chris0101

The only real solution is to provide a lot of mass transit. Build a subway route directly under it and put park and ride facilities near the stations. A highway system may be another solution, although if you've already built up your downtown, be prepared to bulldoze quite a few buildings.

Typically when you get to some point, demand starts flatten out and decline. I'm not sure whether or not the programmers originally made the game this way or not (too big cities use up too much CPU/RAM/VRAM), but that is what happens. Anyways, one solution is to install the CAM. The CAM basically adds 15 stages (vs 8 for the original) and was designed to mitigate this. Bear in mind though that you will be unable to use ANY non-CAM RCI buildings, so maybe this is not the solution.. At some point in Simcity, CO$$$ demand seems to hit the toilet. This leads to CS$$$ going down and with it, the residents that work in such offices. I-HT then declines. Usually after a decline, it tends to re stabilize at some point, and then you get a fairly constant population (ex: it fluctuates within 3-4%). That is as large as a city goes. In normal games, often this occurs when population is about 800k-1.2 million a 256x256 map. What's your population? The only alternative is to use one of those "radical mods" like super demand. That is why they were made - to allow for unending city growth as long as space would allow.

It may be possible to make an 8x8 growable lot, although you'd need a pretty large amount of space to do it. I suppose that there is an upper limit, as there is a limit on max zone size and there is a certain amount of room before a road. I'm afraid that you won't be growing lots as big as the international airport anytime soon, lets just say that.

Originally posted by: asd195 the mod chris was talking about would basicly mean that a region is now a planetquote> A mini-planet yes. I wonder whether or not this is workable?

Originally posted by: dogma555 Also, I hope everyone knows you can expand your region to whatever custom size you want.. Instead of having TWO regions, I simply have ONE ridiculously large one, where the two land masses are separated miles and miles away.quote> In theory, the largest regions possible are probably going to be about 80 x 80 km (ex: not much larger than the Three Rivers Region full - look up that CJ). Apparently, SC4 Terraformer has a hard time handling larger regions. Still, I wonder if you could terraform larger regions by hand? (It will be very time consuming). See here for a hand terraformer 100 x 70 km region: www.simcitycentral.net/forum/viewtopic.php (Btw, read the CJ from the start, it is quite a CJ; in fact, the first one that I ever read).

Actually, there is an important point raised here: sometimes the game's traffic simulator takes time to recalculate the quickest traffic routes and best ways to get around in the city. In that time, don't be surprised if new routes, quicker routes, and the like are not used. The Maxis traffic simulator isn't that quick or that efficient at this. Try using simulation z. Another point is that often for a lot of things, you just have to wait a few months or reload for things (like no road or no job zots) and often the problem will rectify itself. The annoying thing is when there are no job zots and you don't know whether there is a deficit of jobs or whether the game hasn't recalculated yet.

Generally speaking, the models that are based on real life are pretty realistic, so it will be hard to narrow down which one you're talking about. Is it here or on SC4D only?

I once heard somebody suggest a radical mod. Suppose that the top of the region (ex: a connection from the cities on the top most edge north) would link up to the bottom (ex: the southern most cities southern connection). Another one would be east to west. The idea is that no neighbourhood connection is wasted. Any idea of this is implementable? You can't connect regions perhaps, but can you connect cities in regions that don't directly touch?

Originally posted by: City Name So roundabouts increase commute time at uncongested intersections, but what about congested intersections? I think they could possibly have an advantage there.quote> I am not sure about that in Simcity, but in real life, compared to signal lights, roundabouts worsen heavy traffic problems.

Also, I tried your HSR bridges, choco. They don't seem to be working either.

I currently do have the ones for SC4 Devotion, although they do not appear to be working still. I will delete and redownload, and see what happens. If I recall correctly, the Akashi bridge is ground highway only, while the other one from Hong Kong, the Sing Ma bridge is an elevated highway bridge.

If you download the CAM, then there are megapacks, otherwise no. I like to think that this is a good thing, as you get to choose exactly what buildings go into your city. Bear in mind that if you download the CAM, your gameplay will be radically altered and some mods are not "CAMpatible".

That is the doctrine of EA anyways - simplify the game to maximize sales. Sadly, they do not make games with a great deal of depth and real substance anymore.

I have given it a try. Certainly the graphics are much better, and it does represent the careful thought that you say. The are new things like selecting between authoritarian, capitalistic, etc. (types of society) that can be nice. The developers also deserve to be lauded for releasing a patch that actually changed game play after the initial criticism. The expansion is also a nice addon with the vacation stuff too. However, the game play feels much more simplistic, much more shallow. Another thing that is so very displeasing is the inability of the players like us to mod and add more custom content like we do. It may not be the worst game ever (I'd give that to as one person said above Empire Earth 3; and I loved Empire Earth 1), but it is a failure to the Simcity series.

Do citizens that are well educated end up committing crimes against each other? Physical or in your face ones? No they do not. But look at the behaviours of the bankers, of the corporate leaders and politicians, which are supposed to be the leaders of society. They are unquestionably well educated and yet engage in behaviour that would be considered criminal. It appears that there are many ways to steal from people, and with a pen or a computer is one of them. It's just that it is the traditional way to rob. However, the assertion that the average educated citizen on the whole has a lower probability of engaging in criminal acts is correct. Look around you in the jails. There are not that many people who have university level education there. Now it is true that there should be some more leaders of society there, but on the whole, you would see that education does lower the likelihood that someone will grow up to be a criminal. Why is this? Perhaps it is because as people grow more knowledgeable, more aware of the world, and realize that they have potential, they are likely to try and build themselves a better life rather than resort to criminal actions.

This is not something that will easily be done. Programming a full computer game will take a team of dozens (perhaps hundreds) of people months to do. This will likely be equivalent to taking a full time job, and one that they may not be compensated for. A lot of these projects collapse due to lack of dedicated staff or a shortage of programmers. I think that we are going to need a very modular system for this to work (each section will need to be programmed, and people will program them whenever they have time to spare). And we are going to need a very elaborate plan. Having written simple computer programs before, whatever plan we write will also have to be flexible, as there will be quite a few bugs that will need to be ironed out. Open source is a necessity as we'll want many people contributing and it will have to be for free, purely reliant on donations. As for a name, something catchy, like Megalopolis or Ecumenopolis is an idea. Graphics-wise, I would actually argue that we adopt modern graphics and full 3D! Why? This project will take YEARS. By the time that it is released, people will have already upgraded their computers and the like and graphics will already have moved on. (SC4's graphics already looked primitive in 2005, let alone today). We could have a very flexible graphics system for those with laptops and older PC's, while those with the top notch PCs can experience really great graphics. For this reason, I recommend adopting the latest and greatest gaming engines. We could also add on realistic physics engines such and incorporate other things such as OpenCL and OpenGL (be careful NOT to use things like CUDA or AMD FireStream as they are corporate specific). Another thing we need to do is to unify anyone that wants to do so. This will be difficult as everyone has competing ideas and communication could be difficult as everyone is in different time zones, has different times when they are free, etc. We need as many hands on board as possible for this to kick off and produce a game comparable to what they best PC programmers can make.

Originally posted by: Patricius Maximus That is what I meant to an extent. You have to be interested in learning the information. Some people have a natural interest in subjects, others don't. The school must appeal to the students (i.e. to make them have a good time learning). That way they can hold their enrollees in a free system. quote> Not necessarily true. I have met many students before who study basic math, such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing, found it dull and uninteresting, yet kept it in their mind nevertheless. Years later, most of them had no problem doing it. Perhaps the way to get students to learn may very well be to emphasize the real value of what they are learning, how it will be useful later in life, etc. Another consideration is that humans can only learn so much and are bound to inevitably forget. Going back to my previous example, I have met people who are university educated who have difficulties doing basic arithmetic. Hence, emphasis on the most basic essentials must be made. Schooling is essential therefore at the primary level, as there are basic skills that must be taught to the student be someone that specializes. Homeschooling is impractical, as I mentioned before, becuase people may forget (and some of those that may have difficulties doing arithmetic are the parents of children). Originally posted by: Patricius Maximus Americans: open the door to real, substantive, major reform in your school system, and not just changing the facade of the status quo. quote> Sadly, the American people are not likely to do that. Look at how the world media covers things. Michael Jackson on and on for days. Okay, he was a very important figure in music, and to many people, he was the Mozart of his day, but even so, there are far more important issues that just one man, who deserves 5 minutes max, not days worth of constant coverage about his funeral, burial, etc. Lets think about what else has happened: - The G20 summit - Obama's declaration on swine flu and a second wave (influenza viruses are very unpredicatable) - Violence in China leaving hundreds dead - More violence in Iran. - Iraq has another wave of suicide bombings - More people were killed in Pakistan by US drone attacks (many of them innocent civilians) - MI5 in the UK attempted to suppress torture evidence - The Washington Post in the US has been sold out to corporate media - The economy, long term prospects for recovery - The fact that the planet is warming deserves constant coverage, as we may be risking an extinction that rivals the Permian age extinction Other observations: - It is political suicide in the US to: 1. Reduce defense spending despite the economy 2. Advocate for tax raises to fill up the deficit 3. Suggest that the coming times will be much worse as the huge deficit means that the US will not be able to pay for the retirement of the current Baby Boom generation, whose poor policies have helped bring about the current situation 4. Reveal the full severity of environmental crisis and the measures needed to stem it 5. Propose major social reforms like gun control bans 6. Accept the possibility that the US is losing credibility, influence, and overall power slowly Americans are a very perception (versus a thought) based people. They view things in the short term and what they percieve tends to be more important than realities. This has the effect of generating intense dislike for things like education which are inevitably long term gains for society. Furthermore, Amerians are a very xenophobic people, which means that they are even less willing to consider the perspectivies of others, their needs, and will not emphathize with others. Although Americans, being a very perception based people will not want to hear this, this could have some severe consequences in the future. Again, by no means am I suggesting that all Americans are like this (I have lived in the US before and know otherwise), but this is the mainstream American thought.

It is true that the southern tip of Ontario is about as dense as the northeastern US in some places. However, when one looks at Western Canada, one does not see a densely populated region, so that is no argument. Furthermore, suppose that we do have a dual system. Both private and public practises are going to be competing for doctors. This will create a conflict of interest between doctors, many of whom will be lured in many cases to increase wait times as private healthcare could be more lucrative in the short term for that. (However, lawsuits are more frequent in private systems, which in turn drive up the cost of malpractice care, which drive up billing rates, which drive up insurance premiums. This has effect of causing even more lawsuits and starting the whole cycle again as people will want more for their money as the cost of healthcare increases; which is occuring in the US). For insurance companies, there is also a conflict of interest. It is in their best interests to deny care whenever possible as this is their money. Every less payment they make, every less illness that they have to pay for means a fatter bottom line. Again a major conflict of interest. They are also acting in their best interest to raise premiums. Add in the fact that insurance industries are oligopolies (like gas corporations are offering very similar products) and you'll get every insurer to conform to a fairly narrow rate to charge premiums in such a way that is not so high as to repel many customers, but high enough to make fat checks - maximum profits again. Remember, private business is interested in one thing - maximizing shareholder returns and profits. Public healthcare is interested in improving healthcare and quality of care to the people becuase it is in the government's best interests to have large numbers of healthy and happy people that are employed and therefore are taxable, plus make the nation a more powerful one. Here's an article that was in the Toronto Star 2 years ago: www.rnao.org/Page.asp Bear in mind that it is an opinated piece against a dual system here in Canada, arguing that it is going to lead to privatization, but it does make a point, this causes conflicts of interest that a purely public healthcare system can avoid. And for those that wish to weaken government (ex: libertarians), remember, that if government fails, the nation fails. Who picks up the garbage, maintains the infrastructure, defense, sets the laws, etc? Government is responsible for that. Government is needed to maintain order and to make society prosperous. Too much government means dictatorship, but too little government means a chaotic state; anarchy, crime unchecked, etc. (Somalia is a real life example, why else are there pirates there?) There's a fine line there. There are some things that government can and should do, while there are things that government should not do. And healthcare seems to be one of the things that government should do.

To be honest, I would like to see one developed. There are some things that we cannot mod. I would like to know what features the devs would introduce, like a global scale (ex: recessions, wars, free trade), seasons, weather (controlled by where you are in the world), etc. It would be a more hardware intensive game, but also a more modern game. Other things need to be kept into account. For example, apartments do generate jobs like cleaner, landlord, etc. Buses need somewhere to go at the end of the day to be maintenanced. Little things like that which have not been addressed yet can be done, all of which combine to make a much better realistic simulator. Add on the fact that any new game would have modern graphics and there's all the more incentive. Imagine Simcity 5 as a game with graphics better than Crysis Wars! Now that would be something. It would have to be developed by someone other than EA for sure, as EA has proven itself more recently to be incapable of making pretty good games (Dead Space being the rare exception). However, if someone took their time, it could be one hell of a game. True, we would have to be from square one to mod and everything, but there would be much more to mod, much more freedom overall. (Btw, it wouldn't be 12 DVDs; by 2025, a newer more capable form of storage would have long supplanted DVDs, which will be likely by then looked down upon as floppy disks are today).

To put it simply, the Simulation Z likes people using subway because it is the quickest way to go. As the subway gets more and more crowded, some Sims will abandon it. Otherwise, try introducing another method of transportation. Try using GLR puzzle pieces. They use no space (with GLR on avenue, road, and street + roadside stations) and can help you get around the city much quicker. Hopefully z1 will have the newer RTMT v3.6 and v4 up soon. For the person that installed the NAM (rebs) and had problems, try reinstalling the NAM again. Another thing to do is you may want to install the BTM. It may help you get around that monorail problem. On the downside, I find that BTM is unrealistically intolerant of slopes too much. I modded my file to make it a little more "willing" to go on slopes.

Wait a few months for the simulator (whatever simulator you're using). Often it takes time to recalculate the roots as the fastest one. Recommend that you use Simulation Z for this reason.

The way the game mechanics work is that if you remove something that removes pollution, etc, the negative number automatically gets impacted (ex: if something has a park impact of +15 and I bulldoze it, within that radius, for a time, I'll get a negative park effect of 15). It's just how the game mechanics work. It appears to be hardcoded. You need access to the sourcecode and to modify the exe to change it, which we can't.

+1 ... we need pieces of BTM over the T-RAM in road. Perhaps a monorail release could be fine. For the BTM, the textures haven't been updated yet, so we get monorail textures when we get BTM over GLR + road/avenue/one way. Another thing that we may need is BTM to HSR transition. Something like this for elevated versions of HSR: www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm When you do the normal transition, sometimes the HSR tends to override the BTM, which gets really annoying at times. And also I've noticed that transitions tend to get CTDs sometimes.

I'm playing at 1680 x 1050. It appears fine to me. However, usually, Simcity 4 has problems past the highest resolution 1600 x 1200. I once saw Simcity 4 at 1920 x 3600 (3 monitors - it was rather unstable). I recommend nothing larger than 1920 x 1200, which means that you should have no problems in 1680 x 1050. Update to the latest Nvidia driver on their website to see if you can gain some more performance.

Do you think it would be possible to make a double RHW-10 on each side? I'm not sure that there's a way to make an interchange on the left side of the RHW system. You can only get off and on the highway on the right side unless there has been an update.