Twyla

BACKGROUND: For the majority of us who were born in the 20th century, Sim City (in one form or another) was our 'gateway drug' to the world of PC gaming. Countless notable architects, engineers, and city planners cite Sim City as being what sparked thier interests in their chosen professions. Not to mention the fact that the franchise has won nearly half of all educational awards ever given to computer games. Whereas most computer labs would actively remove any games, many labs would actually install Sim City. That's one hell of a legagy for any game franchise, and even moreso for one that started in one man's living room. It rather goes without saying that this legacy is the driving force in the decision to ressurect the Sim City name - but this is a double-edged sword. You're counting on the name alone being a major factor in people buying it, but it also carries the obligation to live up to the franchise's legacy. With console ports and Societies constituting strikes one and two, this incarnation will invariably be the make-or-break for the franchise as a whole. Despite leaving out the number and calling the game a reboot, few will be able to view this game as anything other than Sim City 5 - and it will inevitably be judged by that identity. SCOPE: City Size: While a fair number of buildings in previous games had unrealsitic footprints (skyscrapers comparable to the Sears Tower residing in the same space as a handful of bus stops), it was an inherent necessity owing to the grid-based system utilized by those games. Breaking free of the grid has allowed the designers to keep the various buildings far more to relative scale. In doing so, however, city layouts are far more subject to sprawl. Despite using overall dimensions comparable to a Medium Tile (in prior games), they feel marginally smaller than a Small Tile. Whereas one could normally squeeze in somewhere around 2500 lots/buildings, the new system only permits around 250 in the same dimensional space. Although this game utilizes the same dimensions as a Medium Tile, the net result is a tremendous reduction to how much can be implemented within this space. Regional Play: There are two primary schools of thought in this matter, depending on whether the person is a fan of the most recent incarnation - Sim City 4 - or an earlier one. Fans of Sim City 2000 and Sim City 3000 are accustomed to playing single cities so, in their case, the regional interconnectivity of the Beta is a step up. Such connectivity was purely theoretical in these two games, and it remains largely the same in this one. For Sim City 4 fans, the regional system of the Beta is a HUGE step backwards - and one of the major factors for the many negative comments concerning it. You've shown us a huge, glorious canvas - yet restrict us to dabbling on just one tiny portion thereof. While those unfamiliar (or relatively so) with previous Sim City titles won't have many preconceptions concerning regional connectivity, most are still liable to have this uncanny feeling that "something is missing". Summary: The scales used in previous Sim City games allowed a player to build a complete and fully-functional city within the limits of a Small Tile. Those desiring larger cities could easily do so using Medium and Large city tiles - or, in the case of Sim City 4, by expanding into additional tiles. This provided players two differing options - each with their own characteristics - in determining how large or small a city they wanted to build. Removing not just one but both of these options has resulted in a tremendous reduction of scope for the player. Even when someone is unable to explain exactly why, this is the main issue which leads to so many refering to this game as SimTown, SimSuburb, or something similar. DEPTH and CONTROL: City Management: In all previous incarnations of Sim City (again, knock-offs like Societies don't count) the player took a proactive approach towards city management - the player decided when and where certain events happened and the city either developed or didn't in response. This game, however, has taken the diametrically opposite approach and made the game entirely reactionary. Despite giving the illusion of player control, the overwhelming majority (seemingly all) of it is restricted to a never-ending sequence of responding in one manner or another to their 'trusted advisor' calling the shots. Although previous titles required certain milestones to unlock particular buildings, it feels that this particular aspect comes far too early in this game. We certainly never before had to unlock the ability to tailor tax rates or other fundamental and long-standing capabilities of basic city management. Perhaps this eventually shifts towards true player control later in the game - somewhere shortly beyond the one-hour limitation to gameplay. Perhaps this is something done strictly for the Beta in order to push players into experiencing as much as possible within that time limit. Perhaps something else lies in store - something which hasn't occured to me as I write this. As it presently stands, however, the game completely lacks the immersion of legacy Sim City titles. Even the original Sim City (as well as, heaven forbid, Societies) offered more control over city management than this game. Newcomers and veterans alike are in agreement that what little challenge remains feels tawdry and superficial. Zoning: I am very much of mixed opinions concerning the Zoning system as it is presently implemented, as it seems to offer both too much freedom yet not enough. Despite 'breaking the grid', zoning simply resulted in x number of fixed-width lots with no control whatsoever over their dimensioning. Perhaps some use of Shift, Alt, and/or Ctrl would adjust the lot sizing, or even just some means by which the game just evenly divides the dragged area into lots of an appropriate size-range. Furthermore, there is an entire lack of any means by which the game indicates just how deep the lots are meant to be. This makes it extremely difficult to determine how far one needs to offset subsequent roadways to allow room for development without leaving wasted space (owing to the lack of space due to the overall scale being used). I very much missed the 'field painting' system used by the previous titles, and feel that an adaptation of this would be a viable solution. Ordinances and Finances: As I mentioned earlier, not being able to manage Taxation right out the gate is a massive thorn to me - and I suspect the majority of veteran players feel likewise. Sure, you can futz about with a 'general' tax rate, but this limitation completely breaks one's immersion into the game. Worse yet is that there appear to be no Ordinances available in the game. Perhaps I just haven't 'reached that stage yet', or perhaps it simply wasn't included in the Beta. Either way, the absence of Ordinances is painfully apparent and greatly disheartening for a long-time player such as myself. Utility Connections: Incorporating power, water, and sewage into the roadways themselves is a bold move. However, this is one departure I can actually agree with. Not only are most utilities generally integrated into the roadways in real life, but this is also an acceptable compromise as part of the obvious intention to make the Sim City franchise more approachable to newcomers. Transportation Networks: Oddly, I found myself almost wishing for LESS versatility in placing roadways. At the very least, I expected to be able to hold down the Shift, Alt, and/or Ctrl key as a means to 'snap' the roadway to be placed either perpendicular to an intersecting roadway or to a relatively fixed angle. While the latter would ideally snap in 15-degree increments, even 45-degree increments (targeting the eight cardinal directions) would have been a blessing. This was further complicated when attempting to add a roadway alongside existing development. I spent a considerable amount of time trying to situate a road so that it would be immediately adjacent to an existing residential lot - neither destroying the development nor leaving a gap of wasted space inbetween. When encountering other roadways, the opposite seemed to be true. Despite efforts to form a grid-like block (again, owing to the lack of space due to the overall scale being used), the roadway refused to allow straight placement - stubbornly insisting that it snap to the end of the existing roadway (which I intended to extend just enough to end in a T-intersection). While I managed to finally manage the desired configuration by over-extending the stub enough to place the intersection then demolish the excess afterwards, such would have been disastrous had there been existing development in the way. Being a Beta, I can overlook the absence of trams, subways, and other rail-based network systems - though I cannot overlook the fact that many fundamental transportation components require unlocking. I can only hope this aspect improves greatly by the time the game is actually released. Regional Connectivity: This is another major point of contention with arguments going in both directions. Some of it can be forgiven based upon the always-online multiplayer element, but other aspects can neither be forgiven nor ignored. First and foremost is how this has been entirely isolated from the city (a term I use loosely) rather than being any element of the city itself. Where most cities develop on both sides of a highway, incorporating it into the overall transportation network, development is pushed all to one side and the only connection offered is an enigmatic single-point junction. Similarly, one can only hope that the actual release will incorporate some means of branching off rail spurs and loops for passenger and freight purposes. Terraforming: Regardless of when someone first started playing Sim City, they invariably wound up settling on one of the numbered titles - Sim City 2000, Sim City 3000, or Sim City 4. As soon as the game broke away from the top-down 2D perspective, players have been able to contour the city tile to their individual liking. Even with the always-online forced-multiplayer aspect, the more theoretical nature of regional connectivity being used isn't sufficient reasoning for eliminating terraforming from the game entirely. Micro-Management: For the majority of Sim City veterans, the degree of micro-management available has long been a huge draw. Sure some people left a fair number of the settings at their defaults, but doing so seldom produced any truly detrimental effects. The query information of developed areas is but one aspect among many where this game feels exceptionally 'dumbed down' compared to its predecessors. Many of us loved the ability to flag a development as historical, and many of us just liked to see the actual numbers of how many miserable wretches we could cram into a high-rise tenement. In addition to Taxation control having to be unlocked, control over funding levels for various Civics is entirely absent. While there's at least an On/Off option in most cases, this falls pathetically short of offering any real form of budgeting authority within the game. Granted, there is some minor semblance of this created through the use of modular upgrades available for most civic buildings. Though somewhat unexpected by Sim City fans, most have embraced this modularity as part of the future benchmark for all city-builders. But, as positive as this is, it remains an inaedquate substitution for actual financial control. Game Saves: The absence of the ability to save and load the game completely removes one of the 'undocumented' great joys of Sim City - the ability to unleash all manner of catastrophe on your poor Sims, then go back to business as usual. It also fails to offer players the opportunity to experiment without putting everything they've worked for in jepoardy. Sim City has been commended numerous times for its educational value and praised for how far players can go in their experimentation. The lack of game saves eliminates all the safety (and most of the incentive) to experiment with new ideas. Summary: The decades-long legacy of Sim City was founded on the principle of "Your City, Your Way" - a slogan which EA and Maxis have used to considerable success in marketing the franchise. By contrast, this game has severely limited how much control the player has over most every aspect of the game. This was much the same issue as with Societies and other knock-offs, and a significant contribution towards their failure. AESTHETICS: Interface: Every incarnation of Sim City has had its own distinct interface, all of them well developed and thoroughly consistent with their respective games. In this regard, the new game lives up to the precedents of its ancestry. Owing to the extreme variations in screen resolutions being used, however, many are finding the menus and other items either overlapping (when using lower resolutions) or too small to readily identify (when using higher resolutions). This should be simple enough to address by adding a scaling factor based upon the game's screen resolution. Headlines / News Tickers: One of Sim City's most endearing features has been the use of ficticious (and often hilarious) 'up-to-the-minute news commentary' to keep players apprised of how their city is faring - simultaneously entertaining and informative. This feature is conspicuously absent from the Beta, though I have high hopes for its inclusion in the eventual release. Design: Another point of contention, the visual design of the buildings used within the game seem to be divided by the general performance of their computers. Those with computers on the lower end of the spectrum find the designs fairly (or highly) attractive, while those with computers on the higher end of the spectum find them woefully simplistic and cartoony. There's simply no pleasing everyone, granted, but it is extremely disappointing that the visual appearance of the game assets doesn't even meet the quality of those in Sim City 3000 - some would even argue that the buildings in Sim City 2000 look better. Considering how far computer technology has advanced in the ten years since Sim City 4 (let alone fifteen years since Sim City 3000 and twenty since Sim City 2000), the developers really should have paid more heed to those criticising the design since the first images were available. Tilt-Shift: As much as people have been clammoring for Sim City to finally make the transition from isometric 2.5D to perspective 3D, such a change also bears the potential to alienate the feel of the game. Due to this, the decision to use Tilt-Shift is very much a good one. Furthermore, the developers also included the ability for the individual player to adjust the influence strength of Tilt-Shift to their own liking. Those who dislike it can turn it down (though not disable it entirely) while those who do like it can crank it to the max. Not only a well-considered concept but a masterful implementation thereof. Music: As delightful as the musical element has been throughout most of Sim City's history, it does tend to grate after weeks, months, or years of gameplay. Fortunately, Sim City 4 added the capacity for users to add their own tracks to the game. It is difficult to truly assess the new game's musical element due to the time limitation, but everything points towards offering all the positives of its predecessors - and then some! Simlish: No. For the love of whatever deity you profess to worship, no! There should be no need to elaborate. Summary: The Sims is The Sims and Sim City is Sim City. As much as I understand EA's desire to use the popularity of one to reinforce the other, the two are immensely different concepts and should remain as such. A large portion of Sim City fans detested The Sims' encroachment into Sim City 4, though most grudgingly tolerated it as its presence could generally be ignored. With this game, however, EA and Maxis have simply pushed the envelope too far. The overall aesthetic is less "adding The Sims to Sim City" and more "adding city-building elements to The Sims". TECHNICAL: Graphics: From a technical standpoint, the graphics are astounding. Although some have voiced concerns about vertical sync and screen tearing, these matters will almost certainly be addressed before the formal release. One issue in doubt concerns the mandantory dedicated fullscreen presentation. Despite this being my preferred method, there really should be options available to support windowed mode - particularly as many people use multiple monitors. Always-Online: Quit trying to diguise the matter - this is purely an excuse to force an invasive DRM with poor security on everyone. This requirement puts considerable limitations on when, where, and how much an individual has even the option of playing the game. This, in turn, places a tremendous stranglehold on how many will be willing to purchase the game at all. We are also well aware of the fact that Origin will drop the game from its servers before long. While this is supposedly due to anticipated fall-off in demand, the true reasons are obvious - either to force people to buy new games by preventing them from playing older ones, or to force people to buy 'upgrades' in order to enable offline play which should have been part of the game to begin with. Multiplayer: Sim City has never been a multiplayer game. It has been tried before and failed so spectacularly that few people even know about it. Some people truly are interested in playing with friends, granted, but they are too small a minority among Sim City fans to be considered a 'driving factor'. The overwhelming majority of complaints that have been voiced about the game have concerned popular and classic game elements which have been sacrificed upon the altar of the Grand Social Experiment. Customization: Yet another limitation imposed by the online-only model is completely elimination the possibility for user-created content. Were it not for this capability, the Sim City franchise may well have died altogether when EA abandoned it a decade ago. Of course, this won't prevent EA from pushing game-imbalancing DLC - additional content with considerable advantages over standard assets. Coupled with the forced competitive multiplayer (no point in pretending that the multiplayer aspect is meant for anything but competitive), the game will essentially be turned into a pay-to-win scheme. OVERALL SUMMARY: This is a FaceBook game, not a PC game and certainly not Sim City. If anything, it is a city-building expansion to The Sims. The simplistic building designs and invasion of 'Simlish' is both consistent with The Sims and completely foreign to Sim City. The visual design and system of operation is fully consistent with any game meant to be played via a web browser or mobile device, rather than a PC (or even a console). I won't deny that this game could prove to be very popular. It will certainly find an audience among fans of Sim City FaceBook and The Sims, but few Sim City fans will find this game to be much worthwhile - particularly not at the exorbitant price point. They, as well as I, will simply have to bide our time until someone finally decides to make a worthy successor to the King of City-Builders crown. That, or make it ourselves.

I was wondering the same thing. As the game currently stands, I wouldn't even spend the time it would take to download a free copy (by whatever means). Back when Will Wright first wrote Sim City, EA turned it down as being "an unplayable game". Now, I'm turning EA's so-called 'Sim City' down for truly being an unplayable game.

One has to consider legacy... The original Sim City set the standard for what a city-building simulation should be. Sim City 2000 trumped the original in so many ways, raising the bar considerably. And, if anyone recalls, they tried multiplayer with SC2000: Network Edition - it was such a failure that they never developed it beyond the Windows version (ie Mac and other platforms). Maxis tried to go full-3d with Sim City 3000, but abandoned it when they couldn't produce quality graphics with reasonable system requirements. EA bought Maxis and released SC3k using a more streamlined version of SC2k's isometric system. Didn't trump SC2k, but still made a lot of improvements and further raised the bar. Sim City 4 added regions play (vs theoretical neighbors) and full customization options (including BAT and LE), trumping all prior incarnations of Sim City. In each and every case, Sim City expanded dramatically while retaining every aspect of the core gameplay. FaceBook City (aka SimCity 2013) has thrown it all out the window in an effort to appeal to the Social Networking Gamer, further forsaking the loyal Sim City fans who have suffered through ten long years of abandonment like concert junkies camped outside the ticket office. And EA is screwing themselves over with a double-whammy: 1 ~ The game they're trying to push has little to no appeal to Sim City fans because it deviates so far from everything they've come to expect from any game bearing the Sim City name (a major factor in why Sim City Societies flopped so hard). 2 ~ The FaceBook Freaks they're pandering to generally aren't the sort who are willing (or able) to drop $60-$80 in one shot on a game. In short: Those who can buy it won't, and those who would buy it can't.