or zones. If you do, to decommission the landfill (stop using it so it can decompose in 10 years), you will need to destroy not only all roads near it, but also all buildings and zones. This is because buildings create trash, and don't need a road if it is already right next to the landfill. The landfill will continue to pollute and lower land values, and you will not be able to raise or lower the land or build on it as long as it is there.

See also
How to get rid of landfills
Rotating landfills

I my opinion with the advent of the Waste to Energy Incinerator in the year 2000, waste management was changed forever. It is now possible to profit from other city's trash. Other cities will pay you from §5 to §9 per 100 tons of their trash you take. A Waste to Energy Incinerator will burn up to 5250 tons of trash/month for §25,000 in initial cost. Over the life of the Incinerator (about 65 of the 69 years life span of the incinerator are usable) it could cost as little as §0.6/100 tons of trash. Even if you average 50% efficiency over the life of the incinerator it still costs you only §1.2/100 tons of trash. This means that if some other city is paying you §9/100 tons of trash you are making over §7/100 tons of trash and getting free electricity to boot! So I say YES to all trash import deals and NO to all export deals, and spend, spend, spend.

1. Tips for beginners:
2. These incinerators do pollute so put them far from residential zones.
3. Keep an eye on them to make sure you have enough capacity. If you take a larger deal or as your city grows and produces more of its own trash you will have to build more incinerators.
4. Watch their age. After about 65 years their capacity falls off and you will have to replace them.
5. With incinerators you will not need much in the way of landfill space. I use only 9 squares, but you will have to watch it closely because a large city can overwhelm a small landfill in a hurry if your capacity falls off or an incinerator blows up.

See also
Where to build your power plants
Power plants: which to build and which not to
Realistic thoughts on power plants

I for one dislike landfills, they're big and stinky. Usually I pay a neighbour to take my garbage until incinerators become available. However, this can be costly. If you decide to build landfills instead they can be emptied quickly once recycling plants become available. When the recycling facility becomes available, build a few, leaving your landfill still connected to road or rail. The recycling plant will recycle some of the garbage in the landfill, reducing its load. The empty tiles can then be dezoned.

However, this will not (in my experience at least) completely empty a landfill, but it beats waiting for them to decompose by themselves.

See also
How to get rid of landfills
Rotating landfills

Face it, none of us here find incinerators a pleasant sight in our cities. Oftentimes players have considered the exporting of garbage to neighbors in place of disposing them through incinerators, but are afraid to try it out due to the fear of incurring higher expenditures. But, from recent "experimentations", I have concluded otherwise:

1. For large enough cities, it is more economical to export garbage to neighbors than to dispose of them on their own:
2. Building of incinerators bring about opportunity and social costs of pollution, and of useful land (they take up a hell lot of space).
3. If any anti-pollution ordinances are enacted, there'll be a large expenditure spent on physically cleaning up the pollution.
4. Maintenance of the garbage infrastructure do throw in monetary costs too! And in the long run, often you'll have to shell out money to replace aging incinerators.
5. By exporting garbage, though you still have to pay, you actually forgo the aforementioned costs, so eventually you pay less! Above all, you have freed up useful land for development purposes!

Why is this so? Though I have no resources to provide concrete mathematical figures, most of these come under the economic theory of costs and production in the long run.

Despite the fact that such city services are government owned natural monopolies (industries solely owned by the government that produces necessities e.g. water, electricity etc.), that in economic theory, enjoy economies of scale over a very large output (i.e. level of production), in SC3K that has somehow a certain threshold.

In the long run, above a certain population level (which determines the number of incinerators and the amount of garbage burnt) such natural monopolies may start experiencing dis-economies of scale when it has to increase its output beyond optimum production level (or the minimum efficient scale) just to cater to the large population. Hence it is wiser to export garbage, at relatively lower costs.

For smaller cities, exporting garbage is unwise, for revenue may not be enough to cover up the total expenditure. Smaller cities can still increase the size of garbage disposal and experience economies of scale.

From experiences, the MES for the "garbage natural monopoly" occurs when the city's population may be well on 1.4 million and above; 1 million is not not enough. Hence a 'large-enough' city is this case should have a residential population of at least 1.4 million.

Lastly, this can also apply to water and power supply in your city. But due to their nature of more efficient costs compared to garbage disposal, producing them on your own or buying them from neighbors would make only a slight cost difference. So the only cost of producing them on your own comes from the opportunity cost of wastage of useful land. Perhaps, if you consider to totally import both water and power, together with garbage exportation you may eventually incur higher costs.

See also
Making the most of neighbor deals
Making successful neighbor deals
Rotating landfills
Water buildings & garbage facilities: which to build

Have you ever built a landfill early on in your city and discovered that you really didn't choose a good spot for it?

The First thing you need to do pause your city and find a good far-away place to put your new landfill (make sure you have good road access to it). Then demolish all roads, highways, and railroads within about seven blocks from your old landfill.

Now raise the elevation around all the borders of the landfill. Finally cover your elevated barrier with lots of trees.

After about a month or so when you query the landfill it should say decommissioned on it. After a long time all the trash in the landfill will decompose and you can de-zone the land and use for other zones.

See also
Pollution specifics
Reclaiming land and funds
Emptying landfills faster
Landfills: a warning
Rotating landfills

This is a pretty easy way to minimize the amount of space your water pumps take up in relation to the amount of water you actually get. It also gives you more freedom as to where you put them, making it easier to spread them around the city.

Step 1: Use the Add Water tool from the landscaping menu to add a single square of water to your land, preferably in a good-sized, flat area. You should now have a 3X3 square with one square of water in the middle. Keep in mind that all nine squares count as fresh water, however.

Step 2: Use the Level Terrain tool, also from the landscaping menu, on one of the middle outside squares of the 3X3 squares (NOT, however, on the middle square with the actual water). You should now have a 2X3 section with a thin blue line of water in the middle. Now use the Level Terrain tool on one of the corners, which should leave you with a 2X2 square with a tiny diamond of fresh water in the middle- but again, all four of those squares count as being fresh water.

Step 3: Simply put down water pumps all around the remaining 2X2 section. You should now have a 4X4 section of water pumps, each of which will provide you with its full capacity of water- for a total of 18,000 m3 of water, for a very small investment of space. Connect it to your pipe system, and you're ready to go.

This is mostly useful for mayors with little or no water in their cities, but the biggest advantage I've gotten from it is that with all your pumps in easily located areas, it's a great deal easier to find them when it's time to replace them.

See also
Coastal water pump configuration is efficient
Keep track of your water pumps

Have you ever wondered where to place your water pumps in a city and keep track of them? Try this idea; create an arrangement of rectangular or square ponds and then place your pumps around them. This has the added feature of unpolluted water and your knowing where all your water pumps are located. The beauty of this configuration is that it is a close system and that it can be expanded for any size city. No pollution!

See also
Unable to build water pump solution
Minimize space requirements for water pumps
Coastal water pump configuration is efficient
Water buildings & garbage facilities: which to build

To get the most out of my water-pumps without creating an eyesore, I typically build my cities on rivers. By raising terrain to just above water level at the top of the river in long one block rows sticking out into the water. If you arrange these long "fingers" of land so that about 5 to 8 pumps fit on each one and make the "fingers one block space apart it looks like a major pumping station for a metropolis. You can also put a water treatment plant where the "finger" meets the land to clean the out-bound water. This saves your inland properties for better stuff and minimizes the use of coast/shoreline!

Thomas Whaples adds the following advice that may offer even greater efficiency:
Make the fingers of land 2 tiles wide, giving you 2 pumps in the middle for more pumping power.

See also
Minimize space requirements for water pumps
Keep track of your water pumps

There are four clean power sources. Each has its advantages and disadvantages (except the solar and waste to energy plants, which have nothing but disadvantages), but there is one that stands out above all the rest. By the way, I'm not including the nuclear plants in this list as they do produce some pollution.

Microwave
This seems to be a great deal: it produces 14000 MW-h of electricity and doesn't pollute at all. I often construct them in the middle of residential areas with no drop in aura or land value. However, that was before I looked into the cost per MW-h. As it turns out, microwave power costs 2.14 §/MW-h. That's nearly 20% more than a wind mill, even in the middle of a valley. However, it is the most space efficient of the clean power plants.

Solar
Solar power plants never seemed to me like a good deal, and my suspicions were verified when I did a bit of calculation: solar plants cost 3 §/MW-h, or half again as much as a microwave plant and 68% more than a wind mill. They are neither space nor cost efficient. However, they have been known to last over 100 years.

Waste to energy
This one is a real rip-off. It's cheaper to construct a solar plant and a normal incinerator... and the solar plant is the second most inefficient of any power plant in the game. I list it with clean power plants because the same amount of pollution would be generated by a normal incinerator anyway (slightly more, in fact), so the power itself is clean.

Wind Mill
This is the very best clean plant in existence. At its peak efficiency (on top of hills) it will give you 1.25 §/MW-h, or the exact same efficiency as a nuclear plant. However, it takes 80 wind plants to produce the same amount of energy as a nuke. Put it in a deep valley and it'll give you 1.79 §/MW-h - still more than any other clean plant. I've seen wind mills last 125+ years.

See also
Where to build your power plants
Power plants: which to build and which not to
Power plant output and costs
Realistic thoughts on power plants
The true cost of energy
Actual cost efficiency of power plants

When examining the best possible power plant for your city there are many factors to consider. Most of the power plants all have their particular usefulness and a single city can use multiple sources to cover all the power demanding situations they will face.

Cost efficiency is a number that represents the overall power that you will get from a power plant throughout its life time (Life Span * Power Supplied / Cost).

Space Efficiency is the amount of power you get for every square the building fills. This is important if your city is tight for space (Power Supplied / Size). Also, another thing you must note is that if you use plants that produce less power you will need more. If you are using a polluting source of power, this means you will need many to power a city (in comparison to nuclear, microwave and fusion) and that means much more pollution.

Coal Power Plant:

Power Supplied - 6000 MW-h/Month. Cost to Build - $5000. Pollution Generated - Hazardous. Average Life Span - ~72 years. Size: 4x4, 16 squares. Time Acquired: 1900. Cost Efficiency - 86 MW-h/Month/$. Space Efficiency - 375 MW-h/Month/Square. Additional Notes - None.

Oil Power Plant:

Power Supplied - 7000 MW-h/Month. Cost to Build - $8500. Pollution Generated - Hazardous. Average Life Span - ~73 years. Size: 4x4, 16 squares. Time Acquired: 1900. Cost Efficiency - 60 MW-h/Month/$. Space Efficiency - 438 MW-h/Month/Square. Additional Notes - None.

Gas Power Plant:

Power Supplied - 3000 MW-h/Month. Cost to Build - $4500. Pollution Generated - Very High. Average Life Span - ~88 years. Size: 4x4, 16 squares. Time Acquired: 1955. Cost Efficiency - 59 MW-h/Month/$. Space Efficiency - 188 MW-h/Month/Square. Additional Notes - None.

Nuclear Power Plant:

Power Supplied - 16000 MW-h/Month. Cost to Build - $20000. Pollution Generated - Low. Average Life Span - ~59 years. Size: 4x4, 16 squares. Time Acquired: 1960. Cost Efficiency - 48 MW-h/Month/$. Space Efficiency - 1000 MW-h/Month/Square. Additional Notes - Reduces city aura and can meltdown.

Wind Mill:

Power Supplied - 200 MW-h/Month or less. Cost to Build - $250. Pollution Generated - None. Average Life Span - ~122 years. Size: 1x1, 1 square. Time Acquired: 1980. Cost Efficiency - 98 MW-h/Month/$ or less. Space Efficiency - 200 MW-h/Month/Square or less. Additional Notes - Requires very high elevation in order to receive 100% of potential power output.

Solar Power Plant:

Power Supplied - 5000 MW-h/Month. Cost to Build - $15000. Pollution Generated - None. Average Life Span - ~101 years. Size: 4x4, 16 squares. Time Acquired: 1985. Cost Efficiency - 34 MW-h/Month/$. Space Efficiency - 312 MW-h/Month/Square. Additional Notes - Can loose efficiency if the weather if cloudy.

Microwave Power Plant:

Power Supplied - 14000 MW-h/Month. Cost to Build - $30000. Pollution Generated - None. Average Life Span - ~81 years. Size: 4x4, 16 squares. Time Acquired: 2020. Cost Efficiency - 38 MW-h/Month/$. Space Efficiency - 875 MW-h/Month/Square. Additional Notes - A slight possibility of causing fires near by the plant.

Fusion Power Plant:

Power Supplied - 50000 MW-h/Month. Cost to Build - $50000. Pollution Generated - Low. Average Life Span - ~54 years. Size: 4x4, 16 squares. Time Acquired: 2050. Cost Efficiency - 54 MW-h/Month/$ Space Efficiency - 3125 MW-h/Month/Square Additional Notes - None.

Waste to Energy Incinerator:

Power Supplied - 5000 MW-h/Month Cost to Build - $25000 Pollution Generated - Very high. Average Life Span - ~67 years Size: 3x3, 9 squares. Time Acquired: 2000. Cost Efficiency - 13 MW-h/Month/$ Space Efficiency - 556 MW-h/Month/Square Additional Notes - Doubles as an efficient incinerator. Needs enough garbage to be at 100% power capacity.

Cost / Space Efficiency Comparison:

Type                    Cost          Space
----------------------- ------------- -----------
Coal Power Plant        86            375
Oil Power Plant         60            438
Gas Power Plant         59            188
Nuclear Power Plant     48            1000
Wind Mill               98 or less    200 or less
Solar Power Plant       34            312
Microwave Power Plant   38            875
Fusion Power Plant      54            3125
W. to E. Incinerator    13            556

So which is the best for you? You must first decide what your priorities are. Here are some general assessments that can help you out:

Coal Power Plant - This is the most cost efficient plant in the game (other than a wind mill with all its potential reached) but it is also one of the most hazardous when it comes to pollution. At the start of the game this is likely your best choice since the pollution from on plant won't be too significant and it is cheaper than all other choices. Unless you want to deal with the heavy pollution this plant will deal, it will be wise to switch to other non-polluting plants.

Oil Power Plant - Oil power plant is one of the two power plants I consider useless. It is much less cost effective than coal and doesn't pollute much less. Don't use this plant unless you have some kind of aesthetic need for it.

Gas Power Plant - Just like Oil Power Plants but worse. Do not use unless it serves some aesthetic purpose.

Nuclear Power Plants - This is a cost effective plant that doesn't pollute. If you are willing to sacrifice a little bit of city aura this is an excellent choice for powering your city, until fusion comes along at least. It you do not allow your plants to reach maximum capacity, allow aliens to blow it up and you save frequently, the meltdown is not a serious concern.

Wind Mills - Not very effective because they require a large amount of space to be useful. If you elevation isn't high enough they won't reach their maximum potential. However, many cities use wind mills for their aesthetic value and because they are convenient for powering areas that are two difficult to power with power lines.

Solar Power Plants - This power plants are expensive but produce absolutely no pollution and can be placed anywhere. They have absolutely no disadvantages except cost and a slightly low space efficiency. If you have lots of space and money, this is a good choice for a clean city.

Microwave Power Plants - This power plants are virtually larger editions of solar power plants; they don't pollute and are expensive. They are more cost and space efficient that solar power plants but they do have the slight possibility of causing fires. When you get them 35 years after solar power, solar power plants can be replaced by microwave in a clean and wealthy city.

Fusion Power Plants - In 2050 when you get this variety of power plants you may want to invest in a fusion power plant. They produce much more power than any power plant and are incredibly space efficient. They are also the most cost efficient of all non- polluting power plants. These are great to use if you have a large city with enough money to cough up.

Waste to Energy Incinerators - If you want to incinerate your garbage and you have a large amount of money, these are excellent investments to use in conjunction with other power sources (if needed). They consume more garbage than a normal incinerator and produce less pollution, while producing almost as much power as a coal power plant. So if you want to burn garbage and you have a large amount of money, invest in one of these. However, it's important to note, that if you have don't produce enough garbage to max this power plants capacity then they won't produce maximum potential power.

See also

• Power plant output and costs
• Actual cost efficiency of power plants

Most people do not consider the MWh a power plant produces over its lifetime when considering the cost efficiency of a power plant. Just the initial cost to capacity is considered. However, if you also factor in the lifetime MWh of a plant, this gives you a more accurate idea of how well a power plant performs versus cost. Below is the lifetime MWh of each type of power plant produced per dollar.

Type          Life MWh/$
------------ ----------
Coal         84
Oil          56.65
Gas          53.33
Nuclear      48
Wind*        96
Solar        33.33
Microwave    37.33
Fusion       60
Waste-Energy 14

*This is at full capacity. It usually would be a bit lower, like in the 80's or 70's.

See also
Power plant output and costs
Complete examination of power sources
Clean power plants: which is best?

I have seen lists of power plants that only look at initial cost of construction vs. electricity output. The Fusion reactor is high on this list with the Nuclear reactor not too far behind, whereas Solar ranks way down on this list. However this does not take into account the life span of these power plants. For example the Solar Collector costs §15,000 to build and produced 5,000 MW-h/Month. The Nuclear Reactor costs §20,000 to build and produces 16,000 MW-h/Month. On the face of it the Nuclear Reactor looks like a good deal. For only one third more money you get three times more power. However if you figure that the Nuclear Reactor only lasts 53 years vs. the 103 years of the Solar Collector things look different. If you assume 100% efficiency the Solar Collector costs §0.0024/MW-h and the Nuclear Reactor costs §0.0020/MW-h. Add to this the NIMBY factor of the Nuclear Reactor and the risk of a melt down, and the Solar Collector looks better and better.

But what if we don’t assume 100% efficiency? Well this makes the Solar Collector look like an even better deal. Because you add energy production in smaller increments with the Solar Collector (5,000 MW-h/Month vs. 16,000 MW-h/Month of the Nuclear Reactor) you tend to run them and a higher percentage of their capacity. For example if I am running 3 Solar collectors at near capacity and I add a fourth to support growth my 4 plants are then running at %70 of capacity. If I am running one Nuclear reactor at near capacity (generating the same amount of energy as my 3 Solar Collectors) and I add a second to support growth then my two Nuclear Reactors are running at only 50% percent of capacity.

What about Fusion you ask? While it is true that the cost of electricity is much less over the life of the plant (about §0.0013/MW-h vs. §0.0024/MW-h for Solar assuming you run both plants at 100% efficiency). It is unlikely that you will ever get more then %50 efficiency over the life of the Fusion Reactor, because you add in such large increments of power production. And since the construction costs are so high, I tend to avoid Fusion reactors.

See also
Power plants: which to build and which not to
Power plant output and costs
Realistic thoughts on power plants
Clean power plants: which is best?

I've read over all the information I've seen submitted by others concerning power plants, as well as information is the strategy guides. But from my own gameplay experience, here are some general things I've learned about power plants:

• Even the "less pollutive" buildings are still pollutive and therefore can't be placed anywhere near residential or commercial zones. Any significant level of pollution wipes out surrounding land values.
• When considering how expensive a given plant is, it's very important to take into consideration how often you'll need to replace it.
• Nuclear meltdowns never happen unless you put your nuclear plant(s) under a lot of strain for a long period of time. In fact, I've run cities in which I've TRIED to make nukes melt down, and they do after a year or so of being run over capacity. But when plants even approach their capacity, Gus lets you know about it roughly every month, plus you're told well in advance when a plant is aging, so you'd have to be awfully negligent to let a nuclear meltdown happen. They very, VERY rarely just happen at random (it's never happened to me without cause).
• A note about power line: It's not very realistic, but I find it useful to run a strip of low density zoning (I usually use industrial) to carry power to distant areas instead of power lines. The advantage is that when you finally do develop such areas or decide to plant trees or place other buildings there (or especially roads, which you can build over zoning but you have to bulldoze power line first), it's a lot easier to get rid of. Of course, most of the zoning won't develop, but it will still carry power.

That having been said, here's my humble evaluation of power plants:

COAL: Definitely the best choice starting in 1900 and, if you don't mind building it a good distance away from the rest of the city, a fairly good choice even in later years. But the pollution is crippling; you have to put it far away from commercial or residential zones and preferably pad it with a thick layer of forest to help with the pollution. It's practically a must that it needs to be on the edge of the map.

OIL: I don't know why anyone would build an oil plant. Everything bad about coal is also bad about oil, but coal is cheaper.

GAS: Some people build gas plants on the basis that they're "a lot less pollutive". They still pollute, though, and are a heavy NIMBY building, so you still wind up having to keep them away from people. Which makes them just too expensive to be useful. Go with coal if you're not going to go with something completely clean.

NUCLEAR: As I said before, the only way you'll have a meltdown is if you fall asleep with the simulation running and it explodes from old age. Nuclear plants are one of the best sources of power for your buck if you don't mind the mere presence of nuclear power; a lot of people choose the aura benefit of the nuclear free zone ordinance instead. You should definitely have one or the other, the ordinance or nuclear power, at least until Fusion is available.

WIND: Wind is the worst choice of power with which to power your city because you'll need so many windmills that it becomes extremely expensive and extremely land consuming. However, windmills are extremely handy for powering structures like airports, seaports, and garbage facilities/NIMBY buildings like Toxic Waste Conversion Plant, etc. They're cheaper and more convenient than power line.

SOLAR: Solar is far too expensive in the long run to be the chief source of funding for your city, but since it doesn't carry a NIMBY effect it can be a good short term solution to power problems or give you the extra boost you need to keep up a neighbor deal. Also, it's nice to be able to build it anywhere instead of having to keep it away from your city, which is helpful if you don't map out your whole city in advance. When I use the "i am weak" cheat on a city, I usually give it solar power when it gets past 2000. I think it's a nice aesthetic touch, but unless your city is extremely rich it's too expensive to be a realistic power source.

MICROWAVE: It's not quite the wonderful thing it was in SimCity 2000. It slightly increases your overall risk of fire in your city, but a single fire isn't very threatening as long as you have decent coverage. Overall, it's an expensive source of power, but it's clean like solar plants and can be put anywhere. I usually build one and only one when it becomes available.

FUSION: Usually, by the time you get Fusion power, your city is rich enough to afford it, and if it is, you should definitely build one. Fusion plants provide a LOT of power for a LOT of money -- you'll only need a few of these to power your whole city, and they last a long time. Since they don't take up a lot of space in your city and last awhile, they're a very good long term investment to make. I usually make it a goal to put my city entirely on Fusion power as soon as I can afford it.

I'm not writing this as any sort of strategy guide or law of the land, but this is my realistic way of looking at things. Provided you're not using money related cheats, I think the choices are easily narrowed down to coal, nuclear, and microwave/fusion. From there it's up to personal preference.

See also
Ten points for the ultimate realistic city creation
Every mayor is different: improving your skills
Where to build your power plants
Power plants: which to build and which not to
Power plant output and costs
Clean power plants: which is best?
The true cost of energy
Cash for trash

Here's an accurate chart of each power type, from most cost-efficient to least.

Plant Type        MW-h p/ Month   Cost($)    MW-h p/ $
---------------   -------------   -------    ---------
Coal                      6,000     5,000        1.200
Fusion                   50,000    50,000        1.000
Oil                       7,000     8,500        0.824
Nuclear                  16,000    20,000        0.800
Wind                        200       250        0.800
Gas                       3,000     4,500        0.667
Microwave                14,000    30,000        0.467
Solar                     5,000    15,000        0.333
Waste to Energy              70    25,000        0.003

So, all things considered, which ones are the most recommended?

It depends on your starting time. If you start in 1900 or 1950, go with oil - it's not as efficient, but it output's slightly more, and does it much cleaner. If you start in the year 2000, take out a $20000 loan and get a nuclear power plant. They are expensive, but for one third more of the cost of a solar power plant, you get more than 3 times the output. Also it's clean, and the chance of meltdown are incredibly rare - however, if you get alien attacks - you better get to your nuclear power plant before they do. Sure you lose an investment, but they WILL destroy it if it's there, and a $20000 loan is better than radiation any day. After a while, switch to fusion, and skip over mikes - they are second worst as far as efficiency goes (Waste to Energy isn't really a power plant), they cost 50% more than a nuclear power plant and put out less energy. So please, take it from me - only use solar if you want to lose a lot of money.

See also
Surviving a nuclear meltdown
Where to build your power plants
Power plants: which to build and which not to
Realistic thoughts on power plants
The true cost of energy
Actual cost efficiency of power plants
Complete examination of power sources
Clean power plants: which is best?

I've played many SimCity games, and have a strategy for power plants.

1. Coal power plant - 1900. Least expensive. You will probably build it in your city if you started it at 1900, because oil power is too expensive at the start. They're a good start, but later you must tear down these plants because they are very polluting. Place them near the industrial district or many squares from residential areas, preferably on the map's edge.

2. Oil power plant - 1900. I think few build this one. It's much more expensive than coal, but it is still too polluting and you must build it far from residential areas.

3. Gas power plant - 1955. Yes... it's much cleaner than oil and coal. You can build closer to the town than coal and oil. If you have a power-selling deal and you need more power, use coal, since gas doesn't usually provide adequate power for heavy use.

4. Nuclear power plant - 1960. It is clean like gas, but expensive like coal. When invented, you can change your power strategy from coal to nuclear power. If you start in 1950, I recommend starting with nuclear if you want to sell energy to your neighbor. Yes, there is problem with possible radiation if the nuclear plant explodes. As with all power plants, be sure to replace it before it can explode. Also, save your city often in case of a meltdown.

5. Wind power plant - 1980. Wind power plants are very expensive (relatively speaking, considering size and power output) and it takes a lot of land to get power to the masses. But Wind power is useful for small power requirements such as farms, incinerators, and other buildings, which you build far from town. High-tension line building will be more expensive in some cases than using a wind power plant to power the remote area.

6. Solar power collector - 1985. If you have money and land (and these power plants have been invented), you can change your power strategy to solar. But it is not recommended. Solar plants are not-polluting like wind plants. You can place it (like a wind plants) anywhere; it isn't a NIMBY building. It's very good for small districts where building power lines over water or land can get expensive. If you start the game in 1950, you can use the solar power strategy right away, but if you want to sell power, other more powerful plants are desirable.

7. Microwave power plant - 2020. Non-polluting and generates a lot of power. It is more expensive than nuclear and generates about the same amount of power, but there is no chance of radiation. Note, however, that if the beam of the microwave plant gets thrown off, it can cause a fire. You can change your strategy to microwave plants, or you can wait for fusion power plants. If you sell a lot of power but don't use nuclear plants, check out microwave power.

8. Fusion power plant - 2050. This is the best power plant for price/power. It generates more power than nuclear and is a little more expensive. It's very clean. You must build only four to power a very large city.

9. Waste to energy incinerator (WTEI) - 2000. Highly polluting, but not like a simple incinerator. The NIMBY affect is lower than landfills, though you should still build this plant away from the people. It's great if take other cities' garbage: you get the money for deal and energy to boot! Then you could even sell this energy to your neighbor for double cash.

See also
Surviving a nuclear meltdown
Power plant output and costs
Realistic thoughts on power plants
The true cost of energy
Clean power plants: which is best?
Cash for trash
Building police, fire, health, education & recreational buildings
Water buildings & garbage facilities: which to build

At the beginning, you have to build a power plant to help your city grow, so here's a list of power plants and where you should build them.

See also
Use marinas as powerlines over water
Power plant output and costs
Realistic thoughts on power plants
Clean power plants: which is best?
Cash for trash

When I start out a city, I put all my utilities in one area, usually on the edge of town. This saves space in your city, and it's especially helpful if you have a small grid or plan to fill up your entire terrain with development. This technique makes replacing your utilities easier, because they are all in the same place!

Usually, I put my polluting incinerators on the edge of the map, so half of the pollution goes to your neighbor. Then, depending on your power plant, put your power plant(s) next to the incinerators. There is no specific order, but just put the utilities that pollute (including landfills) as close to the city limits as you can (but of course away from civilization completely).

You can put the non-polluting utilities closer to civilization but still fairly far away. Put roads around and between the different buildings so they have road access (you should already know that, though). Next and final step: surround the utilities with a huge forest and your utilities won't have as big an impact on pollution as they would without trees.

This technique works best when used with the "i am weak" code, but can work well without cheats, too. Without cheats, the right amount of space is needed for your later utilities, so plan accordingly. If your estimate is off, you can build a little into the forest if you need to. Just don't cut down the entire forest, please.

This technique is helpful to reduce the space needed for your utilities, and increases aura as well as decreases pollution, at least from utilities.

See also
Every mayor is different: improving your skills

This is a continuation of the article "Power plants: which to build and which not to", linked at the bottom of this article. I think that you must know a good strategy for water buildings and garbage facilities too.

Water buildings

1. Water Tower. It's good only in the start, when on "hard" difficulty. Good for times you don't have a lot of money. If you start with 20,000 or 50,000 simoleons, I think you must build only water pumps (now what if there's no water? Build tile-sized surface water and then build pumps on sides of it).
2. Water Pump. Very useful. I build them all the time. Good for selling water to neighbors, but if you do, build towers in case your neighbors pull too much water from your pumps, so that you have reserves.
3. Water Desalinization Plant. Useful if you started your city in 1900, but not recommended for young cities. It is very expensive to build. If you have water-selling deals, or your city is very large, use a desalinization plant strategy, but if not, use water pumps. NOTE: desalinization plants must be built near salt water. Surface water or lakes are not useful to them.
4. Water-buying Deal. I think it is the worst way solve the water problem. It can be useful only then you run out of space. But water pumps are not very big. You can build them, for example, into a space between industrial and residential zones. Desalinization plants are bigger, but they do pump a lot of water.
5. Water Treatment Plant. Save or borrow some money to build it. It lowers water pollution, but it isn't cheap (15,000 simoleons), and you will must build many of them in a large town.

Garbage Disposal

1. Landfill. Most popular to use it when you start a city in 1900. But if you start it later, try not to zone it very big (use incinerators instead), because you will can't simply delete landfills later--they must be decommissioned. Landfills reduce aura in nearby zones. Place them near industrial zones or far from town. Yes, you must zone it large if starting the city in 1900 and have a garbage import deal
2. Incinerator. Better to use than landfills, because you can destroy it when you want. But it is very polluting. You must build it far from the city due to the pollution.
3. Recycling Center. Good way to destroy your garbage without pollution-increasing or aura-reducing. But you will can't recycle all your garbage. Use the query tool on these facilities and view the "Garbage Capacity". If it's adequate, don't build more, but if it isn't, add another one or two.
4. Garbage-Export Deal. Useful when your city has a strong profit. It is when your city is really big. You don't want something like landfills or incinerators making pollution and reducing aura in your city--let another city deal with your problems. Do not export all garbage, because recycling centers don't have any NIMBY effect and you can save some money from exporting by recycling.

See also
Power plants: which to build and which not to
Keep track of your water pumps
To export, or dispose of garbage on your own?
Building police, fire, health, education & recreational buildings

Police and fire stations have an effect radius. This radius is based on the funding level you set in the budget. The higher the funding, the larger the radius. Here are the approximate radius values (in number of tiles):

Effect Radius
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Funding  100%   120%
Police    28     33     
Fire      24     28
(100% is the default funding, and 120% is the maximum funding.)

For example, with fire funding at 100%, any tile more than 24 tiles from a fire station will not have fire coverage.

By knowing the effect radius, the stations can be placed at optimal spacing to minimize the total number of stations needed and the amount of overlap between stations. (Too much police overlap can result in an oppressive rating, which the Sims will complain about, lowering aura.)

First, enable coordinate display using SHIFT-C. This shows where you are placing the stations in (X,Y) coordinates. Place your first station.

Next, pick the required spacing from this table:

Optimal Spacing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Funding  100%   120%
Police    40     46     
Fire      34     40

For example, if you are placing fire stations and your fire funding is 120%, then the spacing should be 40 tiles. If your first station was placed at coordinates (100,150), the you build other stations at (140,150), (180,150), (220,150), (100,190), (100,230), (180,190), (60,150), etc. Just keep placing stations every 40 tiles in all directions, using the coordinate display to tell you when you're in the right spot.

Obviously some things may get in the way of the optimum spot, such as water, hills, the edge of the map, and other buildings. In those cases you will have to locate the stations as best you can, like you did before this method.

To fill a large map (256x256) perfectly, use the following coordinates for the position of the first station:

Easy Starting Position
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Funding    100%     120%
Police   (19,19)  (22,22)     
Fire     (16,16)  (19,19)
(Note these positions are near the North corner of the map).

You should end up with something that looks like this (showing fire stations with 120% funding, first station at (19,19), and stations spaced at 40-tile intervals):

To make things even easier, keep the police funding at 100% and increase the fire funding to 120%. Then the effect radius of both types of station will be the identical, so the optimal spacing will be the same, 40 tiles for both. Now you need only figure out where to place, say, the police stations, and then put a fire station beside every police station.

Some things to remember:

• If an area has no fire coverage, you can still dispatch fire fighters to it if a fire starts.
• If you disable disasters, you do not need fire stations. (But they will increase aura if you build them anyway.)
• In some really high-crime areas, such as near the Casino, the optimum police grid may not be enough. You may need to add additional police stations near these high-crime areas.

See also
Crime and punishment specifics
Building police, fire, health, education & recreational buildings

Fire stations:

Build two at the start (one near industrial and one near residential zones). If you play at the harder difficulty setting, build only one or don't build any -- firefighters aren't very important in the start. Later, when your city becomes a megalopolis, cover ALL your city buildings with fire coverage.

Police buildings:

Police Stations. More important than fire stations -- they can't reduce all flammability, but police stations can reduce all crime. At the start, don't try to reduce all the crime if you are playing at the medium/hard level, but if you play at the easy level, you can try to reduce it. When your village becomes a city, start a big war with criminals. Build many police stations, accept all stop-crime ordinances (do it wisely -- you will and can lose money), and build more schools. You can lower your fire budget, but try to don't lower your police budget.

Jails. Later you must build them. Build them many miles from residential zones, near power plants, landfills, and industrial zones. Jails have a NIMBY effect. If their usage is reaching their maximum, build another one. If you don't have money at the time, take out a loan.

Education buildings:

Schools. At the start, you must build one. Don't build any other buildings in the start! They are wasteful to a city with a small population. Always build as many schools as you need. It will raise the city education level, lower crime, develop high-tech industries, and so forth.

Colleges. You will build these later. Schools and colleges are a great way to improve education levels for young sims. Colleges are much more expensive than schools, but their capacity is greater too. Build your first one about 3-7 years after starting. Libraries. They help to keep good education levels for older sims. Build as many libraries as you need, but don't build them in the start. Build one earlier than your college or museum (about 1.5-3 years after starting).

Museums. The last education building. They are more expensive than libraries and are useful in raising older sims' education levels.

You can cut your education budget, but only a little. Cut it more if you are in big trouble.

Health:

Hospitals. Build to lower the amount of complaints from the older population. Be wary. If your workforce percentage becomes too low, a great depression will set in.

Recreational. You can choose how to build from the recreational buildings catalog. Only if you don't build zoo or marina will you have complaints.

See also
Crime and punishment specifics
Power plants: which to build and which not to
Optimal positions for police and fire stations
Water buildings & garbage facilities: which to build

Some nice visual effects may be created by having high ground falling to a river and then a plain on the other side. If you want a road through this as well the overall effect can be marred by wasting too much space, or getting switch-backs, between the bridge over the river and the tunnel through the hill.

It is possible to have just a single flat road tile between the bridge and the tunnel (this will also work connecting double bridges with double tunnels) - but you will have to do some work and there are four main phases.

Note: This is one of the quirks of SimCity - we end up with an effect which looks as though a problem has been overcome brilliantly, but we have to do the civil engineering bit first and then create the 'problem over the works if we want things in exactly the right place!

The basic techniques come from articles on building bridges by Johnny Blaze and building side by side tunnels by Dave.

Phase 1 - Organize the terrain

Note: I am keeping this as a simple exercise to illustrate the basic technique.

1. Arrange your terrain so you have a 65 metre surface elevation each side of the river. The width of the river will dictate what type of bridge you are going to get.
2. The 'bridge side' of your intended tunnel will be the EXIT side of the tunnel. Ensure you have constant ground height between the initial terrain you want the flat bridge on and where you want the ENTRY side of the tunnel to be. This MUST be on a direct tile line between the two.

Phase 2 - Build the bridge(s)

1. The bridge HAS to be built first.
2. Build your single bridge by simply running the 'Build Road' tool from four tiles out on one side, across the river and onto the opposite bank enough tiles for the mouse cursor to go blue. Release the button and accept the 'Build Bridge' invite.
    
3. You will now have a 'flat bridge' and no earthwork to do
4. Bulldoze the road tiles except one single tile at the bridge entry portals
5. From the now flat bridge entry tiles use the 'Level Terrain' tool to check you have flat ground to the tunnel entry point you want and at least four tiles beyond this. Place one road tile at the mouth of where you want the other end of the tunnel to be if you need a marker.

Phase 3 - Build the tunnel(s)

1. From the tunnel entry go 3 tiles down the line of the tunnel. Engage the 'Raise Terrain' tool and give it 4 clicks.
2. Use the 'Level Terrain' tool to extend a berm along the length of the tunnel from entry to exit. Make the berm 2 tiles wide if you want a double tunnel.
3. Check both ends of the intended tunnel are where you want them.
    
4. Work from the opposite end of the intended tunnel to the bridge - if necessary reverse your screen view. Run a row of four road tiles across the entry marker road tile along the axis of the tunnel and onto the first slope of the berm. Release the button and accept the Build Tunnel invite.
    
5. The tunnel will automatically plug into the bridge with a flat one tile road section connection.
    

Phase 4 - Create terrain effect

OK - this is the bit you have been itching for. Use the Terrain tools to create the effect you wanted along the river banks and between the tunnel exit and entry. This could be mountains, or could be a split level inner city terrain - your choice and your imagination!

Notes:

• Exit Side of Bridge. You can use the Terrain tools to give you the terrain height you want on the side of the river opposite to the tunnel (See 'Changing Levels with Bridges') You could go up or down in terrain if you want, or go into another tunnel on that side.
• Bridge at Both Ends of a Tunnel. If you want to build a second bridge later at the other end of the tunnel then you have to do prior preparation very carefully in tile distance and ensure the tunnel outlet is dead flat, at least 2 tiles long down the axis of the intended bridge - and it still may not work. Build TOWARDS the tunnel mouth from the other side of the river.
• Tunnel from an Existing Bridge. If you cannot build the tunnel to the bridge then you MUST arrange the berm so you are 2 flat tiles short of the face to enable you to build the tunnel FROM the bridge. It only seems possible to get the single tile connection when working from the other end.
• Single Tile Connection to a Tunnel both sides of the Bridge. This is easy - just follow the above procedure and then repeat it from the other side remembering you have to build the tunnel TOWARDS the bridge to get the single tile connection.
• S Bend Tunnel/Bridge Connector. This may be of use to you when building in hilly terrain and you want additional detail visual features. It is for single tunnel/bridge interconnections. Follow the procedure given above but build the tunnel berm ONE tile sideways of the bridge axis. Go to one tile short of the bridge entry portals and build the tunnel. You will automatically be given an S bend interconnection.
   
• Double Bridge/Double Tunnel Connections. Exactly the same as above but overlay the 'double bridge' and 'double tunnel' building techniques - remembering to build the double bridge FIRST!

By combining techniques you can easily achieve what is in the following illustration with a few minutes work. This is a double bridge, double tunnel, interconnected by single flat road tiles and changing road height by 39 metres.

This is a combined demonstration of the Simpleton tips on creative use of bridges and tunnels developed from other contributors to Knowledge Neighbourhood - of whom we are all deeply indebted to for their work on our behalf, and this Web Site for being here in the first place.

OK, it looks like a rabbit warren, but if you look you will find the following features (and sorry I cannot do all of them in one picture) I have chosen a rural setting but probably more effectively the techniques could be brought to bear in intensive inner city development where every tile has a Simoleon value, or a city segregated into 'townlets' via terrain to a central hub for an ambience creation:

• Single Bridge
• Double Bridge
• Dry Gully Bridge
• Flat entry/exits to tunnels
• Flat entry/exits to bridges
• S bend entry/exit connector between tunnels/bridges
• 1 & 2 tile interconnection between bridges/tunnels
• Changing exit/entry road levels over a bridge
• Unequal length double tunnel
• 2 x unequal length double tunnel systems perpendicular to each other
• Underpass.

Now start getting creative and let us know what else we can extract out of this program!

In the Simpleton series I have concentrated mainly on road systems via bridge and tunnel techniques. I have hardly mentioned Highways.

These are costly structures at the best of times. Start using techniques on them for effect and they become almost prohibitively expensive unless you are using a cheat. But there are a few things you can do if you wish.

Here, I am just going to give a few examples using exactly the same basic techniques as given in the main series, but a few additions are needed when it comes to tunnels.

I am indebted to Martin Laforce for his article Building a Highway Tunnel, and also to Wren Weburg and Wagz for their article Build Bridges over Land

'Flat' highway bridge

Like other SimCity bridges, the Highway Bridge datums from water level. You tend to look at the road height and consequently can unexpectedly get some unpleasant switchback bridge entry and exit effects which are costly to fix.

Because of its physical height the Highway does not run on the same terrain parameters as a road bridge to give you a 'flat bridge' effect (Note the Highway Bridge also has a 13 metre rise to it which you cannot get rid of!

If you look at the illustration below, you can see the comparison. If you want a 'flat' entry and exit road bridge built automatically for you then you put it on 65 metre high river banks. Do that with the highway and you automatically get what you see on the left.

On the right is a Highway Bridge constructed on 26 metre terrain. This builds automatically and is as flat as you can get the bridge relative to the overall level of highway each side.

The moral of the story is that Highways which are going to interface with river crossings need to be on 26 metre terrain level at the bridge - and smoothly ramped down (if coming from a different level terrain) to give a 'normal' highway effect (which means terraforming before you put in the highway).

Single tile junction of highway bridges & tunnels

The basic technique works exactly the same as given for roads - build the bridge first, construct berms for the tunnels, then build the tunnel towards the bridge etc. But then you get into the sheer volume of structure required to build a highway tunnel - let alone two, plus a bridge.

The first illustration shows what you could have.

The second shows you how much terrain/building you use to do it (and then probably destroy afterwards having got the effect!).

A program flaw with highway tunnels

Martin LaForce made mention in his article that Maxis had not really worked out the Highway Tunnels in SimCity when it was released. But Martin came up with a technique to get tunnels. Obviously tunnels were intended because they have a distinctive design of their own and that is what you get on the screen.

However all may not then be still totally kosher - go into close-up of a Highway Tunnel entrance and on two sides it looks fine and functional (although perhaps a little visually flawed) and on the other two sides it looks as though a tile is missing.

This is a bit hit and miss, I have seen the tiles intact but peculiar pieces of masonry instead! On the other hand it does work correctly as well and you get the full bottle of bits! I have not yet worked out why!

Look at the illustrations below. These are two views of exactly the same tunnel entrance - although you would hardly think so - from different angles .

I do not think this is of much moment - just some SimCity Trivia!

Dry land highway bridges - their uses

You can build a dry land Highway Bridge exactly the same as a dry land road bridge. The bridge however has the same constraints as the others.

What use could they be? Well you may have an arid outlaying area the highway can bridge and have that sort of visual effect, but I was mainly struck by what could be done in a city centre or suburbs.

Let's face it - the Highway is not a work of art - it looks quite ugly. You can go to expense in running a strip of trees along each side of it to hide those bare concrete walls towering over houses - but they stretch for long straight distances. Or perhaps you could put in Overpasses?

This is entirely a visual effect - you save no tiles under the dry land bridge and I do not have a clue if it rises land values. It just looks better. A few of these along the length of a Highway, leaving spaces for on-ramps, breaks up the monotony and gives dimension.

No you cannot build on the dry land under the bridge and No you cannot run a road under the bridge (unless you tunnel), you cannot even plant trees under the bridge. About all you can say is that the out of work Sim-Yuppies left homeless by the failure of High Tech Industries have somewhere under cover to go of a night!

The illustrations show a bare dry land Highway Bridge and one decorated up a bit.

Some thoughts on highways. I sense there is a lot more research waiting in this area. We could get better visual effects overall although we cannot presently have the high land values of dead space under dry bridges such as is done in real cities - by walling in the spaces and renting them out as high value 'lock-up' storage. This could be a nice income earner for the city to off-set the building cost - maybe in SC4000?. We can certainly have better looking and 'flowing' highways without the humps and dips we may think we are just stuck with, or just long straight expanses of concrete

I also believe there is lot more design and planning mileage there - I have only brushed the surface and am out of time. Have you some time and imagination?

See also
Y-Splits for highways