codyg1985

After watching the IGN video, I thought about how the game itself may be fun. It certainly becomes a bit more strategy-oriented. I have always thought that adding "venues" or "entertainment zones" would add a bit more realism to the existing game framework. The social engineering aspect of the game sounds like it could be fun and challenging. However, this isn't SimCity. Come on, a four-lane road that ends in a cul-de-sac? Candy-cane traffic signals? Straight roads all the time? SimSociety would be a much better name for this game. I can only hope that the real SimCity 5 is waiting in the wings. This game may be fun, but it won't replace SC4.

Originally posted by: sc4melbourne Wow, thanks codyg1985! This is what I was trying to say (rather shoddily) earlier on. The player could use a tool to click points PC and PT on a grid coordinate. A straight line would be drawn between the two and then the player could subtend the line to the desired degree of curvature. The road would maintain its width, as the other side of the road (the line marked with the Ds), would also have the same degree of curvature. Come to think of it, the whole road network could be constructed like this, even straight sections. That way, you could break away from having 90 or 45 degree roads only. I might want a road from point X1 (9, 4) to point X2 (16, 24). All I do is click the two coordinates, choose not to subtend the angle, and the road is created between the two points, even though it has an inconvenient gradient of 70.7 degrees. I don't know if this is possible, but Creathir might be able to shed some light, given his programming experience.quote> To expand on this idea: there could be an automated mode where the player would draw all the straight sections, and the game would then automatically draw in curves based on a default setting of his/her choosing. That setting could be based on the distance between the PC and the PI, the radius of the curve, or a combination thereof (the degree of curve would bet determined by the angle between the two adjoining tangent lines). If there is an obstacle in the way, the game would allow you to either demolish the obstacle or adjust the curve accordingly. Drawing straight sections of road would also not be limited to the usual directions. In Microstation, you are allowed to draw a line in any direction you choose, but there is an auto-snap that snaps to 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees. A similar thing could be used to draw the straight sections in this game. One could draw a line in any direction desired, but the game would auto-snap to 0, 45, 90, 135, 180, etc. Once that first line is drawn, a new coordinate system is defined based on that line (where 0 is the same direction as the line). It would be a great way to draw roads, highways, and railroads in the game. I don't know whether it would be possible or too complex, but it would somewhat free us from the grid.

I have been a member here at ST for a while now, and while I have not been very vocal, I keep being amazed by the custom content that has already been created for SC4. IN essence this community has already created its own expansion pack for SC4. I think the idea of creating a new game is a huge undertaking,. After seeing the bits and pieces of the travesty that is SimCity Socieites, I think this will be the only way that the SC series will survive. If a new game is to be created, it should be done right. Using the existing SC4 code to build upon would certainly make development go faster, but it would also be like a house of cards. The game should be created from scratch if possible. Just imagine how a full 3D system, a totally realistic pathfinding engine (not only tracks Sims to work but also to run errands, go to parties, social gathering, etc.), and new networks would perform on top of the existing source code for SC4. I don't have any experience with 3dsmax or any other modeling program, but at my work I use a CAD program called Microstation. I have limited experience with C++, but I have always been eager to learn more about it. Microstation and my previous experience helping out surveying crews give me an idea of how to layout roads or other infrastructure. Horizontally speaking only, roads are either straight (tangent) or are curved. Most road curves are actually circular arcs defined by the degree of curvature (the angle subtended by the beginning of the curve and the end of the curve) and the radius of the arc. When laying out a road at first, the curves are left out; only the tangent sections are put in, and those tangent sections intersect at a point. This whole concept is better illustrated as follows: After the road is designed and drawn using all tangent sections, the designer comes back in and draws the curves on either side of the intersection point of the two tangent lines (called the Point of Intersection or PI). The distance from the PI to either end of the curve (the point of curvature, or PC to the point of tangency, or PT) is the same. What I am getting at here is that in this game, one could design a road that only has straight sections at first, then after you finish laying out that, you could go back in and draw in a curve to connect the two straight sections. You could define the radius of the curve and the beginning of the curve. After that is done, the game would draw in the road for you. What happens in Microstation when one draws a line that is not at a nice angle from the vertical is that the program creates a new coordinate system based off that line. Similarly, once a road is created in this game, a local zoning grid could be created that extends so many tiles away from the road. I hope to keep up with this project as it moves along. I also would like to help in anyway that I can.

Constantina: Would you be willing to share those modds you created?

I think that there will eventually be a Sim City 5, but the big question will be when. As many have suggested, perhaps Spore will help to lay a framework for the next version of Sim City. I really hope that Maxis will take some of the ideas out of this thread and apply them into the game. As nearly everyone has suggested, curved roads are a must for the game. Abandon the grid system. After playing Civililzation IV for a while, I thought that some of the ideas from that game can be applied to Sim City. Better Suburbian Simulation A intergral aspect of almost any city is its suburbs. In SC4, it is difficult to create bedroom communities that dump all commuters onto a single thoroughfare to get to the downtown area. If one attempts to create a neighbor city that is almost completely residential, no one will have jobs and all the properties will abandon. In SC5, the traffic model should be reworked so that commuters can commute from far away into the central city. The model should also calculate total travel time, even if the path takes the commuter into another city. Currently, travel time is calculated from the point of residency to the neighbor city border. As a result, there is usually a mad exodus pouring into a neighboring city, even if on the other side the commuters are turning around and going back into the city they started in. Multiplayer Yeah, traditionally Sim City has not been a multiplayer game but a city simulator. A region would consist of several cities, just as in Sim City 4. However, each city would be controlled by a different player, either through LAN or the Internet. Each player would broker deals with the neighboring city for garbage, power, water, and so on. If resources were brought into the game, those could also be traded. This could also be applied one level higher by having neighboring regions where each region and its cities are controlled by one player. A multiplayer concept may extend beyond the scope of just a simulation, but it would make Sim City a little more of a competitive game than it is now. Of course, this would be a different mode from the traditional mode of play. Variable City Limits Again, from Civilization IV, each city has a border that is controlled by how much influence the city has on the surrounding area. The more culture a city has, the more expansive its borders become. In Sim City, the game could work by allowing the player to choose a point where the city would be founded. Initially, the city would have city limits a set radius from the point chosen for settlement. As areas are built up, those areas are automatically incorporated into the city, and zones can be placed in your city limits or outside of your city limits, but not in another city. The more the city develops and the more zones a city creates, the more expansive the city limits become. Infrastructure would not count towards being built up. Interstates I think that major highways, or interstates, should already be in a region before any cities are founded. These would be a common denominator for each city. Smaller roads and interchanges can be built from here, and more freeways can be built by the city if needed. Cross-region traffic What happens to the freight when it reaches the neighbor city? It can't just disappear! I think that interstates and freeways should have traffic that travels across the region, mainly from freight trucks making deliveries, but from some people that randomly go from one city to another on the other side of the region. Moreover, these people should stop somewhere in between to get gas, eat food, or stay in a motel. With the addition of cross-region traffic, beltways and loop freeways can be a viable option in Sim City. Originally posted by: rabanne What I would really like to see in Simcity 5 (and I know it's not gonna happen, because it's a city simulation) is a resource based industry model. What i mean by that is there should be a (automatic) region generator, which also generates (natural) resources. Most cities in the world *that I know of* were founded at places where there was access to crucial resources. quote> Bingo! Many other games have resources that you have to tap into to get ahead in the game, and I think that different resources in SC would lead to city specialization. I am all for this idea. Originally posted by: A.D.3.Since when was transportation used solely for commutes? There should be traffic from residences to other residences, city buildings such as schools, shops, and out of the city. Tourism should generate traffic.quote> Amen to that. People don't just go to and from work; they go on vacations, go have a night on the town, and so on. Originally posted by: sparkythepenguinAnother thing: I read somewhere that Will Wright wanted the next SC5 to be more basic, easier to play. Is that true? If it tanks, I'm sticking with SC4...quote> How much more basic does the game need to be? If anything, Sim City needs some sort of competition aspect so that one does not get bored of the game when good mods for it are not being released. I think most people can handle the complex aspect of the game that most of us here would like to see, as long as it is presented well. I tried to get a couple of my gaming friends to play Sim City, and they did, but got bored of it in about a week. Originally posted by: kujoeWe also need to fix the power system to a more realistic system. I even want to see transmission lines with proper connections to power plants. The transmission lines should also run to sub-stations at which they get split down into distribution power lines that go to homes and businesses. These distribution lines should be available above and below ground like in real life.quote> I agree with that one! You don't have high voltage power lines delivering power directly to homes; that would blow fuses all over the place!

I would stick with the name Rural Highway Mod myself. I like the ramp you have there; it will make it easier to terminate roads, although it would be cool if you could continue to drag the road along to the other side, and then you would have two sets of ramps for each carriageway.

Really useful information there sam. I may try to employ more of this in my sprawling cities.

Date: 8/24/2005 1:37:32 PM Author: nooneatall Well, in light of what Teisuru posted, I made a proper texture with an emergency lane, as well as a centre yellow line. It's a bit blurry because of my graphics settings and image compression. Any comments on the texture?quote> Great work on the texture nooneatall. The rumble strips are a nice feature, especially for rural highways. Maybe it should be a tad lighter to distinguish between one way roads, but other than that it looks great.

Looks great qurlix. Would there be a way to merge two rural highway lanes together? In other words, could you take one side of the rural highway and drag another side into it to create a ramp?

I would love to see this become reality. The possibilities are endless.

I would like to request the SPUI (single point urban interchange). It looks like the standard diamond interchange found in SC4, but where the avenue or roadway crosses the highway all the ramps converge at one intersection directly above or below the highway. BTW, that trumpet interchange model in this thread is looking good. I would love to see that in the game as well.

I am from Northern Alabama, and I visit the cities of Birmingham, AL and Huntsville, AL on a regular basis. Birmingham has three main interstate routes going through the city: I-20, I-59, and I-65. I-20/59 enters the city from the southwest and follows the valley formed by creeks into the downtown area. The two interstates intersect with I-65 just short of downtown at Malfunction Junction. At this junction the east and westbound lanes swap places to go through the interchange, as does the north and southbound lanes of I-65. I-20/59 follows about a mile-long viaduct through downtown where it meets the Red Mountain Expressway, or US 31/280. The Red Mountain Expressway extends south from the interstates as a six-lane freeway across Red Mountain via a very impressive rock cut to the suburbs across the mountain, where the freeway ends. I-20/59 continues east as an eight-lane freeway past the Birmingham International Airport where the two interstates split. I-20 heads due east across Red Mountain en route to Atlanta. There is a four-lane viaduct right before you cross the mountain, then the interstate expands to six lanes well outside of Birmingham. A few miles later after passing the viaduct there is a stack interchange with I-459, the southern beltway of Birmingham. I-20 is on the second level of the four-level stack interchange, I-459 in on the third. There is a widening project underway to add a lane in each direction to I-20 some 50 miles outside of Birmingham. I-59 heads northeast from the split towards Chattanooga and points beyond roughly following the valleys formed by the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains. I-59 intersects with I-459 a few miles to the northeast. I-459 has its northern terminus here at a Y-interchange. I-65 follows a north-south orientation as it traverses the Birmingham Area. From the south, the interstate passes by Oak Mountain and crosses Shades Mountain and Red Mountain on its way into the downtown area. From Oak Mountain I-65 is six lanes all the way into the downtown area. It retaines six lanes through Malfunction Junction well north of Birmingham. I-459, as mentioned earlier, is the southern beltway for Birmingham. It starts southwest of Birmingham at I-20/59 at a trumpet interchange as a four-lane freeway. A few miles after that it goes to six lanes, and it remains six lanes all the way to its end. I-459 has a four-level stack interchange at I-65 and at I-20. I-459 concludes its journey at I-59 northeast of downtown. Construction is underway to improve the interchange of I-459 and US 280, the busiest arterial road in metro Birmingham. US 280 technically begins at I-20/59 at the Red Mountain Expressway. From the southern end of the Red Mountain Expressway, US 280 is six lanes with a couple of interchanges at local roads. The six lanes continue past I-459 to where the road climbs Oak Mountain. Another interstate is under construction in Birmingham that will connect it with Memphis, TN. I-22 will begin just north of Birmingham at I-65 and march northwest. It will hit many rock cuts and rivers along the way, and the interstate is set to be finished in 2015, that is if the state DOT gets its act together. There are also plans to construct a northern beltway for Birmingham which will start where I-459 begins. It will cross I-59 to the northeast of where I-459 ends and will end at I-20 well east of its juncture with I-459. Construction on one segment may begin in a few years. More information and pictures can be found at http://www.southeastroads.com/birmingham.html . I will post about Huntsville, AL at a later time.

Personally I would like to see the existing power lines modded so that they look like realistic high-voltage power poles. There are different types, depending on the voltage. They typically range from 120 kV wood or steel poles up to 500 kV towers. The 500 kV power lines usually consist of three big wires that each consist of three smaller wires.

I took a look at the latest update, and I saw something about a dual ramp with an elevated highway and an avenue. It said that you could not plop it, and if the conditions were right it would be placed. What does this look like? Is it a loop ramp and a normal ramp?

The Great Chozo: That is a very nice stack you have there!