YannickSHE

Originally posted by: PLB82 I think a HoF planet would be a great idea. I think they would probably have to limit it to 1 HoF city per player, so if you wanted to put a new one in the HoF, you would lose the current HoF city. It would be cool if they gave you a special landmark that you could place in your subsequent cities to commemorate your HoF mayor abilities.quote> I say more than 1 city per mayor. As long as you have the requirements, and the city gets chosen, you can move on and create more cities. The more cities you get on HoF planet, the more difficult it becomes for you (going through a level system). Some mayors are level 2, some mayors are level 8 for example. The given landmark in the city is a good idea but not necessary. We all have access to blueprints, and that's the landmarks. One only special landmark for only the city would be too much work for them, we have other priorities than new landmarks.

Wow, that pic of Toronto is so old .... The CN tower is now surrounded by mega residential glassy towers, all around the tower. There's almost no more parking lots.

I will never go back to SC4. CitiesXL is too awesome, and it's so cheap and affordable for a game that beautiful. SC4 was a lot of fun, I had a blast with it, but CitiesXL takes the cake. Long live CXL.

Abalister on Prospero (might visit other planets soon)

I'm more a card player. Been playing card games since I'm a young kid. I still play poker a lot, since about 5 years, for money. I've discovered my passion for buildings and cities back at SimCity classic on SNES, then played SC2k on SNES, SC3KU on my first comp for years, SC4Deluxe for years, and now Cities XL. I've never played CityLife and played 1 month of SimCitySocieties. I've never played an MMO before CitiesXL and I purchased subscription of PO since day 1 and love it day after day. I played a lot of Grand Theft Auto, Scarface, Godfather and those type of games also on PS2. Never owned or played XBOX, Sega, Wii, PS3 or any of those consoles. I've never played any computer games outside of the ones I mentioned above. I've been looking around Simtropolis since its early beginnings but never been a big fan of the complexity of all the downloads, mods, etc etc... I only played SC4 with the NAM and a couple of essential mods but that's far as it goes. And I loved every minute of my SC4, did an amazing finished region of 15Million, an very satisfied with it. I don't have enough time in 1 day to do and play all the things you guys mentioned, and to be involved like some of you are into those communities is insane. I just can't do it. It's only a passion for me, and I spend already too much time on what I do. Imagine if I'd get involved as you guys do. I just can't And I'm old, I'm 30.

geez guys.... those updates are necessary for the mechanics of the game, and the game keeps improving since day 1. It takes about 10 seconds to download, each and every time there is an update. If you don't subscribe to the PO, you shouldn't play this game... they should disable solo mode in my opinion. And if you guys are complaining about download speed, or download costs from your internet provider, that means you need to upgrade your computer and your internet download data monthly plan. And if you don't want to put any money into the PO, or your computer, or your internet provider, then there's a game called SimCity4 which would be perfect for you !

Originally posted by: SimDragon Originally posted by: sparky66 When i (and i am sure many other people) pre-ordered the game there was the promise of a comprehensive bus system, to be released free to everyone, even non-PO subscribers, after the game has been released. now it seems that, after reading the interview with MC that we won't be getting that. below is a quote from that interview: "Mass transportation (including buses) will be part of the future features and, as such, will only be part of the Planet Offer." but wait a minuite. MC knew buses wern't going to be ready for the games release, thats why they said we would all be getting them free after the game was released. so how can they just change their mind like that? we were promised buses, the official website said so, and then they just decide that, for no good reason, we can't have them. isn't that false advertising? so they are basically saying that important game features weren't ready when the game was released, so you will have to pay a subscription to get them, and if you stop paying you will loose them! how can they treat customers like that? just another broken promise by MC.quote> MC does not expect (or want) anyone to really play single player. They want the online revenue stream that's why they have left out so much from single player. They put Single player in there so people can use it to get familiar with the game before jumping online and to use it as a sand box to test things for online. They don't really expect anyone to play single player for very long. So in their eyes they are not breaking promises. quote> I agree. It was clear since beginning. It seems I'm actually one of the few people that is really excited about this project, I liked the demo (the fact that 10% only was available), it will be an impressive game. I like the price, 20$CAN for 3 months is fine, 30$ for a GEM once in a while is fine, and the direct updates and content available will be easy to download and install. Overtime, it will become an even better game, and the investment is worth it. I've been dreaming about a game like that since I'm a teenager, and 15 yrs later, it exists. I like the fact that everything will be on the planet, the fact that we can't get cheats, and let's hope that custom content and new updates will be easy to keep track. It will put every planet player on the same level. Who knows in 1 year or 2 years where this game will be, but I hope a lot of people like me will invest in this and get this game even better. I bought a computer with latest HD screen, latest sound card and graphics available (I hope so!!!) last July, and the demo played perfectly. The game will run smooth with highest graphic details, and I can't wait the hours of enjoyment I will have looking at my skylines and renovating neighborhoods. I admit the game isn't perfect, I saw only 10% of the game, but I think Monte Cristo achieved something really cool with this concept. SimCity4 is still there for the SC4 junkies, and CitiesXL is a new form of entertainment that I'm ready to pay for (until prices are reasonable). I cannot wait, the game starts for me in a few hours, I'm all pumped up for it.

woohoooooo, I got my email confirmation with all the download links and key activations. I guess I'll be able to play it tonight after midnight!

I will have my 5 cities started on friday, I don't know if I will put them all on the same planet, or different ones. I'm still debating. I will definitely look for some mayor partners, depending on what type of deal I will need. For the first couple of days. I will adapt to the game, and to the planet offer, and I will take those few days to really know what I'm doing. I will take my time on each of my city, and develop them as needed. I plan on spending a lot of time on this for a couple of months, then I will be hopefully an expert Let's hope there's still nice land available after the launch on Oct 8th. My game is supposed to be digitally transfered on Oct 9th. 1 day of players taking all the good spots. Hopefully, some nice terrains will remain available for friday. I can't wait to start this game.

I was wondering how it will work. I pre-ordered the limited edition, and asked for a digital download (which I've never done in the past). Does that mean I will get an email at 12:01am on Oct 9th, and then I need to install the files? How will I know I got the full game? Besides my confirmation email of the payment, will I get other emails from MC? Once the files are installed, I guess I'll be able to create a user name and login to the website. Do I have to be logged in to purchase a 3-month planet offer? If someone knows how it works, please let me know because right now I'm in the dark. All I did so far is purchasing the limited edition and that's it. And then, after the 3-month planet offer, I'm going to decide if I like the game or not. Even with all the negative comments I read so far, I still anticipate the game a lot, and hopefully, a year from now, the game will already be on a new level with many GEMs, full mass transit GEM, and lots of new content added by MC. I still have faith in this game, and I think we need to give it at least one full year to really see where it will be. Any thoughts?!

Thanks Mathew! Now I couldn't wait for the release of the game in 2 weeks, I installed the demo to see what it looks like. Should I uninstall the demo and everything else once I receive the digital download? Will I be able to use the same account I activated on the CitiesXL website? I did use the same email adress for the pre-order AND for the demo. I hope it will be ok!

So... to answer my initial question... the digital download of the game will be by email, at 1201am, and then when the planet offer subsciption opens? Do we create our account/avatar before the digital download, or everything needs to be done the same day? Can someone share how they created their account/avatar with us? Thanks

I bought it already, I will subscribe to the PO as soon as it's open on the website. Then, I can invest up to $200-250 throughout the year, and then if in one year from now (Oct 2010), I don't get the city simulator I want, then I will simply lose interest for it. I really want this game to succeed and I want MC to be able to invest more into it. I hate that people are being so negative about it. It's been 2 years that people have been whining to get this game done as fast as they could, and now, they're doing it, and people are still complaining. I admit, I would've waited another full year to give MC time to develop the game even further, I would have been patient. But I'm glad I can donate/invest a little bit into my entertainment at home, and then hoping they will deliver incredible GEMs, patches, Mass Transit add-ons and all those unique civic buildings! The planet offer, to me, is something I've been thinking of since the 90s!! My friends and I were already imagining one day that we could build cities next to one another with all the trades and mass transit links between each others' cities. Now it's reality and I cannot wait for it. When the planet offer and the whole CitiesXL/Unlimited was announced 2-3 yrs ago, I feared that it would've been too pupular too fast, and then it's hard to keep up with all the millions of people being so good at the game so fast, It's annoying. But now, I think it will have a soft launch and I'm glad that we won't be tons of people competing for terrains on Oct 9 at 12:01am. LOL Anyway, I have full faith in this game, and hope it will deliver something different than SC4. Anytime I will need a mass transit/region play fix, I will open SC4. Anytime I will need my virtual planet fix, then CitiesXL will be there. Nothing wrong having 2 games installed on my computer! Oh and I have SC classic, SC2K, SC3KU, City Life 2008 & SimCity Societies Destinations, all installed on my comp too. Options are always available to me, and Cities XL will be another one. And I fear I'll have lots of white nights starting October 9th. !

And no, I didn't purchase subscription yet, It's not open for me yet on the website. I'm waiting for my activation keys and emails from MC. All I paid so far is the $39.99USD for the limited edition.

Originally posted by: GlobexCo Originally posted by: YannickMtl And then, after the 3-month planet offer, I'm going to decide if I like the game or not. Even with all the negative comments I read so far, I still anticipate the game a lot, and hopefully, a year from now, the game will already be on a new level with many GEMs, full mass transit GEM, and lots of new content added by MC. I still have faith in this game, and I think we need to give it at least one full year to really see where it will be.quote> So you purchased aslo a subscription (or it's included in the limited edition?) Finally someone that believe in CXL. Me too - I've pre-ordered the game (limited edition). Are you also a beta tester or only a demo player?quote> To be honest with you, not at all. I didn't want to play them. I want the game as fresh and updated as possible, and I am not interested of playing half-games or unpolished games. I'm a SimCity fanatic since a SNES, since I was maybe 13 yrs old, and yes I do believe in CitiesXL. I will give it a full year (Oct 09-Oct 10) to really see if it is worth it or not. After a year, I will have spent around $200, with all the GEMs, patches, new additions, planet offer, original game purchase, etc etc). I think it's worth the investment to have the perfect city builder dream game.

Originally posted by: CWLGAMER01 I have been following this debate for a while now about CitiesXl vs. SimCity 4. I must say I have been surprised by all the negativity surrounding CitiesXL. I have really enjoyed the game play and mechanics of the game and how it relates to outside your cities “boundaries” and inside as well. I also believe the game will have a loyal following. What I don’t understand however is why so many people are so bent and determined to undermined others weather members of this community or even Monte Cristo or however just because some feature is not in the game right now. Could the game be better? Yes. Could the game have mass-transit at release? Maybe (not sure if they have the programming in place). Could you make a city builder that does not require online interaction? Yes. What I think we are missing is the reasons why it is an “online” game. If you look at the genre as a whole we have been flooded by simulations that just are not up to par. SimCity has always held a place in the top of the genre and did work itself into a “niche” market. I recall many complaints about SimCity 4 when it released as being too hard. Remember “plopping” a power plant like we always have and all of a sudden the budget was in the red. You had to think about when to offer services and factors such as population, businesses, and jobs played a factor in all that. The list could go on and on. My point is that SimCity 4 was not perfect when it released….. No game is with the exception of “maybe” Blizzard titles. I would go as far as to say SimCity 4 is “still” not perfect. I am not bashing anyone in the “mod” community by making this statement. The mod’s that have been made are tremendous and have added “years” of game play to game that the publisher shelved long ago. Right now my plug-in folder is around 1.5 GB so I have downloaded my fare share of mods. Now mind you I enjoy the game (SimCity 4). I love to play it. I purchased it the very first day it was out. I have been playing SimCity starting with the SNES version and moving over to PC shortly after. My shelves are stocked with just about every Maxis title ever made. But as much as I love SimCity 4, it is still lacking in some fundamental ways that at the time just could not be done given the programming needed. We have moved forward from that time and Monte Cristo did step up because EA let the core player down. Societies could have been a great concept and game – but they watered down what it is that makes us love SimCity – the “simulation”. This brings me to my point. Is it not the actual simulation we are interested in? I can clearly see a divide in our players. I think we have the following: First a set of casual players that will buy the game and play with the game as is. Second a set of casual players that will want to add some mods/content to the game but fundamentally will play the game as is. Third are ploppers – these players want to “sandbox” the game. They like to build cities that are mainly “plopped”. Sometimes they use grids and sometimes they are more creative – depends on the player. Fourth are the “simulators”. These players are hardcore simulation fans and want to play the game as a simulation. They look at the cause and effects of all decisions and make them. Their cities are typically very realistic because they learn how the simulation works and try to emulate real world effects. Now there may be crossover into all these areas but I really believe MC is targeting the fourth group on this list. The reason I believe this is because these players enjoy playing at a gradual stepping pace. They will build/zone areas and monitor resources to manage the growth and development. Now I have played CitiesXL all the above ways. I must say that I have had the most success when I played as a simulator and to be honest – hands down Monte Cristo hit that part of the nail on the head. Because of the complexity of “true” simulations, the online portions of the game fit well. I think Monte Cristo is using economics within the game by saying a “city” cannot be a “jack of all trades”. No city can. When you move your city into having all these things – you have now moved from simulation into fantasy. I just think they are trying to bring us a “true to life” as close as you get to real simulation. Not all cities have mass-transit. Not all cities have power plants. Not all cities have skyscrapers. All cities do however have to trade goods and services with one another. My suggestions would be – if you don’t want to play with others. Isolate yourself and build your five cities next to one another so you can trade with your cities you own. If you want a “plop” type sim. Keep playing SimCity 4 (which can be played both ways) or better yet go buy SimCity Societies – the ultimate in plopping fantasies. If you don’t want to pay for new content. Keep playing SimCity 4 or get a group together to write your own game and share it for “free” with everyone else or charge $39.99 and keep giving us “free” updates for life. Whatever you decide to do however – please stop bashing the game and MC. They have truly done impressive work and I am delighted I have purchased a copy. I look forward to playing the game. To me it doesn’t replace SimCity. To me it’s an new addition to our great genre of city building and simulations. Peace! CWLGamer01 quote> Well said. Exactly my thoughts. I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking this way.

Originally posted by: USA_Pride LOL, reminds me of Enron. Watch the documentary "The Smartest Guys in the Room". Trading I have faith can be fixed in time. The problem with any online gaming community is that players VERY QUICKLY find out how to exploit the system. I think Monte Cristo will be able to refine trading in the coming months once they see how some people will abuse it. I still don't think trading will ever be my idea of fun though. I still would rather see more interaction via cooperative planning rather than commodity trading.quote> I agree. I would prefer cooperative planning between mayors rather than commodities. If I plan an highway out of city limits, I want the neighbor mayor to sync with me (and vice-versa). I want to create airport and seaport links with the nearby mayors. I want to make sure our city limits sync with each other. I want to talk with the neighbor mayor to make sure we share workers and tourists. Trading goods like oil, gold, minerals and other industrial goods is fine, but the token exchanges might get tiring after a while. We'll see.

Originally posted by: His Divine Hand Amazing, a thread where the majority of people miss the point! I'm shocked, shocked I say! Look, the big MC isn't releasing a single player city builder. They decided to make an MMO city builder. Continued whining about price, lack of single player features or that the sky is blue are pointless at this point. Just makes you look silly to those not caught up in this little circle jerk of complaining that a business decided your quaint ideas of what would be cool do not make a good investment. MC is going for something a bit innovative at this point, and if this scares you "hard"core city builders out there, then don't worry, your SC4 safety blanket will still be there for you (well, at least until hardware and OS changes eventually progress beyond being able to play SC4. . .). Will this gamble work for MC? Hard to say, certainly armchair quaterbacking about how this game will bomb or be the next messiah is a bit pointless for now. If a city builder MMO game is not your thing, then hey, just say it was nice while it lasted and move on. Acting like you were BETRAYED!! (oh, the horror!!) just makes you all look like a silly drama queen. So, in closing, don't act like Cities XL is the same as SCS, 'cause it's not. Cities XL is a sequel/successor to City Life, not SC4. It could not have just been an 'improved' SC4 clone as some would like (partly since I'm sure EA has plenty of sfuff copyrighted). You disagree with trying to make a city builder MMO, fine, thats cool, I even partly agree with you. You think the game is too expensive and don't see why you should have to pay extra for features. . . well unfortunately for you the point apparently passed you in the Jurassic age, but don't worry, I'll give it to you. . . NEWS FLASH: MONTE CRISTO IS RELEASING A CITY BUILDING MMO GAME, NOT A SINGLE PLAYER SC4 CLONE!!!! So have fun!quote> Can't say it better than that.

I'm ignoring all the bad comments and everything else. $18USD per 3 months is nothing, and the game looks fantastic! I've been playing SimCity and every other city-builder games since I'm a teenager and I'm very excited about CitiesXL and the Planet Offer. I'm actually quite happy that only people that pay will get exclusive content. Only the non-complainers will be on the planet, and if we can avoid all the whiners on our planets, we'll have a tremendous time. And then, MC will bring us more additions to our cities in the near future and I'm quite excited about it. SimCity4 is not even SimCity4 anymore, it's a brand new modified game with so many patches and downloads, it's ridiculous. Long live the Planet Offer and added content, and the price is extremely reasonable. I order my limited copy at $40USD, which again, is a very good deal. Remember how bad people were complaining about SC4 in January 2003 when it came out? CitiesXL will be a good game, and it will get better and better by having all those updates on the website.

I love the website so far. It's everything I have ever dreamed of. I have purchased my digital download, limited edition, I will definitely pay the $18USD for the first 3 months, and I wil definitely become active on that website for about 1 year. I won't sleep for the first week, and never have I been that excited for a release of game/movie/trailer/music etc etc ... I just cannot wait, all I'm waiting for now is the digital file download, the opening of the planet offer payments, and I just bought a brand new comp with latest latest powerful requirements. I am ready, bring it on.

Hello, I wanted to get the cream of the crop for the STEX creations, and I got the 2 first volumes couple of months ago. I was going through the available content, and the dependency files, and I was wondering if it was worth it. I have barely no plugins installed on my machine, and I was ready to add some custom content. If I install the dependency packages available on those 2 discs, will it be ok? These packages have been updated to bigger and better packages? How could I know? The whole plugins and custom content overwhelms me at this point, and I just don't know where to start. All I have is NAM June 2009 + Update, which works perfect. I have the SC4 patch available on Maxis website. I have all files available on Maxis website (the additional landmarks) I have the industry quadrupler. I have money parks. Trolca brick roads set. That's it, I have no other plugins. Where to start? What to do?

Ok... nobody responded. I did install a couple of buildings, from the Disc 1, and couple of them requires some dependency plugins. But most of the links on the CD are disabled, or it says that the dependency do not exist anymore. It's really confusing. What would be the dependency packages, as of today, that you would consider essential? If I have the BSC essentials, the NDEX essentials and all others, in my plugins folder, will it work all together? God it's confusing.

Hello folks! Since I got myself a brand new comp, latest technology, SC4 never worked better and faster! I was going through the maps available on the STEX, and it never really tells me if the maps are huge or not. I remember a few years ago downloading a map on the STEX that was so huge, I couldn't play it on my computer. But now, it's a different story. Do you guys have suggestions of huge maps where I could build farm towns and countryside, along with a big city and its suburbs? I would like a mix of hills, rivers, lakes, oceanfront, mountains, flatland.... Thanks!

Originally posted by: Tarkus YannickMtl, it sounds to me like you may have had the One-Way Road Arrow Reduction plugin installed as part of your previous NAM installation when you built those cities, but didn't install it this time around. Due to the way that plugin works, if you've used it and haven't reinstalled it, it'll cause your One-Way Roads to disappear as it changes the Instance ID of the textures. Hope that helps! -Alex (Tarkus) quote> Yes I did have it on the previous NAM, and I did install it with the new NAM, and my one-ways are still not working. Should I uninstall the NAM completely and then re-install along with the update? I read the readme file of the NAM, I've always followed all instructions properly and it's really the first time I have a problem. Too bad I can't come back to the January NAM.

I've never had any problems with plugins or NAM before. I just purchased a brand new comp, I re-installed SC4RHdeluxe, I got the new NAM (june version + this new update) and my 2 regions are messed up now. All my one-ways are disappearing, and a lot of streets needs to be redone. I've always updated my NAMs throughout the years, never had a problem. But since that new NAM, my 2 regions aren't the same. I'm clueless at this point.