michaelkourlas

Ubuntu doesn't exactly have stellar support for Optimus. How would running SC4 in Wine help?

Exactly. This is the case regardless of whether the game is set to use the software or DirectX renderer. SC4 generates a config log every time it opens, and each time it says it's using the Intel card. I also have a light on my computer that indicates when the NVIDIA card is in use; it's off when I open SC4. I should note that it is possible to force SC4 to use the NVIDIA card, but only with the option "-d:OpenGL", which doesn't work all that well. Yes, I've added the card info to the graphicsrules.sgr file.

Just wanted to jump in and say that you have exactly described the problem I'm having with my NVIDIA Optimus laptop, including the failed solutions, the weird OpenGL graphics issues, etc.

I've tried following the steps in your guide (i.e. configuring the NVIDIA Control Panel, right-clicking and manually selecting "run with graphics card") but they don't seem to be working.

Has anyone had any luck in getting SimCity 4 to use the discrete NVIDIA graphics card (as opposed to the integrated Intel card) on laptops with NVIDIA Optimus? Even though I've gone into the NVIDIA Control Panel and manually configured SimCity 4 to use NVIDIA graphics, the game still insists on using the Intel card, and performance suffers a great deal as a result. (For those of you who don't know, NVIDIA Optimus is a battery optimization technology that automatically switches the graphics card in use depending on what you're doing; that way you can preserve battery life by using the low-performance card when you're not doing something graphics intensive, like playing a game.) EDIT: Using the option "-d:OpenGL" seems to force it to use the NVIDIA GPU; my GPU light changes and the NVIDIA card is listed in the config log. Unfortunately, it's not really playable because the graphics aren't being rendered properly.

So, basically, even though demand for commercial office exists, you need a threshold population before high-density commercial starts to develop?

This is a chronic problem that arises every time I play SimCity 4 Deluxe: I currently have a city with approximately 100,000 people. It is composed of a high density commercial core surrounded by medium density residential, with some high density industrial on the outskirts. My RCI indicator shows that there is high demand for all types of commercial, particuarily commercial office. Demand for residential and industrial is negative. However, there are no high density buildings in the commercial core, and they refuse to develop. As such, I often see abandonment occuring in the residential areas, as there is not enough commercial jobs for all the residents. Why would this happen? Edit: Here is a list of mods I am using: - NAM Traffic Subsystem - Opera House Fix - High Tech Jobs Fix (increases R$$ jobs in IHT due to the fact that they were missing originally - a bug) Further Edit: I've been doing some experimenting with a radical demand ordinance, and the results are inexplicable: massive buildings came, and the jobs were pretty much all filled. Desirability was great, the population was high enough - why didn't commercial buildings come before?