Mark Waybill

As long as you are playing with friends there shouldn't be any visits from Joe Trollface and his Butthole Brigade. Sounds like a rock group lol. Anyway if you do have an argument with a friend, they take it badly, and send a nuclear missile into your carefully built up CBD, there's something that might help. Saving the game. If each city is periodically auto saved like in CXL then if you want to load a previous version you can. Then the agents or wtvr that want to get to their resources or wtvr it is in your city and find it's the your city of 1995 and they are from their city of 2012 they will act like a failed job ad and leave. Hope that made sense. I'm sure that if you can save or load cities, download them etc, there should be a way to get a saved copy from past times before you and Susan P Haroldson from next door had a falling out and then insert said city into another group or make up with Sue and then reconnect your cities. I'm sure Maxis/EA/Origin will find a solution.

I've thought a lot about that I won't go too off topic but I believe eventually we will be able to become any citizen we like, whether a Council member, Mayor, God, or Joe from Joe's Corner Shop. I think The Sims will eventually integrate with SimCity to the point where it is one game. But back on topic I don't know to what depth resource realism will be going in this release, so this is quite speculative, but if this direction of greater realism was decided upon, then something to consider would be the fact that there isn't just coal or oil. There's brown coal for instance, and various degrees of oil type, there's slate etc Probably not important. But there is peat also and varying types of wood so... Environment/resource essentially being forest and tree, I think maxis will be able to create a level of realism that is just right, not too boringly real to the point where we can't do anything fun, but not too simplified to the point where we are making 'yes or no' decisions (Mayor would you like to build a coal power plant or a flower garden?) But thinking about various species of plants and animals, if eventually flora and fauna were simulated to a greater depth of realism and detail, with miniature cycles of glassbox elements (birds eat food like people, create waste etc) it would be interesting to see effects on actual animals/plants from pollution etc. erosion could be simulated as could weather, but then we'd end up with nothing. Climate change i think would be problematic in SC as I'd like to think a coast side city will still be there 100 years from now, and wouldn't want to think the melting ice sheets would ruin my nice city. However if water flow is to be simulated properly, thus allowing for creeks and waterfalls etc etc (which of course we haven't seen in a LONG time) erosion would be a logical addition. At what point do we stop and go 'wait climate change/erosion will eventually destroy my city unless it evolves' or should we follow that path and have to deal with buildups of sediment or cliff falls?

Culinia - "apparently this is what mustard is made from: seeds, water, salt, lemon juice, mayonnaise so imagine having separate code for each of that and how that is made and the ingredients in that (like whatever makes mayonnaise, farming coding for seeds etc etc), lol. Possibilities are endless." This is the logic behind a theory I've had since I first got Game Maker in 2005 and started experimenting with object based game creation. The idea of 'agents' and 'resources' is similar to 'objects' and 'global variables' and I, after seeing Game Maker's strengths and weaknesses, predicted that if a truly progressive city simulator was to be made, it could be done by creating an engine with a similarly simple system. Extremely or apparently extremely complex processes are all the result of simple interactions between simple objects, that's how physics works, and this recalls my first time playing SimCity 2000 when I realised how UNcomplex cities really are, whereas before I'd thought of them as mind bogglingly complex entities, I realised that behind all that jazz were simple laws governing simple 'agents' and 'resources'. It is indeed a wonderful thing to see such a system put into practice, very progressive. And like Culinia said, as everything is relative, with such a simple but powerful tool, the possibilities are endless. By adding or removing layers of depth of complexity one can increase or decrease realism to the point where in theory if computers were powerful enough and programmers paid enough we could simulate anything. Thus, if we actually wanted to, we could of course make mustard from seeds, seeds from various plant cells etc and ad infinitum. Thankfully they're also trying to retain the fun vibe of sc2000 or we might begin to take all this seriously.

"The way I see it, we need to get as many people to pre-order as possible. A high number of pre-orders at this early stage will just show EA how much of a success SimCity is going to be. However, lackluster early pre-order sales could cause EA to cut back on development funding." - Rod C I agree. This was the logic behind my pre orderingthe dde version. If they see we are committed to this project it'll make them put more effort into it. I don't buy any other video game series so for me the cost was more negligible than for gamers in general. I hope they will live up to expectation, for if they do, this could be the new 2000. Well, can't say it can't.

I wouldn't charge or pay, and would agree with the OP that it would destroy something that makes this community a good one.

However I still think OcramSeattle's suggestion a good one. Long distance or major wires/pipes could still connect production facilities, and if regional gameplay allowed largescale infrastructure with realistic limits then these could become an important part of spread out development that doesn't form a conurbation. However making every single pipe and power line is a bit silly, surely, when many of us would like to make cities of a large and complex nature without unecessary time wasting. And of course the educational aspect of this vicinity is perfectly obvious with larger pipes and lines, and the fact that they could still be visible as underground/overground features. One addition that would be nice is overground water pipes, more realistic for intercity water transportation, at least if the cities I have lived in are anything to go by.

While my inner idealistic romantic would love it to be released on the tenth anniversary of 4's release, my inner rationalist tells me that the longer we wait, the more development that has gone into it, so I'm not going to get angry if it doesn't get released straight away. Indeed I thought 2013 a bit optimistic if they plan on doing what we expect of this game and also correct any issues and bugs etc that will no doubt arise. I wish Maxis good luck (if they are reading this?) and personally also would tell them to take their time, so long as they are spending it constructively. As much as for me as for anyone else this is like the Christmas of a lifetime and I'll be counting down the days on the advent calendar, I don't want Santa's sleigh to have technical problems on the big day.

I will probably buy it as long as at the time of release it looks better than 4/cxl to the extent that would make buying it worthwhile. Also it's about the only video game I will buy in the forseeable future I should think so. I am cautiously optimistic.

I think it would also be useful to have a regional planning tool. Say for instance you wished to have a network of freeways linking cities or areas, or a terrain feature (imo terraforming should be regional anyway, at least with regards to terrain height) or a rail network etc. However naturally if you had already build a sprawling city you'd need to do these things at ground level also. But for new developments and planned cities it could work. Or a blueprint tool which would allow you to place individual modules within a zoned civic space.

Firstly I'll just note that the position of 'Mayor' in SC is obviously different to that IRL, so maybe the term SCMayor would be more appropriate wtvr. Because of this the way resources are handled isn't necessarily going to be the most realistic way, but more the best way for gameplay and to meet the game's and user's expectations. If we all asked for resources to be handled in a strategy game way then they would respond to that, and likewise if we all asked for realistic mayoral authority which would make an extremely boring game called RealLifeMayor that nobody would buy. Personally I would like to see resources handled partly by the Mayor and partly by 'independent' parties. I'd like mines, water companies etc to be privately owned (or government run wtvr, so long as they aren't a subsidiary of Mayor's Dictatorship Inc.) in that they should be smart organisations and not require me to tell them exactly what to do but to guide and approve their activities. Like I ca issue ordinances which will have impacts on these sectors, or tell them if a suitable site can be built on or not, but as to laying pipes and wires like in sc2000... Firstly those pipes and wires were unrealistic anyway and secondly that shouldn't be the job of any Mayor fictional or not. Laying overland powerlines or mass water conveying infrastructure like from a reservoir across a state, maybe. Laying a pipe from houseA to underneath_road_pipeX, no. That's the job of a plumber employed by the Council or a private company contracted by the Council. The Council/Mayor in SC is more a local government in the sense of it's being an actual authority of an independent nature, and I like to think of Regions/Cities as micronations or city states in that they are so semi independent that they are hardly affected by SimNation. However obviously with a SimWorld involved things change, especially with MP mode. However I would still like resources to be intelligent and not require me to do all the grunt work. I shouldn't be laying pipes, I should be approving construction of a water tank or doing a business deal with Somewhereville to buy water. But digging wells is their job not mine. I'd love to see mining economies, army bases and reservoirs. Love to. But they shouldn't have to be dealt with like in a strategy game. I'd rather bother about building and managing a city, than becoming a surveyor for a mining company.

I have a pavilion laptop with intel core i7 a dn ati mobility radeon graphics. Not that good with such data so I don't know whether it will work well or not, but Cities XL and 4 both run although large cities cause lag on both

I think single player cities should have the option not to be joined to SimPlanet or wtvr it's to be called MaxisWorld or wtvr. Then, if you cheat somehow your city is tagged as a C class city or a city.cheat or something, and then if you wish to connect a city to MaxisEarth you can but only if it hasn't used cheats?

Hope this isn't too off topic but it'd be nice imo to see a return to airport/seaport zoning as opposed to block lots, so if this modular nature implies zoning I'm for it.

I think a basic UDI could be made like with one helicopter and one basic sedan to start off with, and missions/other vehicles etc could be add ons/updates later. Maybe an update pack could be added every so often like with Simutrans or something. The ability to take videos/pictures should be easy to create for any game, so I shouldn't think they'd have any problem with that. However missions, interacting with citizens/buildings in a complex way (driving a tank around blowing stuff up realistically or riding a skateboard through your city and robbing people etc) should come after development of more integral aspects of the simulation. From what I've seen Glassbox seems a strong core for this game so I am cautiously optimistic that with expansion packs/updates the game should achieve a lot of what we've wanted all these years. UDI I am sure will exist at some point in the future, but I am not overly concerned if it is or isn't included in the initial release, I mean they do only have a year!

Wow Jakarta from what has been said has real pollution problems. I've never lived anywhere where the pollution has been that bad, but I have heard about it to the extent that I believe it has negative effects. I think regarding whether the environmental 'bent' is a problem or not, as long as it isn't the primary objective of the game, and as long as a realistic polluted city (not necessarily Jakartan pollution levels) isn't unrealistically treated... It doesn't worry me, and it is after all an important part of modern and indeed ancient city planning. The problems of waste management and sewage and so forth have always existed, even if not in the same way they do now. Even a camper or small cottage dweller needs to dispose of litter and waste material, it's all relative.

Naturally the feature would be nice but if it's another gimmicky feature like it was in sc4 that doesn't work properly is boring and isn't from the driver's perspective then I'd rather they concentrate on more important things first.

"Moreover, suburban sprawls as seen the USA will take very, very long to make. You would have to make dozens or even over 100 city tiles to re-create something like that..." - Mrtrln There was mention of the possibility of there being a planning tool in this game. It would be theoretically possible to have regional planning tool features, so for instance regional as opposed to intracity infrastructure could be planned and laid out in a separate planning tool mode, like highways or terrain features etc. Thus the placement of large objects like airports if they needed to cross city boundaries could be planned in that way. As to whether that would work in practice I wouldn't know.

If there is a single player mode which I believe from what I heard there will be, any cheats will be usable there I should think.

I think the point made earlier regarding intracity effect in sc4 is important. One of the biggest issues with 4's region system was that you could have a dirty industrial city filled with toxic waste disposal sites next to a lovely luxury residential area with pristine farmland. It just doesn't make sense, and as was demonstrated early on IRL cities are way bigger and have broader effects and systems. Today, for instance, I took a train ride that took 5 hours, and in that time I passed through about four roughly definable conurbations, Illawarra, Sydney, Gosford/Central Coast and Newcastle. I think in terms of a city as being a conurbation rather than a postcode, and in 4 region's were the size of cities and cities the size of neighbourhoods or districts. I would LOVE to be able to have a conurbation with suburban sprawl, freeways etc acting realistically, and I hope the new layers of depth of realism Glassbox is bringing to the game will be an incentive for making this more feasible.

Well it seems as if maxis has done some work let us hope the game is good

Ten years ago when I first played sc2000 it's features were enough to keep me up at all hours for nights and nights on end. Needless to say our fan wishlist is only going to expand in number and complexity of ideas. However a few simple ones, out of a bucketful, the first to come to the top of my head and a few suggestions... Transport I'd like it if transport options were obv expanded but also I think, as well as CXL ability to place routes (micromanagement that imo should be optional, as part of an optional spectrum of mayoral power and advisorial/council power) the ability for networks to be intelligent and maintain themselves. As much as I wish to retain the authority to tell my contractors where to place the end of terminal platform 5 in relation to a grove of trees I wish to save, I'd also like my contractors to think for themselves. If say a station is not getting much usage, the nwtwork will limit stops at that station rather than ask me to demolish or keep it. Etc. Simulated intelligent micromanagement like that. If accidents occur on Line 5 frequently either ask me to build a better network or try to fix it within reasonable means. So say if budget allows it and resources allow it, fix it yourself. If a single track line needs upgrading or if we're using diesel and some sim lobby group wants electric infrastructure then yes, tell me to do something, but I don't see why they can't make some decisions themselves. Environment If animals/plants are to be simulated an ecosystem should be realistic, in that it can adapt to some extent. Living or dead shouldn't be the only options. like in the case of that species of moth in Birmingham that adapted to soot. Weather If you are going to introduce Al Gorish elements into the game, the weather, or subclimatic effects, should become real in their effect. Where I am living now in Wollongong the southern side of Mt Keira has experienced a landslide due to rain and the soil/rock conditions there, and the beaches are being eroded also. Surfers Sims if they are to be intelligent need to grow up and stop expecting their parent (the Mayor) to give them something to do. If there is a natural feature like a beach then go grab a surfboard and use it, don't ask me to plop a beach there. The same goes for cliffs. in CXL people hang glided off towers. Riiight. Even though there were perfectly good cliffs and mountains... Sims can go bushwalking or camping without me placing a ranger station. Truly intelligent sims also rebel. If I enact a law banning skateboarding without a helmet I expect people to rebel against that. Religion is a bit of an iffy area but if I demolish a Church I'd expect some kind of reaction rather than complacency. Also their interactions shouldn't be predictable and My Simish. If I'm driving through a city and the Sims are all standing around reading papers I might as well be examining financial statistic graphs... Ambience I was glad to hear all sounds/images were to be representative of some action going on, and also that the music's beat would be that of the city and not some indifferent entity by itself. I think the landscape and the culture of the neighbourhoods would also affect that. If I was standing on a mountain top I'd expect different music to standing in a warehouse yard. Localised camera position based feedback. Of course these are many of a bucketload of ideas that I have nothing better to do than come up with

I think in theory the city shouldn't be limited by any square boundary because obv rl cities have boundaries of a usually distorted nature made up of geographical and political borders. Also their size (duh) differs from one to another. Thus a standard 2 by 2 km boundary is limiting, but not necessarily a 'deal breaker' as it was with other choices a limitation in 4 too, and it would be difficult to have a whole region active at once for most computers, or to come up with an alternative solution. However my vote is for options, with the largest size allowing for at least 10 by 10 km cities. I understand that regions will still allow for larger conurbations, but many mayors have jurisdictions larger than 2 by 2 and the whole grid based system seems dated

I'd support the notion of a nice thick heavy manual smelling of an Edwardian library with a leatherbound cover and a foreword by Chas. Dickens, if it weren't for the fact that in the words of that famous character from Ghostbusters print is dead these days, and such a thing would be far too costly and nobody would buy the game with the additional price aside from hardclore fans. As an optional possibility in theory it could work but I think maxis have more pressing concerns like expansion packs and further development to worry them rather than making nice accompanying manuals. However maybe a reasonably sized print manual could work, with choice select poetry and artwork, essays etc

If it was an Online game and was as memory consuming as 4 it would cost a lot to play if you were to play for long periods, which is a given considering what game we are discussing. If it was Multiplayer Only No i wouldn't buy it as 1. I don't have any friends who play SC religiously and 2. I wouldn't want all my cities to be forced eternally to be bound to other's influences. I would only buy it if I could play it offline and single player, although I am not averse to online/multiplayer as an option.

This is an idea that has caused me to toss and turn in my sleep for years... I used to like drawing city plans when I was younger and before we got a computer and then in 2003 I discovered on said second hand computer a game called Simcity 2000 which was like all my dreams come true, only ironically the one flaw was I couldn't plan a city any more, and had direct actions instead. (Which meant either drawing a plan on paper and trying to implement it or laying down roads and services and trying my best to afford it all neither of which worked dreadfully well) This 'planning tool' is not only pseudo realistic and thus in keeping with the vaguely educational and real vibe of the game but also a useful concept, which for instance if you planned part of a city or a new development, or the whole city layout, would allow you to do so much you can't now. In fact I can't think of a single flaw with the ide as long as it's implemented properly. hould be fairly easy to create too for the developers I should think as it would be a graph or map which when saved would cause constructions