Duvad

Do you enjoy the billions of menus and convoluted steps required to create basic transit networks, that provide similar functionality to SimCity vanilla, as created by NAM and its addons?

Yeppers. People saying the game doesn't appeal to 'real'/'true'/'hardcore' SimCity/4 fans aren't actually fans. Own and played every SC for almost two decades now and I can't wait for the new one. Small cities is certainly a downside at this stage but the actual city planning and simulation is far, far better than SimCity 4. I've said it before, but I might as well say it again since everyone else likes repeating themselves: the simulation behind SC4 is trash in this day and age, even with NAM and modifications with Z's simulator tool. So many bugs and constraints with the games simulation that I can no longer stand actually playing the game, not to mention the poor optimisation and dated graphics. Many people who still play SC4 appear to simply load up SC4 for mayor diaries/show us your photos and have no concern for city planning and simulation, which is, you know... what SimCity has always been about, and evidently agree that SimCity 4: the game isn't great in this day and age. Bottom line, as far as a city simulator game SimCity 2013 is miles ahead of SC4 at this stage. If only the limitations on cities and regions weren't so apparent.

The graphics on Ultra completely destroy SC4, btw. The game engine that includes the lighting, tilt-shift, and all the detail that is included at ground-level makes SC4's sprites look exactly what they are... decade-old graphics. SimCity pre-release SimCity 4 pre-release

And I've played SC4 since its release. Many people seem to not assimilate how far the game had developed and improved from its release.

Yeah, but the SC2013 trams don't cause your game to crash when hovering over a transit-enabled lot. This video was amazing. The core game looks miles above SimCity 4, but yes, the city scale is very small. I am looking even more forward to the beta than before. And I hope they will not lack on DLC/expansions like they did with SimCity 4 and Spore. Add on top the mod tools which will come after release, and I see no reason to play SC4 again. Then again, I'm not the type who cheats and plops everything for the sake of my city journal and Photoshop.

Unless you are happy with SC4's crappy (even when taking into account Z's great work on the simulator) excuse for traffic simulation, and ridiculous problems like eternal commutes, residents choosing to commute to non-existent cities because they are closer than actual, existant, jobs, and the numerous other bugs/issues with the game, I would say SimCity 2013's simulator, and the glassbox generally, is the biggest 'what SC5 has that SC4 doesn't.

LivinginthePast, everyone had crappy dial up when previous SimCity games were made, so that was never a possibility, although SimCity Scape was an online cooperative style of gameplay trialed by Maxis with SimCity 4. Region play had never been in the spirit of SimCity before 4. Games, like everything else in the universe, must evolve. Get out of the past. One final comment on graphics. Every single preview of the game that I have read has complimented the game/Maxis on the graphics. The engine isn't Frostbite 2, but I feel its quite adequate. Or do the bad graphics comments come from the fact the game has a slightly stylised appearance? Either way, to my mind the game's graphical and simulation engines are clearly much improved over SC4.

In SimCity, are you not suppose to be taking the role of mayor of the city? At least in Australia, but I figure it is very similar elsewhere in the world, you, as mayor/municipal or city councils/local governments DO NOT plan the major arterials/freeways, or railway within your city limits. The state government or one of its agencies will control all of the studies, design and construction of these pieces of infrastructure. All you do as a local government is review and comment on the plans provided by the state/its consultants/contractors as an external stakeholder. So SimCity 2013 is much more realistic than SimCity 4, or earlier SimCity games in that respect. SC2013 also will have a much more realistic simulation of traffic, and ridiculous issues we face in SimCity 4 such as eternal commutes, Sims commuting to non-existent cities near the edge of the city limits, commercial/industrial buildings having no one actually working in it (but not abandoning, instead showing the 25/30 facade e.g. in queries), and numerous others will no longer exist. Sure, there are plenty of features that we could do with, including larger cities and subway systems, but the simulation behind the game you play will be so many times greater than what we endure with in SimCity 4 now. And that is a major point they try to get across time and time again quite rightly. And as Casper says, SC4 vanilla was missing so much, and had major bugs (the stage 8s comes to mind), so unless expansions do not come (don't whine about having to pay, get a job, and cop it like you do with every other modern game), the game should not be condemned yet. I still can not wait to try the beta.

I am sceptical on the whole 'dying out' deal. I've so many times let my 150 year old city run untouched on cheetah for 10, 20, 30 years with no change to the population or commercial jobs count, just that the graph skews immensely to the right. It appears (but I have no idea of the coding/technical aspect of this) as if Sims live on at 90 years of age forever. Looking at the res. average age data view, the very blue areas stay very blue over the 30 years, although I have not taken screenshots of before and after to see if they changed. I hope I am 100% wrong on this, let me know. Does the model in the game account for Sims being born, lowering the average age of homes? Or do Sims only start young/'born' if they move in to a new home?